Xbox Addict

Major Nelson on the defensive: "Xbox One development wasn't rushed"

Microsoft’s Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has spoken out to defend the Xbox One against claims that its development was rushed to match the PlayStation 4.

"The Xbox One program has been in development for years, so calling it ’Rushed’ is incorrect," Hryb said. "Did we have a few challenges between May and August? Sure. But we are working on our own schedule--not anyone else’s."

"At Gamescom, every game in the Xbox booth was running on final Xbox One hardware. Every. Single. One," he added. "That would paint a very different take on the being ’rushed.’"

Separately, Microsoft chief product officer Marc Whitten told IGN that downloaded games will not be able to be pre-loaded prior to release, though he said the company will do "much more" in this area moving forward.

Steam allows players to pre-load certain games so users can begin playing immediately at 12:01 a.m. on the day of release.

Whitten also addressed the Xbox One working as a Windows Media Center Extender, saying the console "isn’t a native Media Center Extender." He added that Microsoft will "continue to work to enable more ways for everyone to get the television they want over the life of the program."

Currently, the Xbox 360 can be used as a Windows Media Center Extender, allowing users stream media from a PC to their console.

The Xbox One launches in November. Microsoft said recently at PAX that it believes the console is worth $100 more than the PlayStation 4.