Thoughts on Xbox One vs PS4?

[Nathan4102]

What do you guys think about the whole Xbox One vs PS4 thing this year? Which do you think is best? Why?

I've always been an Xbox guy, but unless the Xbox changes significantly before release, I'm probably going to switch to a PS4. 4 reaons:

1. Xbox is 100$ more expensive. After you add on a decent sized HD and the Kinect, it'll likely be waaay more.
2. Xbox spies on you!
3. No used games on the Xbox
4. Internet outages (I get them frequently) shouldn't affect offline gaming.

Post what you guys think of this epic (Not really) console battle!

[rdrake]

Nathan4102 @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 6:42 pm wrote:

1. Xbox is 100$ more expensive. After you add on a decent sized HD and the Kinect, it'll likely be waaay more.

The HDD is 500 GB (same size as PS4) and the Kinect is included. To me the $100 isn't a big deal, but to many it probably will be.

Nathan4102 @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 6:42 pm wrote:

2. Xbox spies on you!

I'm not sure what you mean here. That the Kinect must always be connected? That creeps me out.

Nathan4102 @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 6:42 pm wrote:

3. No used games on the Xbox

Not in the way we have now, no. They say you can lend games to friends, transfer licenses to friends (once), and resell your games via an authorized retailer. To me this sounds like a hybrid of the current console used game sales model and Steam.

Nathan4102 @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 6:42 pm wrote:

4. Internet outages (I get them frequently) shouldn't affect offline gaming.

Agreed. It won't be nearly as severe as many PC games (looking at you, Ubisoft), but it still seems unnecessary.

Personally I'm torn. I really like the idea of being able to share my games with friends and not having to lug discs around. I also rarely resell my games out of principle. I can't stand the fact that places like EB Games give you $15 for a $60 game that's been out for a month, then resells it for $55 to some sucker.

On the other hand I immensely dislike the idea of having Kinect connected all the time. I don't care if it says it's off. If it's plugged in, it can be turned on. I'm not sure why it always needs to be connected and check in every 24 hours. Can't it authorize my games for offline play? It's not like I can lend a game to a friend without temporarily transferring the license (which requires being online) anyway.

It'll be interesting to see how Microsoft proceeds. If they can demonstrate enough value with their proposed model then who knows, it may take off. I don't see many people viewing a purely digital good as being as valuable as a physical product. If they can't hold the disc in their hand, they're unlikely to want to pay as much. I don't see them having Steam-level sales any time soon. Steam basically competes with free, so their prices have to be low.

I could still never get a PS4. Buying a Sony product is essentially the same as being a frog in a pot of boiling water. I also consider their controllers to be a crime against humanity. I'd rather just play some PC or iOS games.

[Tony]

rdrake @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 7:49 pm wrote:

Nathan4102 @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 6:42 pm wrote:

2. Xbox spies on you!

I'm not sure what you mean here. That the Kinect must always be connected? That creeps me out.

http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2013/05/24


This hasn't yet been mentioned, but my understanding of the always-on / DRM is that should your xbox account get banned / suspended, all of the games go down with the account as well.

@rdrake -- since the only point you explicitly pointed out against PS4 is the controller, you might be interested to know that there are 3rd party hardware accessory companies that are cashing in on the massive group of games that will be making the switch over to PS4 for this gen.

[Nathan4102]

rdrake @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:49 pm wrote:

Nathan4102 @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 6:42 pm wrote:

1. Xbox is 100$ more expensive. After you add on a decent sized HD and the Kinect, it'll likely be waaay more.

The HDD is 500 GB (same size as PS4) and the Kinect is included. To me the $100 isn't a big deal, but to many it probably will be.

I first heard that the $500 model only had an OS sized HD and didn't include the kinect. Just looked it up, you're right.

Other then that, I agree with most of what you said.

@Tony, I've had bad experiences with 3'rd party controllers. The Playstation controller is horrible, but I doubt there's a 3'rd party controller better than it.

[rdrake]

Tony @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:01 pm wrote:

@rdrake -- since the only point you explicitly pointed out against PS4 is the controller, you might be interested to know that there are 3rd party hardware accessory companies that are cashing in on the massive group of games that will be making the switch over to PS4 for this gen.

That doesn't seem like nearly as bad of a controller. I haven't paid as much attention to the PS4 to be honest.

In all likelihood I'll avoid buying another console until something pulls me to one side or another. Sony has had few exclusives that really mattered to me. Halo is a guilty pleasure, so that's swayed me in the past.

I'm hopeful Microsoft will step up their game with Xbox Live to better match PSN+. PSN+ seems to have a bunch of free games and nice sales. Xbox Live has tons of ads on the dashboard, no free games (until now), and awful sales. The actual online experience is no contest.

Any word on the multimedia capabilities of either console? I'd love to be able to watch my MKVs, finally.

[Tony]

Nathan4102 @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:08 pm wrote:

The Playstation controller is horrible, but I doubt there's a 3'rd party controller better than it.

Alright, so maybe I just don't game enough to understand what you guys are talking about. In which way is it "horrible"?

[Nathan4102]

Well for one, the feel of them is bad compared to official controllers. 3rd party controllers are usually way larger and bulkier then the real ones, and made of cheaper stuff. The main reason, though, is how fast they break. Ive owned 2 3rd party xbox controllers, both from different companies, and they both broke within a month.

[Tony]

That answer is about 3rd party controllers, not the

Nathan4102 @ Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:08 pm wrote:

The Playstation controller is horrible

that I've asked about.

[Insectoid]

A lot of the complaints stem from the thumb sticks- they're convex rather than concave, so your fingers tend to slide off them when you game. Also, the triggers extend below the controller and consequently often get pressed unintentionally when the controller is set down. This is especially annoying when watching movies, since those buttons control playback and the control is picked up and replaced fairly often.

It looks like the dualshock 4 has fixed the thumbstick issue, but the faults with the trigger persist unless the fix isn't visible.

[Tony]

Insectoid @ Sun Jun 16, 2013 1:11 am wrote:

This is especially annoying when watching movies, since those buttons control playback and the control is picked up and replaced fairly often.

I see what you mean about the trigger, though I don't buy the "picked up .. fairly often [when watching movies]" use-case. In practice, I haven't run into an issue with this... yet.

It seems strange to dismiss a gaming console, because the controller of the previous generation doesn't suit an edge-case behaviour for watching movies.

[BigBear]

Quote:

I really like the idea of being able to share my games with friends and not having to lug discs around.

http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license

You can only give your disc based games to your friends.


So you sign into your account on a friends Xbox One and play any of your games, you can even play any of your games with someone who is on your console.

But how will it know you're not on your Xbox?
Will each Xbox have an owner account? Can you have multiple owners? If not then only an owner can have this privilege?
If you can have multiple owners why and be an owner of multiple consoles then why can't you just add yourself as an owner to your friends console?

[Raknarg]

I liked the old ps1 and ps2 controllers better than any others I've used on any console.

[Panphobia]

I have the Ps3, 360 and a Wii-U atm, I have to say the feel of the 360 controllers is the best of all the ones I have. It fits your hands the best.

[Raknarg]

meh, Im just used to the others, the xbox feels too big to me

[Nathan4102]

Panphobia @ Sun Jun 16, 2013 11:41 pm wrote:

I have the Ps3, 360 and a Wii-U atm, I have to say the feel of the 360 controllers is the best of all the ones I have. It fits your hands the best.

Jesus, you have a PS3, 360, AND Wii-U? I don't see a point in having more than 1 top-gen console, especially 360-PS3. Besides a few exclusives, they do basically the same thing.