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Xbox One multiplayer update rolling out today
The Xbox One will see another update starting this evening, Microsoft says, with several promised enhancements coming to the console's multiplayer suite, audio output and livestreaming capabilities. As we reported earlier, these changes mean to highlight your online friends faster, let you invite them to parties quicker, open party chat by default, and pave the way for a new Twitch app launching on March 11. Microsoft has also highlighted some other Xbox One operating system tweaks that aren't quite as glamorous, but no less overdue: Dolby Digital will be supported through Optical and HDMI connections – good news for setups or headsets that don't play well with uncompressed audio – and the Xbox One will be able to output to televisions (mostly in Europe) at 50Hz. The March update also marks the end of spending an entire episode of Futurama saying, "Xbox, Volume Up" over and over. You can now adjust the number of volume increments per command, according to Microsoft. Sure, you could just reach for the remote, but it's so far and you just sat down. [Image: Microsoft]
Microsoft invites Xbox One users to test the March update
The March update for Xbox One, which streamlines friends list and party chat functionality, will go into beta testing soon. Microsoft is inviting a select number of Xbox Live users by sending them registration tokens starting today, and will follow up with a download for the beta version of the update next week. Beta testers will be able to provide feedback through a private section of the Xbox forums and may choose to opt out of any future Xbox One update preview events. "We're counting on our fans to share their input as we're putting the final touches on the new features that we plan to deliver in early March," Xbox Live's Major Nelson wrote in the Xbox Wire announcement post. The Xbox One March update, which is due for wide release prior to the launch of Titanfall on March 11, aims to revert social functionality to a state similar to that of the Xbox 360. This update will give Xbox One users a more direct path to see which of their friends is online, rather than the current confusing system bogged down by unnecessary extra menus. Also, all Xbox One multiplayer games following this update will employ more standardized options to quickly enlist the aid of Xbox Live friends through game invites. [Image: Microsoft]
Xbox One February update rolling out through the weekend
The February firmware upgrade for Xbox One is reaching consoles starting today. If you're using "Instant On," the low-power state that allows you to verbally boot up your Xbox One, the update will automatically download the next time you power down your console – during off-peak hours for your given time zone, that is. Xbox Live's Major Nelson says the patch should reach the entire Xbox One community over the course of this weekend. This latest update introduces greater storage space management options for your Xbox One and makes controller battery levels visible by adding an icon to the bottom-right corner of the home screen. Xbox One owners should also find their controllers are now more precise. Another major update beyond February's revision is already in the works for Xbox One and due in early March, prior to the launch of TItanfall. The focus of March's renovation is to revise how friends lists and party chats work, reverting both to a state similar to their Xbox 360 counterparts. Microsoft has also announced a free Xbox Live Gold weekend for the US and Canada. Xbox Live Silver users on Xbox 360 can enjoy free multiplayer gaming and access to premium apps like Netflix until 11:59PM PT on Sunday, February 16. [Image: Microsoft]
Xbox One February update adjusts controller precision
An incoming Xbox One update will change controller thumbstick sensitivity, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed. The update will be available sometime this month. "The February update will increase the sensitivity of the outer boundaries of the thumbsticks on the Xbox One controller," the spokesperson said in an email to Joystiq. "The update will happen automatically when your controller syncs with your console." This is one of a few planned updates prior to the launch of Titanfall. In addition to augmenting how controllers work, the February update will add a battery life indicator for controllers. Microsoft also plans to streamline friends lists and change party chat in an update scheduled for early March. Both will revert to behave much like they did on Xbox 360, as opposed to the current confusing mess that is the Activity application on Xbox One. [Image: Joystiq]
Xbox One streamlining friends list and party chat before Titanfall
The Xbox One's multiplayer and social features are to be adjusted in a pre-Titanfall upgrade scheduled for "early March," Microsoft says. This latest overhaul, which will target the friends list and multiplayer party systems, will be the second consecutive update issued by Microsoft in as many months. Microsoft plans to change the "Activity" "Friends" application on Xbox One to a "Social" tile that opens straight to a friends list – showing you who's online at a glance, just like in the good ol' Xbox 360 days. Party chat audio will be activated and separated from game chat by default, Microsoft promises, and forthcoming multiplayer games will have a standardized option to quickly invite friends into the match. While welcome, the return of this reliable Xbox 360 feature shows the odd online isolation one can feel in the robust but splintered operating system of the Xbox One. Xbox's Chief Product Officer, Marc Whitten, also claims the March update will bring further improvements that have yet to be highlighted. "The improvements to multiplayer and parties are just a few of the features that will be included," he says, "and we'll continue to share more details in the days and weeks ahead, including in-depth videos so you're all ready to take advantage of the new features in March." If you're just joining us - and your Xbox One is telling you it's time to update – you've gotten the February update, which promises to eradicate the dual mysteries of controller battery life and remaining hard drive space. Update: The February update will not go live today, but it's due to launch this week, Major Nelson tweeted. "The team is working on finalizing. More details when I get them," he says. [Image: Microsoft]
Xbox One update: Battery life and storage space are mysteries no more
Microsoft has scheduled an Xbox One system update for February 11, harnessing the computational power of its next-generation system to display real-time data on electrochemical energy expenditure within tethered input devices. So, yes, the controller battery life indicator is coming back, as seen above. Though the controller's electrical endurance is one of the Xbox One's more successful features, it's also one of two oddly obfuscated bits of information. The other is also being addressed in the Xbox One's space-age update, which allows you to see how much room your games and apps are taking up on the 500GB hard drive. The lack of direct management options was one of the criticisms in our review of the Xbox One. Microsoft says apps (like Netflix) and games (like Tomb Raider) will now be split into separate lists, queues, and restrooms. You'll also be able to better manage download and installation queues, and use a USB keyboard if you want a mechanical sound to go with the beeps and boops of text entry. Xbox's Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten says the update has "lots of behind-the-scenes updates for developers," along with improvements to stability and Kinect voice command recognition. Whitten teases more information to come on "several new features we believe Xbox fans will love," including a hypnotic suggestion module. The February 11 update will be followed by another on March 4, meant to prepare the system for Titanfall. [Image: Microsoft]
Xbox One party and multiplayer update before Titanfall in March
The incoherent party and friend systems on the Xbox One aren't ready for Titanfall - not even in Microsoft's opinion. A system update scheduled for March 4 will introduce "many new features and improvements, most significantly to our party and multiplayer systems," Microsoft has announced. Microsoft has not divulged details yet, but says a new party and multiplayer system will be in place prior to Titanfall's arrival on March 11, 2014. The futuristic multiplayer shooter, which sees combatants run across walls and jostle around in muscular mechs, is viewed as one of the Xbox One's flagship games, though it is also being developed for PC by Respawn Entertainment, and for Xbox 360 by Bluepoint Games. If all goes according to plan, we'll be inviting you to our party with just a few effortless presses on that snazzy Titanfall controller. [Image: EA]
