Rumor: New Xbox One models in the works

Microsoft is reportedly planning to release a white model of Xbox One later this year, similar to the employee-only model. The company is also said to be testing a download-only console.

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The Xbox One is only a few months old, but rumors are circulating that Microsoft is already planning the roll-out of new colors, hardware revisions, and bundles. Most intriguing of the scuttlebutt is word that a shiny white Xbox One, similar to the employee model, will launch later this year.

A post on NeoGAF has been talking about the revised models, and The Verge claims to have verified with its own sources. Aside from the white model, Microsoft is said to be testing a download-only version without the Blu-ray drive, but the report states that it's unclear if the company has any plans to bring it to market. A Titanfall model is also purportedly in the works, with the Xbox One's paintjob looking similar to the already announced limited edition controller.

The same report claims that the planned update to fix party chat bugs and reorganize social features will hit in March, so at the very least that month should serve as a good bellwether for the veracity of the rest of the rumors.

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  • reply
    January 30, 2014 12:30 PM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Rumor: New Xbox One models in the works.

    Microsoft is reportedly planning to release a white model of Xbox One later this year, similar to the employee-only model. The company is also said to be testing a download-only console.

    • reply
      January 30, 2014 12:35 PM

      They should have designed it with interchangeable face places for personalized customization.

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      January 30, 2014 12:37 PM

      wood paneling, that's all I want out of this thing.

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      January 30, 2014 12:37 PM

      I'd like an orange 2TB Xbox One without the Blu-ray drive and without the Kinect for $374.99.

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        January 30, 2014 12:41 PM

        Nice ^^^, dude they should hire you to make the decisions. You don't like the current color?

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          January 30, 2014 1:14 PM

          I've heard orange is the new black.

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            January 30, 2014 3:04 PM

            I think he walked into that

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      January 30, 2014 12:39 PM

      A download only version with a hard drive that is not up gradable, man what a EPIC idea, damn they are smart.

      Some times you have to wonder.

      Rather than announce any of this stuff maybe release an update that add the ability to attach USB 3 hard drives first to the current Xbox Ones so we can actually upgrade the hard drive.

      So I take it they want to chuck the Blu ray drive to cut cost to increase sales, I think this is a bad idea.

      Oh MS :( who ever was in charge of putting the Xbox One together should get punished hard core, things could of been so different.

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        January 30, 2014 12:43 PM

        I wonder if the attached storage update is coming in the March system update.

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        January 30, 2014 12:48 PM

        You can use a USB 3.0 in an upcoming update to store games and such.

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        January 30, 2014 1:42 PM

        Upgrading the hard drive is so not a priority at launch. When do you think most people are going to need > 500gb of space? That's at least 10 really big download games, likely more. Who already has 10 Xbox One games? And even if you do, unless you're literally swapping between 10 games regularly you can just delete the ones you're no longer playing. People upgrading their PS4 hard drives right out of the gate are just wasting money for no reason. It's important to have eventually, but it is hardly a critical launch window feature.

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          January 30, 2014 5:23 PM

          I upgraded my PS4's HD out of the gate.. but not because I needed it right away, or because I like to swap between lots of games. I did it for one main reason:

          There is currently no way on the PS4 to connect to an external drive to backup your HD. So if you do decide to upgrade later, you'll have to re-download everything (that you want) to the new HD. I know what that's like as about five years into my PS3's life my HD got corrupted and I hadn't backed it up in a long time. It took forever to re-download everything. I'd rather not deal with that again and upgrade right away. Sure they might patch in the ability to backup to an external drive later, but I'd rather be prepared if they don't.

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            January 30, 2014 5:30 PM

            and of you'd waited until you actually need to upgrade then even if you didn't have that feature patched in you'd trade the minor inconvenience of redownloading a few games for a bigger drive for less money. In 3-5 years you're talking about getting literally twice the storage for the same cost.

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          January 30, 2014 5:27 PM

          "People upgrading their PS4 hard drives right out of the gate are just wasting money for no reason."

          Maybe they wanted a faster drive.

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        January 30, 2014 2:22 PM

        [deleted]

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        January 30, 2014 3:31 PM

        I'd take the Bluray drive over the Kinect.

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        January 30, 2014 3:31 PM

        I have yet to use my blu ray drive. I think blu ray is a dead technology and doesn't have much life left. Download is what I would love to do if it wasn't for the fact that sales on amazon are better then the price digitally. They can fix this by allowing the sale of games as QR codes.

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        January 30, 2014 5:13 PM

        At this point I think they are trying to lose knowing they'll still win.

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        January 30, 2014 5:28 PM

        Why should they be punished? It's selling quite well, and all of the things you worry about are such minority worries for the console market. Most of the people who buy an Xbox One probably have never used an external USB hard drive in their lives.

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        January 30, 2014 5:51 PM

        yea fuck those guys. its not like they've sold 3 million of them or anything.

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        January 30, 2014 6:15 PM

        He got punished all right, he's working at Zynga now.

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      January 30, 2014 1:07 PM

      I honestly hate headlines like this. It's like, we don't expect them to already start working on at least some revisions? At the very least you have to know both Sony and MS have been hard at work refining the internals and mfr costs. so, why not the outside too?

      AND, come on, they're already working on the next system too. Considering what the next gen will have to do (ie: all that streaming stuff), they're going to have to develop so much backend and infrastructure beyond just the end-user console. (this is the part I really hate, that we'll get a similar headline about the next console and be all like GASP? soooo soon? duh)

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        January 30, 2014 2:14 PM

        They didn't say they are making a whole new console, just new revisions. So Xbox One slim.

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      January 30, 2014 2:52 PM

      Only a matter of time before we get the kinect free model.

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      January 30, 2014 3:06 PM

      remove Kinect and I'll consider buying it.

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        January 30, 2014 3:29 PM

        I bet you would also consider buying it if they dropped the price, right?

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          January 30, 2014 3:31 PM

          Price doesn't matter to me as much as loosing the Kinect shit.

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            January 30, 2014 3:36 PM

            But you can choose to not even plug in the Kinect.

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              January 30, 2014 3:45 PM

              Then don't include it in the box. Why should I buy a piece of hardware I don't want? I'll take the console, I don't need the Kinect. Plain and simple.

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                January 30, 2014 3:49 PM

                [deleted]

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                January 30, 2014 4:02 PM

                My point is, what if MS decides to eat the cost of the Kinect in order to sell more consoles to pepole like you, who don't want to pay a premium for it? The Kinect is central to their vision of the console and I don't see them dropping it, but it is still optional.

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                January 30, 2014 5:20 PM

                I am not sure how I can make it clearer. I don't care about the price. I don't want to buy a console with a secondary hardware unit included that I don't want. I don't want to try to sell it. I don't want to unplug it and leave it in a drawer in my house. I don't want it. I just want the XB1 in a box, with a controller, by itself. I can't put it any simpler than that.

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                  January 30, 2014 5:26 PM

                  Then buy a PS4. The Kinect is part of the system design. You don't want it? There are other console choices.

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                    January 30, 2014 5:50 PM

                    Done. Problem is, I'm used to owning all of them.

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                  January 30, 2014 6:22 PM

                  it's like, i bought the iphone, but i don't want the headphones. i won't buy it until the headphones are not included

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                    January 30, 2014 6:24 PM

                    how fucking dare they put headphones in this box. what do they want me to do with them, PUT THEM IN THE JUNK DRAWER?

                    fuck you apple. fuck you.

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                      January 30, 2014 6:44 PM

                      they are really shitty headphones and a literal affront to my standards

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                        January 31, 2014 5:43 AM

                        oh you must mean those shits that come with the Samsung Galaxy phone.

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                    January 31, 2014 5:43 AM

                    can i buy those headphones from you!?!?!?

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                  January 30, 2014 6:38 PM

                  [deleted]

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                  January 30, 2014 6:54 PM

                  You're such whiny little kid. So buy the Xbone but don't use the Kinect. Don't even take it out of the box. Your issue about the Kinect is then solved. Stop being such a brat about it. Or are you now going to complain about paperwork and cable ties in the box that you don't want either?

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                  January 30, 2014 7:00 PM

                  [deleted]

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                  January 30, 2014 7:12 PM

                  [deleted]

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                  January 30, 2014 7:34 PM

                  how dare they make it opt out

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                  January 30, 2014 7:49 PM

                  I am a member of this site.

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                  January 30, 2014 7:52 PM

                  [deleted]

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                    January 30, 2014 8:21 PM

                    Regardless of your opinion on the Xbox One, his position doesn't make sense. That's the reason for the "piling on."

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                    January 30, 2014 8:55 PM

                    wait who in this subthread is a microsoft employee

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                    January 30, 2014 11:42 PM

                    don't 1/3rd of 360 users have a kinect?

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                    January 31, 2014 4:50 AM

                    lol. youre so terrible on such a regular basis

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                  January 30, 2014 11:54 PM

                  That doesn't really make sense.

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                  January 30, 2014 11:58 PM

                  This sounds reeeeeaaaallllllly familiar

                  http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=27540206#item_27540206

                  oh right

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                    January 31, 2014 2:40 AM

                    [deleted]

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                      January 31, 2014 5:39 AM

                      He's all riled up and hating on something that makes no difference and can be easily avoided by just not using it. I can picture g0nk threatening to quit xbox (or the shack) over this. The point is he acts like a whiny baby over irrelevant things that don't actually affect how he uses the product/service.

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                    January 31, 2014 7:09 AM

                    God i love reading that thread. Hilarious.

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                  January 31, 2014 5:41 AM

                  you make no sense

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                January 30, 2014 6:37 PM

                [deleted]

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                January 31, 2014 12:10 AM

                So if we go back through all your purchases, I'm sure you've never bought anything that you didn't use every single component that was included, right?

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                  January 31, 2014 3:28 AM

                  What a fucking ridiculous standard.

                  Are you really suggesting that he cannot have this feeling about the Kinect unless he has felt similarly about every previous product he's purchased.

                  Christ you guys get stupid about this shit sometimes.

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                January 31, 2014 3:12 AM

                I'll counter-pile a little by saying that I mostly agree, even if I'm not quite as adamant about not having the Kinect included. Maybe when down the line the price comes down and the console gets more exclusives, it will sweeten the deal enough for me to just bite the bullet and dump the Kinect in the trash out of the box.

                What I do know is that for now I have zero interest in buying one, and that is due to the fact that I don't need or want the Kinect, and I don't want to pay for it. I don't want my money to say "Yes, I believe this piece of shit concept is a significant part of the future of gaming". It's more about that than it is about the spending of money. The thought alone of having the things connected to the console makes me uncomfortable, so the idea of paying for one is truly off-putting. If there was a version without it for sale, I would be much more inclined to consider buying the Xbone as well as a PS4 which I already have, just like I had both the PS3 and 360. If for no other reason, then the fact that I still much prefer the Xbox controller to the PS3/4 ones.

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                January 31, 2014 5:46 AM

                Let me just add to the chaos mate.

                That sensor is fucking awesome. MS may have screwed up a lot of other things with the XONE. But that sensor and what it does.... love it.

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          January 30, 2014 4:13 PM

          And still don't include Kinect so the price will be even lower.

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          January 30, 2014 5:31 PM

          As long as the Kinect is included it's $100 more than it should be.

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        January 30, 2014 4:27 PM

        You can sell the kinect 2.0 for $70-80 like many are doing.

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          January 30, 2014 5:27 PM

          Who is buying a Kinect on its own?

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            January 30, 2014 7:06 PM

            [deleted]

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              January 30, 2014 7:21 PM

              Does that work? I haven't read anything about this.

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                  January 30, 2014 7:57 PM

                  I think you missed the memo where the new Kinect uses a proprietary connector. MS has said they are building one specifically for PCs but they haven't announced a date as far as I know.

                  In any case, anyone who claims they can sell their Xbox One Kinect sensor at all is either wrong or selling it to an idiot.

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                    January 30, 2014 9:11 PM

                    eBay completed listings; you think I didn't check before posting? Some sold for as high as $100

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                      January 31, 2014 4:53 PM

                      I found about 20 on eBay using the method you did, and only 5 of them currently even listed on eBay. Yeah "many" people are selling them my ass. Sorry dude, what I said remains, the people who are buying them are idiots who don't realize the connector is proprietary and you can't just plug it into your PC. If you really think selling is an option you need to do better research.

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          January 30, 2014 7:58 PM

          "Many are doing" as in nobody

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          February 1, 2014 10:09 AM

          Why would someone buy a Kinect for Xbox One - being that to use it they need a Xbox One which comes with a Kinect?

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        January 30, 2014 5:15 PM

        Same. Fuck that shit. I know I'm paranoid but I still think it's nuts to put one in your living room.

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          January 30, 2014 6:59 PM

          The NSA is watching me drink beer and play Forza. On noes


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          January 30, 2014 7:36 PM

          You think that's nuts? Wait till you see my smartphone that I carry around with me all day.

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            January 31, 2014 4:03 AM

            You both miss the point, but that's cool.

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              January 31, 2014 4:13 AM

              Is truly boggles my minds that I constantly see "oh noes" jokes about a camera+microphone you put in your living room, that is connected to the internet, on a device that you have no real control over, a device that is manufactured by a company we already know is sharing their data "because they have to". This after all that we've learned during the last year. Is a phone worse? In some ways, yes. In others, no. Two companies having data on details of your life is worse than one, anyway.

              I totally get why someone, on a personal level, would be ok with it. If you indeed have nothing to hide, either illegal or just something you consider private, then go ahead, plug that shit in and laugh at the concept of someone looking at you playing games and drinking beer. But shrugging your shoulders at the whole thing and acting like anyone who has a problem with it is an idiot... that's a scary damn attitude right there.

              I guess we'll keep getting lol tagged until the first time someone undeserving goes to jail because they had the kinect enabled at the wrong time. After all, history shows without fail that these things are "tinfoil hat stuff" right up until everyone knows with 100% certainty things are fucked.

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                January 31, 2014 4:57 AM

                And it boggles my mind that the Kinect is where you draw the line in a world of smartphones, tablets, and laptops, all connected to the Internet with a camera and mic.

                We simply have a fundamental disagreement about the capabilities of the Kinect and how it will be used. Even with all the NSA shit that has come out, I don't think this device is recording and sending data over the Internet. I think the enthusiast community would notice immediately if it were. I think MS would risk destroying this multi million dollar division of their business if it did so. That's my belief, and I think it is logical.

                I don't think you are an idiot, I just disagree is all.

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                  January 31, 2014 5:12 AM

                  It's not about drawing the line, it's about gain vs loss. I practically couldn't live without a smart phone, but I can live without an Xbone. Also, I don't really keep anything on my phone that I'd consider as personal as my living space, my living room. This is, of course, subjective.

                  I have some faith in the logic that if there was something "fishy" going on generally, enthusiast would notice. That said, these are closed systems. We constantly see news about popular software doing something it's not supposed to be doing, and this is on the PC side of things, where the ecosystem is nowhere near as closed. Do I trust that if there was a "switch" in the Xbone OS that enabled some extra data gathering that is not enabled by default, that it would have been found already? No, not really.

                  You say that you don't think MS would risk their business with misusing the Kinect. In my view, firstly, data is business, and it's going to be an even bigger business in the future. Secondly, this is exactly why it worries me when people just shrug their shoulders at the possibilities of abuse here. The more people there are who don't give a shit, the less valid your point about MS fearing loss of customers becomes.

                  All I'm saying is that these are real concerns and mocking people who actually give a shit is stupid (you didn't). If you disagree on whether or not there's potential for abuse in the future, that's entirely fine in my book, but just because I have an iPhone in my pocket doesn't mean I'm insane for being weary of putting more eyes and ears in my private life. Not after the last year.

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                    January 31, 2014 9:16 AM

                    Line, drawn here, no further.

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                  January 31, 2014 7:36 AM

                  My phone can be put away. It stays in my pocket most of the time. The Kinect being setup with a (semi)permanent view of my living room is a different issue.

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          January 31, 2014 5:41 AM

          I KNOW RIGHT!

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            January 31, 2014 5:42 AM

            now MS can watch me play my PS4 all day long

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        January 30, 2014 5:44 PM

        Haven't you tried opting out before?

    • reply
      January 30, 2014 4:52 PM

      at least they arent fixing what isnt broke

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      January 30, 2014 6:57 PM

      [deleted]

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      January 30, 2014 11:51 PM

      [deleted]

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      January 31, 2014 3:44 AM

      I would love that.

      Imagine a disc-less and kinect-less One.

      It could be 300$ easily.

      I'm IN !!!

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      February 2, 2014 9:46 PM

      "A Titanfall model is also purportedly in the works, with the Xbox One's paintjob looking similar to the already announced limited edition controller."

      I'm sorry, but have you seen that controller? That thing looks like it was the victim of a ugly stick attack.

    • reply
      February 5, 2014 10:50 AM

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