Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) on Tuesday unveiled a reinvented Xbox
videogame console, demonstrating the software giant's most
aggressive play yet for control of consumers' living rooms.
The Redmond, Wash., software giant showed off its new device,
dubbed Xbox One, at an invitation-only event at its headquarters
Tuesday. The console integrates speech-recognition, technology and
new gesture-based commands to control games as well as TV
programming, recorded video and Skype chats.
The device represents Microsoft's answer to "a living room that
has become too complex, too fragmented and too slow" with features
that integrate users control of all their electronics, said Don
Mattrick, president of the Microsoft's interactive entertainment
business.
Microsoft's new device comes as consumer behavior has
dramatically remade growth prospects for traditional game
companies. Since the last Xbox was launched in 2005, mobile devices
such as Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone have become go-to machines for a
new swath of casual games that are either free or cost a few
dollars.
That trend, combined with the cyclical nature of an industry in
which sales taper off before a new game console is released, has
weakened revenue in the traditional gaming industry. Sales of new
games, consoles and accessories at U.S. retail stores have
contracted every month for over a year, according to market
researcher NPD Group.
Microsoft shares were off 4 cents at $35.04 during the
presentation. They are up 31% so far this year.
Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@dowjones.com
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