Real names support, external storage and OneGuide coming to Xbox One in June

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Microsoft has announced details of what Xbox One gamers can expect next month – including Europe finally being able to make use of the much vaunted TV integration.

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So remember at E3 last year when Microsoft made a big show of how your Xbox One will have a built in TV guide, enabling you to change channel and set DVR recordings using Kinect voice commands? Six months after launch its finally coming to Europe – including the UK.

The “OneGuide” as its known will also work with the Xbox Smartglass app for tablets, enabling you set recordings when out and about too, which isn’t bad.

Smartglass will also be able to act as a universal remote – letting you change channel without using an actual remote.

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Another new development is the inclusion of real names – so you won’t have just a Gamertag to identify your friends by. Apparently this will come with a bunch of privacy options to choose who you share your actual name with, and real names won’t be used in games (only on the Xbox operating system), so there’s no risk of 13 year olds on voice chat being able to know the last name of your mother, as they make claims about her impropriety.

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And finally – Microsoft are enabling you to use up to two external hard disks plugged in simultaneously. This means that you can freely install as many games and download as much as you like without fear of running out of space. Microsoft also point out that it makes your data portable – you can take it to a friend’s house and plug into their Xbox, granting instant access (once your Xbox Live login has been entered) to all of the content without having to wait for it to download again.

We’re not entirely sure exactly when the update will hit – but rest assured that it will be “June”.

James O’Malley
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