Xbox One: Hands-on with Microsoft's new 'home entertainment system'

Microsoft has debuted its new Xbox One -  the company's first gaming console in eight years. Yahoo! News UK was in Redmond, Washington, for the launch. These are our first impressions:

Standing in front of Microsoft’s new Kinect controller, it’s clear that Xbox One has revolutionary technologies under the bonnet.

The Full HD motion sensor instantly recognises faces - and even whether people in front of it are happy, sad, or looking at the camera. Moving a hand in front of it can switch instantly from a game to television.

A microphone inside works with commands such as, 'Xbox, TV', which instantly turns the machine on to live TV channels. If it recognises your face, it will switch to the last show you watched.

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Switching between film and television is near-instant - just like changing channel. Microsoft hopes that the Kinect controller and a new focus on delivering television will help the console reach a bigger, more mainstream audience.

"Watching video on Xbox already exceeds the time spent on gaming in the US," says Nancy Tellem, a former CBS executive who now heads Xbox’s "It’s not just about games. On Xbox One, you experience TV in an entirely new way.

"The social aspect is key. With live events, you can chat to others via Skype in real time. In award shows, you can comment on what people are wearing. We have over 200 people focused solely on creating new ideas for interactive TV."

Microsoft’s new Xbox One will have alarmed not just console rivals such as Sony and Nintendo, but also technology companies such as Apple and Google.

[Yahoo! Games blog: Microsoft's new console]

Xbox One is aiming squarely for territory currently occupied by gadgets such as Apple TV - offering internet TV and cable in one box, connecting to other TV boxes via HDMI. Tellem says that the goal is to be a "one stop shop".

The company is now filming its own television shows, including a series based on hit game Halo, directed by Stephen Spielberg.

"I started playing Pong in 1974," Spielberg said in a video at the event. "I am interested in making something more interactive than the stories on the silver screen. The Halo universe is where technology and myth-making meet."

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Social features will show 'trending' shows - popular with all Xbox gamers - or direct users to shows that friends are watching.

"I think it’s impressive," says Daniel Jones, The Sun’s consumer Editor. "This leaves the PlayStation 4 in the shade. The integrated TV functions are vitally important in making Xbox One the centre of the living room - and will make it more appealing to the whole family."

[More from Yahoo! Movies: Spielberg to produce Halo series]

Microsoft demonstrators showing off the new console behind closed doors described Kinect as 'the eyes and ears of the living room'.

You say, 'Xbox on', and the machine recognises your voice and takes you to personal log-in screen, where the machine brings up the last film, TV show or game you were watching.

A menu at the top of the screen offers 'Trending' shows, games and films - from your Xbox friends and from other users around the world.

Saying 'Xbox go home' brings you back to the home menu. Saying, 'Xbox game' switches instantly to the last-played game.

Gestures such as grabbing two hands together take users straight back to the home screen - or you can reach out and 'grab', say a film on screen.

The camera on the remodeled Kinect system can also be used for Skype video calls - Skype is built into the console, and can be voice-controlled with commands such as 'Skype, answer call'.

Game demos were thinner on the ground, but Electronic Arts showed off sports titles such as Madden NFL and FIFA, promising players with 'human-like intelligence'.

Electronic Arts claims that the new console’s processing power will allow characters to make four times as many decisions per second.

EA’s new Ignite graphics engine offers 10 times more animation, depth and detail - demos looked stunning, with human characters looking particularly impressive, and impacts in American football game Madden NFL looking almost painful.

A demo of the upcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts showed off stunning graphics - and a vast improvement over previous Call of Duty games in a side-by-side comparison.

Behind-the-scenes footage showed off dogs wearing motion-capture suits as they leapt at actors - dogs being an addition to the player’s 'team' in the new game. The dog was modelled from high-resolution scan of an actual SEAL team dog.

No release date has been set for Microsoft’s new console - although retailers such as Game are already offering pre-orders.