Need help, which next-gen console is for me?

[ImpulsE69]

There are ALWAYS games you can never ever get on PC. You'll never see a Naughty Dog title on PC, never see Forza on PC, never see Killer Instinct on PC, never see Killzone on PC, never see Infamous on PC, or Knack. The list goes on.

Yeah there is no reason to hold back an easy PC port but that doesn't mean we are guaranteed them now. Thinking we'll get everything is naive and if we do see games on PC a lot of them may not be day one releases. So there's that too.

PC gaming is great, but there are numerous reasons a console is not a bad choice.

You totally glossed over the deeper meaning of the post and why I said it. I think you will find exclusives are not going to be a big part of future gen. Sure, they may be initially, but considering how things have been headed, I predict you will see many more first time PC ports (3rd party obviously). At no point did I say all. Also, you should know by now, never say never.

 

[purbeast0]

You picked a bad time to switch to console gaming OP. Lower resolution, less capability, mandatory internet tax, are just a few of the many "great new features" the next gen of consoles is bringing to your home.

nothing in this post makes sense, just ignore it.

the next gen is far more capable than current gen, and there is no 'mandatory internet tax'.

 

[zerocool84]

You picked a bad time to switch to console gaming OP. Lower resolution, less capability, mandatory internet tax, are just a few of the many "great new features" the next gen of consoles is bringing to your home.

And yet that's where the great games go. If you want to only PC game, be my guest but you're severely limiting the games you play. The main reason why I switched over to console gaming, I love games in general and watch to play the best no matter where they come from. Sorry but most of the best games don't get ported to PC.

 

[Carmen813]

No one else mentioned it, but I would also recommend you take a look at the Wii U. In my opinion, by far superior in terms of family entertainment value (plus it is backwards compatible with all the Wii games). You will get titles like Mario Kart, Smash Bros, and Nintendo Party ect. that all cater to family/friends well. Nintendo's first party games tend to be top notch.

That said, you will likely miss out on some "hardcore" titles depending on what it is you like to play.

 

[ImpulsE69]

And yet that's where the great games go. If you want to only PC game, be my guest but you're severely limiting the games you play. The main reason why I switched over to console gaming, I love games in general and watch to play the best no matter where they come from. Sorry but most of the best games don't get ported to PC.

I disagree about severely limiting. Think about it, there are simply TOO many games coming out and it's not like 99% of them are shovelware. There are so many quality PC games that you can play them and never miss consoles. I can't say the same thing for consoles (unless you own multiple) or simply have no life outside of gaming.

 

[dagamer34]

You picked a bad time to switch to console gaming OP. Lower resolution, less capability, mandatory internet tax, are just a few of the many "great new features" the next gen of consoles is bringing to your home.

1) Lower resolution - most games announced have been 1080p, also, I don't think you need the same resolution on a TV as you do on a monitor, one is closer to your eye than the other.
2) Less capability - See point one
3) "Mandatory Internet tax" - yep

PC cons
1) Unless you never upgrade, a PC will cost more.
2) A PC is a pain in the ass to manage in the living room (and that assume you can deal with putting your gaming PC there).
3) Both PSN and Xbox Live have very competitive sales this summer. Steam sales have basically been negated.
4) Driver issues.

 

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[cmdrdredd]

No one else mentioned it, but I would also recommend you take a look at the Wii U. In my opinion, by far superior in terms of family entertainment value (plus it is backwards compatible with all the Wii games). You will get titles like Mario Kart, Smash Bros, and Nintendo Party ect. that all cater to family/friends well. Nintendo's first party games tend to be top notch.

That said, you will likely miss out on some "hardcore" titles depending on what it is you like to play.

I just sold my WiiU as I was highly disappointed with what Nintendo is releasing over the next 12 months. It is never going to be my first recommendation as a singular console, but the WiiU can make a great companion console with games that are unique and fun in their own way. A good change of pace from the games we know are coming to PS4 and XB1.

I disagree about severely limiting. Think about it, there are simply TOO many games coming out and it's not like 99% of them are shovelware. There are so many quality PC games that you can play them and never miss consoles. I can't say the same thing for consoles (unless you own multiple) or simply have no life outside of gaming.

I'll miss Forza, Killer Instinct, Destiny (not coming to PC btw), have to wait 6-8 months to play GTA games, never play Last of US or Uncharted.

That's not ideal at all. As a gamer who plays games, I cannot ignore the consoles at all. I have my PC for games that do come and are better, but I'm not going to say that it'll get all the same stuff as a console. We don't have sports games on PC either. A lot of people don't play sports games but they sell year after year.

There are games I feel deserve a solid release on PC for it's superior capability, but it doesn't happen.

 

[blackened23]

I don't know what direction this thread is taking, but the decision between XB1 and PS4 isn't going to be an easy one. I think the XB1 definitely has some great qualities, especially for folks based in the states - it has twitch.tv integration while PS4 is forced to use ustream (screw that) - the XB1 has 12 months of free XBLG (rumored) while a PSN+ subscription is required for multiplayer on the PS4. Taking the PSN+ sub into account, that means over the course of a year that the PS4 will end up costing more.

It's something to consider. Anyway, i've always preferred XBLG heavily over PSN online+, and now with sony *requiring* the fee version for multiplayer (while the XB1 does not) it's not quite so straightforward.

So in short, I don't know. Some will say the PS4 is more technically advanced to which i'd agree, but 95% of games will be multiplatform anyway and designed for both systems equally. If that's the case, I may end up getting XB1 for twitch and the free year of XBLG and multiplayer.

I dunno!

 

[cmdrdredd]

I don't know what direction this thread is taking, but the decision between XB1 and PS4 isn't going to be an easy one. I think the XB1 definitely has some great qualities, especially for folks based in the states - it has twitch.tv integration while PS4 is forced to use ustream (screw that) - the XB1 has 12 months of free XBLG (rumored) while a PSN+ subscription is required for multiplayer on the PS4. Taking the PSN+ sub into account, that means over the course of a year that the PS4 will end up costing more.

It's something to consider. Anyway, i've always preferred XBLG heavily over PSN online+, and now with sony *requiring* the fee version for multiplayer (while the XB1 does not) it's not quite so straightforward.

So in short, I don't know. Some will say the PS4 is more technically advanced to which i'd agree, but 95% of games will be multiplatform anyway and designed for both systems equally. If that's the case, I may end up getting XB1 for twitch and the free year of XBLG and multiplayer.

I dunno!

I have not seen anything about getting XBL Gold free with the XB1. I just searched for it too. Do you have a link to that? Microsoft's own site says you can "reserve" a day one edition XBL membership card and get Killer Instinct Round One digital game with Shadow Jago exclusive. Says nothing about getting a year free. http://www.xbox.com/en-us/xbox-one/pre-order-xbox-one

The XB1 won't play online without Gold either, same as the 360. It also requires it for netflix, hulu etc still. I don't know where you're getting the info from that you can play online with the XB1 without gold. As far as twitch vs ustream they will both work identical on the consoles and show specialized content. twitch.tv might have more gamer related stuff than ustream but when you're on PS4 you will not have to wade through unrelated things when you access it in game. It will filter.

 

[Tweak155]

I don't know what direction this thread is taking, but the decision between XB1 and PS4 isn't going to be an easy one. I think the XB1 definitely has some great qualities, especially for folks based in the states - it has twitch.tv integration while PS4 is forced to use ustream (screw that) - the XB1 has 12 months of free XBLG (rumored) while a PSN+ subscription is required for multiplayer on the PS4. Taking the PSN+ sub into account, that means over the course of a year that the PS4 will end up costing more.

It's something to consider. Anyway, i've always preferred XBLG heavily over PSN online+, and now with sony *requiring* the fee version for multiplayer (while the XB1 does not) it's not quite so straightforward.

So in short, I don't know. Some will say the PS4 is more technically advanced to which i'd agree, but 95% of games will be multiplatform anyway and designed for both systems equally. If that's the case, I may end up getting XB1 for twitch and the free year of XBLG and multiplayer.

I dunno!

I wouldn't go fooling yourself. Even with a year free of XBL it's still more expensive than the PS4 (PSN is what, $50/yr? So $450 for PS4 and still $499 for XB1) and after that first year, you pay about the same price yearly.

But, as was mentioned, where is it stated (or even rumored) that your first year is free?

That said we should still wait for the consoles to launch. Lots of time for things to change right now.

 

[Topweasel]

You totally glossed over the deeper meaning of the post and why I said it. I think you will find exclusives are not going to be a big part of future gen. Sure, they may be initially, but considering how things have been headed, I predict you will see many more first time PC ports (3rd party obviously). At no point did I say all. Also, you should know by now, never say never.

Or you could be be more and more wrong. Whats to stop Microsoft or Sony from buying up more and more studio's just to increase their footholds through exclusive titles. Our only saving graces on exclusive titles are companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Activision. As long as its one of those horribly oppressive and soul sucking cookie cutter annual release schedule just make sure that their isn't any real development in the game series companies than yeah we should be fine in regards to exclusives.

Or look at the few Independent AAA game companies like Epic and Crytek. Epic makes GoW for Microsoft and Crytek is making Ryse. They don't even have to buy the company. All they need is some cash in hand and development expenses paid by the big guys and boom Exclusive.

Just because all three are basically the same platform doesn't mean much either. EA and Ubisoft have at time shown that they A.) don't trust the PC. B.) don't want to spend a dollar more than they have to for it. Some developers are given a bit more latitude (like DICE). The only real advantage now is that the ports should be cleaner to PC's vice versa, allowing the PC games to stretch their legs more than typically.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Or you could be be more and more wrong. Whats to stop Microsoft or Sony from buying up more and more studio's just to increase their footholds through exclusive titles. Our only saving graces on exclusive titles are companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Activision. As long as its one of those horribly oppressive and soul sucking cookie cutter annual release schedule just make sure that their isn't any real development in the game series companies than yeah we should be fine in regards to exclusives.

Or look at the few Independent AAA game companies like Epic and Crytek. Epic makes GoW for Microsoft and Crytek is making Ryse. They don't even have to buy the company. All they need is some cash in hand and development expenses paid by the big guys and boom Exclusive.

Just because all three are basically the same platform doesn't mean much either. EA and Ubisoft have at time shown that they A.) don't trust the PC. B.) don't want to spend a dollar more than they have to for it. Some developers are given a bit more latitude (like DICE). The only real advantage now is that the ports should be cleaner to PC's vice versa, allowing the PC games to stretch their legs more than typically.

Possible, but highly unlikely.

 

[Arkaign]

I don't know what direction this thread is taking, but the decision between XB1 and PS4 isn't going to be an easy one. I think the XB1 definitely has some great qualities, especially for folks based in the states - it has twitch.tv integration while PS4 is forced to use ustream (screw that) - the XB1 has 12 months of free XBLG (rumored) while a PSN+ subscription is required for multiplayer on the PS4. Taking the PSN+ sub into account, that means over the course of a year that the PS4 will end up costing more.

It's something to consider. Anyway, i've always preferred XBLG heavily over PSN online+, and now with sony *requiring* the fee version for multiplayer (while the XB1 does not) it's not quite so straightforward.

So in short, I don't know. Some will say the PS4 is more technically advanced to which i'd agree, but 95% of games will be multiplatform anyway and designed for both systems equally. If that's the case, I may end up getting XB1 for twitch and the free year of XBLG and multiplayer.

I dunno!

They may indeed bundle free XBL to try to shore up the people not super happy about the price difference, but I've seen no indication so far that they will. Even if they do, it doesn't make a huge gap (unless the other rumors about them price-hiking XBL considerably are true).

Multiplatform on x86/GCN will ensure that titles on both systems will look/play better on PS4 at least 95% of the time. It just means that there is a lot more GPU power (along with hugely faster memory) to crank up texture details, keep resolution 1080p, and have more effects/AA going. The whole advantage to both systems being on the same architechture now is brilliant, but it's going to make the XB1 look bad most of the time on multiplatform.

The devs aren't going to just make their games look the same on both systems, because that would jeopardize their PS4 sales against other devs and first-party alternatives that ARE taking advantage of the power of the PS4. After all, it will be trivial to them to just move the sliders/settings upwards for PS4 versions. Being x86/GCN means that it will be easier now to make a game that takes maximum advantage of both the XB1/PS4 individually than just to make a single 360 or especially PS3 title today.

Money talks, and when something is so easy, it will be the default action. Even in the worst-case ultra-lazy developer scenario where they do zero setting changes, the exact same settings will run much more smoothly on a PS4 compared to XB1, with less or no framerate drops during heavy action by comparison.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The main difference is you need to actually do a little more work to get the maximum benefit from the xb1 due to the esram. If you release the same game on both systems without adjusting the code to access that memory properly, you are losing almost 100GB/s in memory bandwidth.

So yes, ultra lazy developers will stand out like a sore thumb.

 

[smackababy]

The main difference is you need to actually do a little more work to get the maximum benefit from the xb1 due to the esram. If you release the same game on both systems without adjusting the code to access that memory properly, you are losing almost 100GB/s in memory bandwidth.

So yes, ultra lazy developers will stand out like a sore thumb.

And that is a good thing. The average console gamer doesn't know or care that COD runs at like 640p, they care that it runs smooth. Now, if developers of AAA titles start having slowdown in a ton of their games, then maybe consumers will say "hey, I am not buying this garbage unless it is smooth." Thus, we might actually get advancements in graphics on consoles a bit faster.

Granted, that isn't likely. I loved Dark Souls and can easily overlook the slide show that Blighttown becomes.

 

[ImpulsE69]

And that is a good thing. The average console gamer doesn't know or care that COD runs at like 640p, they care that it runs smooth. Now, if developers of AAA titles start having slowdown in a ton of their games, then maybe consumers will say "hey, I am not buying this garbage unless it is smooth." Thus, we might actually get advancements in graphics on consoles a bit faster.

Granted, that isn't likely. I loved Dark Souls and can easily overlook the slide show that Blighttown becomes.

You know, this is something that has always baffled me with console games. It's not like a PC where everything depends on the hardware of the player. These things are ALL the same. There is no excuse for things such as above, and they've been doing it as far back as the NES. Laziness.

And on that note, I doubt there will be much difference between XB1 and PS4 if the same team is working on both.

 

[smackababy]

You know, this is something that has always baffled me with console games. It's not like a PC where everything depends on the hardware of the player. These things are ALL the same. There is no excuse for things such as above, and they've been doing it as far back as the NES. Laziness.

And on that note, I doubt there will be much difference between XB1 and PS4 if the same team is working on both.

I think it came down to performance vs content, and From isn't the type of company to compromise much content it would seem. The current gen consoles couldn't handle the area in a manner we would like (30 constant FPS), and the experience suffered some. Far less, I believe, than it would have suffered if they left out much of the stuff in Blighttown.

 

[Topweasel]

Possible, but highly unlikely.

We have already seen it why is it less likely now? Microsoft's number one worry is selling consoles, then attachment rates. People are debating between memory size, OS overhead, Kinect or no Kinect, and so on. But the what will sell one console over another is exclusives. Already we are seeing at least one third party exclusive game right out of the gate with Ryse. Sony and MS are always making aquizitions. EA and Ubisoft could careless about PC's. I mean its never going back to the Sega vs. Nintendo days. But its highly likely that the PC continues to get the short end and that there will be a growth of at least first party exclusives. It's in Microsofts and Sony's best interest if just not to get run over by EA and Co. To acquire new talent and IP's like MS famously did with Bungie.

 

[DaveSimmons]

You know, this is something that has always baffled me with console games. It's not like a PC where everything depends on the hardware of the player. These things are ALL the same. There is no excuse for things such as above, and they've been doing it as far back as the NES. Laziness.

And on that note, I doubt there will be much difference between XB1 and PS4 if the same team is working on both.

The Unity and Unreal engines will probably include X1 specific code to use the ESRAM but the PS4 will still have the faster hardware.

So given the same resolution and image settings, the PS4 will run the engine at a faster FPS. Or can run at a higher resolution while keeping the same FPS. Or at higher image settings. All for zero extra effort, just telling the engine what settings to use.

It's not like the PS3 where tricky code was needed to use the Cell cores, or like the PS3 vs 360 where there was two sets of very different code. It's more like 2 otherwise identical PCs, one with a $100 graphics card and one with a $150-200 card.

 

[Midwayman]

Don't even go there...you're opening a can of worms.

I made a valid point...you're just looking like a MS salesperson.

Everything the OP is asking about is fulfilled by a PS4. Nothing an Xb1 does extra seems to make any difference to the original question. I'd wager that a majority of people buying an XB1 early on won't use kinect or the TV stuff.

So did I. Just doing my part to counter the miss-information the Sony trolls post here.

 

[Carmen813]

I just sold my WiiU as I was highly disappointed with what Nintendo is releasing over the next 12 months. It is never going to be my first recommendation as a singular console, but the WiiU can make a great companion console with games that are unique and fun in their own way. A good change of pace from the games we know are coming to PS4 and XB1.

That's pretty much where I am at - but I like the Wii U on it's own and I think the next few months (starting in August) will really ramp up the appeal. I would have liked a new zelda (not the remake) for next year but I can handle waiting for it if they do it right.

I'm SUPER excited about the PS4 hardware. However, I can't even find a single launch title right now that I'm even a bit enthusiastic about - it's more like "what will I pick to tide me over until Second Son"

On the other hand, every single Wii U game that is coming out is one that I would consider buying - but likely won't have the cash to do so

 

[cmdrdredd]

See I couldn't bring myself to buy a mario game that is the same as what I have on 3DS, can't give a crap about smash bros, don't like mario kart anymore, and well...there was just nothing. Maybe next year I'll buy it again. It's up to Nintendo at this point. Freed up some funds to drop some cash on an XB1 reserve for me though.

 

[Germanic]

Consoles are a huge waste of money.

They will get old within 2 years.

Don't waste your money and just upgrade your computer.

And The PS4/XBox One 50% faster than a PC? Whoever told you that is very misinformed.

The PS4 and XBox One offer graphics cards that are only about the performance of a GTX 550. That's extremely slow compared to what modern day gaming computers offer.

 

[purbeast0]

Consoles are a huge waste of money.

They will get old within 2 years.

Don't waste your money and just upgrade your computer.

And The PS4/XBox One 50% faster than a PC? Whoever told you that is very misinformed.

The PS4 and XBox One offer graphics cards that are only about the performance of a GTX 550. That's extremely slow compared to what modern day gaming computers offer.

OMG YOU HAVE CONVINCED ME THAT IS ONE COMPELLING ARGUMENT!!

/caps