How will you choose between MS & Sony's new consoles?

C14N

_Puma_ wrote: »

likely put in place to satisfy their publishing "partners" (Starts with an E and ends with an A)

Electronic Arse :pac:

gizmo wrote: »

As for Valve, they don't need to sign those kinds of deals, they already have content creators agreeing to them taking a ~30% cut from every sale on Steam despite the fact that the PC is an open platform where you don't need a publisher. :pac:

Well in all fairness, getting to the front page of Steam is a hell of a lot more marketing than most of them would even know how to do on their own. Obviously they could make a website and host it there and maybe get lucky (it sometimes happens) but for the most part, putting it on Steam is a good way to get a mainstream audience.

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Maybe MS will be completely evil and demand retail price for the second activation of the license - but from what Phil Harrison (i think that was his name) said yesterday, that isn't the case. The 'fee' being spoken of was someone wanting to new license for a game already licensed to another console/account - so 2 licenses active for one disc; this makes sense and seems fair enough to me.

I got the impression that if you want to activate it for a second account on a separate console, you have to pay full price again, regardless of whether you've "traded in" your original code.

I found a somewhat amusing line in that article though:

Phile Harrison on the whole issue:

"Our goal is to make it really customer-centric, really simple and really understandable..."

Really, it's kind of pointless to debate. We'll find out either way soon enough.

Pushtrak

C14N wrote: »

Electronic Enormous Arse :pac:

FYP.

bennyc

I built a PC last year and never looked back , my XBox live will only be renewed for Sky Player as I use the old mans sub for Sports :-)

circadian

bennyc wrote: »

I built a PC last year and never looked back , my XBox live will only be renewed for Sky Player as I use the old mans sub for Sports :-)

You could just use the sky website on your pc??

Sorted!

Calhoun

Good discussion, the posts since the announcement of the xbox one are interesting but i wonder how many people are really surprised? You only have to look at where microsoft are going with windows 8 and the "app" approach to programs, trying to control programs people are making for their OS.

Why would the gaming console be any different, in actual fact its probably where they got a love for the concept of a walled garden as they saw people would willingly pay for an online service like xbox live. Having 100% control over your own market place equals big bucks that they know they will make if the current generation of xbox live folks move over to this new console.

So the questions about next gen content really are, 1. Is an always on service really that bad for what you pay for?, 2. If yes how many will really stand by their convictions and not buy it? I do really wonder if they would try this knowing they would lose business or is the writing on the wall and they know people will buy.

Pushtrak

Calhoun wrote: »

So the questions about next gen content really are, 1. Is an always on service really that bad for what you pay for?, 2. If yes how many will really stand by their convictions and not buy it? I do really wonder if they would try this knowing they would lose business or is the writing on the wall and they know people will buy.

It's a heavy disincentive from buying to me. Is it game over for the One? Well, no, not absolutely. They have, though, raised the barrier to impress me a great deal. If those are the terms of having the console, and I know there'll be times during the life cycle I'll not be able to play, then they will have to have spectacular games that I really don't want to miss.

A console to me is worth a purchase when it has sufficient games to justify the purchase. They've just put a significant weight in favour of abstaining from the purchase, so they have their work cut out for them from my perspective in making the purchase warranted.

NTMK

Calhoun wrote: »

So the questions about next gen content really are, 1. Is an always on service really that bad for what you pay for?, 2. If yes how many will really stand by their convictions and not buy it? I do really wonder if they would try this knowing they would lose business or is the writing on the wall and they know people will buy.

Yep always online is a terrible idea atm because Broadband is far from good enough in most countries not to cut out large demographics

I wont be buying the thing after owning the previous 2 xboxes and will switch to wii U/PS4 as my secondary system

The problem with boycotting/avoid something is usually their are few alternatives the Xbox one has at least 3 competitors

and MS are sadly stupid enough to sell something that will hurt their consumer base. Win 8 is a primary example of this. they'll fix it but may lose out to sony in the Christmas launch battle

brijay

I'll decide after E3

Thecageyone

brijay wrote: »

I'll decide after E3

Same here.

Icyseanfitz

A day later and I'm still shocked at what I witnessed bloody idiots

Captain Chaos

I'm waiting for E3 to see the games for each and the online service details. Right now Sony have my attention more than MS. What will be interesting for me is what Sony will do with the free PSN plus games and will this model carry over to PS4. Will they offer free PS4 games or discounted digital downloads from the start seeing as all the PS3 content will not work on PS4.

Right now though, PS4 is day one for me and the X1 is a maybe, wait and see down the road option. Opposite to what I did this gen where I got a 360 day one and was very happy compared to the PS3s slow start even though I got it as the Phats were being phased out.

MS have alot of work to do at E3 to cater for the gamer market, Sony could walk this if they keep pushing Kinect and US TV services.

C14N

Regarding backward compatibility, was anyone really surprised at all that it's not a feature on the PS4/Xbox One? Neither of the current gen iterations properly support it (some Xbox games worked and very particular versions of the PS3 will play PS2 games but for most people it's not happening).

The only console that did support it this gen was the Wii. Even then, and I'm saying this as someone who had ONLY a Gamecube at the time and plenty of games on the GC, I can honestly count on one hand the number of times I've used the feature.

That said, I don't know why they're so afraid of including it. They've really got nothing to lose from it and it might help swing a few over in the early stages of sales when those consoles still have new games.

Pushtrak

C14N wrote: »

Regarding backward compatibility, was anyone really surprised at all that it's not a feature on the PS4/Xbox One?

Nope. I'm not really all that knowledgeable of tech specs, but it didn't seem like it would be easy to get backwards compatible going for either one for ages.

That said, I don't know why they're so afraid of including it. They've really got nothing to lose from it and it might help swing a few over in the early stages of sales when those consoles still have new games.

If either one was to do it, it would require software emulation which, by extension would mean a lot of work. Yes, it could be an incentive for some to make the switch, but I don't think from the business end they don't see it that way for the bottom

I think they would see it more as a cost than a gain. The work of putting people on that instead of other things is time + money. And honestly, limited gains. i'll be hanging on to the previous gen consoles anyway. Well, as long as they don't kick the bucket.

C14N

Pushtrak wrote: »

Nope. I'm not really all that knowledgeable of tech specs, but it didn't seem like it would be easy to get backwards compatible going for either one for ages.

If either one was to do it, it would require software emulation which, by extension would mean a lot of work. Yes, it could be an incentive for some to make the switch, but I don't think from the business end they don't see it that way for the bottom

I think they would see it more as a cost than a gain. The work of putting people on that instead of other things is time + money. And honestly, limited gains. i'll be hanging on to the previous gen consoles anyway. Well, as long as they don't kick the bucket.

Ah, didn't realise it was so difficult to do. I just assumed they deliberately locked it out (like with region locking).

Moon54

I've just figured out what Sony's PS4 & Valve's Steam Box have to do to succeed at E3, and win the console wars.....

They just have to say the exact opposite to whatever MS said at their launch.
... And not say 'TV' so often.

Pushtrak

C14N wrote: »

Ah, didn't realise it was so difficult to do. I just assumed they deliberately locked it out (like with region locking).

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6972/xbox-one-hardware-compared-to-playstation-4/2
A little more on that...

The move away from PowerPC to 64-bit x86 cores means the One breaks backwards compatibility with all Xbox 360 titles. Microsoft won’t be pursuing any sort of a backwards compatibility strategy, although if a game developer wanted to it could port an older title to the new console. Interestingly enough, the first Xbox was also an x86 design - from a hardware/ISA standpoint the new Xbox One is backwards compatible with its grandfather, although Microsoft would have to enable that as a feature in software - something that’s quite unlikely.

Captain Chaos

And with the PS its harder again with the Cell in the PS3. They removed PS2 emulation from the PS3 after the 60Gb fat was discontinued to reduce costs. For the PS4 it would be a nightmare for it to run PS2 and PS3 games. But the PS3 could and can play PS1 games fine. If they could find away to stream the games from the Gakai servers in the future it may be possible to play these games again but would require a constant connection. Maybe Microsoft could do something similar with it's cloud.

Mr.Saturn

Considering we're firmly in an age where virtually all extra trinkets come at a premium, I'm somewhat amazed no one's offered backwards-compatibility at a stiff mark-up.

It'd make sense, I guess: you can get the standard model for a given price, or a B/C one with a heavier price-tag.

grizzly

Captain Chaos wrote: »

and the X1 is a maybe.

What's that?

Captain Chaos

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Considering we're firmly in an age where virtually all extra trinkets come at a premium, I'm somewhat amazed no one's offered backwards-compatibility at a stiff mark-up.

It'd make sense, I guess: you can get the standard model for a given price, or a B/C one with a heavier price-tag.

There is just to much work, time and effort required to even justify making a new limited line at a heavy mark up price point. There is no economy of scale there.

Game streaming like On Live is where BC gaming is going.

Captain Chaos

grizzly wrote: »

What's that?

Xbox One short hand. Some gaming sites have already adopted it.

COYVB

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Xbox One short hand. Some gaming sites have already adopted it.

XBO is the industry standard term from what I've been seeing today (including press releases and circulars from publishers)

AlmightyCushion

Is it just me that thinks XBox One sounds like it should be the US president's gamertag.

titan18

In regards always on and internet access, my summer internet access tends to be mainly a dongle from Vodafone. So, a console that I would not be able to use for 2 or 3 months of the year isn't really happening for me. I can use steam offline on my laptop when I'm away from home and my desktop just fine. No interest in paying for something I can't use.

CastorTroy

So with ask the criticisms against the X1, what positives did you take away from it?

Sofiztikated

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Xbox One short hand. Some gaming sites have already adopted it.

COYVB wrote: »

XBO is the industry standard term from what I've been seeing today (including press releases and circulars from publishers)

I've seen XOne is more than a few places today as well.

COYVB

titan18 wrote: »

In regards always on and internet access, my summer internet access tends to be mainly a dongle from Vodafone. So, a console that I would not be able to use for 2 or 3 months of the year isn't really happening for me. I can use steam offline on my laptop when I'm away from home and my desktop just fine. No interest in paying for something I can't use.

it only needs to call home, create a wireless hotspot with your phone and connect it to that to do the check in, then disconnect

COYVB

CastorTroy wrote: »

So with ask the criticisms against the X1, what positives did you take away from it?

The controller looks nice

ShadowHearth

CastorTroy wrote: »

So with ask the criticisms against the X1, what positives did you take away from it?

Ps3 and Xbox 360 are not going anywhere from under your tv for very very long time.

Thecageyone

I really want to see the games for it in action, won't decide until then.

Positives; I like the retro styling, it gets a little naff when they try to be overly modern and try to make them look like space stations. Looks sophisticated, aimed much more at the adult market than previous consoles IMO.

The controller is nice, yup. Looks better than the ps4 one at least.