It’s time to play. Today is the 22nd and by far one of the busiest days of the year for product launches if you’re in the Microsoft ecosystem. We’ve got the Nokia Lumia 1520, Lumia 2520 and Xbox One all available today. The devices are impressive in their own categories, but we’re here to talk Xbox and play with you.
The Xbox One is more than just a hardware refresh. The team in Redmond has been working equally hard at software and features for the Xbox Live part of the experience. The new friends list is pretty cool and something we’ll be exploring in full depth later on. But it’s worth noting a few changes about how friends work on Xbox One.
100 vs. 1000
The biggest change is the number of friends you can have on Xbox One. On the Xbox 360 you were always limited to only 100 friends. Gamers found themselves needing to delete friends in order to add more, it was an overall mediocre experience. The Xbox One ups the ante by giving you room for 1000 friends, but an unlimited number of followers.
Friends vs. Followers
We just said you can have 1000 friends, but an infinite number of followers. What’s the difference? The Xbox One is a console born in a generation where social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram reign supreme. Xbox Live is stealing a few tricks from those places to stay relevant in a world where sharing rules.
Right now you can follow anyone you want on Xbox Live with the Xbox One, no questions asked. When you do that you’ll get access to things they make public. Things like game clips, recent activity and achievements can be viewed of those you follow.
So how do you become friends? When a person you’re following follows you back (or vice versa) you become friends. This unlocks more a more intimate relationship between the two of you. They become your friend and you’re limited to 1000 of them on the Xbox One. You’ll see things like what achievements they earn in real-time, when they’re online, and more.
Windows Phone Central on Xbox Live
We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible with our shiny new Xbox One. In the meantime, let’s become friends. Below you’ll find your favorite Windows Phone Central team members and their Gamertags.
- Daniel Rubino – “Malatesta77”
- Sam Sabri – “GeneralSham”
- Rich Edmonds – “RichEdmonds”
- Paul Acevedo –“EastX”
- Michael Archambault –“Marcham93”
- Abhishek Baxi –“baxiabhishek”
- Jay Bennett –“JayTBennett”
How do you add us? On your Windows Phone or Windows 8 device just load up the new SmartGlass for Xbox One app. Head to the friends section and search for us. You can then add us as a friend. Pretty easy right?
I can’t speak for the rest of the team, but you can follow me to get in on some action in games like Ryse, Forza, Battlefield 4, and Killer Instinct. That said, we want to connect with other members of the Windows Phone Central community –you!
In the comments below list your “gamertag” and what games you’ll be playing at launch and in the coming months. This way we can all connect. We’d love to party up sometime and get a few rounds of a game in. Going forward we might try and have “community” nights where we’ll pick a specific game and time where we all can connect.
See you online!
