Hasta La Gadget!

There’s nothing like seeing some of the world’s most sought after gadgets being heartlessly and mercilessly destroyed. Microsoft’s Xbox One certainly falls in that list. On launch day alone, Redmond managed to move over one million units in the initial 13 markets the console was released in. As sales pick up around the world and more people get their hands on the console, its unlikely that many will do what you’re about to see here. Known for his habit of firing .50 cal bullets at gadgets, Richard Ryan returns to fire shots at the Xbox One and then blow up what’s left of it. In case you were wondering, he has already given the PlayStation 4 the .50 cal treatment.

Firing just one shot at the console isn’t enough for Ryan, because he sets up a detonation cord as well to ignite when the bullet reaches the console. He calls it a “drag race,” and even though the footage is shown in slow motion, it is not entirely clear what hit the console first, the bullet or the detonation cord. Nevertheless, Ryan scoops up the Xbox One and decides to blow it up with more detonation cord set in a way that it forms an “X,” an apt way to send off a brand new Xbox One.

Xbox One Takes A .50 Cal Bullet And Also Gets Blown Up original content from Ubergizmo.

Just earlier Microsoft had released an Xbox One promotion which basically appeared to target men. For example one of the promo letters was a memo to their girlfriends which reads, “You’d rather knit than watch me slay zombies, but hear me out on this: Xbox One is actually for both of us.” Naturally this was not well-received by gamers, both men and women, who thought that this kind of promotion and thinking was a bit backwards and perhaps a little antiquated in the today’s day and age. After all there are plenty of female gamers out there, many of whom are professional gamers in their own right with more than enough skill to be equal to their male counterparts.

Microsoft has since issued a statement of apology and stated, “The letter is customizable and we meant no offense, but understand how the defaults could be perceived […] We’re making changes to the letter defaults and apologize for the oversight.” Microsoft has also changed the letter, with the promo now reading, “I know. You’d rather do your taxes early than watch me slay zombies,” (screenshot pictured above) which admittedly makes less sense, but at least they’re being politically correct this time and not sexist. What do you guys think of Microsoft’s apology? A little too late?

Microsoft Apologizes For Sexist Xbox One Promo original content from Ubergizmo.

We have seen just how cheeky Microsoft can get by targeting some of the rival tablets in its ads recently, where the Surface RT was seen firing a salvo at the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 from Samsung, while Apple’s iPad Air was not exempted either, as it was compared to the Surface 2. This time around, we have seen Microsoft aim their crosshairs at the Samsung Galaxy Tab, where said tablet was lambasted for not having a full sized USB port, unlike Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet, of course.

This would be a great advantage for those who want to juice up their smartphone, or connect a camera or a smartphone to their tablet without having to purchase yet another cable to add to their collection. Do you think that advertisements such as these would actually be able to work? After all, it is always nice to be respectful of your rivals in the marketplace, and somehow, telling the world about the good points of your items alone should be the more gentlemanly thing to do, it seems. Ah well, all’s fair in love and war, are they not? It would be interesting to see whether Apple and Samsung already have some sort of counterattacking plan in store…

Microsoft Targets The Galaxy Tab In Ad This Time Around original content from Ubergizmo.

This holiday season, only one of the two major next-gen consoles will feature an out-of-the-box game-streaming solution: Sony’s PlayStation 4. And that streaming feature taps into some powerful trends that should act as an ambassador for the hardware and Sony’s online network.

If you’re not familiar with the feature, it’s very simple. The PlayStation 4 controller has a streaming button that you tap at any point while playing a game. From this screen you can upload a clip of your last 15 minutes of play (the console buffers a chunk at all times just in case you do something cool you want to share). But you can also choose to live stream your gameplay, with or without a feed from the PlayStation camera or mic that carries your image or voice. You can also choose to allow comments to be displayed on the screen during your stream.

This is all powered by Twitch, the gaming video network born of Justin.tv. You can also use Ustream to send live video, but the majority of gamers I’ve seen are using Twitch. I’m not sure it matters which you use, as the audience is likely coming mostly from your shared links, not the networks themselves. Though this could change if either/or builds special browsing tools that surface new streams faster.

While Microsoft has plans to implement game streaming, also via Twitch, those plans hit a snag and the only option available at launch is to save a video and upload it for later watching. You can’t do the same kind of real-time streaming on Xbox One as you can on PS4, at least not yet. Microsoft says that this functionality should arrive early next year.

I’ve been testing out the live streaming on the PS4 and it’s a pretty awesome experience. The streaming is incredibly easy to get going. You can sign up for a Twitch account right in the flow and get going. You can share the stream to Facebook or Twitter so that people can hop in and watch, and a channel gets made on Twitch as well. People can comment on your gameplay as you run through Knack or Call of Duty or what have you.

There’s something invigorating about having people watch your play in the game live.

This partially taps into the ‘let’s play’ movement that’s been gaining steam on video sites like Twitch and YouTube in a big way. Millions of people watch pre-recorded videos of other people playing games. It’s a crazy phenomenon that seems counter-intuitive. Why wouldn’t you just play the games yourself?

The answer, I think, lies in the realm of spectator sports. Yes, we can all play basketball or football in one form or another, but there is a pleasure in watching people play that are really good at what they do. And there’s a sort of thrill that comes in seeing people fail as well.

In addition to the charge you get out of having an audience, there’s also the collaborative aspects. People watching my streams give comments, advice, encouragement and, yes, insults. I’m able to respond with the mic without having to type anything. It’s a super fun mechanic and really well executed on PS4.

Both ‘let’s play’ and the PS4′s live-streaming feature tap into something primal; games as performance art, to a degree.

I used to play games competitively in ladders, climbing rung after rung with every match, until I was close to the top of one of the biggest amateur leagues. Those matches often hosted spectators, who watched and chatted as they went on. This was long before the days of Major League Gaming or the Pro Gaming League or any of those huge formal events. It was cool then, but now the audiences are massive, with finals held in huge arenas. Live streaming allows anyone to get a small taste of that kind of performance.

Live game streaming is set to be the next big social layer for platforms big and small. Yes, it’s on the major consoles now, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see most portable devices, including those running iOS and Android, get some support for this kind of thing. Playing a game is fun, sure, but playing in front of an audience gives it another kind of punch, something I haven’t felt for a lot of years.

Sony and Microsoft have tried for years to get people to share achievements and trophies on social networks, or even to passively send status updates like ‘watching Netflix’ or what have you. But this is another level entirely.

Sony has a nice early start on the streaming layer for the holidays, and I think it’s going to be a big win for them. Microsoft’s Xbox One has a host of media-related features that outstrip Sony’s offering, and I’m enjoying both consoles. But when I play the Xbox One, I’m immediately missing the ability to just ‘pull’ people into my session to see what they have to say. Not having streaming ready to go on launch day has to irk them.

Now, Sony has roughly two months to capture the interests of gamers with its streams and the network effects of the social followers of those streamers. People are going to be seeing tons of these Twitch.tv links on Twitter and Facebook over their winter breaks of whatever sort, and they’re going to be intrigued. Clicking on them and seeing a human playing a fighter or shooter in real time is a compelling sales tool.

Beyond that, once both consoles have the capability, It will be interesting to see how fast and how far it spreads when it comes to other platforms. Twitch recently announced it had 45 million monthly viewers, and raised $20 million in a series C. That’s growth of roughly 10M viewers in 3 months and all of that was before the PS4 and eventually the Xbox One.

Game streaming is just getting on its feet, but the possibilities are strong.

Welcome to Engadget’s holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month.

Tablets are right up there with 3D-enabled 4K TVs in terms of gift appeal; no one can resist firing them up the moment they’ve been unwrapped. Maybe it’s their super-thin form factors; maybe it’s because they make great couch companions; or maybe it’s because they’re just plain fun. Whether it’s an Android, Windows 8.1 or iOS slate you’re shopping for, you’ll find suitable picks across all budgets below.

Filed under: Tablets, Apple, Samsung, Sony, Microsoft, Nokia, ASUS, Google

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