Xbox One X unveiled at E3 along with Assassins Creed Origins, Forza 7, Crackdown 3 and Bioware’s Anthem
PARENTS and video game widows beware - a new £450 Xbox console is tipped to top Christmas wish lists.
Fans will be able to play titles with graphics that looks just like real life with the Xbox One X, unveiled in Los Angeles on Sunday.
It is Microsoft’s first major update for four years - and means its console is now more powerful than arch-rival Sony’s flagship PlayStation 4 Pro.
In fact, Xbox boss Phil Spencer boasted: “It’s the world’s most powerful console.”
Top-end computer chips, normally only found in machines costing thousands of pounds, allow titles to be feature film-like graphics in so-called “ultra high definition” also known as 4K.
The main “brain” is 30 per cent faster than in the original Xbox One and the chips that deal with graphics are more than four times more powerful.
That means more impressive games.
But it also means getting hold of one might be a bigger problem than finding the expected £449.99 to buy one as hype around the console grows ahead of the launch on November 7.
Original Xbox One games will work on the X - and some will get free updates to make use of the better graphics.
Another key selling point is that original Xbox One accessories will work with the new X, which is housed in a much smaller box than predecessors.
Microsoft hopes the console helps them fight back against Sony.
Their rivals have had the upper hand in recent years with its PlayStation 4 outselling the Xbox One since both were released within a week of each other ahead of Christmas 2013.
Microsoft and Sony have been battling it out for 15 years with various versions of their Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
The Japanese firm launched its own super-powered console - the PlayStation 4 Pro - late last year.
But the Xbox One X outmuscles it.
Microsoft also showed off a string of impressive-looking new games for the Xbox One X. Some like Assassins Creed Origins drew gasps and cheers from the 2,000 watching the showcase.
The new title in the popular series is set in ancient Egypt and features breathtaking views of pyramids and deserts.
Car racing game Forza 7 has such detail that when it rains during races you see the puddles getting bigger as you screech through them.
Metro Exodus was revealed and looked jaw-dropping as the popular series continues in Russia and set to be released next year.
We also saw more of Sea of Thieves, the highly-anticipated pirate adventure co-op title which looks like a LOT of fun.
Crackdown 3 finally has a released date and will be a launch title for the X on November 7.
And to top it off, BioWare's new IP Anthem was unveiled in what looked like an open world, apocalyptic RPG.
Xbox One X specifications
- CPU Eight custom x86 cores clocked at 2.3GHz
- GPU 40 customised compute units at 1172MHz
- Memory 12GB GDDR5
- Memory Bandwidth 326GB/s
- Hard Drive 1TB 2.5-inch
- Optical Drive 4K UHD Blu-ray
Computer games are big business - worth more than £40billion a year. Some games like Call of Duty make more money than top movies.
Also at E3, which is the world's largest video game convention, are industry heavyweights including Sony, Nintendo, Electronic Arts (EA), Ubisoft and Activision.
EA has already announced football game series FIFA will return at the end of September with FIFA 18.
The gaming giant also unveiled the first trailer for Star Wars Battlefront II, a new action game set across the three main eras of the franchise's universe.
On Monday, new information on the next game in the Call Of Duty series - set during the Second World War - is expected to be announced alongside a sequel to Bafta award-winning adventure title The Last Of Us.
The gaming convention is expected to attract around 50,000 attendees when the show floor opens on Tuesday, where 15,000 members of the public will also be present for the first time.