Xbox One = $499

Microsoft has announced the future of TV (though it can still play games for some reason) will arrive in November, costing $499 in the land of the freely surveilled.

In addition to the US price of $499 for a standard 500GB model including Kinect functionality, European gamers will face the games industry’s unswerving belief that the exchange rate is fixed at $1:€1, with an EU price of €499 ($660). UK buyers will face the even less favourable price point of £429 ($670).

Curiously, Japan was omitted entirely from the announced list of 21 launch countries, although Microsoft did say a Japanese release for its console is “planned” – presumably meaning the company will either delay the launch or quietly save itself the humiliation and not bother this time.

Although so vanishingly few Japanese gamers care about the Xbox as to make the lack of details a non-issue, the 33% price differential between US and Europe has infuriated many.

Microsoft also took the unexpected decision to actually show some Xbox One games at E3 instead of merely concentrating on TV and American football as previously – although most of the titles highlighted were in fact multiplatform, and the new flagship Halo title will only be released in 2014.

Its final exciting announcement was a slim edition of the Xbox 360 – a handy addition for anyone wanting to play their old 360 games as without any backwards compatibility they will be required to have both consoles on hand.