Xbox One rumors: confirmations and open questions

Yesterday at a special presentation, Microsoft formally announced the Xbox One. Now that the company has finally produced a clearer impression of the console, we can look back at the rumors that had been following it for the last several months. Here's a list of what came true, what didn't, and what we still don't know.

Read more: The curious case of always-on »

Following comments from last week that Electronic Arts has no games currently in development for the Wii U, another voice from the company has seemingly contradicted that claim. EA CFO Blake Jorgensen says they are making games for the Wii U -- it's just not concentrating as heavily on Nintendo's platform as it is the other two.

Read more: 'We are building titles for the Nintendo console' »

It's important that more people play Tokyo Jungle, so thankfully a retail release is coming. Not by itself, mind. The Best of PlayStation Network, Vol. 1 outed by an ESRB rating is indeed an actual thing, Sony announced today, coming to stores on June 25 with Tokyo Jungle, Sound Shapes, Fat Princess and When Vikings Attack for $39.99.

Read more: But what about cross-play »

Hardcore strategy specialist Slitherine has revealed the first fruits of its partnership with Games Workshop to make Warhammer 40,000 games and yes, it certainly sounds hardcore. Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon is to be a turn-based, hex-set game pitting the Imperial Guard and Space Marines against ork hordes invading a Hive World.

Read more: With 100 units, an editor, and play by e-mail »

14.5 million players with 67.1 million characters have killed 3.3 trillion monsters in Diablo 3, Blizzard has revealed in a whopping great infographic released as part of the action-RPG's first birthday festivities. Yet only 33% of characters have even beaten Normal difficulty, which is arguably the point where it starts to get interesting, and a measly 6% cleared Inferno. If you like numbers, big numbers, and lots of them, it's a fascinating look.

Read more: Barbarian is the most popular Hardcore class »

You've had a week with Metro: Last Light now and perhaps finished it, so what next? You hardly need me to tell you it's getting DLC, but now it's all properly official and everything. Publisher Deep Silver today announced four add-ons are coming over the summer, including new single-player stories. They'll be covered by a $15 season pass.

Read more: Expanding the story and giving "interesting tools" »

Microsoft pulled the plug on 1 vs. 100 back in 2010, but fans of the defunct online game show hybrid have been vocal about missing it. Phil Spencer hasn't promised to bring it back specifically, but says that type of game is something they'd like to explore more in the future with Xbox One.

Read more: 'That's a category that lends itself to our community' »

The original Kinect always felt like a beta. It was the first implementation of something we collectively imagined should be much better. Our vision of Kinect had it be more precise, less laggy, and more natural to use. And that's precisely what Kinect for Xbox One is.

Following its Xbox One reveal event, Microsoft invited us to get "hands on" time with a few tech demos--the ones that you can see here. Because none of these demos represent actual gameplay, it's difficult to gauge how well this tech can be implemented. However, the potential is very real--and our excitement for Kinect has been rekindled.

Read more: Pulse-tracking, controller-tracking fun »

Gosh, wasn't the big reveal trailer for EA Sport's new next-gen engine Ignite exciting? To think, that's how sports games will be on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4! Ah. Well. Not quite. As you may have guessed, that wasn't in-game footage. No, EA says, that was pre-rendered footage which did at least use in-game assets and is supposedly "in line with" how the games actually are.

Watch: That shiny trailer, again »

Who knew something as gimmicky-sounding as "impulse triggers" would prove to be so fun to use? The addition of rumble motors on the shoulder triggers may sound like an insignificant change at first, but it really does significantly enhance the immersion that vibrating controllers can offer.

The impulse triggers are quite possibly the most significant upgrade made to the Xbox One controller. Microsoft PR likes to say there are over 40 improvements made, resulting in all new thumbsticks that have better grip and take 25% less force to move. There's also an entirely new D-Pad, quite possibly the weakest aspect of the original Xbox 360 controller. And there's magnetic sensors in the triggers for "added precision."

Read more: Two new buttons on Xbox One »

Not much has been heard of Crytek's Roman-themed first-person fighting game Ryse since it was announced for Xbox 360 at E3 2011. But rumors of the Kinect-based game's shift to Microsoft's next-gen console have been confirmed by the company's website.

Read more: 'Son came to Rome' »

Does Xbox One require a persistent online connection? Does it play used games? Microsoft has been so coy that anxious gamers are left with no choice but to assume the worst. Answers to these questions should be clear-cut--a simple "yes" or "no" would suffice, and help us all.

Yet, even Microsoft's so-called "clarifications" do little to ease concern that the next Xbox will be plagued by draconian anti-consumer practices. Major Nelson updated his blog saying "while there have been many potential scenarios discussed, today we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail. Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios."

Okay, that's fine. But here's the kicker: "Should you choose to play your game at your friend's house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile." By mentioning the f-word there, we can only assume that there will be fees to play games in any other scenario.

Read more: A 'worst case scenario' come true? »

Could Xbox One be the end of Xbox Live Arcade? Possibly. But don't worry, smaller games aren't going away from Microsoft's next-gen console. Instead, the XBLA designation may be phased out, in order to make smaller games and AAA titles equally visible, Matt Booty, general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms told us.

Read more: 'Real big win' for developers »

Independent developers cannot self-publish their own games on Xbox Live Arcade. Instead, they must get a publishing deal--either with Microsoft Game Studios or with a third-party partner. Games published on Xbox Live Indie Games are exempt from that policy, but that marketplace isn't necessary seen as viable.

Limitations imposed by Microsoft have prevented a number of games from ever appearing on Xbox 360. And apparently, Xbox One won't change how Microsoft approaches indie games.

Read more: 'Microsoft Studios works with a wide range of partners' »

Remember when Microsoft used to make games for PC? With their Xbox business thriving, the company has long shifted focus away from PC gamers. That attitude will continue in the Xbox One generation, it appears.

At its Xbox One reveal event, the company announced 15 exclusives coming to the console in its first year. When asked if PC gamers could possibly get access to some of that content, Matt Booty, general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms told us that "the Windows 8 gamer is certainly going to participate in some of that content," but not in the way you might expect or want.

Read more: Is Microsoft's PC focus on the lower end? »