5549

I have both and pure horsepower aside, the XBO gets more use by virtue of being integrated with the TV and satellite box, and for the new DLNA support. Controlling the TV and DVR with voice alone is very cool (my mum thinks it’s witchcraft). I’ve been very impressed with Microsoft’s commitment to upgrading and expanding the dashboard, though you could argue that a lot of the work they’ve done since release has been “finishing off” and restoring functionality that was in the 360 and should have been there from the start. They’ve still put a lot more work into it than Sony.

In terms of games, as others have said exclusives will be a factor, but unless you put multiplats side-by-side you’re really not going to notice the difference during actual play.

5550

If it helps, here are the major exclusives for the x86 consoles. These lists are going to look somewhat short, as they exclude games that, while not being on the competing x86 console, are on PC, PS3, 360, or Vita, and therefore aren’t actually exclusive. It also excludes Japanese games that aren’t likely to leave Japan, such as Chaos;Child on Xbox One and Onechanbara Z2: Chaos on PS4. (I’m using the lists on Wikipedia, so I apologize for anything that might appear here that’s not actually exclusive; their lists seem to be good, but I didn’t investigate everything, and noticed inaccuracies like God Eater 2: Rage Burst appearing in the “full exclusive” category on PS4 despite also being on Vita.)

Xbox One:

Crackdown 3 (announced)
Crimson Dragon (available now)
D4 (available now)
Dance Central Spotlight (available now)
Fable Legends (announced)
Forza Motorsport 5 (available now)
Halo 5 (announced)
Killer Instinct (available now, and it sounds like Iron Galaxy has done good work on Season Two)
Phantom Dust (announced)
Powerstar Golf (available now)
Quantum Break (announced)
Raiden V (announced and possibly not exclusive, but we don’t have any details at this point beyond “Xbox One release”)
Scalebound (announced)
Sunset Overdrive (out soon and looking great!)

PS4:

Bloodborne (announced)
deep down (announced, and apparently stuck in development hell)
Disgaea 5 (announced, but you just know this is going to get a Vita port later on)
Driveclub (available now)
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture (announced)
Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force (announced)
Gran Turismo 7 (announced)
Hot Shots Golf (announced)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II (announced)
inFAMOUS: Second Son (available now)
Killzone: Shadow Fall (available now)
Knack (available now)
Let It Die (announced)
Omega Quintet (just came out in Japan, and though we have no details about a western release, it definitely looks like the sort of thing NIS America would pick up for localization)
Ratchet & Clank (announced, and I hope this has “The Movie: The Game” as its subtitle)
Resogun (available now)
Rime (announced)
Silent Hills (announced, and in the same situation as Raiden V above)
Tekken 7 (announced; the arcade hardware seems to be based on the PS4, but it might not be exclusive despite that, and we have no other details confirming either way)
The Order: 1886 (announced)
The Tomorrow Children (announced)
Uncharted 4 (announced)

While the Xbox One’s situation may look dire as presented here, note that four of its major “exclusives”—Titanfall, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Rise of the Tomb Raider—aren’t on this list because they exist for other non-Sony platforms, while the PS4 list includes multiple titles that might not actually be exclusive (and aren’t out yet, in any case). The rest of it comes down to Sony having strong internal development.

And, just for comparison, the Wii U, featuring far fewer titles with “Rise” or “Fall” in their names than PS4 or Xbox One:

Bayonetta 2 (available now)
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (out soon)
Devil’s Third (announced)
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (available now)
Game & Wario (available now)
Hyrule Warriors (available now)
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (announced)
LEGO City: Undercover (available now)
Mario Kart 8 (available now)
Mario Maker (announced)
Mario Party 10 (announced)
New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U (available now; I’m not giving NSLU its own line because it’s technically DLC, even though it got a standalone release and is pretty much another full-length game)
Nintendo Land (available now, and actually pretty cool)
Pikmin 3 (available now)
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem (announced)
Sonic: Lost World (available now)
Splatoon (announced)
Star Fox (announced)
Stealth Inc. 2 (announced, but man, the console versions’ title is so boring)
Super Mario 3D World (available now)
Super Smash Bros. (out soon, and while I’m hesitant to include it here due to the existence of the 3DS version, no other game in these lists is in quite the same situation as this one)
Tank! Tank! Tank! (available now, and I totally forgot this game exists)
The Legend of Zelda (announced)
The Wonderful 101 (available now, and absolutely amazing)
Wii Fit U (available now)
Wii Party U (available now)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (announced, but man, what a clunky title)
Yoshi’s Woolly World (announced)
ZombiU (available now)

Again, the numbers here mostly come down to strong internal development, as well as the Wii U coming out a year ahead of the other two platforms. There are also a few casual-focused titles there from when Nintendo was still trying to grab that audience.

Based solely on what’s available right now, I wouldn’t recommend an Xbox One or a PS4 at all yet. We’re nearly a year into both platforms’ life, and they’re barely putting up a dozen exclusives combined. Most of the major “exclusives” not listed here (and most third-party releases) are on or coming to PC and last-gen, even if they get delayed by a few months, and Sony in particular has had a hard time breaking out of this situation, thanks to their audience in Japan refusing to adopt new hardware without games (which is why most of the PS4 games announced at their pre-Tokyo Game Show event are also on PS3 and/or Vita). On the other hand, if you’re into anything Nintendo’s offering at this point, the Wii U has over a dozen exclusives available right now, and the hardware can be purchased for far cheaper than a PS4 or Xbox One.

5551

Say what you will about Kinect, but the voice integration with the One is wonderful. I’m playing Destiny and I get an invite appear? I just use my voice to join someone’s party instantly. I want to snap something my current party to the side? Just say it.

There’s something to be said about how the One runs games and apps simultaneously in basically VMs. I think they’re just scratching the surface with it. If they ever build in DVR functionality into the One (which they sort of have just done in Europe with that TV dongle), you basically have your default set top box replacement.

5552

Thanks everyone. greatly appreciated. How awesome is the QT3. If I were to ask these questions anywhere else, it would degrade into a trolling sony vs ms fanboy post. So thank you all. RickH thanks for the Eurogame info. WarpRattler thanks for the game list.

I don’t have cable or hulu. I do have Netflix. From what I’ve read, the blu-ray player on both systems still is not as good as the ps3 so most likely won’t be using it for that. I like my kinect but it sounds like not using it helps the game system preform better. Anyone experience that?

Xbox controller is still preferred and I love xbox live. That said, I have no experience with the sony online other than the jokes I hear that it’s not good.

What I’m concerned with most is the talk of games dropping to lower than 30fps and performance drops. Now I’m not sure if that will improve as game designers work more with the system or if that will become more of a problem as they try and push the system. Also I realize that most games on platforms will be designed so that no system is left behind. Any thoughts?

5553

Sunset Overdrive looks pretty nuts.

— Alan

5554

That’s not quite how this works. MS has come up with an update which allows developers to disable the camera and gesture recognition system to free up more resources for the game. But even if the developers go for that development mode, your Kinect still responds to voice commands (XBox record that, …), which is very neat. Simply unplugging your Kinect does nothing. It just means it’s not being used.

More info: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-17-how-the-xbox-one-gpu-reserve-unlock-actually-works

As for the XBox One, I love mine. I love that MS has been releasing significant updates to the OS regularly and that it gets better month after month. I find the voice commands great (especially since the One is a great media player) and I’ve been having a ton of fun playing the new Fantasia game using Kinect with my daughter this weekend. When I play alone, it’s less Kinect-y. I’m more into PvZ, Watch Dogs, Assassin’s Creed, Diablo III… And those admittedly could look / perform a bit better on the PS4. Not that I have ever felt how the game performed or looked was an issue on the One. Also, most of my friends are on XBox Live, which is a big factor for me.

So have a think about what you want from the consoles and what titles you are into. The exclusives above might be a good way to sway you. The PS4 certainly has some games I’d love to play. I just don’t feel that I need a second (3rd or 4th if you count last gen :) ) console at this point.

Wendelius

5555

The console will get a temporary $50 price cut in the US:

5556

That, and the good reviews of Sunset Overdrive and available bundle, means I’m going to finally pull the trigger.

5557

I’m very jealous of people getting that white Xbox1 model that comes with the Sunset Overdrive bundle. In my opinion that looks way better than the normal black version.

5558

If they can’t win an NPD month with this price drop and new game pack in like Sunset or Unity I don’t know what Microsoft does.

5559

It’s their only major exclusive this month right? November is going to be huge, but I think that’s the only big game they are getting. Oh and the retail release of Minecraft (which has been available online for a bit). There will be an AC:Unity pack as well.

— Alan

5560

My prediction is that $350 will be the new permanent price, but MS is calling it temporary so Sony doesn’t match it.

5561

I would seem silly for Microsoft to raise the price $50 right after the holidays.

5562

Yeah, I might finally bite the bullet on next-gen and pick up a One/Sunset Overdrive bundle. I’m not really sure why someone thought Jet Grind Radio needed guns, but sure, why not- that’s one of the only games I ever 100%'d. That and Phantom Dust remake/sequel are pushing me over the edge. I wonder when that one will come out, though.

5563

Well, Microsoft will have a Tomb Raider exclusive. If all else fails, that will be a huge console seller right there, as much as we gaming nerds (and PS4 owners) despise MS for it.

5564

I think they are calling it temporary for the added use it or lose it psychological effect.

5565

My wife wants AC Unity pretty badly. She’s been drooling over the previews. Xbox One for $50 less plus Unity, plus Black Flag? Might as well.

5566

So there’s a Sunset Overdrive X-box one bundle? Is it not available on Amazon currently because the game releases tomorrow? Not that I’m thinking of buying an Xbox One just to play Sunset Overdrive or anything.

5567

Good point. That too.

Either way, come January, I betcha they don’t raise the price back to $400.

5568

Yeah… may have to do that myself. Sunset Overdrive is really tempting.

On a side note, is there any bundle with Kinect that includes anything other than just Kinect? Otherwise it looks like the smartest buy would be the $350 AC bundle… but can I buy a Kinect seperately? (Kinect + Fantasia + my 3 year old sounds like it could be worthwhile)