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ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Original poster
Aug 17, 2007
19,522
10,810
Colorado
I'm looking to get my 14 year old son an upgrade from our Wii and would like some advice or opinions on which system to get him.

Which one do you own or would you recommend I get?

I really don't know much about either one, so don't hesitate to chime in with even elementary comments about the 2 systems.

Thanks.
 

yukyuklee

macrumors 6502
Jan 4, 2011
368
40
Boston, MA
I'm looking to get my 14 year old son an upgrade from our Wii and would like some advice or opinions on which system to get him. I really don't know much about either one, so don't hesitate to chime in with even elementary comments about the 2 systems.

Thanks.

a lot of good games are coming out for the PS4 I just picked up Little Big Planet 3 which is an exclusive maybe your son would enjoy it
 

impulse462

macrumors 68020
Jun 3, 2009
2,075
2,860
Ps4. Got the xb1 for halo 2 and relive the glory days but wow the whole thing is a cluster****. Xbox one has the most unintuitive UI, it's slow, rarely responsive and all around just sucks.
 

panerista

macrumors G5
Oct 20, 2011
12,679
10,516
Austin, TX
Ps4. Got the xb1 for halo 2 and relive the glory days but wow the whole thing is a cluster****. Xbox one has the most unintuitive UI, it's slow, rarely responsive and all around just sucks.

I have the xbox one. Forza games are worth it, but you're right about the interface. It's terrible. Typical MSFT nonsense.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Don't get either of them. They're both mediocre and underpowered. Save money, buy a gaming PC and a tonne of games in the Steam Sales. Join the Master Race you'll be able to enjoy true next gen, 1080p to 4k at 60-120fps without having to make a monthly payment to just get online features.
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
I'd say the PS4. It has more games out on it, more in development, it's a faster system so they look better too.

But out of all of them I'd say the Wii U. More unique games and has my favourite games this gen (Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros).

Though just look at what exclusive games you or your son want. That's what matters most.

----------

Don't get either of them. They're both mediocre and underpowered. Save money, buy a gaming PC and a tonne of games in the Steam Sales. Join the Master Race you'll be able to enjoy true next gen, 1080p to 4k at 60-120fps without having to make a monthly payment to just get online features.

What about the exclusive games that won't come to PC? I agree PC is technically better but there are such brilliant games only available on consoles.
 

Taustin Powers

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2005
263
549
Save money, buy a gaming PC.


That makes no sense! The cost to build a gaming PC and keep it up-to-date year after year to run the newest games is quite high.

(And console games have good sales, too, so the savings there would not offset the extra cost for PC hardware.)
 

Lennholm

macrumors 65816
Sep 4, 2010
1,003
210
Don't get either of them. They're both mediocre and underpowered. Save money, buy a gaming PC and a tonne of games in the Steam Sales. Join the Master Race you'll be able to enjoy true next gen, 1080p to 4k at 60-120fps without having to make a monthly payment to just get online features.

Hang in there, maybe some day you'll be able to move out of your mom's basement. I'm rootin' for you kid!
 

Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
55,097
52,706
Behind the Lens, UK
So I caved and got a PS4 deal yesterday. I should be getting it Saturday. About £80 cheaper than when I costed it before Black Friday.
Little big planet 3, free the last of us download, and a spare controller.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
So I caved and got a PS4 deal yesterday. I should be getting it Saturday. About £80 cheaper than when I costed it before Black Friday.

Little big planet 3, free the last of us download, and a spare controller.


That's a good deal. I'm literally at target right now. 399 for ps4 and gta 5 and the last of us remastered. Got pharmacy rewards for 10% off and red card for another 5 percent.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
That makes no sense! The cost to build a gaming PC and keep it up-to-date year after year to run the newest games is quite high.

But with the new consoles being so underpowered there is no need to do that. My current hardware will no doubt last me through this current generation easily, no upgrades needed. The notion that you'll have to upgrade it year after year is complete nonsense. For the price of an XB1 you can get yourself a perfectly suitable PC that'll play your new games easily.

And I have yet to see any console game sale be as good as the sales Steam and GOG have.

----------

What about the exclusive games that won't come to PC? I agree PC is technically better but there are such brilliant games only available on consoles.

The PC has exclusives too, many of them brilliant. I guess its just what your priorities as a gamer are. The PC has flawless backwards compatibility too, something the consoles lack, no doubt so you'll all buy remastered versions of your last gen games again.
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
And I have yet to see any console game sale be as good as the sales Steam and GOG have.

EU PSN sales drop between 50-80% off a large selection of games weekly. Nintendo usually do 50% off occasionally. All they're missing is bundles now.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
EU PSN sales drop between 50-80% off a large selection of games weekly. Nintendo usually do 50% off occasionally. All they're missing is bundles now.

I was aware of Nintendo's sales but wow, go Sony! It seems they're really putting in an effort to win over some customers this time around. I stand corrected.

I still stand by what I said though. PC is much better in my eyes. :p
 

Taustin Powers

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2005
263
549
But with the new consoles being so underpowered there is no need to do that. My current hardware will no doubt last me through this current generation easily, no upgrades needed. The notion that you'll have to upgrade it year after year is complete nonsense. For the price of an XB1 you can get yourself a perfectly suitable PC that'll play your new games easily.
.

Can you really build a gaming PC for 350 bucks? One that will keep you happy the next six years? Honest question - I don't know. If that is the case, I see your point.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Can you really build a gaming PC for 350 bucks? One that will keep you happy the next six years? Honest question - I don't know. If that is the case, I see your point.

I don't know about $, but for the £350-400 XB1s are going for, you can quite easily build yourself a moderate rig to game on. Sure enough, you may be playing games on medium to low settings towards the end but I'm certain it can be done.

I spent £500 on my rig in 2010. I bought it outright since I'm too lazy to build, meaning less value for money. However, I doubt I'll be needing to upgrade anything anytime soon since I've been able to play everything I've thrown at it on full and the next gen console specs don't really compete. The next gen consoles have trouble doing 1080p at 60fps, something I've been doing on my rig with no issues since I got it.
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
I was aware of Nintendo's sales but wow, go Sony! It seems they're really putting in an effort to win over some customers this time around. I stand corrected.

I still stand by what I said though. PC is much better in my eyes. :p
Aye they've definitely seen Steam sales and wanted a slice of that. Definite improvements. Some games don't drop much in price, there are some in the Black Friday sale for only 25% off. But that's the same with PC games now. Kerbal Space Program is only 20% off on Steam I believe.

I don't know about $, but for the £350-400 XB1s are going for, you can quite easily build yourself a moderate rig to game on. Sure enough, you may be playing games on medium to low settings towards the end but I'm certain it can be done.

I spent £500 on my rig in 2010. I bought it outright since I'm too lazy to build, meaning less value for money. However, I doubt I'll be needing to upgrade anything anytime soon since I've been able to play everything I've thrown at it on full and the next gen console specs don't really compete. The next gen consoles have trouble doing 1080p at 60fps, something I've been doing on my rig with no issues since I got it.
My iMac is starting to struggle with its 6970M 2gb. Shadows always have to be turned to lowest and some more modern effects have to be completely disabled. I set my resolution to 1080p and turn off effects from there. Still holds up most of the time. How does yours run?
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
My iMac is starting to struggle with its 6970M 2gb. Shadows always have to be turned to lowest and some more modern effects have to be completely disabled. I set my resolution to 1080p and turn off effects from there. Still holds up most of the time. How does yours run?

My rig has a nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti (2GB). The only game I've had to turn down settings on is Far Cry 3 because for some reason it just chugged real bad on full.
 

Tsuchiya

macrumors 68020
Jun 7, 2008
2,310
372
How old is your son?

On paper, the PS4 seems to be the clear winner.

It's more powerful, cheaper and smaller, and has a cleaner interface. Out of the box you get a controller with a rechargeable battery and cable.

But it will mainly depend on what your sons friends are using. Gaming is social, whether that be online or simply sharing experiences in single player games, so I would consider picking whichever machine is popular with his friends.

In terms of online gaming, a subscription is required for both though I found the PS4 to be better value simply for the free monthly games Sony let you download. There are a lot of indie games which are both excellent, and age appropriate available.

All of the above isn't to say that the Xbox One sucks. It doesn't. The machine runs silent, the controller is ergonomically better, and the exclusive games are great.
 
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