New Xbox will support 3D gaming and ultra-high definition video

Although both technologies are still in their nascent stages, Microsoft is taking steps to ensure its latest console is ready when they are to enter the mainstream

There are currently no ultra-high definition video games on the market -- studios are still struggling to make their titles in full HD -- but that hasn't deterred Microsoft from building in support for the format into its next-generation Xbox.

Ultra-high definition, or UHD, offers four times the pixel density of standard HD and the first TV sets that support the standard are only just rolling off the production line. There is still very little native content available for those TVs, but analysts and experts alike believe that before the end of the decade, the technology will have gone mainstream. At the Xbox One's launch event on May 21, Microsoft did reveal that the console would be able to work with the format, but until now, its support for 3D visuals has been a secret.

On Wednesday, Xbox spokesman and prolific blogger Larry Hryb chose a Yahoo chat session to announce that the Xbox One is also 3D compatible. In the same sesson, Hryb, who is also known as Major Nelson, stated that the new device doesn't have to be left on and connected to the internet permanently, though it will require an internet connection to work, and said that the XBox Live portal will be rolling out to more countries this year so that more gamers can access apps and videos and compete in multi-player games and special competitions.

More surprises are expected at E3 2013 on June 11, when Microsoft will present the console to the wider gaming community. But for now, potential customers can rest assured that Microsoft is doing everything it can to future-proof the latest Xbox so that it will still be relevant and in daily use 10 years from now, rather than gathering dust on a shelf.