It has been feted as the ultimate electronic game system amid promises that household televisions will become more intelligent.

Microsoft has launched its next-generation video games console, the eagerly-awaited Xbox One, in an event streamed around the world from its headquarters in Washington state

The launch featured a video link from film producer Steven Spielberg.

However, enthusiasts for its predecessor, the XBox360, have learned they will not be able to play their games on the new machine.

The electronics giant said the new voice and motion-controlled device was an "all-in-one system" for games, live television, films and music.

A spokesman later said games from the old XBox cannot be used because of the "different architecture" of the new console.

Don Mattrick, president of interactive entertain-ment at Microsoft, said: "We put you at the centre of a new generation in the living room, where your games look and feel like nothing else, where your TV becomes more intelligent, where all of your entertainment comes alive in one place."

Hopes are high the sleek black console, with a new Kinect camera sensor and game pad, will follow the Xbox360 which sold a reported 77 million consoles worldwide.

The new machine, released later this year, will see Microsoft add a blu-ray drive to its console and the use of video-calling service Skype.