Four reasons the Xbox One just got a lot more attractive

It may be time to take a second look at the Xbox One. (Photographer: Ron Wurzer/Bloomberg)

Microsoft really made its case to gamers from the stage at Gamescom, a major video game show in Germany, in a presentation that was also livestreamed over the Web on Tuesday. The company is trying woo players from Sony's PlayStation 4 and push Xbox 360 players to upgrade — and it offered up a few more good reasons to make the leap.

Windows 10 on Xbox: Cortana, Microsoft's personal assistant software, is coming to the Xbox. Sure, she was arguably already there in "Halo," but she hasn't yet shown up there in her new role more broadly. Now she will -- as long as you have a Kinect, that is — and will come equipped with ability to do things such as share an in-game clip straight to your Facebook page. (With proper permissions, of course.)

The console's whole software will also get a cosmetic upgrade this November, which should reflect the influence of Windows 10. Microsoft's getting pretty serious about this whole "One Microsoft" business. At least one title, "Bloodstained," will allow gamers on the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs to play together.

DVR capability: The Xbox One is also getting the ability to record live shows and then let you save them to playback later. The feature works with any television that you stream through the Xbox One. You'll also be able to control the DVR through the Xbox app on, you guessed it, Windows 10.

Microsoft had initially positioned the Xbox One as a broader media device, and this fits right into that original pitch. The DVR features are coming next year.

More information on backwards compatibility with the Xbox 360: Microsoft had already made a big splash at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June when it announced that it would make Xbox 360 games work with the Xbox One. The company offered a few more details on when that will happen — November — and how it will roll out.

Starting this fall, all the 360 games on "Games with Gold" — Microsoft's free game service for premium subscribers — will be Xbox One compatible. As previously announced, Microsoft said it would start with a library of 100 titles and expand from there.

And...oh, yeah. The games: Microsoft also announced more exclusives that will hit its console within the next year, including "Quantum Break," an action game in which players can freeze and control time, as well as a dragon adventure game called "Scalebound." Other major title announcements include a third installment to the "Crackdown" series, a second addition to the "Halo Wars" series, and a peek at a new "Killer Instinct."

Microsoft also showed off more of the racing game "Forza 6" and a new map for "Halo 5 Guardians."