Microsoft announces Xbox One, next-gen living rooms coming later this year

Games are, of course, one area where this console will shine, and already we can show you three games where screenshots have been released to the media.

First is a new Forza title, Microsoft’s premiere racing game series.

Now in its fifth release, the new Forza shots all show off a McLaren speeding along, and wow, these images just look simply stunning.

Next up is a title from “Alan Wake” developers Remedy Entertainment, the same group responsible for Max Payne.

We don’t know much about this, sufficed to say it will have guns, bullets, and explosions, as well as a lobby scene of some form.

And then there’s one that was previously announced by Activision a few weeks ago.

The next Call of Duty game will be “Ghosts,” and while the teaser we saw told us that the game was coming, the screenshots revealed today for the Xbox 360 tell us that the graphics for this new CoD game will be good, very good.

More games will, of course, be coming, with a FIFA title already announced, as well as NBA, UFC, and Madden NFL games from Electronic Arts, while Halo will see its stories turned into a new Xbox One exclusive TV show worked on with Steven Spielberg.

One thing the Xbox One won’t have, however, is compatibility with older games from the Xbox 360. Similar to the PlayStation 3, backwards compatibility won’t be shared, and any game you own for the current Xbox version won’t be playable on the next one, which likely stems from how different the technology is between the consoles.

Microsoft is hoping you won’t want to spend too much time with those older games, though, and will be integrating live TV, application multitasking, Skype for Xbox, a video recorder for your games, more achievements, and a new version of Xbox SmartGlass so you can get into gaming and video with your mobile phone and tablet.

As for pricing, Microsoft hasn’t officially announced anything yet. EB Games in Australia has put up a preorders page with a ridonkulous expected price of $900, a value we doubt will be real, though in fairness, we won’t know until Microsoft shows off its release plans, which at this time are expected by the holiday season this year.