2787

Good new everyone!
Micro Soft seems relaxing he rules for updates. Extended support for games will not more be onerous and his will probably allow multiplayer games to gain new maps to maintain communities active, so games stay on scene longer :-)

2788

Maybe i missed something, but what does this even mean?

You make it sound negative that sony isn’t trying to make the ps4 some idiotic multi function box, and is instead focusing on the strengths of video gaming consoles (being lean, mean gaming machines).

I’m a gamer. I buy a game console to play games. I have a media pc that does a much better job at being a media pc than an xbone will ever do. It has a cable tuner in it and can do DVR (which xbone also can’t do). I can’t see any way that the xbone adding useless bloat in order to squeeze media watchers for more money isn’t a huge negative.

Anyway, microsoft is pretty entrenched in the usa. If microsoft had made xbone the same price as ps4 and without the DRM debacle, they probably would have kept that place, even with the ps4’s hardware advantage.

I’m likely getting a ps4 at release, but even i can admit that the xbone exclusive launch lineup is a bit better. This is mostly because the launch lineup of exclusives on both sides is pretty terrible though. If the ps4 can take advantage of the better hardware and not having to worry about moron TV always running the background, multi platform games might as well be ps4 exclusives though, but that remains to be seen.

2789

Honestly, right now, I’d be more likely to get the Kinect Second-Generation devkit ($399 if you get into the program) than the Xbone, because the things I’d want to do with the Kinect have more to do with hacking and less to do with, you know, games. Especially since no one made a first generation Kinect game I really liked.

2790

I think you’re misreading my post. I’m not saying that at all. I’m calling out two things:

  1. Sony’s original intention was to have the PS4 as an integrated offering. They have decided against that - and for good reason. They saw strategic value in beating Microsoft on price. Good for them, good for consumers.

  2. BUT in making that choice, there are ramifications. It’s clear that Sony’s original intention was to have a multi-function offering. And I understand why they did. I see the value for gaming and other features. Again, Sony does this beautifully with the Vita; the extra features usually add to the gameplay. As for Microsoft, what I like most about Kinect is using the voice commands when watching TV. If every PS4 had come bundled with a camera, developers would have used it - not for everything, but for some things. But now developers can no longer assume a camera is part of every system, nor can Sony itself for that matter. And that means some innovations that developers will build into Xbox One games and the Xbox One system won’t make it into the PS4.

Personally, this comes down to preference. Some people would rather pay $100 less and get a PS4 because all they care about is the core gaming experience, full stop. That appears to be the case with you. But one size does not fit all.

2791

Xbones extra features might as well been raindbows and unicorns. They couldn’t even explain things like family sharing… which sounds like just a way to demo a game, or at least an earlier version of it. I don’t think the consoles were ever going to be some innovative drivers of anything but maybe games. It’s not even a good media replacement, no tuner, no DVR, no cablecard… there are devices that stream for cheaper that are smaller and quieter. And guess, what, if the offering is good enough, people will buy a 60 dollar accessory and run with it. You don’t have to force things on people that people want… but you do have to market it better than MS seems capable of doing.

2792

The fact that every Xbox owner has Kinect is no more helpful for developers than before, since the actual dev target is “PS4 and XboxOne”. Just about half of your players are still guaranteed not to have it. The only way this wouldn’t apply is if the XBone completely marginalized the PS4 in sales (think Gamecube), while the buzz right now suggests that, if anything, the opposite will be true.

Having motion controls be only available on the XBox means that enhanced Kinect Functionality is still in exactly the same place as WiiU Gamepad-screen functionality or PS3 Sixaxis controls. You either develop around it (1st party exclusives), or you ignore it and shoehorn it in to meet publisher requirements.

2793

This is what it comes down to:

The PS4 is a state-of-the art gaming machine. It let’s you:

  1. play next generation games + Sony exclusive titles like Infamous, Killzone, The Order 1886, Knack and Oddworld
  2. the table steaks for consoles today (blu-rays, netflix, achievements, play while downloading, etc.) +
  3. it has extra features the Xbox One doesn’t have:
    a) touchpad on the controller;
    b) streaming to a Vita
    c) the ability to purchase and play some titles from the PS3 library via streaming
  1. play games online with your friends if you pay a monthly fee.

The Xbox One is a state-of-the-art gaming machine. It let’s you:

  1. play next generation games + Xbox exclusives like Halo, Titanfall, Forza Motorsport 5, Crackdown, Dead Rising 3
  2. the table steaks for consoles today (blu-rays, netflix, achievements, play while downloading, etc) +
  3. it has extra features that the PS4 doesn’t:
    a) voice and gesture controls for both games and entertainment
    b) the smart glass experience
    c) the ability to watch live TV through your console without switching inputs
    d) the ability to instantly switch between games, movies, music, apps and live TV
    e) the ability to run two apps at once
    f) a heavier investment in cloud powered gaming
    g) impulse triggers on the controller
    h) the ability to chat with friends and family with webcam since every console comes with Kinect
  4. let’s you play games online with your friends for a monthly fee

IF you don’t care about the extra features the Xbox One offers or the exclusives found on Xbox One, then you should definitely buy a PS4.
IF you find the extra features appealing and/or the exclusives to the Xbox One, you need to decide what matters more to you - saving $100 by buying a PS4 or paying $100 extra and getting an Xbox One with these exclusives and extra features.

There are no right or wrong answers. But post DRM decision, this is basically the choice gamers face: $100 in savings versus extra features/exclusives.

2794

Really? The original Kinect was such an utter failure at my house I can’t see any value in the proposition.

But then, I guess I should have remembered The Microsoft Rule: Nothing works as promised until the second or third iteration.

2795

You forget that Betamax tapes weren’t able to hold longer feature films on a single cassette. VHS’s storage length advantage was one of the most prominent differentiatiors that I recall from that era.

2796

You forget the Netflix service-change uproar and EA’s decision to abandon the Online Pass/Project $10 and Bioware’s ME3 “fix.” This is the age of internet rage, and companies feel the heat more quickly than ever.

None of these companies experienced a magic restoration of consumer trust after fixing their missteps.

2797

EA dropped the online pass because they thought both MS and Sony were going always-online. It was not due to consumer complaints.

Netflix completely recovered from its bonehead move, as did Bioware.

2798

That is indeed true. The “good enough” product often prevails in the marketplace, especially if they have the advantage of price and entering the market quickly enough.

2799

How mean of you to call Peter Moore a complete liar.

Netflix didn’t get its mojo back right away, it took time and effort. MS will have to win people back as well, merely reversing your stupid idea doesn’t get you back to where you were before.

Regaring Bioware, there is zero evidence that I am aware of regarding their esteem in gamers’ minds. Do you have something?

2800

Not sure why this keeps coming up. Tech specs matter very little these days, since most games are cross-platform and written to the lowest common denominator. Current-gen X360 games tend to look/play a bit better than PS3 games. That trend will be reversed in the next generation, with PS4 games coming out on top. But that difference, by and large, will not be particularly notable.

Pick your console based on exclusives, price, and features. Not tech specs.

Edit: Yes, I am saying Peter Moore is a complete liar. And yes, of course it takes time and work to recover. Nobody cares about the Bioware thing any more, it’s become a circular referential in-joke.

2801

EA is recovering from some of their bullshit, personally. I bought my first Ea title in years, turns out $5 is cheap enough to put up with their shit. (though I’m done already, bf3 is a mess to come into late and the webpage being the server browser is annoying enough to never play again) I will buy an xbox ONE for $5 as well.

2802

This. Very much, this.

2803

And standard 2.5 inch HDDs. Compare to Xbox where every single peripheral is increasingly proprietary.

Also, on the topic of what each box will be other than higher resolution versions of previous consoles, I’d be surprised if the Oculus Rift (as one example) doesn’t get any support on the PS4, given the PS3’s much more openness to things like Steam and optionally playing with keyboard & mice:

Whereas I’d peg the chances of seeing a non-Microsoft device like that being supported on the Xbox One at very near 0%.

2804

Doesnt work for me, my ps3 has barely been used because of inferior ports and no MP (no friends really bought MP games for theirs, but all will be ps4 this coming gen). Slightly or not, I want the better versions. I do agree for most people you are right but it does make a huge difference to me, my experience as a ps3 owner makes me sure the ONE would give me buyers regret just as much as the ps3 did this gen. I’d have been better off waiting for Dark Souls PC/360, skipping Demon’s Souls, and borrowing a ps3 for a weekend for Last of Us.

2805

Mmmmmmm…table steaks.

2806

You may be right. Guess which platforms EA is planning to expand Origin to?