It would be curious to know whether Microsoft made a conscious decision to make its Xbox One launch as unlike Sony's PlayStation 4 press conference as possible.

On the face of it, the new console looks pretty impressive. Response times and gesture control are very good indeed, the visuals are stunning, and Microsoft scored an instant win over rival Sony by actually having a working console to show off.

Today's press event for the Xbox One wasn't just a coming-out party for a new gaming console but a coming-out party for a bold new strategy to make sure that Microsoft software becomes the go-to software for web-enhanced television. Whether this plan bears fruit is hard to say but for the time being it's tough to imagine either Sony or Nintendo - or Apple or Google, for that matter - offering anything comparable.

Perhaps Microsoft has read which way the wind is blowing and realises that a gaming-only box just isn't going to cut it anymore. Maybe even gamers want more than games. Last I checked, we care about Game of Thrones too.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22620039

Oh, cool. The Xbox One will give me access to Game of Thrones? No more HBO!

nonsense, a lot of the features Microsoft listed have again and again been called pointlessly flashy and all around over the top. I know there are a lot of gamers out there who love weird stupid features and make a point of using as many of them in as ridiculous a manner as humanly possible for no other reason than that they can, but as long as there's market differentiation from their competitors they won't come out as the go-to console tv company.

Nintendo for example demonstrated some vastly different features showing what many reviewers have called an addictive social media function allowing you to share and discuss different shows in real time as you watch them. Features Microsoft haven't duplicated yet.

I simply don't feel that the features that Microsoft is offering with the XBox One are useful. Microsoft is trying to find a solution to a nonexistent problem.

What are you talking about?  You know hard it is to watch TV sometimes?  The Xbox guy even talked about it at the reveal.   

Also...

Insert "On the same screen" into your post. It's even more useless. As mentioned earlier, MS is solving problems that don't exist. 

couldn't have said it any better

but gamers don't want games, gamers want a lot of new features! It is the future of gaming!

It's a TV filter that adds some utterly pointless features. The technological equivalent to a silly straw. Oooh look, the chocolate milk is coming towards my mouth in a slightly different way! I wonder how different it will taste!.....It blows my mind that people care about the XB One's gimmicky overlays. When I'm watching Boardwalk Empire, I don't give a crap about anything but the show. That's why I'm watching it to begin with. I didn't immediately realise it wasn't a dvr or cable box itself, and when I did, my head completely spun off my neck in disbelief.

of course it will deliver game of thrones.  all you need is a cable box with a cable subscription and an upgrade to HBO..