PS4 or Xbox One?

[Flint]

I vividly recall the console war between the PS3 and Xbox 360 when I argued the PS3 was technically superior and was shouted down by Microsoft fans. While the PS3 made a ton of money for Sony, it didn't sell as well as the Xbox 360, in part because the best game developers didn't take full advantage of the PS3 hardware and in part because Sony's online service wasn't as friendly to the users. Then, of course, there was Halo which helped Xbox quite a bit.

So, now the console war is about to start again between the PS4 and the Xbox One. According to one game store the PS4 for preselling significantly better than the Xbox One.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/new ... ontent=INQ

Is this a sign that Sony got it right and Microsoft missed the mark. This time I actually prefer the Xbox approach to utilizing cloud computing power to improve the performance of the home hardware, but that requires and always on low latency (high speed) internet connection.

Neither console is leaps and bounds higher performing than the previous generation, so it boils down to cost, content, online, and users.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Haywood]

I was a lot more interested in the Xbox One before they gutted WMC Extender functionality and set it up to be used with a cable box via HDMI pass-thru and IR emitter. They missed a huge opportunity when they opted to not put a CableCARD tuner in it. I'm also creeped out by thy privacy implications of the always on camera and microphone in an era in which the government has absolutely zero respect for privacy or the Fourth Amendment and is perfectly OK with warrantless hacking. I am also not excited about having to pay Microsoft a bunch of money to use subscription services (i.e. Netflix) that I'm already paying for. I haven't 100% ruled out the One, but I'm skeptical at this point.

 

[Towen7]

I'm of the opinion that the Xbox 360's advantages were primarily the on-line services. I've read stats that indicate that most Xbox 360's were used more for online services than for gaming.

 

[Haywood]

I'm of the opinion that the Xbox 360's advantages were primarily the on-line services. I've read stats that indicate that most Xbox 360's were used more for online services than for gaming.

I don't understand the "advantage" there. The PS3 has Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, Hulu Plus, Cinema Now, Crunchyroll and a bunch of other streaming services, plus a pretty robust DLNA client that all work out of the box without the need to pay for any additional subscriptions. Microsoft charges $60/year for the privilege. How is that a deal?

 

[Towen7]

Never said it was a deal. Just that the online services (especially the gaming) with Xbox were deep, robust, and the UIs worked well...

Personally I am with you, my Xbox 360s were almost exclusively used for Media Center and I was never able to get over needing to pay for a Gold account to access. I'll probably not buy either as I'm just not a gamer anymore.

 

[lulimet]

I may go with Xbox 1 but I will wait for the price to go down. I will not pay $500 for a game console unless it also happens to be a fully fledged PC too.

Not interested in the PS4. I was disappointed with Sony's online play. The games I play almost always lagged on the PS Network while they ran smooth on Live.

 

[TKoP]

I was under the impression that there were a lot of "issues" with the initial settings of Xbox weren't well received. For example, the always on connection to the internet, the inability to freely share games. And then it was $100 more than the PS4.

As for the last Xbox vs PS console war, I thought the initial reason the Xbox was a bigger seller was the content. Initially, the Xbox 360 had far better exclusive content than the PS3. Also, it came out first, so had much more traction which I think kept it going even after the PS3 caught up with the content.

 

[lulimet]

I was under the impression that there were a lot of "issues" with the initial settings of Xbox weren't well received. For example, the always on connection to the internet, the inability to freely share games. And then it was $100 more than the PS4.

I read somewhere that Microsoft has scaled back on that nonsense after all the backlash it received. But as they say, I will only believe it when I see it.

 

[Srvy]

Once my kids discovered the online gaming of the Xbox the PS3 hardly gets turned on. They have all over Sony in that respect.

 

[Towen7]

Some of the non-sense that Microsoft was talking about was, IMHO, a needed step to push console gaming to a new level. The always on connection would have allowed game and OS updates to be downloaded and installed in the background. The limitations on selling discs was a trade off for a system that would allow you to not need the disc once you installed a game.

 

[The DirtMerchant]

The PS3 while more powerful was not well utilized. 360 was the choice, by far for gamers (and me). I use my PS3 for Blu-Ray playback and to access my NAS for music/video/pictures only.

For the NextGen hardware...If I was still a gamer, I think I would go for the X-One w/o research. If I was still a gamer, I would also just by both eventually. But I am no longer a gamer. I'm going to have to wait for several months post-release date for thorough understanding of the pros/cons of each, some forum discussion here...and the PROBABLY a purchase of one, but not definite.

 

[The DirtMerchant]

Haven't been following developments on these two platforms. I know the release dates are in a month or two. Have they specced out and given some indication of which will be better for certain activities?

 

[Akula]

Haven't been following developments on these two platforms. I know the release dates are in a month or two. Have they specced out and given some indication of which will be better for certain activities?

They may have.

Problem is, I'm finding it intensely difficult to give the slightest of care regarding this next generation of consoles. I'm not using my 360 as much as I used to, and honestly, I'm not at all sure I'll buy one of these- ever. Maybe I will, I don't know, just for the time being they have an uphill battle to convince me what is going to be so much better than my 360 that it's worth me laying out $400.

 

[Towen7]

From a hardware perspective the PS4 has a horsepower advantage but so did the PS3 when compared to the 360. I really do think comparing specs on these platforms isn't the best way to choose. Sure, there will be exclusives on either side but from a gaming perspective they will perform nearly identically. But what you are buying into is a platform. Do you want a second screen experience? Or the ability to play your saved games at your friend's house? Do you want to be able to start a game on your console, continue it on your phone or tablet? Do you wants apps to use machine to access he web or additional content?

 

[The DirtMerchant]

... But what you are buying into is a platform. Do you want a second screen experience? Or the ability to play your saved games at your friend's house? Do you want to be able to start a game on your console, continue it on your phone or tablet? Do you wants apps to use machine to access he web or additional content?

Please allow me to clarify
This is exactly what I meant by "specced out". Didn't mean the technical version of hardware specifications.

 

[Towen7]

I admit to not knowing much about PS4.

Xbox however has some interesting things going on.
SmartGlass on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/smartglass
http://winsupersite.com/xbox/smartglass ... ne-preview

Xbox home Gold allows the entire household to share one account
Digital Sharing allows anyone to play any digital (non disc based) games on your console, or for you to access any digital games you bought even when playing on someone else's console.
http://winsupersite.com/xbox/xbox-live- ... al-sharing

It's a bit down the road but there is talk at MS about making it much easier for programmers to write code to will work on all platforms; Xbox, Windows RT, Windows, and Windows Phone.

 

[Flint]

Now that the PS4 has launched and the Xbox One is right around the corner, I was wondering if anyone is getting more interested in one of these consoles?

What do you think?

 

[jomari]

i was a first gen owner of the ps3 fat model, then the slim model, then well... both of them worked pretty darn well.

aside from the heat that the first gen i had was producing (it made my room 10 degrees warmer), it still performed well. i just plugged in some usb fans to assist air flow. i upgraded because i didnt need the backwards capability, and the fact that gamestop was having a decent enough deal to upgrade, i was happy.

with this console, i think im going to stick around a bit longer, see the quirks get resolved. we are at 1.5 update already, and it seems that day one patches are the norm already. do i mind? not really, especially with hardware. these days hardware is of course manufactured longer, and we cannot anticipate roll out day to have 100 percent perfect performance. with games, well, its a norm. cant do much as a consumer on that note.

i digress.

i plan to get it when i find a decent game to justify it. for the meantime, the order 1886 seems pleasing, but reminds me of dishonored, and well... i was let down by that one.

BF4, ACBF i both already have on the ps3, and despite the little graphic detail that can be seen on the ps4 , i cant justify it just yet.

does it mean i want the xbox one? nope. i grew up using a ps3, and with all due respect to xbox owners, i just got used to it. different product, different school, but same goal - to have fun.

i DO want to play destiny, that one seems to be my ticket. if not that, well, watch dog isnt as appeasing for me, despite being created by ubisoft montreal *excellent company btw, i guess uncharted 4 is the only one i want at this point.

 

[Towen7]

I think this will be the last gneration of gaming consoles.

Netflix stated that the PS3 was the most used device for streaming service. MS stated last year than the 360 was used more for "online service" than for gaming. It's pretty clear that both MS and Sony are positioning their boxes as entertainment hubs.

 

[Akula]

I think this will be the last gneration of gaming consoles.

Netflix stated that the PS3 was the most used device for streaming service. MS stated last year than the 360 was used more for "online service" than for gaming. It's pretty clear that both MS and Sony are positioning their boxes as entertainment hubs.

I don't know that I agree. While the consoles are becoming entertainment hubs, their main purpose (and the reason they're so crammed with hardware) is gaming. A regular Blu-Ray player will stream from numerous services and it doesn't have even a meaningful fraction of the horsepower.

As for being interested in a new one, I'm still not. I've been an Xbox 360 owner, and I would have leaned toward the XBone if I wanted one, but having just finished Halo 4 (yeah, just this afternoon) I have no interest in playing any future Halo games- which is what would have kept me going Microsoft. I guess I'll have to wait and see what interesting games come out for the things before I decide to drop the case- and I'll need to see games that aren't launching on my 360 first. If there's a port for those of us with older units, then that means I see less point in a $400-500 console to play the same game.