Xbox One to support up to eight wireless controllers simultaneously and external storage

Lots of news seems to be hitting the airwaves lately about Microsoft’s upcoming console the Xbox One. If you haven’t heard of it until now then surely you’ve been living under a rock – nay, a fucking boulder.

The latest news that has been served up offers a little insight as to the future of the console and perhaps the future of titles soon to be developed.

Several news sources are reporting that Microsoft has integrated support which will allow up to eight wireless controllers to be connected to the console simultaneously. While we all know the PS3 sports up to seven, there’s absolutely no need for it. No games truly take advantage of that support. That being said, the real question here is will any titles be available for the Xbox One that allow eight players to game on a single console?

If so, those TV screens could really get crowded should they decide to go the traditional splitscreen route. Of course, that might enable some of us to make good use of those huge 70″+ HDTVs we have (there’s no way I’m implying everyone has one).

Microsoft also made it known that thanks to a proprietary IR technology the wireless controllers will work up to 30 feet away from the console. In comparison, the Wii-U offers the same freedom concerning distance. Although, I would expect that more from Nintendo’s console since the primary controller is a fucking remote tablet device with its own display.

In other news, even though the console comes bundled with a hefty 500GB hard drive many are worried about external storage functionality. As reported by IGN, Microsoft’s Major Nelson said that support for external storage will not be offered right at launch.

“My understanding is that feature will not be there at launch because the team is working on some other things, but it definitely is on the list. I don’t know when it will come in though.”

The Xbox One is going to include USB 3.0 which means much faster transfer speeds when external storage support is eventually offered. Microsoft did confirm at the console’s launch event that external storage can be used to install games and download content. There was no mention of a storage limit or cap, but it’s possible we may see one when the functionality is offered. In addition, the external storage will probably need to be formatted specifically by the console, much like what is necessary now with the Xbox 360.

What do you think of this news? Does any of it excite you or piss you off?

Via IGN, Gaming Bolt