After the PS4 announcement famously didn’t reveal what the actual console would look like – just the controller – Microsoft have gone a step further by not only showing us what the Xbox One will look like, but also what the game cases will look like. Sure, there’s been a few concept PS4 game cases knocking about on the internet, but nothing official as of yet, and certainly nothing as stylish as this. Take that, Sony!
In his capacity as Director of Programming for Xbox Live, it’s safe to say that Larry Hryb is a man who has a lot of secrets. Not bad secrets, like affairs and hidden children, but good secrets, like what Xbox One game cases look like. He often makes various announcements via his WhoSay profile – he recently gave us a more in depth look at the Xbox One controller, and various behind the scenes bits and pieces – and he seems like a friendly and thoroughly nice chap, someone you wouldn’t mind blowing to pieces during an intense game of Borderlands. This latest announcement is not unexpected, or even really that important, but it’s fun to get an insight into what the practicalities of the console are.
But what of the case itself? Well, it’s much more sleek and modern than previous designs, resisting the urge to plaster features in the margins like the ugly “Xbox Live” we used to get on the top right-hand corner of every game. The OCD sufferers out there will no doubt be hoping that the range of colours will be kept to a minimum, as there’s nothing worse than an errant grey or black case to spoil a monochrome collection. Freaks.
They’ve simplified the style and opted for that lovely calming green, which will surely alleviate the astonishing torrents of fury that come during any multiplayer live session and allow gamers to reach their “happy place,” imagining themselves in a field, or a giant bowl of pea soup.
Are the Xbox One cases better or worse than their previous incarnations? If better, how so? If worse, why do you have to be so mean all the time?