Xbox One: Microsoft To Upgrade GPU, More Changes Coming To Hardware And Price?

The Xbox One's GPU is getting an upgrade, as Microsoft has decided to bump the Xbox One GPU's clock speed from 800MHz to 853MHz. Microsoft made the official announcement in a podcast hosted by Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, which you can listen to here. Skip to 24:00 to get to the portion of the podcast where the announcement was made.

Microsoft executive Marc Whitten joined the podcast at 19:57 to make the official announcement. When Hryb asked Whitten what the bump in GPU clock speed means for the Xbox One, he had this to say on the matter:

"It's just an example where we really get close to the final performance envelope of how the box works and really making sure we have a great product for our developers to build great games," Whitten said.

In the podcast, Whitten also stated that Microsoft "dropped" the Xbox One GPU after E3 2013, allowing them to tweak and fine tune the hardware to match their vision of the experience that they wanted the Xbox One to provide the gamer/user with.

What's interesting is that Microsoft is only starting to figure out hardware issues now. Meanwhile, Microsoft announced pricing ($499 for the base model) way back in May. One must wonder whether further hardware tweaks could come, and whether that could result in an Xbox One price change. After all, one financial analyst recently indicated that Microsoft is "working with channel partners to lessen the gap."

We're all for giving game developers as many tools to work with as possible, but Microsoft has a huge opportunity at Gamescom 2013 (Aug. 21 to 25) to wipe the slate clean and rework the Xbox One's public image. As a consumer, the fact that Microsoft is still messing around with the Xbox One hardware a few weeks before the event is cause for concern, and could effect the Xbox One's chances to hold its own against the PlayStation 4.

It's worth noting that the Xbox One now emulates in terms of used games and DRM policies, which was not the case when the console was first unveiled back in May. We hope Microsoft knows what they're doing, and isn't simply trying to play catch-up with Sony and the PS4.

What do you think of Microsoft upgrading the Xbox One's GPU? Does it matter to you at all? Why or why not? Have you pre-ordered the Xbox One? Why or why not? Do you prefer the PS4 or the Xbox One? Sound off in the comments below.