If you have been following the reveal of Microsoft's next generation Xbox One console-then named Xbox 720/Infinity/Durango-here are three useful facts that you should know, as more news trickles in.

Looking back at the Xbox One reveal event, wherein Microsoft seemed to have gone into the TV and entertainment business rather than propel its already huge and thriving gamer base, it looks as though Microsoft will have a lot of groundwork for them to toil to get back in the game.

This time, it's an important note for current Xbox 360 gamers, who think that their controllers are still of some use despite leveling up to the Xbox One. Given the rearrangements and changes made to the Xbox 360 controller, which was released more than a decade ago in 2005.

Polygon reports that the Xbox One currently has a Guide button alongside 40 feature and design changes to the new controller. You can also expect a slimmer analogue stick, Wi-Fi Direct Radio Stack, precision pad, and integrated battery compartment.

The controller also offers high-speed data transfer and a locator for the wireless controller via the Kinect 2.0 feature, according to Escapist Magazine.

"Xbox One was designed from the ground up with entirely new technology to deliver a new generation of experiences for both games and entertainment," a Microsoft spokesperson said to Escapist Magazine.

"In order for Xbox One to deliver robust, meaningful gaming scenarios for all users across all experiences, only Xbox One controllers and accessories will work with the new console."

Internet connection needed, but not always

To clarify the always-online rumors even before the official announcement, Phil Harrison, a corporate vice president of Microsoft, has ironed out a few chinks that got some gamers confused about how the Xbox One really functions with regard to the Internet.

"No you don't always have to be connected," he said to GameSpot. "But the device is fundamentally designed to be expanded and extended by the Internet as many devices are today."

Perhaps this is similar to how syncing your smartphone with your laptop accounts, but Harrison adds that the necessity goes beyond mere additional nuance. When you may want to download content, be it gaming or entertainment, this is the time when Internet connection is needed-though it doesn't necessarily have to be always connected in the first place.

In fact, Harrison ends with the notion that there are points when the Xbox One can operate on its own, such as single-player games or already-downloaded content that you want to access. But overall, the need to connect it to the Internet for the full experience is there.

Microsoft to indies: Get a publisher

In the recent months leading to the reveal of Xbox One-and following Sony's PlayStation 4 reveal in February-there have been several indie games that proved AAA games are not the only ones worth the shot in gaming.

From Kickstarter campaigns to self-published titles, the indie game industry is thriving at its best, and looking to tap the next generation consoles at its lukewarm state. However, Microsoft has recently decided that indie titles must go through publishing deals with Microsoft or a third-party publisher.

"I would alos expect that for this new generation, that we're going to continue to explore new business models and new ways of surfacing content," said Matt Booth, general manager of Redmond game Studios and Platforms, to EuroGamer.

Does this propel Microsoft back to the integrated idea of an Xbox One as a living room centerpiece? While the idea is ideal in itself, it does screen out potentially great content for gamers.

Compared to Sony's PS4 push for more indie games for its next generation console, which is very ideal considering the trend in kick-starter games and independent initiative ideas, Microsoft seems to be shutting out an entire niche that could work well to its advantage.

Among the games that seem to have already voiced out at this announcement is Two Tribes and Just Add Water. No doubt more self-publishing studios would rather find their place in the Xbox One's competition, given all the seemingly major boo-boos that Microsoft is making one after the other.

RELATED STORIES