Xbox One

[Thomas]

i think it would probably be wise to short gamestop now.

Forget gamestop. At least they sell new gear. Short gamefly with everything you got.

[mrwicked]

oh whats gamefly?

thats the netflix for games?

yeah they have to be panicking too.

[nate]

On the subject of Gamefly... it has to be the worst service I have ever experienced.  I signed up for it when it was new and it was around $22/month, any newer game was always backordered.  The worst part was they did a queue type thing where you put the games you wanted ranked 1-10.  Well you got one game from them at a time so it would just go down the list until it got one that was in stock and sent it to you, so you weren't in a waiting list for the new games unless it was the only one on the list.  So you are paying 22 dollars a month to play old games or to wait a week until they finally have one to send you.

[Thomas]

The games I got from them always sat around collecting dust, usually next to my netflix discs.

[nate]

The games I got from them always sat around collecting dust, usually next to my netflix discs.

 

Yea, I had Netflix for years.  Finally cancelled it after they emailed me to say that I had the same three disks for two years.

 

Having DirecTV and a DVR makes Hulu and Netflix totally useless.

[Brandon]

what an underwhelming presentation. who cares about tv and ANOTHER damn call of duty?

Yeah, I was reading the Forbes article on the presentation and they were just kinda like wtf about everything.

[mrwicked]

why is backwards capability such a big deal?

its a totally new operating system.

if you want to play your old games, play them on the old console.

[Brandon]

I suppose for most simplicity. I don't tend to play many older games. However, there are some key games many wish to purchase before or around Christmas time that are only for current gen systems. For instance, it would suck for many to buy the new Grand Theft Auto game in September only to have to purchase it about two months later again for the new system. Especially since Rockstar, the developer of the GTA game has not indicated they are going to release a version for the new system.

It's actually interesting because they have research and analyst companies projecting this game to be the biggest release ever with 20m units sold in the first six months to a year.

Other then that, I may have popped in an oldie for old times sake, but they are now releasing updated or HD versions of classics that it may be worth it to drop a little coin for upgraded versions.

[mrwicked]

Ah, that makes sense.

For some reason I figured they don't release the same game on the newer console.

But it would be cool if you have some mountain of 360 games to be able to play them without needing both consoles hooked up.

[Brandon]

Yeah, I'm not familiar with Xbox, but assume it's the same where on the home screen there is a link to the store where you can instantly buy and download games like any other media. They are porting over a bit while in some cases with bigger franchises they are actually polishing them up to excel on newer systems. But for the most part you are right and they don't make games for both systems....just completely different OS and hardware to deal with.

The GTA predicament is interesting because the game was suppose to release in the spring. I don't anticipate a PS4 or Xbox One version of the game, which is why I'm intrigued on how they handle the situation. Especially since Rockstar have put so much longevity into this game as with recent titles.....mainly online/multiplayer where they are churning out downloadable content that can be add ons or even completely new gameplay. But they also developed a whole online community and do a ton with syncing your stats or showing your progress for the community to see and developed a "crew" module as well for a ton of group activities while also hosting events. These games now have well over a year of life span. I'm curious to see how they deal.with the PS3 and PS4 networks with this game as well.

[RallyMo]

Yea, I had Netflix for years.  Finally cancelled it after they emailed me to say that I had the same three disks for two years.

 

Having DirecTV and a DVR makes Hulu and Netflix totally useless.

 

I dunno about that. There are tons of shows I'd love to blow through Netflix style, which is something I can't do with a DVR.

 

Also, the fact that I can fire up an app on my phone of tablet and watch something is pretty solid.

[nate]

I dunno about that. There are tons of shows I'd love to blow through Netflix style, which is something I can't do with a DVR.

 

Also, the fact that I can fire up an app on my phone of tablet and watch something is pretty solid.

 

On demand!  If it is on Hulu or Netflix it is likely on demand.  DTV has an on demand app for Android/iOS as well.

[Sam Sanchez]

Backwards compatibility is not important to me at all so that doesn't bother me. That said, I was underwhelmed by the XBox One. I might in the minority since I actually care more about games than any other media stuff as I have plenty of other devices that can handle that for me, why do I need my gaming console to function exactly as a computer. Also, since both systems will probably have similar features any way, the thing that will differentiate the two is the games I'd say.

 

 

Everything I've heard surrounding this next-gen is developers praising Sony's approach and how easy they have been to work with to meet what they need and want from a gaming console and a few of those same developers have actually been outspoken about XBox and not liking the direction they are heading in, which is likely moving away from games as the main purpose of the console. Not to mention I like the stable of first party developers that Sony has more than what Microsoft has, so the exclusive games I anticipate will appeal to me more on Sony's end than the XBox One.

 

 

So unless some more interesting stuff gets announced, I'm leaning more heavily towards the PS4 right now.

[mrwicked]

Hi,

 

Will the XBox One have Bubble Bobble?

I'll take you answer offline.

 

Thanks.

[Sam Sanchez]

I have bubble bobble on my phone. Good stuff.

[nate]

What advantage does Sony have for first party stuff anymore?  Seems like there aren't many games now that don't come out on all systems.  I thought the PS3 was far inferior to the Xbox for one reason, the PS3's online setup was pathetic.  I only ever played two games on the PS3.  God of War and Gran Tourismo.

 

The Xbox was better for everything else.  Especially the controller.  No idea why Sony sticks to their POS controller.

[Sam Sanchez]

I've always preferred Sony's controller but I don't see how they stuck to their "POS" controller this time around? I think they changed it quite a bit without altering the look that much. It's bulkier this time around, the R2/L2 are more like triggers and the Joysticks are now concave much like the XBox controller. I think they stepped in the right direction correcting the main things I think would make it better and to please people who preferred the 360 controller.

 

 

It's all about taste, but companies like Naughty Dog (Uncharted, The Last of Us), Santa Monica (God of War), Sony San Diego (MLB: The Show), Sucker Punch (Infamous, Sly Cooper), Guerilla (Killzone), Studio Japan (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Last Guardian), Polyphony (Gran Turismo), Sony Bend (Syphon Filter, plus Vita games), Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet), Insomniac (Ratchet & Clank, Resistance), and Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls).

 

 

I don't love all those games, but I feel all those studio have more promise to release good new IPs going in the future than what Microsoft has. Though, Insomniac and Quantic Dream aren't owned by Sony, they seem to have a relationship with them.

 

 

There's few indie developers, including Jonathan Blow (Braid), that have been saying that Sony has been strongly pushing towards including more of those type of games, kinda like XBLA was known for, and that Microsoft doesn't seem to be heading in that same direction. And for some one who owns a PlayStation Vita, I could see a lot of these games coming to the Vita as well as PS4 and that seems exciting. Especially after loving a game like Guacamelee recently, and knowing that Limbo and Hotline Miami are coming to the Vita soon, just seems like a good spot to play indie type games. Which would be fun to see how the PS4 and Vita connect with each other when it comes out.

[Brandon]

First time I ever heard someone lime the Xbox controller or praise it so highly.

[Thomas]

 Everything I've heard surrounding this next-gen is developers praising Sony's approach and how easy they have been to work with to meet what they need and want from a gaming console and a few of those same developers have actually been outspoken about XBox and not liking the direction they are heading in, which is likely moving away from games as the main purpose of the console. Not to mention I like the stable of first party developers that Sony has more than what Microsoft has, so the exclusive games I anticipate will appeal to me more on Sony's end than the XBox One.

After dealing with the cell technology for over a decade I have to imagine anything that isn't cell technology is going to be looked upon extremely favorably by developers. I don't think it's a coincidence that both Microsoft and Sony have almost for all intents and purposes identical specs. I think developers and game publishers have unprecedented sway in the console market now. Which is why I think Microsoft and I'm going to imagine Sony eventually this year will announce protections against used games to at least some degree. But I think the developers were sick and tired of designing to games for two completely different architectures.

And I'm not sure why people would be confused about Xbox's role in Microsoft's overall strategy. They have been open since the original Xbox that is designed to control the living room so to speak. Sony used the PS3 to win the next GEN media format. And certainly had eyes on the entertainment aspect that consoles play. Sony had room to make up for in this regard coming from the last generation. Of course Microsoft then promptly flushed whatever goodwill it had earned with the core gamers, the Kinect not withstanding.

[Brandon]

It's actually a trip to see them talk about developing for systems. PS3 seems to always be the favorable option. I wonder how this plays out moving forward.

[Sam Sanchez]

Actually, it was the opposite. I love PS3, but developers usually developed for 360 and ported over to PS3 because it was a lot tougher to develop for PS3, which ultimately resulted in crappy ports (mostly early on in the both lifecycles).

 

 

This time around, seems that Sony was conscious of that and wanted to make it easy for developers but still make something "powerful", which last time I guess they were only focused on making the system the best it could possibly without taking into account how difficult it would be for developers to make games for it.

[Brandon]

I remember initially everyone had issues with both systems. But speaking of Rockstar, they have openly said they pushed games back because they have the game developed for PS but not Xbox. I know this was the case with GTA IV and LA Noire which was one disk on PS3 but 3 on the Xbox. I think the new Hitman game also came out with developing comments.

There seemed to be a point where developers found what works on each system and really started to push games on the PS3 while they had already hit capacity with Xbox.

[Sam Sanchez]

With Rockstar I think it's more that they have a special relationship with Sony more than how easy it is to develop for, seeing as the GTA 3 was originally released on PS2 before XBox, and I believe GTA IV was supposed to be a PS3 exclusive, but ended up going on both, so they have a history with Sony where maybe they just have some loyalty.

 

But you are right as time went on, as some companies were realizing that the PS3 was maybe more powerful, just harder to develop for, saw some benefits in developing for it, but it took a long time. There were a lot of crappy ports early on, and even late in the lifespan with a game like Skyrim which tons of people found the game unplayable on PS3.

 

But then there are exclusive games like Uncharted, God of War, Killzone, and Heavy Rain that showed what the system was capable of if something was developed specifically for that console.

 

 

So at least I'm hoping with the PS4/XB1 since they are very similar, that neither system will have any significant porting issues going forward.

[Brandon]

It was almost the opposite with GTA IV. Microsoft wanted them exclusive, but Rockstar passed. Microsoft ended up paying 50m for timed exclusive rights to the Lost and Dammed/Gay Tony DLC.

[Sam Sanchez]

What I had remembered was they paid to stop the exclusivity of PS3, and then paid further to get exclusive timed content. Not sure if it ended up being true or not, but this is what I had remembered reading:

 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/microsoft-paid-75-million-to-stop-gtaiv-ps3-exclusivity-6262370