Christmas time and time to buy a console...which one?

Games
41

Well no, I don’t expect to change your mind or you to change mine, we’ve already made our decisions. But this hypothetical newb that isn’t familiar with much on these consoles, that’s different.

Is this hypothetical person interested in Japanese RPGs or quirky rogue-likes? I guess it’s possible, I’d be surprised, but hey. And you can tell me that Uncharted and Horizon have their unique charms, but they still look like Tomb Raider and Witcher to me. If I already owned a PS4 I’m sure I’d want to try them, but that’s not the discussion, we’re talking what would this person who doesn’t play consoles find persuasive? And the answer to that is always going to be, that depends. So why not consider all the options? I would want to, if it were me.

42

You keep saying how you’re not in the business of selling consoles, but we already established your gamer friends work at Microsoft and you seem awfully interested in creating some kind of everything is equal narrative that obviously doesn’t exist.

So maybe you’re not consciously trying to sell Xboxes, but it sure seems like it with every follow up post.

43

There’s about 40% more games available on the PS4 than Xbox One. If you can’t find something to like in that large of a gap you probably aren’t trying.

PS4 will also be $199 on Black Friday everywhere. It will have twice the HDD space as the Xbox One S going for $189. For anyone who has a PC that can play games it’s easily the better recommendation since all Xbox games are coming to Windows, whilst many, many Sony exclusives never will outside of PlayStation Now streaming.

44

I’m pretty sure this hasn’t progressed beyond a Phil fever dream, and that was before he got promoted.

Oh, you probably mean new Play Anywhere games.

45

All is an overstatement, but most is pretty accurate.

46

Ha ha! Dave has outed my sinister plan! I think things are (oh my god) pretty equal between the two systems!

47

What would you think if we had a discussion like this?

Me: I just can’t believe that people think the Xbox One backwards compatibility story is so much better than that of PS4.
You: Uhh… The Xbox actually has meaningful backwards compatibility, the PS4 doesn’t.
Me: Yeah, whatever. It’s just games. Who cares if you can play Halo 3 or something. If you want a good first person sci-fi shooter there’s always that one Killzone game on the PS4.
You: Uh… No, you can’t substitute Killzone for Halo 3. People actually want to play specific games.
Me: Look, all I’m saying is that we should consider all options. Is that really so unreasonable?

That’d be absurd. And it’s basically the inverse of what this discussion has felt like to me.

48

That would be a really weird thing for me to say. I have no idea what Killzone is like. I assume there are people out there who prefer Killzone to Halo. I would be surprised if anyone coming into this generation cold would have much of an opinion on the matter though.

If you were to say to me though, I don’t really need Halo because I’ve totally got Titanfall and Call of Duty and (your favorite FPS here) then I would have to say, good point. Those are great games. Also available on any number of platforms but hey, whatever works for you.

49

So you really think we should take backwards compatibility off the table as a Xbox selling point? After all it just lets you play games, and there’s always other games one could play instead.

Fair enough, I guess. But it’s a bit of a shame, Microsoft had been doing such a great job with that.

50

If I were choosing a console to recommend to someone who’s never played a console before? Yeah, I’d probably take the Xbox One’s back compat off the table. I personally love it, but I’m an outlier who loves to play old gross-looking video games. Would Joe Six Pack feel the same way? I have my doubts.

52

That’s the part that makes me consider a Switch. The games are more likely to be different than what I’d get on the PC. If they were the same price I think it would be a tougher call.

53

I am taking a look at getting into a console for the first time, well since the PS 2. Right now, I leaning towards the xbox. I like the idea of getting older games for it down the road. I also like the idea of getting games on the xbox and being able to play them on my PC ( the play anywhere titles). The Xbox is Skype capable and now works with a large selection of webcams, and this is important because I Skype with my parents every week.

Finally I have 2 small children, and I think getting them into minecraft on the Xbox would be better.

By the way, does the PS 4 have a Blu Ray player?

54

Enidigm’s ultrabrutal tactical climax summary of the Game Consoles of Christmas 2017, also known as “what happens when he drinks coffee at midnight.”

Apple TV: the console nobody wanted $179 (32gb) / $199 (64gb)

Pros:
Most streaming apps available by far.
By far cheapest cost per game of modern consoles
Many games available from crossplay with iOS apps.
By far the most educational games of any platform for TVs.
Streaming iTunes movies in 4k HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
By far most power efficient around 3w draw in use, 6-7w draw only in 4k HDR mode, ~0.2w idle.

Cons:
Most games are second or third rate games that are unsatisfying to core gamers.
Many ‘real’ games all but require a separate controller ~$40 per quality 3rd party.
Apple TV remote is horrible in every way.
Youtube 4K streaming blocked by Apple/Google spat.
Amazon Video app unavailable because of Apple/Amazon spat.
Smart TVs increasing capabilities making separate streaming box redundant for most.

Thoughts: The Apple TV is an unconventional console, but that’s what makes it appealing. It’s a streaming box that can play games rather than a game console that streams. Games are likely to be unsatisfying for someone looking for core gaming, but there are actually quite a few decent little ‘gems’ for casual gaming on the cheap and on the fly. Long term costs make this more affordable; up front cost is harder to accept. Only option here that streams in Dolby Vision 4K HDR, if that’s important to you.

Nintendo Switch: The Gameboy that grew up ($300 naked, no games, a few different color varieties).

Pros:
Can ‘switch’ between a portable and a set box console.
Many well regarded first-party Nintendo games only available here.
On the upswing in popularity and developer interest; many core games being ported to it.
Only way to make lots of core games portable, such as Skyrim, Mario, Zelda, DOOM, ect.
Locked down console, very kid safe.
Relatively power efficient docked (11w).
Instant on/off, no need for saving, startup/shutdown.
Cute as a button.

Cons:
Locked down means worst streaming console by far. No Youtube or Netflix apps.
Expensive accessories can in sum equal or exceed in cost even the most expensive consoles today (extra joy-cons, pro joy cons, extra docks, carrying cases and screen protectors, memory cards, ect).
Games tend to be proportionately more expensive than other platforms.
Least edible cartridges ever.
Proportionately underpowered if used as an always-docked console.
Controllers arguably the least comfortable for adults.
May sell out again before Christmas.

Thoughts: The Switch doesn’t make sense if you intend to use it for core game ports like DOOM and also keep it docked 24/7. It has no streaming capabilities at all, the battery life is inferior to tablets. It has unique games and a unique feel, unlike anything else right now, with ‘games-for-all-ages’ like Zelda. You sort of already know if you’re the market for this or not. The most pure gaming experience.

PS4/PS4 Pro: The Standard of Gaming ($300 for PS4 (likely to be on sale) / $400 PS4 Pro)

Pros:
Most core games available today, large back catalog.
1080p Blu ray player built in.
Can stream most common video apps like Amazon, Youtube, Hulu, ect.
Pro can stream many movies and apps in 4K.
Pro can super-sample new games on 1080p TVs with 4k virtual resolution (essentially anti-aliasing).
Pro can run older games that have not been upgraded ~10% faster.
Has largest catalog of successful and well regarded first party franchise games currently, like Uncharted, Last of Us, Horizon, The Show, Little Big Planet and some smaller downloadable games like Bound and Sound Shapes.
Playstation Vue service for pay-as-you-go streaming TV.
Can easily stream games to Twitch or save videos to local disk.
Best support - and only support - for VR console gaming, with large catalog of VR games.
Decent support for indie gaming.
Pro around 2x faster graphics than vanilla.
Playstation Plus offers free games every month which you keep forever as long as you have subscription.
Remote Play lets you play your games remotely from PC, Mac or Android.

Cons:
Not backward compatible with PS3 games.
Blu-ray player not 4K.
Cost difference between old and Pro not proportionate to value.
4K HDR games require significant upgrade to home theater to receive full value of feature.
Plus games must be ‘purchased’ to fulfill them, or you lose opportunity to get them. Unsubscribing loses access to all your Plus content.
Current era of console gaming is starting to feel old and busted (games all seem the same).
Playstation Vue sports games still subject to local blackouts.
Higher power idle and sleep mode power consumption. (70w-80w idle or streaming, 50w sleep, +100w gaming for vanilla, ~150w for HDR Pro).
Creepy pedobear jrpgs more common on this platform.
Must buy Plus subscription for online multiplayer.
Pro less powerful by ~50% than new Xbox X.
Playstation Now offers pay-to-play game streaming, a strange service for cost.

Thoughts:
With the most well regarded exclusives, the PS4 family is in many ways the default console today. Games may or may not be your cup of tea. Coming into this with no previous investment in Sony games you may be better off with Xbox X. However, Sony is still only game in town for plug-n-play consumer VR. Probably more features than you will use (streaming, VR, remote play, TV, film rental/purchase, ect).

Xbox One S, Xbox One X The 4K breakfast of champions (~$250 for -S w/one game, $500 for naked -X)

Pros:
Both models offer 4K HDR10 blu-ray players, making the S arguably the best deal of any console today if you’re in the market for a blu-ray 4K player and also just want some games, which usually run +$200 just for a player.
Streaming most common and popular apps today.
X is significantly more powerful than PS4 Pro.
Microsoft Play Anywhere digital purchases have cross ownership and play on Xbox and Windows 10.
Generally regarded as having best controllers.
Arguably better app selection.
Backward compatible with many older games, which are also receiving resolution updates.
Price competitively for performance.
Power consumption similar to PS4s.
Built in streaming.

Cons:
Xbox X too new to make predictions about actually making use of performance lead.
Xbox One S slower than base PS4; many games do not run at 1080p.
Creepy avatar… things.
4k HDR currently borked as of last update; fix should be soon.

Thoughts:
Xbox S best value blu-ray 4K HDR player. X model most powerful console of this generation.

55

I was confronted with this console dilemma but found that a SteamLink has scratched my itch. All of my WiiU controllers work with it and there’s a ton of stuff in my Steam backlog that’s controller friendly.

56

Thank you, that does clear it up.

57

FYI, Hulu is available on the Switch now. It does have some streaming and more will likely show up later.

Also, how do you get “proportionately more expensive games” than other platforms? It’s $60 for boxed product, same as other consoles/PC. Indie games carry the same price on Switch as they do on other platforms too except for the PC where you often have more sales and giveaways.

58

It’s the dumb mentality that games are “more expensive” if they aren’t down to 50% or less of their base price three months after release.

(Never mind the bit where all the actually expensive games are coming out on every platform except the Nintendo ones, what with everything else being built around microtransactions these days, even the single-player games…)

59

This got a laugh out of me.

60

I’m thankful that at least we don’t have any aggressive Apple TV fanboys on here.

61

I had no idea until Enidigm’s post that there was a fourth game console in the market.