Xbox One

The Xbox One is a line of home video game consoles released by Microsoft and is the successor to the Xbox 360. It was released in November 2013 as part of the 8th generation of consoles, competing against Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U. While there have been only two Sonic games announced for the system, there has been Sonic video games previously released for the Xbox 360 that are also compatible with the Xbox One.

Specifications

 * RAM: 8GB DDR3, clock: 2133 MHz, bandwidth: 68.26 GB/s + 32MB eSRAM
 * CPU: 8 Core AMD custom CPU, frequency: 1.75 GHz
 * GPU: Clock Speed: 853 MHz
 * Storage: 500 GB/1TB/2TB internal Hard Drive (depending on the model), support external hard drive
 * Optimal resolution: 1080p for games, 4K for Blu-ray disks videos
 * Motion control: Kinect 2
 * Optical drive: Blu-Ray/DVD

History
Initial hardware for the 360's successor, commonly referred to by the industry as the "Xbox 720", was reportedly under development as early as May 2011. The official developer kit was codenamed Durango, and appeared to be available to developers by mid-2012. Leaked documents suggested that the new console would include an improved Kinect sensor, cloud access to games and media, integration with phone and tablet devices, and technology to provide players heads-up displays on glasses worn by the player, codenamed "Fortaleza"; Microsoft did not comment on these reported features. Leaked design documents also suggested that Microsoft was seeking to eliminate the ability to play used games, though Microsoft later clarified it was still reviewing the design and were "thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology like we did with Kinect", but did not comment on the validity of the information.

The console was publicly unveiled under the name Xbox One on May 21, 2013 in a press conference designed to cover the unit's broad multimedia and social capabilities. A second press event for the console was held during E3 2013, focusing on its video game-oriented functionality. At that time, Microsoft announced that the console would be released in 21 different markets on November 22, 2013, but this was later amended down to 13. The change, which pushed the release date for the other eight markets to 2014, was attributed to unforeseen complexity in localizing the device's voice recognition capabilities. Later, in September 2014, the Xbox One was released in 26 markets, including remaining markets in Europe, the Japanese market, and Middle Eastern markets.

From the first announcement to the actual launch of the product, Microsoft made some significant changes to the console. Initially the system was to be able to play a disc-based game without the disc after the initial install; however, this came with a requirement that the users would have to connect online once per day, as well as restrictions on used games. These policies were reversed in June 2013.

Backwards compatibility
The Xbox One was not backwards compatible with either the original Xbox or the Xbox 360 console at launch. However, during its E3 press conference on June 15, 2015, Microsoft announced plans to introduce Xbox 360 backward compatibility using the software method on the Xbox One. Supported Xbox 360 games are supposed to run within a software emulator provided by the updated system software, implementing both the hardware and software of the Xbox 360. Xbox One recording and broadcasting features are supported along with Xbox 360 multiplayer, achievements and cloud save access.

Unlike Xbox 360's emulation of the original Xbox, games do not have to be specifically patched but need to be repackaged in the Xbox One format. Users' digitally-purchased games will automatically appear in their library for download once available. Games on physical media will not be executed directly from disc; inserting the disc will initiate a download of a repackaged version. On 9 November 2015, Microsoft has announced 104 titles from Xbox 360 coming to Xbox One along with some of Sonic's titles, but except Sonic the Fighters, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Episode II which became backward compatible afterward.

On 11 June 2017, Microsoft announced there would be backwards compatibility with the original Xbox games which would be added in an update later in the year. However, no original Xbox Sonic games have been made compatible yet.


 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Sonic the Hedgehog 2
 * Sonic the Hedgehog 3
 * Sonic & Knuckles
 * Sonic CD
 * Sonic the Fighters
 * Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
 * Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II
 * Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Upcoming games

 * Sonic Forces

XBOX Store

 * Sonic Mania

Xbox One S
On June 13, 2016, during its E3 2016 press conference, Microsoft unveiled Xbox One S, a revision of the original Xbox One hardware with a streamlined form factor. Its new casing is 40% smaller than the original design, and supports vertical orientation with a stand. The capacitive power and eject keys were replaced by physical buttons, the side USB port and controller sync button were moved to the front of the console, and its power supply is integrated into the console's casing rather than sitting externally. Xbox One S requires a USB adapter to attach a Kinect sensor, as it no longer includes the proprietary port used on the original model. A free USB adapter was provided by Microsoft to Kinect owners who registered their ownership of Kinect and Xbox One S online, but this promotion ended in March 2017. Although Microsoft stated that it would eventually bundle the adapter with standalone Kinect units, this has yet to occur.

Xbox One S natively supports video output at 4K resolution, and high dynamic range (HDR) color using HDR10. 4K video can be played from supported streaming services and Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc, Games are upscaled from 1080p to 4K. Xbox One S also ships with a revision of the Xbox One controller, with textured grips and Bluetooth support.

Xbox One S is available in 500 GB, 1 TB, and "special edition" 2 TB models, which originally retailed at US$299, $349, and $399 respectively.

Xbox One X
During its E3 2017 press conference, Microsoft unveiled Xbox One X, a high-end version of the Xbox One console which will be released on November 7, 2017. First teased at E3 2016 under the codename "Project Scorpio", Xbox One X features upgraded hardware that is designed primarily to play games at 4K resolution, and supersampling to provide graphical improvements on high-definition displays.

Xbox One X's design is a revision of the Xbox One S hardware, but further streamlined. It uses a system-on-chip (SoC) known as Scorpio Engine, which incorporates a 2.3 GHz octa-core CPU, and a Radeon GPU with 40 Compute Units clocked at 1172 MHz, generating 6 teraflops of graphical computing performance. It also includes 12 GB of GDDR5 RAM, 9 GB of which is allocated to games. To assist in optimizing the new hardware to run existing games at 4K resolution, Microsoft developers used internal debugging software to collect GPU traces from major titles that did not run at full 1080p resolution on the original Xbox One. Scorpio Engine's CPU utilizes a custom platform designed to maintain compatibility with the Jaguar CPU of the original Xbox One, but with a 31% increase in performance; the custom platform is unrelated to AMD's current Ryzen architecture. The console will feature a vapor chamber method of cooling for the SoC, and motherboards will be tailored to the exact voltage needs of each individual Scorpio SoC to optimize their output and energy usage. The console will also support AMD's FreeSync technology on compatible displays.

Xbox One X will be compatible with all existing Xbox One software and accessories. Games marketed as Xbox One X Enhanced have specific optimizations for graphical fidelity on the console's hardware, while separate iconography is being used to denote games that natively run at 4K resolution, or support HDR. Existing games may receive updates to enhancements or additional 4K support for Xbox One X. So far, Sonic Forces is the only Sonic game to benefit from such enhancements.

The Xbox One X has been said to be a competitor to the PlayStation 4 Pro, a hardware update of the PlayStation 4 released in late-2016 that similarly focuses on 4K gaming and improved virtual reality performance, although Phil Spencer stated that the PlayStation 4 Pro's competition is instead the Xbox One S.

Trivia

 * Back in E3 of 2015, when Microsoft announced the Xbox One, Sonic Adventure 2 was browsed quickly on the screen for the public, suggesting that it was going to appear on the backward compatibility list. However, it has not been officially confirmed if the Xbox One is backward compatible with Sonic Adventure 2 as of yet.
 * Sonic Forces will be released on the same day as the Xbox One X on 7 November 2017.