XBone Vs PS4 Vs PC - VIDEOGAME POLITICS THUNDERDOME - PS4:900p-XBone:720p-PC::smug:

[McG]

Now that we are 6 months in, I'm with Max. I miss having the voice controls from Kinect on other TVs, and I have found that way too easy to get used to. I think that Microsoft, if they could get into the "way back machine", would match Sony's price including the Kinect from launch. I know that there is a higher cost to include the Kinect, but I think that M$ would have eaten that.

It would have been a positive differentiator, not a negative one. in other words, it would have been "same price, and cool voice controls", instead of forcing the consumer to attribute value to it like "$100 extra, and I get Kinect, but I don't know if I am getting value".

I do see a change in M$ though, with a new CEO, and a gamer in charge of Xbox now.

If Xbox One is at 5 million, and PS4 is at 7 million, then making up 2 million in sales, if it remains at that gap for the duration, is nothing. if however M$ can't make up the almost 30% gap over the life of this generation, then they have a problem.

For this reason alone, I think that Microsoft will try to hit it out of the park at E3, and you will see bundling going on as they attempt to close the gap.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Max Cow Disease

I'm still not so certain. I could see a further price drop on the console but the Kinect is too integral to the core vision of the system to get yanked a year in. Regardless of its present efficacy (I use it way more than I thought I would to navigate, etc.), I think its role will increase and believe Microsoft still wants developers to know that there's a Kinect shipped with every XB1.

3rd party developers are not going to worry about kinect or include it in development (other than tacked on things here and there)

I would bet a large sum of money they will eventually release a cheaper bundle sans kinect. They have been trying to have a "Wii Sports" moment but its just not going to happen. Nobody spends $500 on a console for voice controls on their tv, not to mention you could do that with a cheap microphone built into the controller

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by McG

If Xbox One is at 5 million, and PS4 is at 7 million, then making up 2 million in sales, if it remains at that gap for the duration, is nothing. if however M$ can't make up the almost 30% gap over the life of this generation, then they have a problem.

For the sake of clarity, the 5 million for the Xbone is shipped to retailers and not actually sold to customers. Microsoft's previous press release in January had 3.9 million shipped to retailers with about a million unsold in the retail channel (so about 3 million actually sold). Many people figure the inventory in the channel is probably about the same so they're likely sitting around 4 million actually sold to customers versus the 7 million PS4's.

The PS4 is basically selling at a million per month pace (about the same number that Microsoft is pushing into the retail chain during a full quarter). It would not be unreasonable to see the consoles at a 2 to 1 ratio worldwide by the time E3 hits.

Apparently the PS4 is also outselling the initial trajectory of the Wii. But we all know what is happening to the Wii U - so clearly Sony is doomed!

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by Max Cow Disease

I'm still not so certain. I could see a further price drop on the console but the Kinect is too integral to the core vision of the system to get yanked a year in. Regardless of its present efficacy (I use it way more than I thought I would to navigate, etc.), I think its role will increase and believe Microsoft still wants developers to know that there's a Kinect shipped with every XB1.

I'm not so sure the new CEO Satya Nadella is willing to take a billion dollar loss from the next 10 million sold consoles on what is effectively a very small slice of the profits of MSFT. A move like that doesn't make economic sense in this situation whereas if it Kinect was unbundled to make the price cut it would. Mind you the Titanfall bundling and subsequent system price cut didn't have a huge effect on system sales so who knows what their next move will be.

Market momentum has a way of snowballing so it's possible MSFT's hand will be forced sooner rather than later. Current projection of console sales by Forbes.

Source

[McG]

Originally Posted by chemgear

For the sake of clarity, the 5 million for the Xbone is shipped to retailers and not actually sold to customers. Microsoft's previous press release in January had 3.9 million shipped to retailers with about a million unsold in the retail channel (so about 3 million actually sold). Many people figure the inventory in the channel is probably about the same so they're likely sitting around 4 million actually sold to customers versus the 7 million PS4's.

The PS4 is basically selling at a million per month pace (about the same number that Microsoft is pushing into the retail chain during a full quarter). It would not be unreasonable to see the consoles at a 2 to 1 ratio worldwide by the time E3 hits.

Apparently the PS4 is also outselling the initial trajectory of the Wii. But we all know what is happening to the Wii U - so clearly Sony is doomed!

to confuse matters even further, xbox one is available in 13 countries, and ps4 in 79 according to forbes. i get the controlled launch idea, but M$ really should be trying move into more countries. it makes the perceived gap less onerous.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I would bet a large sum of money they will eventually release a cheaper bundle sans kinect.

Don't hold your breath.

[AcGold]

I hope Microsoft doesn't go bust on the XB1 and can catch the ps4. A monopoly would be the worst thing possible, all you need to do is look at the NHL series from EA to see what monopolies do to gaming.

[Max Cow Disease]

Originally Posted by AcGold

I hope Microsoft doesn't go bust on the XB1 and can catch the ps4. A monopoly would be the worst thing possible, all you need to do is look at the NHL series from EA to see what monopolies do to gaming.

I wouldn't worry about it. Relative to the 360's start, the One can already be considered quite successful, and there are still several years of combat to be fought on the console battleground. Once games like Halo (2 anniversary and/or Halo 5) and Gears of War reach the market, sales will probably spike a bit, and global numbers could also be expected to increase once Microsoft finally launches the thing in more than 13 countries/territories.

The Playstation 4 has been a massive success in terms of pure sales performance and is causing people to fall into the trap of equating this to the One somehow being a potential failure, but there are still (we assume) over 4 million people using the console in the first 5 months. Relative to the total sales numbers as of today, a 2-3 million unit gap seems massive, but isn't so large once the total number of consoles sold reaches the tens of millions. Even if the gap continues to widen, 50 million consoles versus, say, 41 million consoles doesn't seem like an immense gulf to me as a gamer (and I don't even care about the current difference, really).

Needless to say though, this E3 will be massive for Microsoft. By the sounds of things they've been putting ungodly amounts of time into planning for it, and will no doubt be looking to make further announcements that will hopefully help them close the gap and slowly strike from the memories of gamers the debacle that was Microsoft's E3 2013.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by McG

Now that we are 6 months in, I'm with Max. I miss having the voice controls from Kinect on other TVs, and I have found that way too easy to get used to. I think that Microsoft, if they could get into the "way back machine", would match Sony's price including the Kinect from launch. I know that there is a higher cost to include the Kinect, but I think that M$ would have eaten that.

I agree. My 360 is in the bedroom now and it annoys me if the controller finds it way under the bed or something to get have to go find it. It seems stupid but I love the voice control stuff.

I also enjoy the snap feature and use it quite often. Wife and kids are out today and I've been playing fifa all day with the games snapped up in the corner. Really enjoying the console.

That said as I have always said I will also have a PS4 at some point. I suspect many PS4 owners will eventually have a xbox one at some point.

[ComixZone]

Having had both systems since launch, I'll just say that my Xbox One has seen a small fraction of the playtime my PS4 has.

With the only two "AAA" exclusives really being inFamous and TitanFall (TitanFall makes up like, 90% of my One's usage to this day), all cross platform games I've had have been played on PS4 because they flat out run better on the PS4.

I'm also constantly annoyed by how utterly clunky the One is. Having to deal with the numerous issues that have plagued the system has also really soured my opinion of the console (annoying things like party chat being broken for times, headsets not working even though they'd released the adapter). Constant system updates, having to update controller firmware - not having system updates install while I'm at work. It's nice to know that if I hear of a system update being pushed to the PS4 - I know I won't have to wait the 40 minutes it takes to do it next time I turn the system on, because it does it by itself while I'm at work.

Hopefully the One has a big fall line-up, but I think the PS4 has become my console of choice.

[TorqueDog]

I'm working with an internal beta build right now and it broke my Kinect for the weekend. I had no idea how much I actually used it until I wasn't able to anymore.

"Xbox on... XBOX ON. XBO- oh god damn it, I forgot, it's broken."
[presses power button, sits down]
"Ugh, I have to sign in manually."
[manually signs in, starts Titanfall]
"I need some tunes. Xbox, snap Mus-... $@#%."
[presses Nexus button, goes to Snap, snaps Music app]

It may not seem like a big deal, but once you get used to using the Voice UI and Natural UI that the Kinect affords, you definitely miss having them when they aren't available. I can't count how many times I've almost shouted "Xbox record that" during an epic moment only to remember at the last second "... Xbox 360. D'oh."

[ernie]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Having had both systems since launch, I'll just say that my Xbox One has seen a small fraction of the playtime my PS4 has.

With the only two "AAA" exclusives really being inFamous and TitanFall (TitanFall makes up like, 90% of my One's usage to this day), all cross platform games I've had have been played on PS4 because they flat out run better on the PS4.

Which is fine. To each their own. For me if I had both most of the cross-platform stuff would still be xbox because quite frankly I still can't stand the PS controllers in comparison to the xbox ones.

[Rhettzky]

Originally Posted by ernie

Which is fine. To each their own. For me if I had both most of the cross-platform stuff would still be xbox because quite frankly I still can't stand the PS controllers in comparison to the xbox ones.

I've owned all playstation consoles have also owned the previous Xbox consoles and will definitely own a One. You've brought up the controller comparison before but I honestly haven't had an issue once swapping between systems. There is a noticeable difference swapping from my PS3 controller to Xbox 360 but you get used to it pretty quick. And now that the PS4 controller is larger it is much closer to the feel of the Xbox controller so maybe it's just that you haven't used the playstation controller as much as the Xbox ones and that is the one you are used to? I'm not sure but having played both I can't say that one is superior to the other, they're just different.

Either way, I agree with your previous post with respect to owning both systems. I'll definitely own a XB1 and will enjoy it just as much as my previous Xbox's. With the lower console prices, there is just no need to limit yourself to one system and miss out on some pretty awesome exclusives on both sides.

[TorqueDog]

I will say that I vastly prefer the DS4 to the previous DS3/DS2/DS controllers. The controller feels much better in the hands, the sticks are lower AND they're concave FINALLY. Convex sticks was idiotic, my thumbs would always slip off and I'd have to reposition them.

As far as controllers go, XB1 > X360 > DS4 > A Scared Porcupine >>>>>>> Any previous Dualshock Controller.

[Hockeyguy15]

I actually prefer the DS4 to the 360 controller.

Going from DS4 back to 360 to play NHL with buddies, we all comment how heavy and old it feels. Not sure what the XB1 is like, but I assume it's a better version of the 360.

[Max Cow Disease]

Same here. I still prefer Microsoft's controller overall (the One's controller is also the most aesthetically pleasing that I've ever seen), but Sony did relative wonders with the DS4. It's a vast improvement over the 3 in every facet, and it's odd to me that it took them a couple decades to concave the sticks and triggers.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

I actually prefer the DS4 to the 360 controller.

Going from DS4 back to 360 to play NHL with buddies, we all comment how heavy and old it feels. Not sure what the XB1 is like, but I assume it's a better version of the 360.

The One's controller is top notch, and definite steps ahead of the (one time amazing) 360 controller.

The Dualshock 4 and XB1 are the best controllers to date IMO. I'd give a slight edge to the DS4.

[bubbsy]

just saw the trailer for mlb2014 the show.... wow.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Constant system updates, having to update controller firmware - not having system updates install while I'm at work. It's nice to know that if I hear of a system update being pushed to the PS4 - I know I won't have to wait the 40 minutes it takes to do it next time I turn the system on, because it does it by itself while I'm at work.

As of the April update (the most recent one), the Xbox One does this.

I have to chuckle a little bit at lamenting the constant system updates. If the experience is as broken as you say, wouldn't a lack of constant updates be worse? 'Cause, y'know, at least this way they get fixed?

[gottabekd]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

As of the April update (the most recent one), the Xbox One does this.

I have to chuckle a little bit at lamenting the constant system updates. If the experience is as broken as you say, wouldn't a lack of constant updates be worse? 'Cause, y'know, at least this way they get fixed?

In the last weeks/months of my Xbox 360 use, I might have wanted to fire it up for 45 mins to play a game. Inevitably I had to download a system update. Restart. Then I launch the game, and it needs an update. Then I need to restart the game. 25 minutes later, I don't really feel like getting into a game for 20 minutes, so I give up. Repeat 2 months later.

I understand that PS3 users didn't have it much different.

Glad that they are addressing this in the new console generation.