PS4 / Xbox One console war

[Wonderbanana]

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Just kidding Been a long 24 hours, brain not completely registering

[Phellan Wolf]

Mmmm m m there is something fishy about their decission. As someone already mentioned they get back on track once the user base gets bigger.
Also Sony might have something under the hood. Anyway I won't buy none of the two unless one of two gets a Panzer Dragoon sequel
And no, Crimson Dragon is not PD.

[DJ Incompetent]

Don Mattrick's First Draft of the Xbox One Update Announcement

[Jonathan Ingram]

What, you mean aside from being honest and paying for things you use?

What does choosing not to support the odious and socially backward practices of preventing free access to digital information and instituting intellectual property rights upon it have to do with honesty?

This is going along with the incorrect assumption that jailbreak=pirate.

I`ll rephrase: I don`t know anyone with a jailbroken iPhone who doesn`t pirate stuff.

[Alfred]

i think i've got an erection from imagining friendly's emotional torment at this news
if he bricked his ps3 with the update i may actually ejaculate

lol poor friendly.

[Ganelon]

And apparently the whole "family sharing" thing was merely for timed demos of the games you have:

http://www.heyuguysgaming.com/news/1250 ... -must-read

I fail to see a convincing argument from this blog entry. If these opinions are from real Microsoft employees, then I wouldn't be surprised if there was a strong culture of groupthink and organizational influence within the Xbox division.

Used gaming is bad for gaming? It likely is (the only exception is if some gamers will only pay for used and that lost revenue makes up for the additional gains from everyone paying new game prices). However, Microsoft isn't really getting hurt. It's the publishers that are most affected. If used games were such a revenue killer, then why didn't the major publishers promise to support the Xbox exclusively? If the Xbox exclusively had 80% of the games out there, that would've made Xbox the system to get next generation regardless of its policies. The fact that publishers didn't care and were still planning to release games on PS4 suggests Microsoft vastly overestimated the impact of used games.

Demo mode only for family sharing? "Never any catch"? You can already see which games/demos your friends have played and download the demos for free. I'm really surprised that all the hoopla about family sharing was just for demos. Gamers would've been upset even more. Being able to save 15-45 minutes of play is hardly groundbreaking, and numerous existing demos already support that option. And as mentioned, there's no real reason it can't still be supported.

A social network helped by the Kinect? Fair enough, but what exactly can't be done now? The Kinect hasn't disappeared or anything. If the daily connections were to enable constant "home space" updates, then why would you force people to reveal to others what they don't want to willingly show? It seems to make a lot more sense to let your customers sync when they feel like it. Or, I would suspect, is Microsoft upset that it won't have constant access to user data with which to commercialize?

Wake me up when someone makes a good argument about why we should feel sad about the 180.

[Cuilan]

If used games were such a revenue killer, then why didn't the major publishers promise to support the Xbox exclusively?

My guess would be because the major publishers were always aware of Microsoft's "worst-case scenario" plan, the 180 we're seeing right now. Microsoft tried to play a game of chicken with consumers, but they didn't have the guts to play the game for very long, surely because they were already prepared to lose. You'd think the reactions to the leaked documents from a while ago should have told them that it wasn't a game worth playing at all, yet here we are.

[Udderdude]

Don Mattress should get his own TV show. Right after The Halo Show, starring Halo Guy.

[stryc9]

My guess would be because the major publishers were always aware of Microsoft's "worst-case scenario" plan, the 180 we're seeing right now. Microsoft tried to play a game of chicken with consumers, but they didn't have the guts to play the game for very long, surely because they were already prepared to lose. You'd think the reactions to the leaked documents from a while ago should have told them that it wasn't a game worth playing at all, yet here we are.

That's what I think the plan was. And why shouldn't they try? Consumers don't exactly have a great track record for being too smart (look how they eagerly gobbled up touch technology, despite being inferior to what came before. Try explaining that to the average touch screen phone user and you'll get blank stares).

I'm just relieved that in this case it didn't happen. Maybe next gen.

[Ed Oscuro]

https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/stat ... 3420830720
teehee

[Skykid]

Don Mattrick's First Draft of the Xbox One Update Announcement

That's actually quite convincing.

[Lord Satori]

This might be some strange form of denial on my part, but does anyone else feel like microsoft might try to sneak DRM Xbone under the radar? It feels strange for them to suddenly turn around like this.

[matrigs]

This might be some strange form of denial on my part, but does anyone else feel like microsoft might try to sneak DRM Xbone under the radar? It feels strange for them to suddenly turn around like this.

they most certainly will. as will sony. and nintendo. and everyone else.

[Wonderbanana]

This might be some strange form of denial on my part, but does anyone else feel like microsoft might try to sneak DRM Xbone under the radar? It feels strange for them to suddenly turn around like this.

I don't think they will now this gen, not 100% anyway.

They are more likely to introduce some system that runs alongside the current model which has some kind of 'benefit', be that cheaper to buy or sharing or whatever. This way you don't upset anyone but also get people used to the model before introducing it wholesale with the next generation.

Of course the next generation may never truly come, I still think this will the last true console generation (if indeed you can even call it that) - the next wave will be imo something very different to what we are used too.

[Lord Satori]

you know a console generation is fucked when people are already talking about whats going to come AFTER that.

[Cuilan]

Of course the next generation may never truly come, I still think this will the last true console generation (if indeed you can even call it that) - the next wave will be imo something very different to what we are used too.

Come next generation, Nintendo will probably be the only one still releasing a traditional console/handheld with fully physical media, assuming they're still around by then.

Microsoft will probably start their own OnLive-esque streaming service in place of a new console.

Sony will either go full streaming with Gaikai, or release a console that behaves similarly to the Xbox One pre-180.

[BryanM]

they most certainly will. as will sony. and nintendo. and everyone else.

Considering the Sony Guy had no idea what the question even meant when he was asked it months ago, and his only wish seemed to be for the creepy gaijin to stop being so weird... maybe we can give our Japanese brahs some rope before lumping them in right away with pedophiles like Microsoft.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I had a friend tell me how much he was looking forward to the XB1 today. He was actually saying he would have preferred it if it had been a purely digital download only console so nobody could complain about the checking in once every 24 hours.

I tried in vain to explain why digital-only is bad for preserving games for future generations and their practices are generally anti-consumer, but it was pointless. His only real response was that "oh it'll be emulated eventually" (not if it isn't hacked and they don't figure out how to dump games, not even N64 emulation is 100% for all games), and several times he gushed about how the Kinect 2 was so much more responsive, how it'll tell if you waggle a finger (it'll still misread inputs and be less accurate than a digital stick & buttons). Couldn't understand at all why relying on a camera for input was a bad idea (Microsoft will probably push devs to make use of it in games in gimmicky ways for all we know). He's basically a perfect representation of your average casual gamer.

If it weren't for all the negative press MS is currently getting, I'd be seriously afraid of the Xboned actually being a successful console. Now that they've backpedaled though and are practically begging for gamers to forgive them and buy their console, chances are it'll be a much more level playing field vs. PS4. I'd still rather see PS4 do better, since they weren't dumb enough to alienate their consumers with something so idiotic to begin with.

[Ed Oscuro]

Steve Ballin's internal Microsoft email on Don Mattrick's surprise move from Microsoft to Zynga:

Zynga announced today that Don Mattrick would be its new CEO, effective July 8. This is a great opportunity for Don, and I wish him success. Don’s directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday.
[...]
In the past month, the IEB [Interacive Entertainment Business - Ed] team showed for the first time here on our Redmond campus, and again at E3, how we are going to continue to transform entertainment with Xbox One. I am incredibly proud of the work and vision culminating in Xbox One.
[...]
Thank you, Don, for setting us on a path to completely redefine the entertainment industry. The strong leadership team at IEB and their teams are well positioned to deliver the next-generation entertainment console, as well as transformative entertainment experiences, long into the future.

Forbes reports that "Mattrick has a long history in gaming at Electronic Arts, where he worked with Zynga board member Bing Gordon, and Microsoft."

As a reminder to those who see Mattrick as a villain, he did say this earlier in June:

"We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity," Mattrick concluded. "While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds."

[dave4shmups]

I don't understand why any one would see Mattrick as villain. The Xbox One reveal event was a PR disaster, but unless he wrote all the words that he said-as opposed to memorizing them or using a teleprompter-then he had to say whatever the powers that be at Microsoft wanted him to say.

I'm not going to pre-order the Xbox One (or the PS4, for that matter), but I was really impressed by all the game play videos Microsoft showed off at their E3 press conference. I'll wait until the price drops, even if that takes a few years.

[Udderdude]

Yeah, he's a boring as fuck corporate mouthpiece who doesn't understand games, but don't shoot the messenger .. >_>

[Gespenst]

http://www.dualshockers.com/2013/07/02/ ... egatively/

Wow. Just wow.

[Udderdude]

Considering their target audience and the lack of success for the 360 in Japan, it's not much of a surprise.

[Zerst]

It's even less of a surprise when you consider that console gaming in Japan barely exists anymore anyway. Portable games and phone games where you spend $5 a pop to gamble on maybe getting a super rare virtual sticker reign supreme.

[Udderdude]

What happened Japan .. you used to be teh hardcorz. :(

[dave4shmups]

It's even less of a surprise when you consider that console gaming in Japan barely exists anymore anyway. Portable games and phone games where you spend $5 a pop to gamble on maybe getting a super rare virtual sticker reign supreme.

Really? That's interesting. There are people in this country who do think that smart phones and tablets will eventually do away with consoles, although, IMO, that's debatable. Rich, on Reviewtechusa on Youtube showed how you can hook up a smart phone to an HDTV via an HDMI cable. Pretty impressive, but for me personally, smart phones and tablet devices need to come down in price before I'd consider getting either as my primary gaming platform.

[ZacharyB]

It's not about you or our demographic anymore. It's about the demographic 10-20 years younger than us, because they are the only ones buying games in significant numbers (via their parents, usually).

Everyone else is too old or too disinterested to spend money in a way that drives the market towards our preferences any longer.

[spadgy]

Tonight I spent about four hours with the PlayStation 4; played Drive Club and Knack plently, plus some AR demos.

My main feedback? I really like the controller (free from rumble, and wired into a dev station.

In sort, it seem tight, robust and with a nice weight, feel and build quality. The triggers were the highlight - nice and resistant. the sticks felt very nice, and in general it felt like a PS3 controller had mated with an Xbox 360 controller.

The buttons were pretty tasty, the d-pad especially nice for my tastes, and though I didn't get to see how the touch pad felt, it kind of clicked like a Mac mouse.

It all felt a lot stiffer and firmer than previous PlayStation controllers, and was very comfortable.

I've always favoured PlayStation controllers over Xbox controllers, and this one, with it's leanings towards the feel of an Box pad, was lovely. I'm satisfied.

[dcharlieJP]

good to hear another hands on on the pad, spadgy- the overall feeling seems to be that the controller is absolutely brilliant from all quarters.

[BulletMagnet]

Any thoughts on the games themselves, or are you not allowed to talk about those yet?