CIARA O’BRIEN

Microsoft has unveiled the next generation of its Xbox games console, pinning its hopes on the Xbox One.

With an improved Kinect motion sensor, the ability to interact with TV and voice and gesture controls, the new console will go head to head with Sony’s PlayStation 4 later this year.

The new Xbox will have similar technical capabilities to its rival, with 8GB of memory and vastly improved graphics.

Head of Microsoft’s games division Don Mattrick described the new console as the “ultimate all-in-one entertainment system”, and promised it would bring simplicity to the living room.

The new console adds a BluRay drive to the device, and also allows users to have their own personaliseed profiles, activated by simply telling the Xbox to tu rn on.

Microsoft is also counting on its “intelligent TV” proposition to put it at the head of the market, linking up with the NFL to offer more interactive TV and creating its own voice controlled programme guide.

With the games market worth an estimated $65 billion a year, the stakes are high. Microsoft is of the three games companies to unveil the next generation console; Sony revealed Playstation 4 at an event in February, and the Wii U is already on sale.

It’s current console, the Xbox 360, went on sale in 2005, and has sold more than 77 million units.

The company is also trying to tap into the popularity of the mobile device market, allowing tighter integration with tablets and smartphones.

Microsoft is set to unveil its games plans for Xbox One at the upcoming E3 conference.