The future of console gaming

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Yeah I was thrilled to see Sony say exactly what everyone wanted to hear, even down to the price of the system. If you look at it like a competition, Sony wins by maintaining the status quo.  If it ain't broke don't try to fix it.  They did kind of slip the news in that online multiplayer access for games is shifting to the PS Plus pay wall now, but that was pretty much expected. The PS + is a great service anyway, instant game collection is an amazing value.

Yeah, pity, just heard that too. But at the end of the day, that's people's choice to get PS+.

[X]

It was also people's choice to get Xbox Live. Even with that all said, I'm still getting an Xbox One because they have added family sharing. Instead of buying two of the same titles For my wife and my consoles, I only need one. My expenses are already cut in half.

[billybob476]

I'm in no rush to get a console this generation, but if/when I do I'm leaning towards a PS4. Looks like I'm settling into an alternating pattern. PS2 -> 360 -> PS4

[Jobydrone]

It was also people's choice to get Xbox Live. Even with that all said, I'm still getting an Xbox One because they have added family sharing. Instead of buying two of the same titles For my wife and my consoles, I only need one. My expenses are already cut in half.

How many titles have you bought multiple copies of in the past?  I guess if you're doing that often, family sharing is a pretty good additional feature.  I wouldn't guess the majority of families have multiple Xboxes in their household (unless you count broken red-ringed ones) but if you do it's a neat idea.  I would like to know more about how sharing works...she'll have access to your game list through her own account on her own console, or she has to be logged in to your account, or she can be on her account but has to be on your xbone?  I assume it's all tied to your home network, otherwise how would they prevent you giving your friends access to your entire shared games list?  I can see this being pretty great for college kids and twenty-somethings, sharing a house with multiple consoles and having access to everyones personal games library, very cool if it works that way.

[Jobydrone]

I'm super excited for the game Quantic Dream announced, the Dark Sorcerer.  These are the guys that made the game Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit in the UK/Europe), the amazing Heavy Rain for PS3, and the upcoming Beyond: Two Souls.  This developer makes just awesome, innovative games, and even though there wasn't much shown, this might be the PS4 game I'm most excited about right now.

[X]

It was also people's choice to get Xbox Live. Even with that all said, I'm still getting an Xbox One because they have added family sharing. Instead of buying two of the same titles For my wife and my consoles, I only need one. My expenses are already cut in half.

How many titles have you bought multiple copies of in the past?  I guess if you're doing that often, family sharing is a pretty good additional feature.  I wouldn't guess the majority of families have multiple Xboxes in their household (unless you count broken red-ringed ones) but if you do it's a neat idea.  I would like to know more about how sharing works...she'll have access to your game list through her own account on her own console, or she has to be logged in to your account, or she can be on her account but has to be on your xbone?  I assume it's all tied to your home network, otherwise how would they prevent you giving your friends access to your entire shared games list?  I can see this being pretty great for college kids and twenty-somethings, sharing a house with multiple consoles and having access to everyones personal games library, very cool if it works that way.

I buy about 10 double titles every year. I'm not sure how sharing works exactly yet, but I think that it might have to do with profiles on your main system.

As for multiple xbox, almost every family on my friends list has multiple xboxs to avoid sharing screens for the first person shooters. I only have about two friends on my list that have multiple users and only one xbox.

In my house, everyone has their own xbox because I don't like sharing and we use them as media centers.

[ChrisMC]

I'm super excited for the game Quantic Dream announced, the Dark Sorcerer.  These are the guys that made the game Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit in the UK/Europe), the amazing Heavy Rain for PS3, and the upcoming Beyond: Two Souls.  This developer makes just awesome, innovative games, and even though there wasn't much shown, this might be the PS4 game I'm most excited about right now.

The game I'm really looking forward to is Destiny, preordered that along with my PS4. Feeling very anxious, haven't had a PlayStation since the PS1! I still have it and it still works.

[billybob476]

I must've missed it if they mentioned it, will the PS4 be backwards compatible?

[X]

no, it won't

[Jobydrone]

I must've missed it if they mentioned it, will the PS4 be backwards compatible?

they've said they'll be offering PS3 games through their streaming service Galkai but no details yet. Backwards compatibility is only important during the first year or two after launch and Galkai won't be up and running until sometime in 2014.

[Jobydrone]

The game I'm really looking forward to is Destiny, preordered that along with my PS4. Feeling very anxious, haven't had a PlayStation since the PS1! I still have it and it still works.

Wow you never had a PS2?  You missed some amazing, amazing gaming Chris I'm shocked.

[Leighgion]

I have never been a console gamer (only played now and again at friends' houses) but I've followed the recent news in this area with interest given how it is related to larger trends in software consumption.

As I see it, the 24 hour phone home requirement of the Xbox One has, in a best case scenario, zero benefit to the consumer.

In a typical case, it's an artificially created vulnerability waiting to screw you over. ANY failure in the network pipe has the potential to render your gaming system unplayable for basically no reason. The XBox One could do everything promised without having to phone home regularly. The ONLY reason for the check-in is a power grab.

With software consumption marching steadily towards digital-only models, a certain level of restriction is to be expected, but there's much more reasonable models out there.

Steam has an offline mode. You need net access in order to engage it, but if you know you're going to want to play your games somewhere without internet, you know you can.

Apple's system of app approval & sales is locked firmly into buying only from the mothership, but once your apps are downloaded into your iOS device, they work regardless if you're bathed in wifi or sealed in a Faraday cage at the bottom of the ocean.

Steam and Apple and are doing very well with these models and while Steam does still get some blowback for the offline option needing to be manually activated, at least it exists, showing that the company acknowledges the need.

Why be unreasonable when it's perfectly good business to be reasonable?

[ChrisMC]

I have never been a console gamer (only played now and again at friends' houses) but I've followed the recent news in this area with interest given how it is related to larger trends in software consumption.

As I see it, the 24 hour phone home requirement of the Xbox One has, in a best case scenario, zero benefit to the consumer.

In a typical case, it's an artificially created vulnerability waiting to screw you over. ANY failure in the network pipe has the potential to render your gaming system unplayable for basically no reason. The XBox One could do everything promised without having to phone home regularly. The ONLY reason for the check-in is a power grab.

With software consumption marching steadily towards digital-only models, a certain level of restriction is to be expected, but there's much more reasonable models out there.

Steam has an offline mode. You need net access in order to engage it, but if you know you're going to want to play your games somewhere without internet, you know you can.

Apple's system of app approval & sales is locked firmly into buying only from the mothership, but once your apps are downloaded into your iOS device, they work regardless if you're bathed in wifi or sealed in a Faraday cage at the bottom of the ocean.

Steam and Apple and are doing very well with these models and while Steam does still get some blowback for the offline option needing to be manually activated, at least it exists, showing that the company acknowledges the need.

Why be unreasonable when it's perfectly good business to be reasonable?

Well said. It's a strange anti-consumer stance that will cost them market share, I'm sure of it.

Joby, I had a GameCube and an XBox back then, and I felt having a third console would seem piggish, lol. I played many PS2 games, my brother had one and brought it over quite a bit to game with me.

[X]

I have never been a console gamer (only played now and again at friends' houses) but I've followed the recent news in this area with interest given how it is related to larger trends in software consumption.

As I see it, the 24 hour phone home requirement of the Xbox One has, in a best case scenario, zero benefit to the consumer.

In a typical case, it's an artificially created vulnerability waiting to screw you over. ANY failure in the network pipe has the potential to render your gaming system unplayable for basically no reason. The XBox One could do everything promised without having to phone home regularly. The ONLY reason for the check-in is a power grab.

With software consumption marching steadily towards digital-only models, a certain level of restriction is to be expected, but there's much more reasonable models out there.

Steam has an offline mode. You need net access in order to engage it, but if you know you're going to want to play your games somewhere without internet, you know you can.

Apple's system of app approval & sales is locked firmly into buying only from the mothership, but once your apps are downloaded into your iOS device, they work regardless if you're bathed in wifi or sealed in a Faraday cage at the bottom of the ocean.

Steam and Apple and are doing very well with these models and while Steam does still get some blowback for the offline option needing to be manually activated, at least it exists, showing that the company acknowledges the need.

Why be unreasonable when it's perfectly good business to be reasonable?

Well said. It's a strange anti-consumer stance that will cost them market share, I'm sure of it.

Joby, I had a GameCube and an XBox back then, and I felt having a third console would seem piggish, lol. I played many PS2 games, my brother had one and brought it over quite a bit to game with me.

While you make good points, I'm thinking of the benefits of it. If all things are equal and this is what the developers want, I'm pretty much expecting XBOX One games to be far cheaper than PS4 games out the gate. Since we haven't heard pricing of games yet, I'm betting that this will be where the rubber meets the road. If the One can offer cheaper games because of the DRM, I'm cool with the DRM. And if PC vs console pricing is any indicator, this might just be the case.

[Jobydrone]

I'd fall over from shock if the new games are at all cheaper let alone far cheaper on the XBone.  I wouldn't hold my breath but it's a nice idea.  I imagine Microsoft is looking for something, anything, that might sway some of the goodwill of gamers back towards their new device, so that could be a way to do it, but it would require the cooperation of the third parties and the potential of a huge loss of revenue for their partners, so I just wouldn't count on that.  Sony said yesterday that third party publishers can decide if they want to implement some type of DRM within their games if they so choose, which is a little different message than they presented on Monday, but it makes sense in that they are basically not dictating to publishers what they can and can't do with the games they bring to the PS4.