Xbox One "does not target high-end graphics"

A Microsoft developer has effectively admitted the Xbox’s retreat from the console graphics war.

"We purposefully did not target the highest-end graphics,” GM of silicon development Greg Williams told Engadget, as spotted by CVG. We targeted more as a broad entertainment play and did it in an intelligent way.

"The people who are here have clearly done them before and we’ve done them within Microsoft before. But this is one of the more strategic plays and in terms of the overall product, that is a clear differentiator, and the [hardware IP] that we’ve developed here is truly unique."

The console will be powered by a custom Microsoft 8-core CPU.

As pointed out in MCV’s analysis of tonight’s event, what we have seen from Sony and Microsoft point to one platform holder targeting the core audience with high-end gaming tech and another targeting the living room with an all-round entertainment solution.