UPDATE: XBOX One Launches in North America, Around the World

56 Comments

1. The way I see it is that the PS4 is a video game console while the xbox one seems to be more of an entertainment system. Almost all of the online features that the xbox one has, I can easily do on my laptop. I’d rather have a new video game console, rather than a new computer. Also, none (I repeat) NONE of the xbox one exclusives are interesting to me at all. While the PS4 on the other hand does. Kingdom Hearts 3, a new Uncharted, and that’s just the beginning. So of course I got a PS4 AND a Wii U as well. (For Sonic Lost World of course lol) The only way I can see me getting an xbox one is if they make a new Gears of War or a new Banjo-Kazooie. But until then, sorry Microsoft, you struck out.

   1. Kingdom Hearts III is on the Xbox One.

      1. Yeah, like Microsoft users have ever heard of Kingdom Hearts before. Seriously, that choice had no logic to it. At least give 360 users 1.5 and 2.5, gotta get these Kingdom Hearts n00bs up to speed somehow.

         1. Here’s some great advice for buying Xbone: wait for a couple price drops, a decent amount of truly great exclusive games (not launch trash destined for the bargain bin) and keep any eye on how often Microsoft employees continue to bring up the DRM and how they still think they didn’t explain it properly to us “stupid” consumers if they keep bringing that up for months to come then don’t invest a dime in Xbone for obvious reasons.

            This generation is different because no one has shown as much utter contempt for their audience openly before, PS3’s 599 US DOLLARS AND RIDGE RACER are nothing compared to slow motion train wreck that has put the “bone” in Xbone.

         2. Well, I know lots of Xbox users who want KH, but I agree, 1.5 and 2.5 would be nice on the 360, and the Wii U.

   2. 500 US dollars for a gigantic entertainment box in 2013, whoever is left at Microsoft must have nightmares over Apple running commercials for AppleTV as if it, devices like it and Smart TVs haven’t already obliterated the idea of the mass market going to big new expensive game console for their home media center needs.

   3. They’ll come up with a new gears soon enough. They brought back a Rare IP and that was KI.

   4. You’re gonna have the same problems old people who say eff that to computers/technology are having if you want to keep living in the stone age. So I assume you don’t have a smart phone, since you can do all those apps on your computer. All that stuff you can do on that computer is going to be on all kinds of other stuff, because it allows speed, convenience, a greater ability to get things done and to multitask.

      You’ll be sold on it when you realize you’re slow and behind everyone else. I’ll skype and play Xbox on the TV, or maybe I’ll browse the web and and watch TV on my TV while I’m doing transactions on my cellphone and watching porn on my computer because it’s about to be 2014 son. Hope that run on sentence wasn’t too hard on your brain, old man.

      1. The future of entertainment is finally here thank you Steve Ballmer!

      2. So… the modern age is about tying yourself down to the living room TV instead of tying yourself down to the office computer or smartphone? The Xbox is just attempting to give you a small bite-sized TASTE of a true multi-tasking experience, compared to that of the PC OR average smartphone, and this is your next-gen revolution?

         You’ve been able to hook PCs up to HDTVs before Xbox was even including HD cables with their consoles, young pup. Maybe you should take a note from your elders and learn how shit works before you try mounting your “new age” high horse backwards.

         1. Do you think most homes have their computers hooked up to their televisions? If that’s your setup, this doesn’t apply to you. Most people aren’t going to drag their PC/laptop/whatever to the living room to hook it up — we’re in the 21st century, and PS4/Xbox One makes life easier. That’s, again, what makes them special, as well as smartphones and tablets. You don’t need to carry around your laptop everywhere to Skype, you can just do it on your TV. Obviously this doesn’t apply to you.

            The modern age is about technology being with you, where-ever you go. Skype won’t just be locked onto your computer — you’ll literally, and now more easily than ever, be able to Skype at almost any location. On the bus? Smartphone. In the living room? Use your multimedia gaming console. In your room/office/whatever? Use your computer. Same with Netflix (like you want to watch Netflix on your phone), same with web browsing, same with twitter, facebook, etc. I was able to use youtube on a TREADMILL at a gym. But why should I do that? I could just bring my tablet in for that. It’s convenience. I can leave my tablet in my car/locker because the gym is providing all of my apps/technology for me. If I want them to. The future offers us options, gives us preferences. We’re not stuck on one thing.

            I know how shit works. I co-owned a computer software company for 3 years before I got out of the technology industry into other fields. Hey, I think I’m going to throw away my smart phone and just carry around my laptop/tablet. I already have a computer. I think I’m going to throw away my tablet and carry around all my books. Yes, welcome to the new age. My high horse feels great.

         2. Do I think most homes have their computers hooked up to their televisions? No, of course not. Do I think that the type of person who intends to use the Xbox (or living room TV, for that matter) for anything but games or Netflix is going to be impressed by these features? Also no.

            Your average person may not have that setup, but your average person also doesn’t want or need it, nor are many of them smart enough to figure it out either (I bet even just connecting your PC to the 360 in order to access your media library goes well over the heads of most). The multitasking-savvy crowd already knows it has better options and setups, and the “casual crowd” for lack of a better term, will just let these features go to waste. Maybe if Microsoft starts allowing the Xbox to run better apps, this may change, but what does the 360 have now? A bunch of awful or identical streaming services?

            This may be a bit of ignorance on my part, as I haven’t bothered researching every detail of the One’s capabilities (because I’m not desperate or wealthy enough to buy a console at launch), but my question is: exactly whose life is the Xbox One making more convenient? The two people who really fuckin’ like to Skype while also watching TV (or are just dying to see their loved one’s faces blown up on a 50″ screen)? The people willing to settle for a shitty living room browsing/social media experience clumsily navigated by a controller (or worse, the Kinect) because they’re too lazy to carry their laptop/tablet/smartphone for the same purpose? The people who want (or even have the attention span) to watch two TV shows at once? These all seem like really esoteric niche groups of people to me. The options are there, sure, but how valuable are they, really?

            Tablets and Smartphones offer conveniences that other products DON’T (portability being one of them). It’s not JUST a matter of having a third “option”. I’m failing to see what unique convenience the Xbox One offers beyond just the ability to poorly do a couple of things on a bigger screen (the most common of which can already be done on the 360)

         3. The only major things the Xbox One is adding that’s new is attempting to streamline everything into one box, the snap functionality, and voice control. Voice control, when it finally works 95-100% of the time, has the potential to get rid of the remote controller. (Please, get rid of that thing). It also has the potential to make everyone’s (benefits) life easier. You can command your console anywhere, anytime, without a controller. Sounds insignificant, but you’ll find a lot of reviewers of the console really like and prefer it. Snap functionality will be interesting — and will allow us additional capabilities on the non-computer connected TV that we haven’t had before. Same with gaming in general. Streamlining also makes life easier — and it makes sense. TV and the console needed to be more seamless since the beginning. Now you can message friends, get into and out of games, in the middle of a TV show. Before this, you had to look online or communicate with a friend outside of the Xbox before you know those messages/requests existed.

            Another thing that is going under people’s radars is Smartglass, which allows a tablet to be integrated more with the console. Imagine using your ipad to type in your username, password, website URLs, etc. versus the slow controller.

            This is stuff your computer can’t really do well now, which gives the Xbox (PS4 does some of this as well, but I’m speaking on the Xbox) an advantage.

            Also, have you seen casuals? They take advantage of the other functions of the Xbox more than anyone I’ve seen. Netflix, movies, sports, etc. If you see an Xbox at a person’s house you had no idea was a gamer, they may be using that Xbox for more of those casual activities versus gaming. They find value in doing that versus hooking up their computer to the TV, apparently.

            To learn more about the market, view this from the ESA: http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2013.pdf

            42% of gamers use consoles to watch movies. 22% for live music. 19% for live TV.

            The “other” stuff is significantly used. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be marketed so heavily from Microsoft. Microsoft is a big business, and they’re smart. A smart business will create and expand on services that consumers value. Consumers value a lot of the other stuff the gaming consoles offer.

            To see how people really value these features, we need to go to the people directly. Outside of the Disc Drive of Doom (Why I don’t buy launch consoles):

            http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-One-Console-Day-Edition/product-reviews/B00CMQTVK0/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_5?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addFiveStar&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

            On Amazon, a high majority are giving the console 5 stars, and a lot of them are happy about the changes, especially with the voice command on Kinect.

         4. ” Imagine using your ipad to type in your username, password, website URLs, etc. versus the slow controller.”

            Wii U already does that. Amazing that your precious Ecks Bone has to resort to something that MS fanboys claim is useless.

            BTW, “apps” on Windows 8 are part of the reason why Windows 8 is trash. There is no such thing as a good Windows 8 “app”. They are all useless 16-color garbage. If you want to do any serious work, you have to use a real program.

         5. At least I can agree with most of that, although you seem to be overselling it. Voice control can be convenient, or even preferable, but it’s not THAT revolutionary (and it’s really fuckin’ annoying)… at least not yet.

            Snap is fine, but still seems like more hassle than it’s worth. Seems like it’d still be easier and more convenient to use your phone or tablet for social media than trying to juggle all kinds of extra bullshit on your TV with obnoxious voice commands.

            Smartglass, similiarly, as you describe it, seems like it’s merely bringing the otherwise behind-the-curve features up to par, making it so doing all that multi-tasking isn’t the clumsy chore it would be otherwise. This is another subject I haven’t delved too far into, but from your description, it doesn’t seem to be doing anything above and beyond “functional”.

            I am aware that most people use their Xbox for movies and occasionally music. But what beyond that? Honestly, that’s not really a plus in the Xbox’s favor either. I can access Netflix or Pandora from an app on my actual television, no Box included. Everyone’s got SOME way to access Netflix on a big screen without much fuss, and Xbox is one of the only options hiding that feature behind a paywall. The point I keep going back to is where is the “(r)evolution”? This is all original-Wii-level child’s play so far. Nothing new, nothing special. Only thing justifying these features is that “everyone else has them”. Which is fine, but I’m still waiting for the One to step up and show us something substantial that we can’t already do with our 360s. Skype is not THAT big of a deal, and TV-in-TV is a cute gimmick with very little practical application.

            Your first link was quite interesting, but I’m not really buying the second. Amazon reviews on stuff like this are just like user reviews on metacritic. Primarily overloaded with melodramatic zealots either doggedly defending their mothership or trying to shoot it down. We’ll have to wait and see what normal people REALLY think about this once the overblown launch hype dies down.

         6. @GerbilSoft: No duh the Wii U does that. Smartglass is just showing how much of a waste of money it is, since you can just use a tablet or smart phone to do the same stuff. Now, of course not all of the same stuff. I doubt my iPad can play Halo 4 — but Microsoft took a huge bite out of the Wii with just one app.

         7. Until you realize how much input lag you get because SmartGlass doesn’t use a dedicated point-to-point connection.

            The only reason Wii U’s gamepad is able to achieve low input lag is because the Wii U console has two 802.11n network adapters – one for regular network connectivity, and one for the gamepad. Had they used a single network adapter, the gamepad would be unusable.

         8. EDIT: Further checks show the Xbox One does, in fact, support “Wi-Fi Direct”, but I don’t know if using it disables regular Internet connectivity.

            Furthermore, a “regular” tablet doesn’t have gamepad controls, so you’re stuck with either juggling a tablet and an Xbox One controller, or using touchscreen controls (bleh).

         9. Gerbil you’re not wrong about the Wii U having the better tablet when it comes to gaming. That’ll probably change as the tablets/smart phones continue to upgrade and become better at that aspect years ahead.

            Microsoft is betting on a lot of things with this console, which is why it’s invested a lot in what seems to be useless additions compared to the PS4. It’s a console for another decade, and so much can happen in a a decade (such as the release of iphones last decade). We’ll see where things go. I defend the Xbox a lot because I would like to invite open-mindedness on the possibilities, even if they don’t work. They almost didn’t put the Ethernet port in the original Xbox because they weren’t sure of the future — that paid off big time.

            I do love Sony; selling my PSP was the worst decision I’ve ever made, and Metal Gear Solid is an amazing series. I also like Little Big Planet, and some of the older Final Fantasy games. If I wasn’t in an undesirable financial hole right now, I’d get both consoles.

   5. Yeah, and it’s pretty easy to connect a computer up to a TV using video & audio output if needed (although I’m fine with the computer screen) xD

2. I was expecting the first time update to take hours, but it only took 10 minutes. It’s a pretty cool system.

3. My older brother stood outside Bestbuy for 3 hours last night to get our XB1. Right now the only games I have on it is Ghosts and Assassin’s Creed 4 but I’m really loving how in depth Ghosts looks on the new Xbox. I played online for a good 4 hours and I couldn’t help but feel ashamed for all the bad stuff I said about Microsoft and the new Xbox months ago when it was first revealed. I initially said that I wouldn’t even touch a XB1 box but Microsoft managed to reel me in with all the changes they’ve made since then and how the new Kinect is amazing.

   The first thing I’m going to do on Thanksgiving is have the family play Just Dance 4 and Sonic Free Riders with the new Kinect to see how this new Kinect stacks up. But so far, I’m loving the One.

   I think we made an impulse buy however because initially we weren’t even going to buy the One until Watch Dogs came out after we heard it was delayed but my brother thought Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to fully try it out.

   The interface is great, the current next-gen game lineup is pretty lackluster but that’s to be expected, and soon I’ll start doing let’s plays now that the system can record gameplay. Honestly the only thing I dislike about the One is the games that’re currently available, since all the official “next-gen” games are shit compared to the final games of the previous generation, i.e. the only games people will actually be playing on the One or PS4 till next year.

   I’d give it a 7/10 but only because of the price tag and the launch line-up. I recommend the One to anyone who thought badly of it previously because Microsoft certainly learned from their mistakes. Plus the Youtube app came with it this time even though they said it was delayed, how cool is that?

   1. Have you tested all of the online stuff yet? Because so far the policies for that was what turned me off in the first place.

   2. Sounds like the killer app is Sunk Cost Fallacy
      DON’T BUY A CONSOLE AT LAUNCH
      DON’T BUY A 500 DOLLAR VIDEO GAME CONSOLE AT LAUNCH

   3. Get Killer Instinct or at least try it. It’s probably oone of the best reviewed Xbox One launch title and along with Dead Rising 3.

      1. Another Protip: NEVER TRUST REVIEWS OF LAUNCH TITLES

         1. Actually I can to some games. I wasn’t sure about Ryse and I’m still not sure if it is good or okay or bad. But Killer Instinct is good. If you see the gameplay and mechanics. It is good. The only thing it lacks is modes and characters.

   4. Wait, doesn’t the XBone eliminate backwards compatibility? Or is it only for kinect titles?

      If it is, then that is the stupidest form of backwards compatibility I’ve ever seen.

      1. It is not suppose to have backwards compatibility but they said with their new cloud system they should be able to. Sonic Free Riders could have been better if the Kinect 1.0 wasn’t such a beta test, shit was so unresponsive. With Kinect 2.0 motion controls should be better. Sega should of just made the game around Kinect 2.0 and as well made it optional to use Kinect instead of required, like Crimson Dragon.

4. It’s probably too early to say, but a lot of the reviews I’ve been seeing about the Xbox One are giving it pretty average scores so far. Even the Wii-U fared a little better by comparison.
   I’m guessing PS4 is the obvious winner so far, though time in the future may or may not tell a different story.

   Microsoft and Nintendo continuously screw themselves over by having a poor launch lineup and very little to look forward to for the entire year onwards.
   The ONLY Nintendo and Microsoft games I’m even hyped for at the moment are Bayonetta 2 and Halo 5, in this billion dollar industry that’s not really a great sign for either of them tbh, seeing as how PS4 will most likely be the obvious choice for all 3rd party titles this upcoming generation.

   Honestly I really feel this whole console generation could of waited another year or two, it’s obvious the PS4 isn’t ‘needed just yet’ and Xbox One and Wii-u were clearly rushed out the door just to try and compete with it.
   Games like GTA V, Gran Turismo 6, Saints Row IV, Battlefield 4, Fifa 14 and WatchDogs, etc have more than proven that this current gen still has plenty of life left in it for at least another good 4-5 years down the line.

   Not a single game I’ve seen for any of these consoles so far convinced me that they can’t already be done on current gen tech or are at the very least worth doing on current gen tech and lets all be honest with ourselves here and face the cold hard truth. Unless you have a decent plasma TV worth at least over £500, you’re not even going to get the most out of your next gen consoles anyway. All of the footage I’ve seen of these new games looks 100% identical to the current generation to me, because I’m looking at it through my laptop or my LCD TV.
   How many of you here own Plasmas? Hell I have friends who still haven’t even upgraded from SD to HD yet.
   I’m willing to bet at least a good 70% of gamers out there play with an LCD TV. (19 inch 720p monitors in their dorm rooms or 32 inch 1080ps in their bedroom/living rooms – with a 50HZ refresh rate, truth be told, we’re not even getting the full potential out of our current gen consoles, never mind next gen!)

   When I play PGR4 or Sonic Unleashed the action is blurry as fuck, I have a pretty decent TV but it’s still not good enough. The point I’m trying to make is most of our arn’t ready yet, and these consoles sales are likely going to show that, recession or not.

   1. It, alongside the PS4, are getting average scores because they were rushed to launch for the holidays. Neither are done, in the software department. A little bit also in the hardware (blue light of death, CD eating machine).

      There is no “obvious” winner. The Xbox and PS4 are selling relatively the same. We can assume the PS4 is selling more, but Xbox is also getting more gross income due to the additinal $100 price tag.

      Microsoft has arguably the best launch line up in their history of releasing consoles. As well as Sony. And this generation “could’ve” waited, but the demand is so high, it is way overdue. The sales demonstrate this. It’s time for the new consoles — what dictates that “time” is consumer demand.

      Also, no duh these new launch games don’t look dramatically different. That always happens with launch games because development studios are transitioning from the old hardware to the new hardware. You’re seeing a lot of multiplats on current and “next-gen” hardware because publishers will get a ton more money right now as more people have the old generation consoles versus this new one. That’ll evolve over time, and we’ll get those drop-dead amazing next-gen exclusives later as we always do.

      Are you new to gaming?

      1. Yes the demand was so high the mass market was demanding new consoles games like GTA V sold terribly because they care about the hardware more than software so we need new hardware to sell software oh wait!
         Wait until at least February before trying to get anything meaningful from sales numbers, I’m reminded of this quote from SEGA back from 1999 “By hitting the one million units sold landmark, it is clear that the Dreamcast consumer has moved beyond the hard-core gamer and into the mass market.”

         We know nothing about the gross income when we don’t know if they are selling at a loss or not. The PS3 was sold at a loss and it was 599 US DOLLARS.

         1. What are you talking about?

            If you’re in denial about the demand being high, I recommend taking some more courses in business. The demand is high, very high. It’s been over 5 years since we had a new console. The evidence is in the sales. They’re selling out like hotcakes. http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/xbox-one-playstation-4-pre-orders-break-amazon-records-6C10411619 This shows that demand is high.

            And you’re right, we don’t know if they are selling at a lost. That’s why I said gross, and not net. Again, business courses. We do know the PS4s cost about $380 dollars to create IGN has an article on it, feel free to google on that. They’re doing better than they were with the PS3 launch, which costed about 800 dollars to make, and they were selling it for that 599 US DOLLARS.

         2. Edit: Not including the Wii U in the “new console” ordeal. Obviously the Wii U was a mistake from Nintendo. They’re going to be struggling with the fierce competition of Microsoft and Sony this generation unless they can pull some magic, which I’m sure they’ll do.

         3. That represents the hardcore market not the mass market, mass market doesn’t preorder video game console at launch they buy them when the holiday buying season starts or not at all. What those numbers are telling us is that Sony has as ton of supply, the hardcore that buy consoles at launch for the hype and the sake new hardware aren’t being held back in the way they were when the last two Playstations launched.

         4. Not sure the purpose on pointing out the possible types of market buying the consoles. Also, you do know it’s Christmas time, right? For one, I’m curious on your source with being able to know who exactly are buying these consoles, and how hardcore or casual they are, and two, there’s a lot of family and kids who want PS4s and Xbox Ones aside from hardcore gamers who have the cash. We have no idea how many casuals versus hardcore users are purchasing these systems at this time.

         5. The hardcore are the people who buy these things without question making them the easiest sell, the mass market is everyone else don’t use casual to describe them, look at that quote I posted about the Dreamcast even as far back as 1999 this distinction was known. Apple also knows this all too well, other than the iPod everything else they sold was to their hardcore niche of fanatics that is of course until iPhone.

            The rhetoric about the masses just dying for new hardware was used to explain why OUYA and Wii U would be huge successes and why games like GTA V on current gen would fall flat because current gen is X years old, the only thing falling flat was all that bullshit.

            The holiday buying season doesn’t start until after Thanksgiving everyone knows this. The only parents buying these new consoles for their kids before the buying season starts are divorced guilty parents and kids with November birthdays. Those excited kids weren’t pushing millions of PS3s, 360s and Wii Us out the doors when they launched anyway.

         6. Most of what you said are assumptions, but yes, it is important to see how the consoles continue to sell in the long-term when it comes to the demand being there. We can assume a lot of “hardcore” gamers bought the new consoles from demand, though we cannot safely assume a significant amount weren’t also holiday shoppers. If you don’t get these consoles at releases, you risk not getting it at all (even though Sony and Microsoft mentions there’s going to be good supply for the Holidays). Casual gameplayers aren’t dumb. FYI, I fit the description of casual. I’ve played maybe 1-2 games this year, if that. You would also label me as a “dudebro.” The only hardcore thing about me is I keep tabs on gaming news.

            Demand for the Wii U, even with the hardcore, wasn’t apparently that high, because the console has not sold well. Demand for a new PS4 and Xbox was apparently high. Also, demand can change depending on the specs, software, etc. of the console. You call bullshit on demand existing for a new Nintendo console (you mentioned next gen consoles in general, so Nintendo fits into that). Perhaps the demand WAS there, but perhaps the factors of a subpar increase in graphics, and the whole tablet idea lowered that demand. Or other variables.

            We’re seeing the demand for next-gen consoles not being bullshit because of Xbox One and PS4. And, with the continuous bringing upness of the new GTA — obviously demand for that game was high, regardless of what console it’d be on. Those who said it’d do poor were mistaken.

         7. So many nitpicks I have with so many different points and posts in this debate. Dear God.

   2. I use a 1999 Sun GDM-90W10 CRT. 24″, 1920×1200 @ 75 Hz maximum. Cost me nothing, and works great.

      Wii U is currently running at 1280×720 due to a design defect in the X2VGA transcoder, which I use to convert the YPbPr (component video) signal to VGA. (Using anything higher than 1280×720 causes video sync issues.) I plan on getting an HDMI to VGA converter that should eliminate that problem.

5. So where did the demo disc go after this?

6. Hmm… No problems with the Wii U console.

   Everybody bashes it, when it isn’t built like crap like Microsoft and Sony consoles and hardly ever costs gamers the cash or time to have to replace them all the time.

   Fans, aren’t they funny creatures?

   Enjoy your console problems, small amount of games or not I am sitting pretty with a system that hasn’t failed hardly a gamer yet.

   1. Fanboy alert

      1. Not at all. I hated Microsoft ever since they fucked up RARE.

   2. “Enjoy your console problems”
      Because game consoles are always going to be 100% perfect at launch?

      1. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/nov/19/wii-u-launch-us-problems Yup, they are always 100% at launch. Wii U definitely had 0 issues, and a perfect launch.

         1. Nowhere near as bad as Sony and Microsoft still.

            Time will tell who gets plagued the most this gen around.

            Faulty hardware didn’t start to such extreme degrees until the 360 came.

   3. My problem is the controller. : P

      But seriously, as others have stated already, there were problems with the Wii U’s launch. The bigger problem is that most people don’t care about launches- they care about the games. This whole controversy will pass just like it did with consoles in the past.

   4. Doesn’t fucking matter one bit. Wii U could have had a perfect launch, and could deliver a perfect gaming experience every time, and Xbox and PS4 could RROD or whatever the next-gen equivalent is 45% of the time, and they’d still have sold more units overall, making them the target of 3rd party devs AND the majority consumers.

      This will slowly but surely lead to either an untimely death, or leave the Wii U limping along for a few years, just begging for scraps. Whether it’s the better console or not, unless Mario Kart of Smash Bros suddenly turn into crazy runaway system sellers, this is simply what’s going to happen. Pure numbers.

      1. Nintendo always does just fine in the end last place or not. Its already been said, no other company could survive without third party support like Nintendo has. So it proves other consoles are nothing without help from third party developers and don’t hold a candle to Nintendo in terms of reliability and self sufficiency.

         1. Again, the console is already dying. That is a fact. It’s not selling, which means that Nintendo is going to struggle making money even on GREAT PRODUCTS, because it has such a small consumer base to market to. That’s not to say that it can’t turn around, but like I said, if they don’t come up with something that SELLS THE SYSTEM, then nothing else really matters. You can’t survive selling Bikinis in Alaska, and you can’t survive selling games for a console no one owns, whether you have third party support or not.

7. have no interest in any of these next gen consoles, and this is the first year that I have, disappointingly, stated this. The Xbox One’s initial marketing directive with online limitations stacked on top of strict regulations didn’t help, but being a Live Gold subscriber, literally zero additions made to the Xbox One are additions I’ve talked with and requested by Microsoft’s customer service.

   Yeah, big, deal, but the biggest red flags to me are the annual online fees and the nickel and diming. In three or four years, I can’t just call up a friend, in-law, relative, or whatever, and be like, “Hey hop on PS4/Xbox One, let’s play a game,” because no one likes paying annual fees, and most of them sure as hell aren’t doing it, so neither am I anymore.

   My biggest request/red flag though, was assurance. Assure me the console isn’t going to break at no fault to my own due to the next red ring error or “brick patch” that 360 owners received in 2006, including myself. Assure me that community feedback tools will actually be useful and BAN people who threaten and harass others consistently online. Assure me the moderation over users will be tightened up. And finally, assure me that I won’t be playing the sixth level in a $60 game on a $550 console(with tax) on a $60 a year online subscription, when suddenly a pop up appears saying “oh the best part of the game happens here, but we’re skipping passed this to the next level because you didn’t buy the Assurance Pack for $14.99.” Looking at you Assassin’s Creed 2.

   I’m just sick of the ads on the dashboard, the lack of moderation, the lack of care for existing members, and the lack of value for the dollar. I dislike microtransactions and will never buy into it, so I do NOT want to see it when I turn on my console.

   And since Sony caved in and is now also charging a fee for online, I can say goodbye to ever playing online with more casual friends who think it rediculous to pay their internet bill plus a monthly/annual bill for a console.

   Ah well. At least the 3DS is holding me over!

   1. The online charge really annoys me, and I’m glad that Nintendo aren’t doing it (and there’s also PC, which for many things is free online). Usually I delay my purchase of new consoles by a few years, although with the subscription charge that makes online more inaccessible, it pushes me to delay even further any plans of PS4 because of uninterest, and there are many other sources for gaming to me.

   2. Continuing to keep things like Netflix behind a paywall in this day and age shows how far up their own ass Microsoft is not to mention the disasters of Surface and Windows 8, looking forward to watching the next CEO clean house.

8. I rather like the Xbox One, I think it is a cool system. However, I will wait a bit for the price to drop and more games to come out before I invest in one (no pun intended). I will probably not connect our cable TV to it because my family likes to have the TV on for hours in the morning and I do not like the idea of having my console on doing nothing for that time (even if it is in a low power state); so what I have planned it to connect the Wii U to the One though the HDMI passthrough and enjoy the best of both worlds 😀

9. Just dropping in to say that this is not my console war.

   PC, Steam, i feel bad for Nintendo too, i want 3DS…

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