Console Wars Thread! PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Wii U Fight!

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This is not a bad idea. You know it's on Apple's agenda. I guess they are waiting until they can figure out a way to convert the app store to be used with a controller and without requiring every developer to update the app for console support. The second major problem would be getting developers and lack of support from them early on (as we saw on the first Xbox). They should buy Sega and Nintendo.

 

I agree with all of the votes except for the controller. I liked the 360 controller and I want to try the new one. I'm used to the PS4 one now though, so no biggie. The two main reasons I went with PS4 was better hardware, and it costs less. The majority of games (and all of the ones I want to play) are on both consoles.

If the Xbox had better hardware then I would have went with that as long as it was noticeably better or faster.

 

So throw it out then? Come on son! Ha ha.

When they did the poll, the broke down the different categories in detail. This was on a videogame site too. It isn't just a popularity vote. I think if it were the X1 would take it. This was a surprising video to me when I saw it. Was not expecting those results.

 

Xbone is one of the most innovative consoles of all time. It can trace my blood!

 

Thanks for the info, it is greatly appreciated. I truly don't know a thing about PS4 development, and I sold my PS3 about 6 months after launch so I'm out of touch. It was clear however that PS3 developers got better and better as time went on (which is to be expected) with games like The Last of Us and Uncharted as examples.

No internet poll is valid while 4chan is still around.

You're right that Microsoft didn't get developer kits out until the absolute latest moment they could as they finalized hardware - this of course is very typical of all new consoles as they try to pack the best hardware they can in to the shipped units as they'll be on store shelves for at least a few years with those same components.

I disagree with your last statement however. The Xbox One uses the same kernel as Windows 8, so it is quite easy to develop for. Either way, both PS4 and Xbox One will support Unity this year - which takes development hurdles generally felt by indie developers completely out of the equation... as any kid with a decent internet connection can learn the basics of developing for Unity in a few days.

I'm also interested if either plans on supporting GameMaker - which is extremely easy to learn as it is basically scripting. Windows Phone and Windows 8 both support GameMaker now, so I imagine a port to Xbox One isn't out of the question.

http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/Creating-Windows-8-Games-with-GameMaker-Studio-from-YoYo-Games

 

Why would Apple make a console when they sell millions of games already for their mibile devices?

As I said much earlier in this threat, hardware from now on won't be about the power or graphics or any of that sort of thing. Everything's powerful. A new console, a high end PC, even mobile devices, they all run great looking fakes really well.

It's how they deliver software that will be the selling point. That and their ability to do more than just play games.

Apple could come out tomorrow with a controller that you use while mirroring your iPad on your TV tomorrow. They don't need a "console" because they already have hardware they can deliver gaming software on.

 

The Apple TV could possibly deliver games, but they'd be on par with any other iOS game. The hardware isn't good enough for high-end gaming.

The money in mobile gaming on a TV just isn't there. The infrastructure costs are too high, and there is a tremendous difference between hosting content (app, movies and music delivery) than hosting constant traffic and support required for online gaming. For this reason casual games only make sense if you have a platform that also sells blockbuster games (think Xbox Live titles) which help offset the costs.

Why play those sort of games on your TV when they translate so much better to mobile - especially those that utilize touch? The Ouya tried to bring mobile gaming to the TV and was a tremendous failure, even with a ton of hype and extremely popular developers onboard. Other content delivery systems like the Roku also have games, but they push miniscule numbers in the grand scheme of things... heck, even the Wii and the Wii U both have classic games for delivery - but people simply don't buy them.

 

You've said this numerous times before, and I think I've called you out numerous time before (without a response IIRC).

So, yet again, why do you say this?

I don't necessarily disagree, but I don't think there is enough evidence one way or the other (especially as non-devs). I do agree that MS can get some pretty huge gains by optimizing some things. But I also think Sony can see some pretty large gains too, especially with some of their compute customizations. I don't know which one necessarily has more room for improvement (when it comes to better utilization of system resources).

No problem. I can try to dig out some more specific resources/docs if you'd like to know more. It has been a while, but I've seen some slides about PS4 development from some talk last year. I'm still somewhat sleep deprived (get some sleep RC!), so some of those docs might answer your questions better than my posts.

Yeah, PS3 was kind of saved by these developers. It was these people (more or less) that really helped design the PS4, so things should be much better with PS4 (now and in the future). I don't know how to compare it to MS/XBO (nor would it likely even be a direct Apple to Apples comparison), but Sony has definitely stepped up big time in this area. They're still improving the teams too. They snagged Corrinne Yu away from 343i (she technically works for Naughty Dog, though I wouldn't be surprised if she works on some dev tools for PS4 in general). With people like that working for you, you're going to make development much easier.

Which is cool because if both platforms make it easier to make games, we all benefit.

Yeah, I don't think the devkit release schedule was too abnormal for launches this generation. I don't think MS sent them out much later than Sony, if they even were later. As you said, this isn't that unusual. I think he might have been referring to some of the incomplete/poorly optimized tools. Can't speak from experience, but apparently the drivers and tools for XBO were a little rough, and developers were not able to get as much from the system as they "should" have been able to. Specifically, I believe working with the ESRAM is still a pain (or was), though MS is definitely working on that.

As for his last statement, he can try to clarify this, but I think he just meant that moving from PC to XBO/PS4 (and vice versa) will be easier than last generation (with PC to/from 360/PS3). Don't think he was saying one platform was easier/better than the other.

 

At PAX Prime while standing in line to play Ryse I spoke with one of the developers from Crytek for about an hour and a half off and on two days in a row. I asked him about the 900p and why they couldn't hit the 1080p threshold from the start, and the basic answer was they didn't feel they needed to.

He said the combination of it being a launch game, on new hardware that was going to have some bugs and quirks to patch on day one - they didn't want to take a chance. They wanted to deliver the best performing game they could that looked beautiful without worry. They didn't want people to pop the disk in on Day One, and then have their game underperform at 1080p because of some problem outside of their control.

They also felt that the Crytek engine at 900p still exceeds most other engines in terms of quality and detail at 1080p... and those that have played Ryse extensively tend to agree, it is a beautiful and dynamic game.

Ryse was originally intended to be a Kinect only game on Xbox 360, so it was in development for a long, long time.

 

The fact that Microsoft is even after the internet rage from the DRM reversal is a testament to the Xbox team's resilience. Despite PS4 being the internet darling and Xbox One being evil for "forcing Kinect," "Working with the NSA" and "taking away used games" - Xbox is even in sales even though they are in 35 fewer markets and $100 more. But yeah, "there's no demand."

The funny thing is, all of that rage will go right out the window when they deliver console selling titles. It always does. Just look at EA... the internet just loves their pitchforks.

 

I am very impressed with XBO sales, especially given the backlash from earlier in the year (well...early in the last year).

That said, unless you're talking about JUST the US market, I think it is slightly misleading to say they are even in sales. Semantics perhaps.

 

What do you mean even in sales? I haven't had any trouble finding XB1's. I haven't been able to find a PS4 yet though. It could just be a distribution issue, but to say the demand is even seems contrary to reality.

 

I was not going to get an XBone when they first made the stupid announcements they did. As someone that doesn't play online, it was going to be pretty useless for me.

When they reversed some of their decisions I looked into the changes carefully. They basically ended up having the same situation as Sony so from there it was an even contest between the systems as to which I would buy.

I went with the Xbox because the gaming side was going to be so close that there wasn't a noticeable difference, I liked their exclusives better than Sony's, and I liked the idea of having all of my entertainer running through one "unit" of some kind.

I agree with you, I'm a little shocked that they were able to salvage the situation because at one stage it looked like they had killed the Xbox name off with that initial reveal. If you want by the feeling of gamers at that time you wouldn't have expected the sales to be close at all.

 

It might not be their current hardware, but I really can see where Apple would make a decision to make say an IPad that is up to the standard needed to run high end games.

 

We've covered this ad nauseum in this thread. The PS4 is in 48 markets. The Xbox One is in 13 - so of course it is going to be easier for Microsoft to keep store shelves stocked.

Lack of stock isn't completely a byproduct of extremely high demand. If that were the case, the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 would be outselling the iPad - because they go out of stock all the time.

 

I REALLY don't feel like arguing, but this is delusional. You will begin to have a good idea of how wrong you are in March.