After having 24 hours to think about things I'm a little more comfortable with what's been announced so far, though I do have some issues. I've been talking about this pretty much non-stop so it's helped me run through things a little more as I've done so. Everything I'm saying here I have seen online unless specifically identified otherwise but unfortunately I don't have links to hand. I can go on a history crawl and edit them in later though if folk are interested.
Firstly in terms of actual direct comparisons, system wise, it seems like there won't be much differentiating between the 2 systems. Both are 8 core CPU - though Sony have confirmed the actual architecture of their CPUs where MS haven't, both 8gb RAM, both Blu-Ray, 802.11g wireless etc etc. MS confirmed a 500Gb HDD whereas Sony have not specified the HDD size though it doesn't seem unreasonable to assume it's going to match up.
Neither system is supporting backwards compatibility with both manufacturers citing hardware as the stumbling block; the system architecture and processing is so radically different the games will simply be unable to function. I did see a comment from MS stating that SOME games will function on the XBone (yep) which suggests to me they're potentially being disingenuous about the situation, but there we go.
The big difference to me is the vision and direction the manufacturers have put down on the line now. Yesterday's reveal seemed to me to be Microsoft saying "Here is the next Xbox" whereas Sony's conference seemed to say "Here is the future of console gaming". Nothing Microsoft came out with really took me by surprise - the 360 and the dashboard as it stands have been making that move towards becoming an entertainment system for a long time and I wasn't expecting the new iteration to do anything but build on that. In that regard Sony seem to have acknowledged that they are producing a games console, to play games with. I don't really think MS said anything I could call objectively
bad but I think they've left themselves a lot of work to do at E3.
So, stuff I saw that interested me;
- Perhaps hilariously, the Call of Duty showcase. While lauding such features as dog companions, leaning out of cover, sliding and vaulting cover as being 'innovative' was laughable, the CoD section did at least do some technical talk on graphics processing that suggested, to me, WHY we need the new console generation and updated hardware, much more than anything I'd seen before. Most of the footage shown at the Sony event didn't look like anything that couldn't be achieved on the PS3 / 360 tech and that disappointed me.
- Kinect 2.0 - which seems to be the Kinect we were promised to start with.
- Microsoft branching out - the Halo TV Series. While I'm not a Halo fan, the idea of MS moving to finance the spread of their franchise stable into other media is really interesting and I hope it pays off, since it could (and presumably would if it made money) mean more of the same for more titles. People have brought up 'House of Cards' as an example since this is what Netflix did, so it'll be interesting to see how the experiment goes.
Nancy Tellem looks to have a pretty impressive resumé and since she's head of this particular area, it gives cause for some faith.
- The announcement of 8 brand new IPs. While MS did refer to them as 'franchises' it shows they're at least throwing their weight behind original launch titles in the hopes that some of them stick. These could be the new Halo, the new Gears of War, even the new Mass Effect, which were all original titles for the 360.
- I'll also add that despite my misgivings on the whole 'one system' thing, which isn't something I'm interested in, I have had quite a few people say they think it's fantastic, even current 360 owners with a multi-system setup, so I don't think MS is going off in the wrong direction too much, as I originally thought.
Stuff I want to know more about;
- Built-in recording capabilities. It was glossed over, literally a throwaway sentence, but it was stated that there is a built in system (DVR?) which can record gameplay on the fly. I want to know what that translates to - can I, like the PS4 has suggested, upload that content from my Xbox to Youtube? How easy is it to do? What's the capacity going to be like?
- Used games. It's been pretty much confirmed that the process for playing games on the XBone is that you have to install the game to play, and you also essentially bind it to your account. For other people to play that game, they have to pay a fee to bind it to their account. It's also been said that you can essentially sell your account keys online, which I assume will translate into MSPoints for use in the Marketplace. I'm not dismissing the idea as ridiculous - it'll make a lot of people unhappy, but I don't buy used games so it's not really an issue for me personally - but I do want to know more about how exactly this will work.
- Online requirements. There's a lot of stuff going around about this at the moment, from always-on to once a day to not at all. This seems like an absolutely ridiculous decision to me considering the state of internet connectivity around the world so I definitely want to see a definite answer. It does seem that some form of connectivity would be required though, mainly because of the above - how will MS enforce a paywall for trading games if you don't connect to the internet?
That's where I am right now. I'm sitting on the fence but definitely leaning into Sony's camp as it stands - their emphasis on digital distribution, cloud gaming and support for independent publishing suggests they're definitely moving with the times - but Sony took 3 hours to deliver their pitch as opposed to Microsoft's
one and it's clear the underlying message throughout the reveal lastnight was "see you at E3" which also goes some way to explain why they couldn't take the time to showcase their games. They had talks from the biggest franchises on Xbox (EASports in general and Activision for CoD) in which both pledged support and some exclusivity to cement that position, but didn't fit anything else in, so it seems potentially unfair to put them up against each other directly, despite that being a clear part of MS's game plan (showing the console first was a pretty blatant slap in the face).
Wow, that ran on a bit. I have a vested interest in seeing this generation succeed - consoles have been my preferred platform for a very long time and I'd like to be able to continue with that - but MS haven't done much to restore my faith here, which is about the only disappointing part of the whole thing. The XBone seems to just be more of the same, with better tech, while the PS4 suggests the next step.
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Topic: The Ultimate Hi Def Next Gen Console thread (internet connection required) (Read 41088 times)