Xbox One

[strigori]

I guess I just don't see the fascination with the playstation 4. The graphics are better...but to say far better is a stretch. The move is a joke, and is a lame version of the wii. And if you think that publishers have asked only Microsoft to end the sale of used games, you are in for sore surprise.

So outside of preference...what are we talking about?

You don't buy either system for the motion tracking trash, unless you are a die hard Dance, Dance junkie, or 12. There are no great games for any motion sensing system out there. And keep this patent in mind for the Xbone.

http://www.wired.co....patent-snooping

[COLOR=rgba(31,31,31,.85098)] Kinect-based system that could be used to monitor the number of people in a room watching a TV with a view to giving content creators accurate viewing figures and a pay-per-user-view model.[/COLOR][COLOR=rgba(31,31,31,.85098)]The system would use the [/COLOR]Kinect camera[COLOR=rgba(31,31,31,.85098)] to check the number of viewers in any room and then prompt the consumer to purchase the appropriate license based on that number. This would mean that you would pay more, for example, for a family of six than if you were watching a piece of content on your own.[/COLOR]

If that does happen, I will disown Microsoft and Xbox. I don't think that would happen though, Microsoft has to know that they would be committing company wide suicide if they pulled something like that.

Odds are MS does something like this.

EULA will have some vague data collection clause for now.

About year or two in, it gets updated for tracking info like how many people are watching Monday Night Football, so it can be used for ratings. And most people shrug.

A year later it gets another update linking up per viewer tracking to media downloaded from XBL, accept or you now own a brick.

 

[strigori]

I mean

A) Requiring internet connection

B) Binding a game to a system therefore no game resale

C) Requiring full game install on disc

D) Requiring Kinect

are all just bad, like really obviously terribly bad. Sure the system is gonna kick a$$ and have great graphics and great features. But A,B,C, and D are gonna be hard to overcome. I expect Microsoft to backtrack a little bit before the release.

The bigger problem is when it gets compared to the PS4. Because of how games are developed, PS4 games will have a slight graphics edge, and slight performance edge. The PS4 has 50% more shader cores than the Xbone. Both have 8GB of RAM, though the Xbone is DDR3 and the PS4 is DDR5. Yes, the Xbone does have some dedicated on die RAM, but that is not currently used by game devs. Its not something currently in consoles, or PCs. Sony appears to have done a much better job of talking to the guys who actually make games, and giving them what they want. Making a flip for the next gen, in the PS4 being easier to develop. And while often the cross platform games get some limitation by the lower of the two specs, the exclusives for Sony, especially early in the life, should be able to be significantly more impressive looking.

Also, Sony is more fully embracing Indie Devs, where MS has stated Indie Devs will not beable to self publish on XBL.

 

[tschu]

I don't think that 95% of consumers care about shader cores, DDR3 vs. DDR5, and other super technical specs like that. Both consoles will look just fine graphically.

 

[strigori]

I don't think that 95% of consumers care about shader cores, DDR3 vs. DDR5, and other super technical specs like that. Both consoles will look just fine graphically.

Granted they have no idea what those specs mean. But when Gamspot does side by side 'game looks best on' features, and they will on every cross platform title at the start, it will show up there. And all reviews will cover how a game performs on each console, and at the beginning the PS4 should have the edge in both categories. And that sort of info will go into the decision making of people on the fence.

 

[tschu]

I'm saying that people on the fence will take outside features, controller, bullsh#t internet connectivity requirements, game install requirements, no-reselling-game requirements, etc (along with numerous other things like which games are actually available on each console) into account before they start breaking down texture shading and RAM. Most people are idiots and don't even know what that means, let alone use it as a deciding factor when buying a console. Certainly some very informed people might look at those, but the margin that you're gaining with the specs is heavily outweighed by the margin that you're losing with the bad features decisions and bad publicity.

 

[strigori]

I think you missed my point. Gaming and tech sites will do pic and vid features of side by side comparisons. Just a pic that says this one, or that one looks better. And that will play into some people's mindsets. And people will look at reviews on games that say which version plays better or has fewer tech issues (frame rate drops, that kinda thing)

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

I mean

A) Requiring internet connection

B) Binding a game to a system therefore no game resale

C) Requiring full game install on disc

D) Requiring Kinect

are all just bad, like really obviously terribly bad. Sure the system is gonna kick a$$ and have great graphics and great features. But A,B,C, and D are gonna be hard to overcome. I expect Microsoft to backtrack a little bit before the release.

The last two are bad, and the no resale of games is false.

 

[Husker NoNo]

So you can buy used games, but it still unclear how that will work...that and the always online thing is weird. I'm not buying into all of the conspiracy theories that are being out out there, but I don't really want Microsoft verifying anything in my living room.

http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/5/24/4363732/xbox-one-spot-checks-used-game-authentication

 

[VectorVictor]

I mean

A) Requiring internet connection

B) Binding a game to a system therefore no game resale

C) Requiring full game install on disc

D) Requiring Kinect

are all just bad, like really obviously terribly bad. Sure the system is gonna kick a$$ and have great graphics and great features. But A,B,C, and D are gonna be hard to overcome. I expect Microsoft to backtrack a little bit before the release.

A. This is incorrect--it doesn't require always-on internet. Just internet to authenticate DRM, just like Sony will require.

B. So does Sony, or have you not been paying attention to the latest news?

C. This hasn't been clarified yet, but the rumors suggest that, yes, Sony will require this too. Part of this is due to the limitations in streaming data from Blu-Ray disks--the other part is publisher driven (read: DRM)

D. Sony doesn't have Kinect, so no, they can't require it. Instead, they have EyeToy, which is also required and comes bundled with the PS4. :-|

---

Seriously, what is up with you myopic fanbois? This isn't a Microsoft vs. Sony thing--this is a publisher and console makers vs. consumer thing. The PS4 has the same vilified features as the XBox One--their executives just weren't forthcoming enough to tell everyone up front.

And here's the info where it has been confirmed that there will be used games for the XBox One--the only catch is that places like GameStop will have to clear them with Microsoft and the publisher first, and both Microsoft and the publisher will get a cut of the used game sales, which appears to be a happy medium in the used-game money issues that have been causing strife in the industry for decades.

This will likely be the similar system put in place for PS4 used games as well--the used game store clears the used game for sale by paying a one-time fee on a system Sony or Microsoft set up, the publishers/developers and console makers (Sony/Microsoft) get a cut, and then you just pop the disk into your system and transfer the game to your account.

Frankly, if this leads to Steam-style sales where games can go for uber-cheap, then I'm fine with sacrificing the ability to trade a game for a friend...especially if I can just buy them the game for a pittance (like on Steam).

 

[Army_Allen]

I mean

A) Requiring internet connection

B) Binding a game to a system therefore no game resale

C) Requiring full game install on disc

D) Requiring Kinect

are all just bad, like really obviously terribly bad. Sure the system is gonna kick a$$ and have great graphics and great features. But A,B,C, and D are gonna be hard to overcome. I expect Microsoft to backtrack a little bit before the release.

A. This is incorrect--it doesn't require always-on internet. Just internet to authenticate DRM, just like Sony will require.

B. So does Sony, or have you not been paying attention to the latest news?

C. This hasn't been clarified yet, but the rumors suggest that, yes, Sony will require this too. Part of this is due to the limitations in streaming data from Blu-Ray disks--the other part is publisher driven (read: DRM)

D. Sony doesn't have Kinect, so no, they can't require it. Instead, they have EyeToy, which is also required and comes bundled with the PS4. :-|

---

Seriously, what is up with you myopic fanbois? This isn't a Microsoft vs. Sony thing--this is a publisher and console makers vs. consumer thing. The PS4 has the same vilified features as the XBox One--their executives just weren't forthcoming enough to tell everyone up front.

Nowhere in your article does it say that Playstation requires anything. I own both consoles and CoD plays better on Xbox but Ps3 has better exclusives (IMO), but this next gen looks better and better for PS3 as it gets close to launch.

Sony already confirmed they won't ever make it a check into online type thing. And While I do think they will follow Microsoft with used games, I have heard nothing confirmed with that or your no-sourced theory on the eye toy for ps4.

 

[tschu]

A. This is incorrect--it doesn't require always-on internet. Just internet to authenticate DRM, just like Sony will require.

B. So does Sony, or have you not been paying attention to the latest news?

I'm not a fanboy. Well actually I am; I'm a Nintendo fanboy. But you don't see me mentioning the POS Wii U there do you. Also, calling me a dumbass for things I posted several days ago and citing articles and information that came out YESTERDAY is pretty silly. Not to mention the fact that these are rumors and are not confirmed.

 

[strigori]

Bear in mind no one in Sony has said anything about DRMing the system. While there are MS execs on record. Sony may be savvy enough to actually listen to the firestorm, and not have it. Publishers are already using things like Online Passes and tons of DLC to fight the used market.

Sony also has stated that the PS4 will not have any online requirement. Xbone appears to require a check in every 24 hours, or nothing works. per a MS exec. Thats not to say you might not need to update firmware at some point to play a new game, but those have always been able to be loaded off a flash drive.

And there is certainly no mandatory Playstation Eye. I have not even seen where the new version will even be available at launch. And regardless, MS is the one with the software patent to use the Kinect for DRM per viewer tech.

If I'm a fanboy, its for PCs, not consoles. But I will lean a bit to Playstation, as I like the exclusives more (ie could not care less about Halo)

 

[VectorVictor]

And While I do think they will follow Microsoft with used games, I have heard nothing confirmed with that or your no-sourced theory on the eye toy for ps4.

And there is certainly no mandatory Playstation Eye.

Yes, there is.

Per GameInformer:

The next-generation PlayStation console will ship with a Kinect-style stereo camera peripheral and a controller with a sensor built in.

Per Engadget:

The PlayStation 4 Eye comes with a pair of 1,280 x 800 cameras, four microphones and an 85-degree field of view. The two lenses are designed to be used in a variety of ways, including triangulating the 3D space, gesture recognition, Kinect-style body tracking, and in conjunction with accessories like the Wonderbook or DualShock 4 controller.

Per Joystiq:

"Users can use the Eye to log into their PlayStation 4 via facial recognition, in addition to the PlayStation Move implementations you'd expect from the device point."

Huh. Facial recognition, microphones, 3D scanning and imaging, shipping with the system...sounds an awful lot like Sony's version of a mandatory Kinect to me. :-|

But no, this is just a rumor, even though this was in Sony's (non-console) console reveal and was discussed by multiple outlets...right?

And if you don't think that Sony won't use their Kinect EyeToy to run the console via voice commands, shoe-horn hokey voice and movement abilities in games, or to spy on you stay on in a persistent state...well, you just haven't been paying attention for the 30+ years of video game history.

And if you're shipping the equipment with the console itself, you can be damn sure it will be required.

 

[VectorVictor]

A. This is incorrect--it doesn't require always-on internet. Just internet to authenticate DRM, just like Sony will require.

B. So does Sony, or have you not been paying attention to the latest news?

I'm not a fanboy. Well actually I am; I'm a Nintendo fanboy. But you don't see me mentioning the POS Wii U there do you. Also, calling me a dumbass for things I posted several days ago and citing articles and information that came out YESTERDAY is pretty silly. Not to mention the fact that these are rumors and are not confirmed.

What's funny is that the WiiU, with a price drop and the games slated to hit in the next year or so, could very well find itself in a great position. I'm personally waiting for a $100 price drop and games like Pikmin 3 and the new Mario they're supposedly going to show off (and Wind Waker 1080p) before I go get one, though.

 

[Landlord]

And While I do think they will follow Microsoft with used games, I have heard nothing confirmed with that or your no-sourced theory on the eye toy for ps4.

And there is certainly no mandatory Playstation Eye.

And if you're shipping the equipment with the console itself, you can be damn sure it will be required.

So he says there is no mandatory Eye, and you say yes there is, but every single article you link makes no mention of the mandatory nature; they only just describe the product. Then you end the post with your own speculation.

Yeah it sounds an awful lot like the Sony equivalent of Kinect, because it is. But there's still no reports of the system not being usable without it.