Thoughts of the Xbox One and PS4

dissapointed in the one reveal tbh.

Backwards compatibility doesn't bother me. Never has.

Paying for used games - still waiting for full details on that - but yeah, that would put me off the one. Not because I buy used games, I don't. But I do buy a hell of a lot of new releases and usually trade them in within a month - and therefore if used games sales are affected - they would also impact trade in pricing too.

Black Ops 2 - couldn't give a hoot. Played single player and it was all meh! and I rarely if ever play multi-player games

Re: TV integration. Likewise the concentration on media content on Xbox One is great if your in a country with access to that and fast broadband, otherwise meh! I don't see how routing everything through my xbox one would save me that much of time that pressing input on my TV remote.

There was actually nothing tangible at the Microsoft conference to persuade me 'a gadget obsessive' to part with my cash, or choose it over the PS4. The PS4 at least showed games and 'gameplay' - something a gamer can get their teeth into.

As for Kinect 2.0. No thanks. Kinect never worked in the first instance for me sufficiently to make it anything other than a dust gatherer on my TV. And no I don't feel like gesturing my arms like a loon or shouting at my console to do something a quick button tap or trigger press can achieve. Its a solution to a problem I don't have.

Also all games must be installed to HDD. Well if retail games get to the sizes of 20-50gb next gen - that 500gb HDD is going to fill up fairly quickly. Unless there are tangible benefits to the user to off shoot that (other than DRM benefits for publishers) then it's not so great. Yes we could put a 2tb drive in there - assuming it allows us access to do so - but if this was so future forward as Microsoft claim to be - then couldn't they have stuck a 2tb drive in there for a start....

Also this future promise of 'cloud computing' to help offload game processing will never happen. It's a nice idea in principal but we are very far away from having so fast internet access globally that can send intensive data up and down from a server to your computer without causing any kind of lag in such a way that it didn't interfere with gaming experience. It's a nice idea in principal, in practice it will be forgotten in 12 months time.

 

The Xbox One looks to be going away from games. That's enough reason for me to go with Sony.

 

I couldn't care less about any sort of live TV integration, netlix, hulu, motion controls, voice activation, etc. Heck, I don't really even care if the console can play Blu-Rays or DVDs. Any of that stuff that I care about is already being take care of. All I care about is what console will give me the best experience when I just want to play video games and when I'm too lazy to get my butt of the couch and don't want to move anything but my fingers. At this point, I'm thinking PS4 or even just Wii U.

 

Overall I wasn't wooed by the device. It touted a lot of features I'll never ever use and a few I wouldn't actually want (Kinect I'd rather not have, but maybe I'm paranoid). When the majority of the features they show off aren't of interest to me maybe I'm not their target audience. I've had a PS1, PS2, PS3, XBox, XBox 360, Gamecube, Wii, DS, 3DS, and Vita (and heck even some earlier consoles). I'm leaning towards the PS4 but will reserve my right to change my mind if something crazy happens between now and launch of the systems. I'm sure the system will do well... they have metrics to know what people use and want.

 

Never been interested in any MS hardware ever, but I like the look of the Xbox One for the TV, Netflix, Hulu etc. integration. Games are really an afterthought for me.

Probably not going to drop $400-$500 on what is essentially (to me) a very fancy Apple TV/Roku box, but I think all the gamers that think this is going to fail as it's not 100% focused on games will be surprised.

 

Essentially, that is it...M$ has to come up with a compelling reason for non-gamers to spend $500 on something they can get for under $100 from elsewhere, or use an already existing computer for.

I'm sure already sold gamers will buy it...since it will play the games they want, and do all that fancy TV integration on top of playing games. I don't think the general public is going to go for it though.

Not to go off on a tangent, but, I'm afraid for regular PC-gaming. It isn't sexy to M$ anymore, and to get people interested in buying the new XBox, they are going to do all sorts of exclusive deals for games on the XBox, at the expense of shafting us PC-gamers.

Oh well...my anti-dote to that has been to fund DRM-free games on Kickstarter. A pathetic response to a huge mega-corporation, but I won't mind when I'm exploring the galaxy in Star Citizen in 2014!

 

Got a Wii U a month ago and really enjoying it - not a ton of games, but the end of this year will have a bunch of awesome releases - a nice variety from Mario to Call of Duty 2 - it has something for everyone - It really is a nice system. Haven't owned a game console in 10 years and this was a great console to get me back in this gaming world.

 

Here's the comparison:

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/21/xbox-one-and-playstation-4-specs-compared/

The XBox One has only HDMI - no hooking up to older TV's (well, there's an HDMI to Component device you can get as well as an HDMI to VGA).

It may deter people like me with older sets that have at most component or VGA.

It was nice when my projector wasn't working (turned out just the bulb was out) to hook my Wii U to an old RF set via composite and an RF modulator (yea, I know, but it was cool playing it on an old set). With the PS4, just use a PS video cable, and use a Wii video cable on a Wii U. No go on an XBOX One...

 

i simply don't get the TV focus ... in the <30 year generation pre-programmed TV is on the way out... i myself only watch TV for formula 1, champions league and some matchday reviews

also why even bother with a complicated system to have extra overlays or control my device with yet another device ? with every TV i'm rather for eliminating a set top box and use the built in DVB-S/C/T ones ... are there even TV sets with an HDMI output ?
how would it even work in that case

also i don't understand in what scenario i would need frequent switching back and forth between a game and TV, or as demonstrated: watch a trailer while watching a movie simultaneously


the only thing even worse is the US focus... US TV integration,netflix, hulu, NFL,HALO tv series, games shown included madden, basketball, MMA, Call Of Duty
if it hadn't been for Forza and Fifa they could have painted the box in a stars and stripes pattern

 

I'm halfway through the video of their demo. My impressions are:
1) the TV focus seems to want to give me tortured solutions to problems I didn't even have; &

2) I'm noticing a lot of gratuitous attempts to use the Windows 8 tile motif in everything (I've even noticed this on some websites).

WTF? I don't get it. I'm just up at the part of the video where they are talking about games, right after the Forza demo (which looked sweet!).

 

I wouldn't call it tortured at all. The new Xbox is less a game console, and more a big box that handles everything from one common platform. It's what a lot of people around here wanted the AppleTV to be. One device, one common interface, designed to handle games, music, movies, and all.

I can understand why people who were wanting this to be all about the new games would be disappointed, though. It's kinda what everyone expects when someone announces a new console, but instead they were tacked on at the end, almost as an afterthought.

 

I am still in shock about how much Microsoft really went for the casual market and left real gamers in the dark.

 

... or that's built-in if they have a Smart TV. When I was shopping for my new TV I'm sure I saw a Samsung that had a built-in camera for Skype.

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Out of curiosity, what does the Xbox 1 claim to do that the current PS3 can't? I don't use streaming so I'm not sure what either offer, but I've seen a Netflix and LoveFilm icon on my PS3.

 

Dollars to donuts MS's E3 presser will be games, games and more games. I think they revealed the console, and talked mainly about non-gaming features, at this event so they could focus on games at E3. MS wants the Xbox to be a media hub too (always has) but talking a lot about non-gaming features at E3 is a sure fire way to end up in the 'Worst of E3' category.

 

Think of the One as a cable/dish box, a SmartTV, and a console all rolled into one device. Instead of switching between two or three different devices, each with their own UIs, the One handles it all. Like you can go from Netflix to surfing local channels without having to juggle two remotes.

It's not a HUGE innovation or anything, but it is pretty convenient.

 

Curious what would happen if I plugged my Apple TV into the HDMI input of the One?

That is what I use to watch all my TV content these days ...

 

I just think of it as MS's version of TVii. Just like Nintendo wanted the Wii U to be the only box in your living room so they let you control your cable box through the unit, build custom profiles, use second screen tech, etc, this is MS's solution.

All these devices are converging - consoles, set top boxes, etc, you're really only gonna need one box for Netflix, TV, and all the TV functionality. So all the console companies are battling it out trying to position themselves with proprietary front end solutions they hope become standards in the end. I'm pretty sure Sony will have something similar when they showcase their hardware. Without the TV front end tech (Gamepad, Kinect commands), the only real product differentiation you have is game IP.

The games will be there, I think that's a given. I'd be more worried about the share button on the PS4 controller than about MS focusing on TV integration. For someone to decide it was worthwhile to devote a whole button to connect to FB makes me think the PS4 was designed by people who play Farmville.

 

how is it more convenient to have separate box for dish and xbox opposed to having just the xbox and using the built in tuner in my television ?

if i counted correctly the xbox solution needs an external box to begin with, because otherwise they can't insert their own overlays in the middle
Also the other hardware would need to be "XBoX compatible" because they would have to surpress their own user interface and need to understand the commands sent by the xbox etc.

within one manufacturer 1 remote solution work easily even today but across mixed enviroments ? haha good luck to microsoft ... the dish home user market is a rather slow paced one, especially considering upgrades

 

Google TV does a fine job of integrating their tv overlays with cable box passthrough.

Now if we can media share iTunes from my Mac to the Xbox I can eliminate my Apple TV.

 

true that microsoft can focus on games now but also they also used all their aces regarding revealing hardware & user interface

Sony has shown little of their interface and has yet to show the box. to me the hardware design isn't going to matter much since the specs are known, but most people will want to know how it looks, the media included

also regarding games or console features: what really new things regarding games _haven't_ they shown so far in terms of technical stuff? microsoft will showcases at least 4-6 kinect games with new features, apaprt of that no game input innovation
sony has yet to show streaming, sharing interactions and haven't really showed anything regarding the touch interface and speaker on the controller

Microsoft still could end up with a "worst of E3" performance IMHO

 

The way I think it'll work is the Kinect replaces the remote and outputs the IR signal. Instead of pushing a button, you're issuing a voice command but the same exact IR signal comes and goes to your TV or cable box

That's how TVii works

They didn't even showcase Illumroom, which is gaming related tech that everyone wanted to see. MS hasn't shown all their cards yet.

 

I'm sure MS will show off how much better the new connect is, but they also teased 15 exclusives and 8 new IPs. Recap the new features that were discussed a lot during the reveal, toss in some teaser footage from the new Halo live-action show, have a few celebrity appearances and, hopefully, announce changes to some things like having to connect every 24hrs or pay a fee to borrow a game from a friend and I think MS still has a lot of ground to cover in their E3 presser.

Of course, but every time one of the big three ever strayed away from gaming for too long in their presser they got heat for it.

 

All I can see is a load of men whispering to their xbox's once the partner has gone to bed 'xbox watch porn'.....

If they get their desire and the channel changes. Kinect then goes ballistic trying to work out another type hand gesturing that follows....

 

The Xbox One looks like it is trying to be an all round multimedia device for the living room. Which makes the PS4 the more 'pro gaming' device. But since I use a gaming rig, I have no need for either of them.

I can see an Xbox working very well in the living room though if it does remove the need for the billion boxes and cables underneath the TV.