The problem, of course, is that a lot of people (like me) opted for the PS4, and don't regret that decision. The PS4 and Xbox One have very, very similar catalogs of games right now....if you look at the existing lineup of games for each console, you'll see that the number of exclusives is damned small, and technically leaning in favor of PS4 right now (based on Infamous: Second Son and Killzone: Shadow Fall mostly, but I'm rather biased since I never much cared for the Dead Rising series...and Ryse doesn't sell well to people averse to the creep-zone brought about by the Kinect).*
If the 2014 releases for both consoles are almost perfectly identical (and they are), and the exclusives that would sway decisions on this are still looking like 2015 or later releases for the Xbox One...is anyone really going to buy a second console just so they can have both, when having one pretty much nets you everything right now? And on a console which is being trumpteted for its superior performance time and again?
I was never a Sony fanboy and I didn't even buy a PS3 until February last year ....but I'll be damned if Microsoft didn't make me one.
*Given that the best version of Titanfall is on PC, hard to include it as "exclusive."
I wouldn't count the XBONE out just yet, but it is the weaker system (we'll see how much, if any, the cloud-based functionality makes a difference) and with Sony's plans to offer up much of their back catalog for play online that makes the PS4 one helluva tough competitor. Still, during the last cycle, about this time the PS3 was declared "too little, to late" as well and it ended the last console cycle very strong.
ReplyDeleteThat said, Microsoft lost me in the last cycle with their crap hardware. I went through 3 360's before I washed my hands and went with the PS3. Never had a problem with the PS3 at all. Now thanks to PSN+ and the amount of games I've picked up through that and just in general, I've got a vested interest in sticking with Sony (even though I haven't bought a PS4 yet).
Good point about the RROD legacy...MS somehow managed to weather some serious hardware issues (I went through four 360s in that cycle). I think the Xbox One is basically the next Halo/Gears of War away from a decent turnaround (either of those franchises will get me to buy an Xbox One), and it still surprises me that they didn't have a release for either franchise ready for release this year.
DeleteGood point about PSN network's free games....I have more free games than I have free hard drive space on the PS3 and that's after only a little over a year of ownership. Xbox 360's two free games a month deal isn't bad, either in all fairness.
I do think that the lack of backwards compatibility has actually hurt both consoles, at least in terms of quick adoption....people are just less likely to get rid of the older generation of consoles on which all their current game collections lie.
Just wait until Sony unveils their system for playing older PS, PS1, PS2, and PS3 games online. (I can't recall the name of the service.) I'm hoping that it's either bundled in with PS+ or just another $15 a month. That catalog is huge and could be a game changer. However, while you and I would both love BC in our consoles, I have found that I don't play a lot of older video games once the "new shiny" is released.
DeleteI had forgotten about the streaming service Sony is working on. I admit...I'm playing more older games (not much older, just a bit) than I am current titles. Got such a huge backlog to get through....
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