Interview with Xbox One Developer Phil Spencer

Xbox One on display at Tokyo Game Show 2013

--Current users are already using "all-in-one devices" such as tablets and smartphones. Xbox One is oriented toward "all-in-one entertainment", what do you think the difference between the two will be?

Spencer: Let's start with the nature of "television." Your TV is the biggest and most beautiful screen in your home. It also has the best sound system. That's why I want to play games on TV.

Of course I agree with you. We are already surrounded by various "universal devices". You can watch videos, play games, and browse the web on tablets, smartphones, and PCs. We use these devices everywhere, in transit, at school, in the office, and so on.

These devices inspired us in developing the Xbox One.

The biggest thing is that with such devices, you can do many things at the same time. Just like you do now on your PC or smartphone.

Nowadays, people bring a variety of devices into the same space besides TVs and game consoles. That's why we decided to invest in "Xbox SmartGlass" as well. I think this is the best experience with multiple devices. For example, when I'm playing poker, I see my cards on my screen. And on the TV, you can see the cards in play. In this way, being able to use screens together as a “connected device” is an advantage over a single screen.

--What is the advantage of being able to do various things on a large screen?

Spencer: When I play Forza Motorsports, for example, I want to focus. If you're a gamer, of course, it's important. Gaming fans want to focus on their games. But....

Let's say you and I were friends and wanted to play a game together. Or it could be that you just want to talk together and the game will come later.

At times like that, we use Skype, don't we? Send me a message and say, "Hey, wanna play with me?" And I can say 'No, I'm sorry' or I can say 'OK' and bring them into the game.

In that case, you can call Skype on the side and do it at the same time.

--In other words, you want to be able to choose whether to respond or stop while playing the game, and do it at the same time?

Spencer: For one thing, yes.

When designing the Xbox One, one of our goals was to do multiple things at the same time.

For example, in the previous scenario of Skype, if Skype comes when you are playing Forza on Xbox 360, stop Forza, load Skype, run it, wait for me to connect to the call, and say "together I had to say, "Let's do Forza." And then I finished the Skype app and headed back to Forza to play some games. This was because the system was only thinking about "doing one thing at a time". Frankly, the Xbox 360 system design is "old".

But with Xbox One, you can instantly jump to Skype and answer.

Let me give you another example. Forza includes many real-world courses. For example, let's say you run Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Let's say I'm interested in spas and want to know more about the course. I wanted to see a video of the actual spa course on YouTube. At that time, you can say "Xbox, Snap Internet Explorer" and IE will appear as "Snap" next to the game. If you want to Snap YouTube, just say "Xbox, Snap YouTube." And you can play while watching information and images of the actual course in them.

This is something you can still do with your PC, phone, or tablet. But you can do that on the Xbox One with quick switching.

--In other words, in the case of the Xbox One, you can do that quickly without letting go of the game controller, right?

Spencer: Exactly. You can be a good Microsoft PR guy lol

If you're playing Forza, of course you're holding a controller. In the meantime, I don't want to put down the controller, boot the PC, type, and so on. For Xbox One, you can say "Xbox, Snap YouTube" and "Xbox, Search Spa". No need to leave the game. Gestures can also be used for operations as well. You can enter commands with one hand. But it would be best to give commands by voice.

--If you try to provide such a function with a "rich game experience", you will need to control it so that there is no loss on the game experience side. So the game is devised so that it doesn't affect anything?

Spencer: Yes. That's right. There are 3 operating systems running on this platform. The traditional Xbox OS for big games. And "Windows" system. Applications such as IE and Skype will now work. Furthermore, it is an OS for task switching that arbitrates them.

Games on Xbox, such as Forza Motorsport 5, Titan Fall, and Ryse, run at full frame rate and full visuals. It doesn't know what other apps are doing. Pause and zoom display are only performed according to the simultaneous display with the application. The OS controls all those movements. Creators don't have to think about that at all.