Nintendo and Microsoft in light of the PS4 reveal (Th'rip)

[Zechs Merquise]

Personally I think you're overlooking an incredible number of PS4 features for convenience sake.

 

Cross platform Play with the Vita, Remote play with the Vita, 'Smartglass' style app so you can use your tablet/smartphone for gaming, the Share function... meaning you can upload screenshots and videos of you gaming to social media sites, Being able to watch friends play their games, Being able o assist one another in games online, Eyetoy being able to take 3D pics and videos of you, Move integrated into the controller as standard meaning you don't have to buy additional controllers...

 

It's also extremely developer friendly and the specs, especially they are going crazy over the 8GB DDRS RAM reveal. The PS4 is also very much 'future proofed'... and the demo's that were shown, KillZone, Deep Down, Infamous... are showing a very obvious step up and forward, and the console is still 9 months from release.

 

There's also a 7 minute long gameplay footage of Killzone, and a demo on Jimmy Fallon, not sure if you've seen those as it's not an on rails demo, and only the minute long trailer ends with the Helghast.

 

I honestly don't think the Vita cross play or off screen play via the Vita are anything worth trumpeting - nor are 'smart glass' features. Unless something is integrated into every system, it's unlikely it will be made the most of. Also, having to shell out an extra few hundred quid to make a feature accessible instantly makes it inaccessible to most people.

 

The social networking features are decent enough. Uploading videos and screen grabs is fun, but certain games have already done this and to be honest I feel it will only serve to clog up Facebook and Youtube with more pointless drivel that will barely get watched! Still, it's great for people who want it.

 

Where I do think Sony have done well - and I've stated this elsewhere - is with the specs of the system. Also, the PS3 was not a good system to develop for, the architecture wasn't developer friendly. Sony have done a total U-turn with the PS4, it's very easy to develop for which hopefully for Sony fans will mean an end to poor multi-platform games.

 

As for the Jimmy Fallon demo - that's exactly what I mean. It looked like a totally uninspiring FPS experience. Move from piece of cover to piece of cover. ADS to take out enemies with piss poor AI and then duck to wait for your health to rebound.

 

When I first played Goldeneye, the beach invasion on Halo and the intense set-piece heavy MW I was blown away. All these games really made me say 'WOW'. That KZ4 demo on Jimmy Fallon looked prettier than any of the aforementioned game, but it didn't make me say 'WOW', it just looked like any COD game but prettier.

 

I actually think Microsoft could be in big trouble next gen.

 

a) Their big advantage this gen was launching ahead of and at a cheaper price than Sony. This enabled them to grab the Call of Duty community and that's largely what's driven their entire console.

 

However, Sony coming out with their press conference now asks Microsoft to react. Sony are ready, PlayStation will be there when the Call of Duty, Battlefield etc... all launch at the end on this year... if Microsoft are not, then they risk loosing out.

 

b) Sony won't charge for Online (as far as we know). The only reason Microsoft got away with charging last gen is because they had already built the Call of Duty community and thus people stuck with them. However, PS4/720 is a fresh start. I'm not sure people will be so willing to do the same again this time round.

 

Also Microsoft will be reluctant to offer free online, because Xbox Live is where they make all their money. This is where speculation of them having to offer a £99 'Subscription console' comes in... so they can still continue to charge.

 

c) They've somewhat/largely been abandoning the hardcore on the 360 these last few years, whilst Sony (more and more so) and Nintendo keep up a high level of First Party content. And this is the difference maker.

 

Will the hardcore be willing to forgive this... I'm not so sure.

 

Sony are in far more financial trouble than MS and when it comes down it the two things that will sell these consoles more than anything are price and advertising. MS are in a far better position to push their console than Sony.

 

However, as PS4 and 720 will most likely launch at the same time, MS won't have the advantage they had early on of games like MW, Bioshock and ME being exclusive to their system. Because of this these consoles will likely have a very similar line-up when they release, obviously with MS trumpeting Gears, Halo, Sony will trumpet their exclusives, but for the most part the big games will be present on both consoles right from day one. That basically means the whole 'price and advertising' will be even more important.

 

MS also have a massive advantage, Sony have played their hand! MS will have gauged the lukewarm response to Sony's press conference and will be tailoring theirs to take advantage of this.

 

When you look at the sales patterns of the 360 and PS3, it is clear to see that neither of those consoles started doing big numbers until their prices dropped rather significantly. We're now in a time when globally people are watching their wallets far more than they were when the PS3 and 360 launched.

 

I can't see both these consoles launching at the same time and both doing well. The difference between the winner and the loser of this epic battle could well hinge far more on a $50 difference in price than any of the arguments over Kinect, platform exclusives and online systems.

[Retro_Link]

@Zechs Merquise, Killzone as a franchise doesn't really appeal to me either; it never has done in the past, though this new one does a little more so, just have to wait and see. You have to remember we've seen 7 minutes of a game that is also 9 months from release... saying it doesn't have mind blowing/WOW moments at this point in time just isn't worthwhile.

 

I don't see Microsofts advantage in going second.

- By revealing first Sony have been first to get press attention and third party games associated with it, including Bungie.

- Microsoft can do an incredible reveal tomorrow, but come E3, the reveal conferences will have been forgotten. E3 is actually the next thing to focus on. If anything would it not do Microsoft better to wait and 'win' E3, otherwise as far as I see, Sony carry over their advantage.

[Zechs Merquise]

@Zechs Merquise, Killzone as a franchise doesn't really appeal to me either; it never has done in the past, though this new one does a little more so, just have to wait and see. You have to remember we've seen 7 minutes of a game that is also 9 months from release... saying it doesn't have mind blowing/WOW moments at this point in time just isn't worthwhile.

 

I don't see Microsofts advantage in going second.

- By revealing first Sony have been first to get press attention and third party games associated with it, including Bungie.

- Microsoft can do an incredible reveal tomorrow, but come E3, the reveal conferences will have been forgotten. E3 is actually the next thing to focus on. If anything would it not do Microsoft better to wait and 'win' E3, otherwise as far as I see, Sony carry over their advantage.

 

Come on, let's not be silly. The only advantage of going first is if you're going to launch your console first and gain the advantage of several months or even years head start, this allows you to build a larger user base.

 

If both the PS4 and the 720 launch at the same time (the end of this year) then the advantage lies with the company that reveals second because they have seen their competitor's hand and can adapt their approach based on the feedback garnered from earlier reveal.

 

What's more, to the wider gaming public what Sony has shown is not anywhere as meaningful as what MS are likely to show due to their COD agreement with Activision. Both Halo and COD being shown at a console reveal will resonate far more with the media and with the public than Killzone or anything Sony showed!

 

Also, I never said KZ4 won't have any 'WOW' moments. But it certainly didn't show anything of worth in that Jimmy Fallon game play - in fact it painted itself as simply a very pretty paint by numbers shooter. If I was Sony or Guerilla Games I would have tried to showcase something that did have the 'WOW' moment.

[Debug Mode]

Microsoft is in no financial trouble what so ever. They've got a bucket load of money to push the next Xbox as hard as they can, whether people want it or not. The only company likely to drop out if they have a bad generation is Sony, with Microsoft being the less likely to drop out all together.

 

I'm keeping my opinion reserved until after E3, as all players should be an even competing platform with sufficient knowledge being in the public realm. But the PS4 has the potential to be one of the best consoles for quite a while, I'm more hyped for it than I ever was for the Wii U and as some one who has yet to buy one, it puts me in no rush as I'm intrigued as what punches Sony is going to pull.

 

I still think it's more likely for me to make the transition to having a PC as my main platform next gen, but I've got another year and a half before I can sensibly adopt any platform.

[Daft]

I think a lot of people have been wrong footed by assuming that the PS4 reveal was on Wednesday. No, the PS4 reveal started on Wednesday - the reveal will likely end at E3.

[madeinbeats]

From a sheer business perspective, Sony is fatality wounded with their stocks still classed as junk status, and investors' response to the PS4 was one of no confidence. MS has the money to toy with Sony by undercutting them and taking a financial loss squarely on the chin. Sony, aint.

 

I see the PS4 as sending your keeper up for a corner in the 93rd minute knowing there's a massive risk you can get caught on the counter.

 

You can surely see why as business people and investors... not gamers... they're worried.

[Cube]

I honestly don't think the Vita cross play or off screen play via the Vita are anything worth trumpeting - nor are 'smart glass' features. Unless something is integrated into every system, it's unlikely it will be made the most of. Also, having to shell out an extra few hundred quid to make a feature accessible instantly makes it inaccessible to most people.

 

Which is exactly why Sony didn't make a big deal out of it when they introduced that feature six years ago.

 

(It's still a pointless feature for a home console, no matter who did it first or who does it best)

[Sheikah]

From a sheer business perspective, Sony is fatality wounded with their stocks still classed as junk status, and investors' response to the PS4 was one of no confidence. MS has the money to toy with Sony by undercutting them and taking a financial loss squarely on the chin. Sony, aint.

 

I see the PS4 as sending your keeper up for a corner in the 93rd minute knowing there's a massive risk you can get caught on the counter.

 

You can surely see why as business people and investors... not gamers... they're worried.

 

Why would they be worried? Anyone with half a brain cell can tell there are many future customers very, very excited about the PS4 who will buy it. Sony are in a very strong position unlike last generation. Namely because:

 

- The hype/fad status the Wii had is not there for the Wii U. We knew this would happen. Motion control sports games were fun for a while, but we knew they wouldn't captivate the public for long.

- Sony have built up a large fanbase, offered a very attractive Plus service and are only rivalled by Microsoft, who charge for their online services and have far fewer and somewhat tired exclusives

- People remember. The Wii was never a console to play must-have multi format games, on account of it not being able to handle what the PS3 and Xbox could. People need only look at the specs of the Wii U and know we're in for a repeat. So even if people want to play future Nintendo games, they'll still need another console to play many of the games they want.

 

MS also have a massive advantage, Sony have played their hand! MS will have gauged the lukewarm response to Sony's press conference and will be tailoring theirs to take advantage of this.

 

This is so wrong.

 

Sony going first was completely the right idea. Microsoft can't change their console now; if it is going to be technically less impressive with more focus on the casual market (as rumoured) then no amount of conference preparation is going to help them.

 

The 360 releasing first was a massive boon to Microsoft in attracting and keeping customers on their console (and Live), which they probably won't have this time if they're going second.

 

And this was by no means a lukewarm reception. From my overall perceptions, people seem to have been very impressed. Excluding the Nintendo fanboys that suddenly entered the Other Consoles board for the first time in their life. :p

Edited February 22, 2013 by Sheikah
Automerged Doublepost

[Retro_Link]

The GT Invisiable Walls panel brought up a good point that I'd somewhat forgotten in that...

 

Sony addressed the fact after the press conference that the PS4 will not require 'Always Online'

and the PS4 will not block used games.

 

This is of course the case with Nintendo too... of course both companies would happily be the ones to sidestep Microsoft and let them be the only one's to go ahead with this and take their customers! :p

 

If Microsoft are going to go ahead with both those features, they either have to be worried, or they have to backtrack!

[liger05]

[QWUOTE=Retro_Link;1539864]The GT Invisiable Walls panel brought up a good point that I'd somewhat forgotten in that...

 

Sony addressed the fact after the press conference that the PS4 will not require 'Always Online'

and the PS4 will not block used games.

 

This is of course the case with Nintendo too... of course both companies would happily be the ones to sidestep Microsoft and let them be the only one's to go ahead with this and take their customers! :p

 

If Microsoft are going to go ahead with both those features, they either have to be worried, or they have to backtrack!

 

Sony said it's up to the publisher.

 

I don't see how anyone can think Sony are in a better position launching the PS4 than they were launching the PS3. Sony back then were coming of a hugely successful PS2 in which they totally dominated the market. It was only through incompetence in believing that PS2 owners would just automatically flock to the PS3 regardless of the price which screwed things up for them. Sony have nowhere near the market share they had back then.

 

Going forward I don't think MS has to much to worry about. Specs don't sell consoles, games do. MS will get all the third party games and have enough exclusives to make sure they will hang onto those who have 360's to play those games.

 

I think Nintendo are in the weakest position as the next gen consoles are not only who the Wii u is up against. It's also up against the 360/PS3 and so far consumers see no reason to purchase Wii u instead of those consoles. Nintendo has huge ip's but so did the game cube and the cube still struggled.

Edited February 23, 2013 by liger05

[Retro_Link]

I don't see how anyone can think Sony are in a better position launching the PS4 than they were launching the PS3. Sony back then were coming of a hugely successful PS2 in which they totally dominated the market. It was only through incompetence in believing that PS2 owners would just automatically flock to the PS3 regardless of the price which screwed things up for them. Sony have nowhere near the market share they had back then.

 

Going forward I don't think MS has to much to worry about. Specs don't sell consoles, games do. MS will get all the third party games and have enough exclusives to make sure they will hang onto those who have 360's to play those games.

 

I think Nintendo are in the weakest position as the next gen consoles are not only who the Wii u is up against. It's also up against the 360/PS3 and so far consumers see no reason to purchase Wii u instead of those consoles. Nintendo has huge ip's but so did the game cube and then cube still struggled.

It's was Sony's arrogance over Cell architecture that hurt them with third parties, being late to market, and pricing. They've resolved those issues now, it won't be the same situation again.

 

What games do Microsoft have to sell their console?

Their exclusives line-up is currently very weak, which is something they will have to address at their reveal/E3.

There won't be any third party exclusives next gen, other than maybe DLC.

[liger05]

It's was Sony's arrogance over Cell architecture that hurt them with third parties, being late to market, and pricing. They've resolved those issues now, it won't be the same situation again.

 

What games do Microsoft have to sell their console?

Their exclusives line-up is currently very weak, which is something they will have to address at their reveal/E3.

There won't be any third party exclusives next gen, other than maybe DLC.

 

They may well of resolved them but that still doesn't change the situation Sony were in at the end of the last generation to end of this one. It's night and day.

 

With then PS3 it didn't matter that it wasn't selling as they would always still get the third party games the 360 got and that will be the same for the PS4 and netbox. That's why I think Nintendo will struggle as they will probably miss out on those titles unless 360/PS3 ports are also being made but that won't last forever and by holiday season 2014 I don't think you will 360/PS3 ports of next gen games so the Wii u will miss out.

 

Well we know MS has halo, gears, forza and whatever new ip's they are developing. Halo and Gears sell consoles and there is no reason to think those who bought the xbox and 360 to play halo won't do the same unless MS go with a stupid price. Even charging for online while the competition does it for free doesn't matter. People will pay to use live like they do now.

[madeinbeats]

They may well of resolved them but that still doesn't change the situation Sony were in at the end of the last generation to end of this one. It's night and day.

 

With then PS3 it didn't matter that it wasn't selling as they would always still get the third party games the 360 got and that will be the same for the PS4 and netbox. That's why I think Nintendo will struggle as they will probably miss out on those titles unless 360/PS3 ports are also being made but that won't last forever and by holiday season 2014 I don't think you will 360/PS3 ports of next gen games so the Wii u will miss out.

 

Well we know MS has halo, gears, forza and whatever new ip's they are developing. Halo and Gears sell consoles and there is no reason to think those who bought the xbox and 360 to play halo won't do the same unless MS go with a stupid price. Even charging for online while the competition does it for free doesn't matter. People will pay to use live like they do now.

 

Wii U has already shown it can display high end PC textures and assets, so there is no extra development there; and I'm sure PC development will be outputting lower range assets for some years yet for lower range GPUs, even if the PS4&720 will be using ultra quality assets in games.

 

Sounds like PS4 is basically PC development and X720 will be the same, so there could/should be a massive burden lifted on development when compared to this gen.

 

Could that surplus human resource go towards Wii U ports?

 

A lot of this is down to Nintendo getting their developer tools up to scratch. Although the Wii U has its development quirks, we already know it in itself is also developer friendly... it just needs the toolchains and SDK to back it up.

 

Is that Ricky Hatton in your Avatar?

Edited February 23, 2013 by madeinbeats

[Debug Mode]

There's some speculation that the ability to block used games is present in the PS4, but will not be utilised as drastically as some think.

 

What's currently being presumed by a few circles is that the Online Pass stuff trialled on the PS3 will continue, but this time the publisher will be allowed to block access to a used game disc until a pass is purchased from them. This sounds a fuck load better than completely blocking out used game sales, but it's still something I hope I have the strength to not support a publisher for pulling.

 

It's going to be amusing if this is the case, as some markets allow the passing of one license to another providing the person who sells/trades it no longer has access to it, protecting copy right law by not allowing duplicates.

[liger05]

Wii U has already shown it can display high end PC textures and assets, so there is no extra development there; and I'm sure PC development will be outputting lower range assets for some years yet for lower range GPUs, even if the PS4&720 will be using ultra quality assets in games.

 

Sounds like PS4 is basically PC development and X720 will be the same, so there could/should be a massive burden lifted on development when compared to this gen.

 

Could that surplus human resource go towards Wii U ports?

 

A lot of this is down to Nintendo getting their developer tools up to scratch. Although the Wii U has its development quirks, we already know it in itself is also developer friendly... it just needs the toolchains and SDK to back it up.

 

Is that Ricky Hatton in your Avatar?

 

If you mean my avatar on neogaf then no it's Juan Manuel Marquez after knocking out paquiao

[Cube]

Sony going first was completely the right idea. Microsoft can't change their console now; if it is going to be technically less impressive with more focus on the casual market (as rumoured) then no amount of conference preparation is going to help them.

 

If the neXtbox is technically less impressive and with more focus on the casual market, then their conference will still be a massive success - just not for gamers.

 

It seems like Microsoft are after the Wii's audience, while Sony are making a console for gamers.

[Sheikah]

The GT Invisiable Walls panel brought up a good point that I'd somewhat forgotten in that...

 

Sony addressed the fact after the press conference that the PS4 will not require 'Always Online'

and the PS4 will not block used games.

 

This is of course the case with Nintendo too... of course both companies would happily be the ones to sidestep Microsoft and let them be the only one's to go ahead with this and take their customers! :p

 

If Microsoft are going to go ahead with both those features, they either have to be worried, or they have to backtrack!

 

Sony said it's up to the publisher.

 

I don't see how anyone can think Sony are in a better position launching the PS4 than they were launching the PS3. Sony back then were coming of a hugely successful PS2 in which they totally dominated the market. It was only through incompetence in believing that PS2 owners would just automatically flock to the PS3 regardless of the price which screwed things up for them. Sony have nowhere near the market share they had back then.

 

Going forward I don't think MS has to much to worry about. Specs don't sell consoles, games do. MS will get all the third party games and have enough exclusives to make sure they will hang onto those who have 360's to play those games.

 

I think Nintendo are in the weakest position as the next gen consoles are not only who the Wii u is up against. It's also up against the 360/PS3 and so far consumers see no reason to purchase Wii u instead of those consoles. Nintendo has huge ip's but so did the game cube and the cube still struggled.

 

It doesn't really matter how popular the console before it was if you're offering something new and different or if the fascinating aspect of the previous console no longer appeals- the gamecube wasn't that successful compared to the PS2 yet the Wii took off at lightning pace. Likewise the PS2 was very successful but the PS3 took off slowly. So your comment that the PS4 is probably in a weak position due to the sales/popularity of the PS3 is...pretty irrelevant. And doesn't really make sense since out of the 3 remaining current gen consoles, the PS3 is arguably performing the strongest. We already know the PS4 won't be a crazy price anyway relative to the PS3 (PS3 launched at £425 a whole 6 years ago, while ShopTo have set an absolute max price for the PS4 of £400).

 

The Wii is dead and had been dead for a while, and I've noticed a number of former Xbox fans saying they're most likely turning to a PS4 next gen. Put simply, people like what the PS4 is offering.

 

If the neXtbox is technically less impressive and with more focus on the casual market, then their conference will still be a massive success - just not for gamers.

 

It seems like Microsoft are after the Wii's audience, while Sony are making a console for gamers.

 

Oh, yeah. I just wouldn't personally call that a success. Kinda like how I don't consider V-tech to be a success in the gaming industry.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Sheikah

[liger05]

It doesn't really matter how popular the console before it was if you're offering something new and different or if the fascinating aspect of the previous console no longer appeals- the gamecube wasn't that successful compared to the PS2 yet the Wii took off at lightning pace. Likewise the PS2 was very successful but the PS3 took off slowly. So your comment that the PS4 is probably in a weak position due to the sales/popularity of the PS3 is...pretty irrelevant. And doesn't really make sense since out of the 3 remaining current gen consoles, the PS3 is arguably performing the strongest. We already know the PS4 won't be a crazy price anyway relative to the PS3 (PS3 launched at £425 a whole 6 years ago, while ShopTo have set an absolute max price for the PS4 of £400).

 

The Wii is dead and had been dead for a while, and I've noticed a number of former Xbox fans saying they're most likely turning to a PS4 next gen. Put simply, people like what the PS4 is offering.

 

 

 

Oh, yeah. I just wouldn't personally call that a success. Kinda like how I don't consider V-tech to be a success in the gaming industry.

 

The PS3 is not performing the strongest. The 360 has been the market leader in the US for the last 25 months. Xbox owns America. I would say considering we haven't heard from MS yet it's too early to make a definite decision.

 

Prices seen on sites for pre order PS4's are place holders and no more than that.

[Sheikah]

The PS3 is not performing the strongest. The 360 has been the market leader in the US for the last 25 months. Xbox owns America. I would say considering we haven't heard from MS yet it's too early to make a definite decision.

 

Prices seen on sites for pre order PS4's are place holders and no more than that.

 

Not true. The PS3 sells decently in USA while the 360 sells next to nothing in Japan. And the PS3 leads in Europe. So overall the PS3 does better.

 

The PS3 was globally the market leader for 2012 as you can see here (VGChartz):

 

 

And by quite a chunk.

 

 

Sony have already said their price will be competitive, it remains to be seen what that is though. But anywhere under £400 would be a decent price compared to the WiiU.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Sheikah

[liger05]

Not true. The PS3 sells decently in USA while the 360 sells next to nothing in Japan. And the PS3 leads in Europe. So overall the PS3 does better.

 

The PS3 was globally the market leader for 2012 as you can see here (VGChartz):

 

 

And by quite a chunk.

 

 

Sony have already said their price will be competitive, it remains to be seen what that is though. But anywhere under £400 would be a decent price compared to the WiiU.

 

First of all vgchartz isn't accurate. Secondly MS has no presence in Japan at all. Never has and never will. Considering the 360 is not a live machine in Japan I would say the PS3 has done ok in Japan but not great. The 3DS has already surpassed the PS3 's lifetime sales over there in under 2 years. Sony is stronger than MS in mainland Europe while in the UK xbox is the dominant console.

[Sheikah]

First of all vgchartz isn't accurate. Secondly MS has no presence in Japan at all. Never has and never will. Considering the 360 is not a live machine in Japan I would say the PS3 has done ok in Japan but not great. The 3DS has already surpassed the PS3 's lifetime sales over there in under 2 years. Sony is stronger than MS in mainland Europe while in the UK xbox is the dominant console.

 

Well I think that speaks for itself then; PS3 dominates in Japan, leads in Europe and does ok in USA (albeit not leading). And have the global market share out of the existing current generation of home consoles. So I don't see how you could say originally 'PS3 is not the strongest'. It is.

 

You can't just look at USA and make broad sweeping claims about the shortcomings of Sony when they've quite clearly had a much better run when you look at the bigger picture.

 

Also comparing a cheap handheld to a home console is pretty ridiculous and having one doesn't dissuade people from buying the other. They both serve different needs. And in Japan they're much more likely to play handhelds while traveling, so the inexpensive 3DS is always going to sell a load over there.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Sheikah

[khilafah]

I think some people are very quick to write off MS after the PS4 reveal.

 

Anyone one would think that MS has got no chance, reading some comments on the internet. The PS4 is beast technically but come on people. The nextbox will not be like the Wii U spec wise.

 

All the games shown @ the PS4 reveal could be done on MS new machine. Anyone who thinks the PS4 is gonna be miles ahead of the nextbox is getting very carried away.

 

the nextbox will do fine as it will get all the 3rd party games that PS4 gets.. If you wanna talk about exclusives then its only worth talking about exclusives that sell consoles.

 

Halo and Gears for example sell lots more consoles then what Killzone does. Nobody can dispute this and it will be exactly the same moving forward.

 

In regards to paying for online, I am not even sure if MS will need to make it free. Will PS4 and Wii U's free online really make a difference?

 

MS have built up a very large userbase who have accepted the charges for xbox live. Are people ready to predict that these same people will suddenly jump ship in large numbers because xbox live is not free.

Edited February 24, 2013 by khilafah

[Sheikah]

 

Halo and Gears for example sell lots more consoles then what Killzone does. Nobody can dispute this and it will be exactly the same moving forward.

 

In regards to paying for online, I am not even sure if MS will need to make it free. Will PS4 and Wii U's free online really make a difference?

 

MS have built up a very large userbase who have accepted the charges for xbox live. Are people ready to predict that these same people will suddenly jump ship in large numbers because xbox live is not free.

 

I don't agree with any of this (bad choice of exclusive example, too). You only need look around these forums for instance to gauge that people aren't satisfied with the few remaining tired exclusives on the 360. To suggest that 360 exclusives have more appeal/draw than those on the PS3 in its current state is a bit of a joke really. Made worse is that the PC does what the the 360 does so much better.

 

Also no one ever 'accepts' the Live charges. Everyone knows it's a rip off, and given the same experience for nothing I'm sure many people will take the chance to switch. Why pay £30 a year for something free on another console? Sure, people pay it now, but they've committed to that console. Given the opportunity to move to another console without the charges I'm sure many will take it.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I don't agree with any of this (bad choice of exclusive example, too). You only need look around these forums for instance to gauge that people aren't satisfied with the few remaining tired exclusives on the 360. To suggest that 360 exclusives have more appeal/draw than those on the PS3 in its current state is a bit of a joke really. Made worse is that the PC does what the the 360 does so much better.

 

I'm tempted to agree with him. He didn't really say that all of the 360's exclusives were better than the PS3s, but merely that many more people will fork out for the 360 because of Halo and Gears than they would have done for the PS3 and Killzone. Which, given the popularity of Halo and Gears, I would agree with.

[Ramar]

Couldn't agree more.

 

The Killzone Demo sums up how I felt about a lot of last gen games. Looks pretty, but ultimately very fake and with little soul. I loathed Timesplitters 2 when that arrived for the Cube, not because of the modes, or the graphics, or the controls, because the game itself didn't have a soul, or charm. It was empty.

 

Flink, I don't think we can be friends.