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

[cmdrdredd]

I have upgraded my PC and you know what? It's over a year old and I don't think I'll upgrade for ANOTHER year or more...and yes tell me when I can play Knack, NBA 2k14, Killzone, Forza, Killer Instinct, Infamous, Uncharted, Last of Us, Halo(that isn't 5 years old when it finally shows up), Ratchet & Clank, Destiny (no PC version announced BTW) on my PC.

At least I don't gotta wait 6-8 months to play GTA. I can play it on a console right away and on PC it's always a very bad port.

 

[zerocool84]

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.

And you'll only get the occasional exclusive and ports and miss out on a TON of awesome exclusives. Good way to limit yourself.

 

[Pheran]

Maybe this brilliant video will help you decide:

Console Wars: The Musical!

 

[ImpulsE69]

Maybe this brilliant video will help you decide:

Console Wars: The Musical!

That video isn't realistic, girls don't play games. Duh.

 

[blackened23]

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.

Apparently, no offense, but you're completely oblivious to the world of game streaming. Just so you know, twitch is ubiquitous and is the most popular and most used standard, by which every major online and in person video game tournament is used for. Ustream is a joke. If you were familiar with the world of streaming, you would be aware of this. Let's be clear: twitch is the standard. Ustream is a joke. Period. Folks with the PS4 will buy extra hardware to stream by twitch, because it is the standard and it is the best for game streaming. But it is integrated into XB1 with completely functionality, this will sell hardware - trust me. Ustream will not sell hardware because ustream is a joke. Twitch also is massively popular with millions of visits daily, with TONS of tournaments and what-not. The same cannot be said for ustream. Just as an example, the most popular fighting game tournament in the world is EVO. And that is streamed in twitch and has 100k+ views on average. The user base is massive, because twitch is the best.

As far as XBLG, I know I read that somewhere but i'm having difficulty finding it. I may be wrong, but i'll keep searching. It was some months ago, MS is apparently trying to find ways to even the price difference out with purchasing plans for the XB1 presumably, and I read that a package will include 12 months free. While the PS4 charges you per month. I'll search for this more later today.

Also I have to laugh at anyone who thinks hardware specs will determine the winner of the console wars. As IF the average consumer cares or knows about that stuff? This isn't like a computer enthusiast purchase, give me a break. The 360 is way more popular in the US than the PS3, and while that wasn't so much the case in europe. But i'd expect the popularity of the 360 to translate to XB1 sales - and that is exactly what is happening. XB1 presales are outnumbering PS4 presales in the US by a wide margin in both in store and online retailers such as amazon. So to think that hardware specs will determine the winner, yeah okay if you say so.

That being said, I just think the winner isn't so clear cut, especially in the United States - I have a feeling that the US will favor the XB1 - I admit I could be entirely wrong. Just, the winner isn't clear-cut, period - this is a 10 year battle between MS and sony. The 360 and PS3 sold pretty much identically world-wide, but the 360 decimated the PS3 in the US.....If I had to guess, i'd estimate similar numbers between XB1 and the PS4. XB1 will win in the states, it will be a very close battle in EU. That's exactly how 360 vs PS3 played out, and this is what presale numbers seem to indicate. XB1 is winning US presales despite the price difference - XBL is generally considered superior to PSN online. Although I do admit that PSN online has made massive strides in the past year and is catching up.

As for me? I don't know. I might just buy both. Or I might buy PS4. I'm just having difficulty debating the decision as mentioned earlier, it isn't 100% clear cut. If the XBLG deal does take place, i'd probably get XB1. But i'm not 100% sure about that being certain, although I read it somewhere several weeks ago.

TL'DR: twitch is the standard, The winner isn't clear-cut and will NOT be determined by hardware specs. This isn't a computer DIY purchase, the average consumer is none the wiser.

 

[Tweak155]

We won't know the "winner" until a long ways out. Also the definition of "winner" will vary from person to person. Wii sold something like 20m more consoles than 360 & PS3, but I consider it far from the winner.

 

[blackened23]

We won't know the "winner" until a long ways out. Also the definition of "winner" will vary from person to person. Wii sold something like 20m more consoles than 360 & PS3, but I consider it far from the winner.

Exactly. I agree completely. This is a 10 year battle, and the winner is up in the air.

I do guarantee that the winner will NOT be determined by nerds oogling over hardware specs. Give me a break. This isn't like some PC DIY enthusiast type of deal, or some guy getting aroused by getting 40 fps vs 35 fps. That's not how consoles work - The average user only looks at the online services and games, period.

 

[ImpulsE69]

@ blackened: where are you getting your numbers? EVERYTHING I'm reading says PS4 is still way ahead of XB1 in the US. Also, who cares about streaming? Yea, let's pay $500 for a box to watch someone else play a game...makes sense. Standards change all the time and really not sure what your hole tirade was about.

 

[blackened23]

@ blackened: where are you getting your numbers? EVERYTHING I'm reading says PS4 is still way ahead of XB1 in the US. Also, who cares about streaming? Yea, let's pay $500 for a box to watch someone else play a game...makes sense. Standards change all the time and really not sure what your hole tirade was about.

A lot of people care about streaming. It isn't just streaming. You can earn money off of twitch. There are subscription based services, for which users can earn money. You can set up your own channel and there are twitch.tv streamers that earn in excess of 40k per year just from streaming. Some have earned 100k+ in donations, subscriptions, etc. There is one WoW streamer who I know of, who has earned 100k in a period of 6 months from streaming - I know him in person and he has received donations and has a subscription button on his page. On a daily basis, he gets about 10k viewers every time he starts streaming. And those viewers turn into revenue. Just because you're unaware of what's involved with streaming, doesn't mean that nobody cares about it. Twitch is a big deal to a lot of people, despite your complete obliviousness to what twitch entails. It isn't just streaming - it is a lot more.

This is aside from the fact that the biggest tournaments in the world are all streamed on twitch. EVO 2013 will be on twitch. The biggest DOTA 2 tournaments are on twitch. And these are all tournaments with 20k+ prizes, so it IS A BIG DEAL to a lot of people. It WILL SELL HARDWARE. Don't just brush it off because you are completely oblivious to it.

Also: here's amazon's top 100 in video game sales. For the past 3 weeks, XB1 has significantly outsold the PS4 in presales. Their numbers, and gamestop's, don't lie.

http://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-v...=pd_dp_ts_vg_1

 

[ImpulsE69]

Yea, it's true, my ignorance is based on not giving a damn about watching other people play games. I find it extremely boring. Pretty much like sports too. Some people watch, others do. But yes, I understand what you are talking about, however I'm still not sure what it had to do with the conversation, unless you were trying to say people would buy the Xbox1 because of twitch, and again I will say...no. *edit*, not no, really dumb.

 

[blackened23]

Yea, it's true, my ignorance is based on not giving a damn about watching other people play games. I find it extremely boring. Pretty much like sports too. Some people watch, others do. But yes, I understand what you are talking about, however I'm still not sure what it had to do with the conversation, unless you were trying to say people would buy the Xbox1 because of twitch, and again I will say...no.

That's cool. I don't particularly care much either, although I do generally tune into all of the pre-EVO and EVO events on twitch. I'm a major fighting game aficionado. (SF4AE in particular)

Anyway, my point is that the winner isn't clear-cut despite some suggesting that the PS4 is the absolute winner. It may be, but I don't think it will be determined solely by the hardware specs. I'm still debating my purchase myself - I think twitch integration is cool and I have always preferred XBL over PSN online. So it's making the decision tough. I want to see MS somehow close the price gap between the two, that seems to be the biggest advantage of the PS4. I can see a lot of B+M sales going to the PS4 if that remains the case. So we'll see what happens.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Yea, I think we all agree no one knows. Everyone should know by now you would think that specs really don't always determine the winner (betamax anyone?).

 

[purbeast0]

the problem with the twitch integration into xbox1 is that, as far as i know and what they've shown, it simply streams what is on the screen and that is it. no overlays, no additional commentary, no nothing.

so we'll have to see exactly how it all works out when major events like evo are streaming. i don't think they will actually use that feature at all, but just keep on doing what they are doing, so they can continuously switch between different cameras and feeds.

but for the every day average joe, it's neat. for tournaments, not so much.

 

[Tweak155]

We can talk about streaming all day but it is akin to the hardware advantage PS4 has. An extremely small group of people will give a crap.

 

[dagamer34]

We won't know the "winner" until a long ways out. Also the definition of "winner" will vary from person to person. Wii sold something like 20m more consoles than 360 & PS3, but I consider it far from the winner.

I think it's pretty conclusive the Wii won: most consoles sold, most games sold, most profit made. Unless there is some metric you want to use that matters for companies who's primary goal is to make money, the Wii won this generation. Period.

Now, what is entirely true (and I know you are screaming to say) is they handled the transition to the next generation extremely poorly.

 

[dagamer34]

the problem with the twitch integration into xbox1 is that, as far as i know and what they've shown, it simply streams what is on the screen and that is it. no overlays, no additional commentary, no nothing.

so we'll have to see exactly how it all works out when major events like evo are streaming. i don't think they will actually use that feature at all, but just keep on doing what they are doing, so they can continuously switch between different cameras and feeds.

but for the every day average joe, it's neat. for tournaments, not so much.

Not every feature we want can be there on day one.

 

[Tweak155]

I think it's pretty conclusive the Wii won: most consoles sold, most games sold, most profit made. Unless there is some metric you want to use that matters for companies who's primary goal is to make money, the Wii won this generation. Period.

Now, what is entirely true (and I know you are screaming to say) is they handled the transition to the next generation extremely poorly.

Nah I honestly don't care who "won", thus my quotes. I care what a system provides me, thus the Wii is far behind from my PoV.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I think it's pretty conclusive the Wii won: most consoles sold, most games sold, most profit made. Unless there is some metric you want to use that matters for companies who's primary goal is to make money, the Wii won this generation. Period.

Now, what is entirely true (and I know you are screaming to say) is they handled the transition to the next generation extremely poorly.

Software sales and attach rate outside of bundled games. Try looking that up. The margins on software are huge compared to hardware.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Apparently, no offense, but you're completely oblivious to the world of game streaming. Just so you know, twitch is ubiquitous and is the most popular and most used standard, by which every major online and in person video game tournament is used for. Ustream is a joke. If you were familiar with the world of streaming, you would be aware of this. Let's be clear: twitch is the standard. Ustream is a joke. Period. Folks with the PS4 will buy extra hardware to stream by twitch, because it is the standard and it is the best for game streaming. But it is integrated into XB1 with completely functionality, this will sell hardware - trust me. Ustream will not sell hardware because ustream is a joke. Twitch also is massively popular with millions of visits daily, with TONS of tournaments and what-not. The same cannot be said for ustream. Just as an example, the most popular fighting game tournament in the world is EVO. And that is streamed in twitch and has 100k+ views on average. The user base is massive, because twitch is the best.

As far as XBLG, I know I read that somewhere but i'm having difficulty finding it. I may be wrong, but i'll keep searching. It was some months ago, MS is apparently trying to find ways to even the price difference out with purchasing plans for the XB1 presumably, and I read that a package will include 12 months free. While the PS4 charges you per month. I'll search for this more later today.

Also I have to laugh at anyone who thinks hardware specs will determine the winner of the console wars. As IF the average consumer cares or knows about that stuff? This isn't like a computer enthusiast purchase, give me a break. The 360 is way more popular in the US than the PS3, and while that wasn't so much the case in europe. But i'd expect the popularity of the 360 to translate to XB1 sales - and that is exactly what is happening. XB1 presales are outnumbering PS4 presales in the US by a wide margin in both in store and online retailers such as amazon. So to think that hardware specs will determine the winner, yeah okay if you say so.

That being said, I just think the winner isn't so clear cut, especially in the United States - I have a feeling that the US will favor the XB1 - I admit I could be entirely wrong. Just, the winner isn't clear-cut, period - this is a 10 year battle between MS and sony. The 360 and PS3 sold pretty much identically world-wide, but the 360 decimated the PS3 in the US.....If I had to guess, i'd estimate similar numbers between XB1 and the PS4. XB1 will win in the states, it will be a very close battle in EU. That's exactly how 360 vs PS3 played out, and this is what presale numbers seem to indicate. XB1 is winning US presales despite the price difference - XBL is generally considered superior to PSN online. Although I do admit that PSN online has made massive strides in the past year and is catching up.

As for me? I don't know. I might just buy both. Or I might buy PS4. I'm just having difficulty debating the decision as mentioned earlier, it isn't 100% clear cut. If the XBLG deal does take place, i'd probably get XB1. But i'm not 100% sure about that being certain, although I read it somewhere several weeks ago.

TL'DR: twitch is the standard, The winner isn't clear-cut and will NOT be determined by hardware specs. This isn't a computer DIY purchase, the average consumer is none the wiser.

1) streaming will NOT sell hardware. Never. The people buying consoles are not buying them because they can stream games and it won't ever be a selling point. An interesting add on maybe but not selling point.
2) all it takes is for games to run better on the faster hardware by default and it will make a difference. How you can think it doesn't matter is the real joke here. Just like a PC game now. Build one engine and watch one system run it better than the other by default. Just simply because bit has more power. Less slowdowns etc.

I think we will start seeing more and more developers just using one build for both systems with some minor tweaks between them at times to accommodate differences in OS and controller design.

 

[American Gunner]

We won't know the "winner" until a long ways out. Also the definition of "winner" will vary from person to person. Wii sold something like 20m more consoles than 360 & PS3, but I consider it far from the winner.

The winners are the gamers that don't get caught up in a stupid console war and get to play the games they want, regardless of the system they choose.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The winners are the gamers that don't get caught up in a stupid console war and get to play the games they want, regardless of the system they choose.

No reason to miss out at all. I mean unless you really can only afford one or the other. I can see that since it is $900 for both before games are factored in.

 

[purbeast0]

The winners are the gamers that don't get caught up in a stupid console war and get to play the games they want, regardless of the system they choose.

please stop, you are making too much sense. we can't have any of that on these forums.

 

[American Gunner]

please stop, you are making too much sense. we can't have any of that on these forums.

Whoops, sorry about that. I guess I'll just go back to playing games on both of my consoles....:whiste:

 

[American Gunner]

No reason to miss out at all. I mean unless you really can only afford one or the other. I can see that since it is $900 for both before games are factored in.

I plan on doing this too. I just doubt I will get both at launch. It would make more sense to take the extra $400 and use that for my kids for christmas, and then pick up a PS4 once infamous comes out.

 

[Arkaign]

1) streaming will NOT sell hardware. Never. The people buying consoles are not buying them because they can stream games and it won't ever be a selling point. An interesting add on maybe but not selling point.
2) all it takes is for games to run better on the faster hardware by default and it will make a difference. How you can think it doesn't matter is the real joke here. Just like a PC game now. Build one engine and watch one system run it better than the other by default. Just simply because bit has more power. Less slowdowns etc.

This is true. Another thing is that those preorder numbers on Amazon are a joke. Everyone that wanted to preorder the next-gen consoles largely did it in the first days after E3, along with a new wave of people that gave XB1 a preorder after Microsoft reversed their BS. The preorder numbers back then were totally legit, as they were truly massive.

Now? Being outsold by Battlefield 3? You really think that's accurate? There's no way in hell that more people will order Battlefield 3 like 2 years after it came out compared to PS4/XB1 preorders.

XB1 will get outsold by PS4 easily this generation, even in the US, where it should end up like 60/40 or 55/45. In Europe XB1 will be annihilated outside of the UK, where they will still lose. In Asia and Japan, they're a zero.

It really doesn't matter, play the console you want for the games you want.

Hardware specs will matter in this modern era, when every single cross-platform game will play a little to a TON better on PS4. It's not going to be a mystery, or a case-by-case basis like PS3/X360. It's going to be 95% of games with clear advantages on PS4 due to a massive hardware gap on the same architecture. Players will be able to immediately tell the difference, and with so many gamers having both systems to play the fantastic exclusives on both PS3 and 360, when it comes time to buy cross platform titles for the next-gen, people with both systems would have to be utter morons to buy the XB1 versions. This will hurt attachment rates for XB1.

Streaming is important to maybe .5% of gamers or less, and most of those only care to watch streams of certain games. I don't think the PS4 and XB1 streaming features will matter diddly squat whatsoever. Besides, Twitch is still available on PS4, the game devs just have to use the SDK and add support for that title, which is cake. Regardless, for every person streaming, there are 50,000 people just happily playing their game that don't GAF about that 'feature'. I've played games for 30 years now, and never watched a stream and never streamed gameplay. It doesn't interest me in the least, nor has it ever been mentioned by any gamer I've EVER known, out of thousands.

XB1 will live thanks to fanboys and thanks to great exclusives. It will be hurt by poor launch pricing, mandatory kinect, and especially the crappy hardware. In case you haven't paid attention over the past 30 years of consoles, nobody stays on top for long, and XB1 has utterly dropped the ball. X360 'won' the US current gen how? Let's count the ways :

First launch <-- not true this time
Better hardware design <-- not true this time
Easier development compared to competition <-- not true this time
Gaming hardware focused on GAMING <-- not true this time (see HD-DVD expansion sales, lol)
GREAT exclusives <-- still holds true, though Sony has definitely upped the ante
HUGELY LOWER PRICE <-- Whoops, total opposite this time!

5/6 'pros' for the 360 are now out the window for the XB1.