Xbox One

[Niode]

I was not interested in the Xbox One when it was announced due the whole "no used games" business amongst other reasons that they have since backpedaled on. Since the PS4 currently has no compelling exclusives [for me], it became a no-brainer to get one after the price drop.

This is the crux of the issue for me. There simply is nothing worth buying on PS4 that I can't get on my PC. Despite my PC being old and decrepit (it's nearly 5 years old now) it still runs the vast majority of new releases with settings on high. So I'm in no rush to go out and buy a PS4 when I can get the games cheaper on PC and will run just as good if not better.

The Xbone was a laughing stock when it was announced but Microsoft seem to keep pulling these rabbits out of the hat that are giving people genuine reasons to buy one. If Sony aren't careful they may end up in last place without realising it. Especially if Sony can't get any exclusives out of the door this side of quarter 3 2015...

[dsheinem]

If Sony aren't careful they may end up in last place without realising it. Especially if Sony can't get any exclusives out of the door this side of quarter 3 2015...

Last place behind...Nintendo? Not likely.

I think they'll be in much better shape in the exclusives department this time next year. They had more at launch than the Xbox One, but the Xbox One has more recent ones. Sony has The Order out in February, Bloodborne out in March, MLB 15 in April (?), etc. So as long as they keep them rolling and time a few big ones for Xmas time (e.g. Uncharted) I think they will be ok. Of course, MS has Halo 5 next holiday season, so that will be a key one to contend with.

Still, if you look at Wikipedia it seems Sony is still sitting much prettier in the announced exclusives/console exclusive categories:

PS4:
Exclusive = 39 (2 of these are free-to-play)
Sony Exclusive = 36
Console exclusive and/or timed = 85/2 (9 of these are free-to-play)
Currently Playable = 143 available to purchase (9 of these are exclusive to PS4)

Xbox One:
Exclusive = 30
Microsoft exclusive = 17
Console exclusive or timed = 40/4
Currently Playable = 115 available to purchase (14 of these are exclusive to Xbox One)

[Niode]

I keep seeing these figures quoted but can't for the life of me find these exclusive games. I'm pretty convinced that that figure is skewed some what. I've had a look at that wiki page and it is simply happy that the game is 'console' exclusive, not platform exclusive. So the vast majority of these games are unique to consoles but not exclusive. They're also available on PC. That's not an exclusive game as far as I'm concerned.

That leaves the games that are actually out and exclusive to PS4:

Basement Crawl
Driveclub
Infamous First Light
Infamous Second Son
Killzone Shadow Fall
Knack
Resogun



Yeeeeaaahhh.... Not good. Let's thin that list down to games actually worth playing:

Driveclub
Infamous Second Son
Killzone Shadow Fall
Resogun
Infamous First Light
Basement Crawl
Knack

Even then those 4 titles are questionable and won't suit everyone's pallet. Four titles in a year... What the hell are Sony playing at?

[dsheinem]

That leaves the games that are actually out and exclusive to PS4:

Basement Crawl
Driveclub
Infamous First Light
Infamous Second Son
Killzone Shadow Fall
Knack
Resogun

Yup, it is a paltry list and one without really anything of note since last spring. I think you could also count stuff like MLB 14 which is technically cross-Sony but vasty superior on the PS4. But yeah, MS has - quite surprisingly -pulled ahead of Sony in this area. They combined that with a timely price cut, too, which is why they are cleaning up and catching up right now.

I just think Sony will have a better 2015 based on what true console exclusives are in the pipeline for the PS4 - especially compared to the far fewer in the pipeline for the Xbox One. Sony also has the edge of third party games generally playing better on their hardware thus far. Time will tell though, and I like the fact that the generation is shaping up to be more competitive - everyone wins when that is the case and there's more good reasons to have both of the two newer consoles.

[Niode]

I just think Sony will have a better 2015 based on what true console exclusives are in the pipeline for the PS4 - especially compared to the far fewer in the pipeline for the Xbox One. Sony also has the edge of third party games generally playing better on their hardware thus far. Time will tell though, and I like the fact that the generation is shaping up to be more competitive - everyone wins when that is the case and there's more good reasons to have both of the two newer consoles.

I wanted a PS4 at launch with the promise of a lot of titles that interested me. However they have all been delayed until 2015 at the earliest. I am so relieved I didn't buy a PS4 at launch for this very reason. Microsoft has seen an opportunity and pushed for it and it's paying off for them. No doubt Sony will have a good 2015 and it won't be until 2016 that the PS4 truly begins to pull ahead from Microsoft's offering. We're most likely going to see a similar pattern to the PS3 and 360 where Microsoft fires on all cylinders early to get a large number of exclusives out but the Sony camp focus on quality and begins dropping big blockbusters at a steady rate later in the consoles life.

Annoyingly the exclusives that Microsoft are dropping on the Xbone make it a very compelling experience right now and arguably the better experience of the two. I'm happy to wait until January and see what the new year sales bring and I may fire on one if it gets another drop in order to compete with Sony's Q1 2015 exclusives. I think £270~ with a few games would be the sweet spot for me.

For now I'm happy with my PC playing the big releases that aren't console exclusive and my Wii U.

[RCBH928]

If Sony aren't careful they may end up in last place without realising it. Especially if Sony can't get any exclusives out of the door this side of quarter 3 2015...

Last place behind...Nintendo? Not likely.

After the last generation, I wouldn't make any early speculations. In early 2007 I was almost sure PS3 was doomed. I even laughed at a cousin who bought one. crazy price, it was like $600. Bluray still didn't win the format war. Extremely bulky. In comparison, 360 had extremely healthy sales, everyone was on XboxLive, and Gears of War was just out. The Wii was breaking sales records and everyone wanted the motion controller.

In the end, I feel like the ps3 won. Its about the best media player of that generation, free online, great digital library, extremely reliable, no double A batteries for the controller. The Wii started dying about 3 years ago, the ps3 is still going strong. I am guessing, but I think PS3 sold more games overall than Wii.

So who knows how it goes this generation

[dsheinem]

In the end, I feel like the ps3 won

You may "feel" that way but the numbers don't support it - not in console sales, anyway. Beyond that, many of the best-selling software titles of the past 7-8 years were things like Mario Kart Wii, Wii Play, Wii Sports, various Mario Wii games, etc. The PS3 may pass the Wii in units sold in time, but last I checked the Wii still had about a 20% margin over the PS3, despite its precipitous fall off.

The big difference as I see it is that Sony had a platform that people wanted in many ways at launch - it had the tech and the pedigree of games they were interested in - but it was both too pricey and too scarce (they were regularly sold out and had serious production problems for much of the first year of the system) and the system started painfully slow. But yes, they did look to be a distant second to MS at the time...

I could see MS winning this gen in time, but I really think any window Nintendo may have had to do that is now gone. I just can't seem some revival of interest for the Wii given that it is old tech and doesn't get the bigger new releases, doesn't have that huge initial install base like the Wii had, etc.

[RCBH928]

@dsheinem

Of course numbers don't lie, Wii definitely won the "sales" race. But when I said I "feel" ps3 won I really meant ps3 ended up being the best console last generation.

Usually the best consoles(overall) wins the generation, even if its weaker hardware wise. Just compare PS1 to Saturn and N64. Also PS2 against oXbox and NGC. And I "feel" like the PS3 was the better console overall last gen and not the WIi even if the WIi won. I think this is the first time this happened.

And I am one of the very few people on this forum who shares you opinion about the Wii and the Wii U, and I agree on what you said about them.

[Cronozilla]

That's severely subjective.

[dsheinem]

And I am one of the very few people on this forum who shares you opinion about the Wii and the Wii U, and I agree on what you said about them.

Which opinion(s) are those? I don't know that I've taken on much of an opinion on the Wii/Wii U that people generally disagree with -- unless you are talking about my thoughts about their future/final sales figures? Otherwise I think I share most people's sentiment about the relative strengths and weaknesses of each system, their libraries, and their place in game history...