Microsoft may unlock an extra 8 per cent of graphical processing power to bring up gaming frame rates on the Xbox One. Currently Sony's PS4 is winning the spec war by offering 60 FPS gaming where the Xbox One is still managing only 30 FPS on some titles or offering a lower resolution in others.
According to Microsoft gaming insider Pete Dodd, Microsoft plans to unlock the GPU so that 10 per cent currently locked for the Kinect will be lowered to 2 per cent, freeing up 8 per cent for use by developers.
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At the moment 8 per cent of the GPU is dedicated to video and 2 per cent to voice processing for the Kinect. The 8 per cent should be enough to make significant improvements to games at the developmental stage. It should also require only a patch update. But while it still won't be as powerful as the PS4 we would expect more steady frame rates on a majority of titles like the constant 60 FPS the PS4 can offer.
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This could reveal two things about Microsoft. One, Kinect might not be as important as originally planned. And two, that the PS4's extra power is affecting sales when the Xbox One needs an extra edge.
But whether this 8 per cent boost will affect titles soon is another matter. Another reason PS4 could be running with fast frame rates is that its unified memory approach is easier for developers to work with. The Xbox One's SRAM could be proving difficult to utilise, but this is something that should be overcome as developers improve game creation techniques as they become more familiar with the console.