There it is. Pretty much exactly how it would look in your living room.
The question everybody asks me is which of the systems is better...is it the less expensive but supposedly more powerful PS4 or the more expensive and complex Xbox One. Here's the answer. Neither is better than the other, and nobody is going to care about the price difference or hardware specifications once they have the games and applications ready for them. Nobody talked about the processor in the Xbox 360 when they were playing Gears of War for the first time. Nobody cared about the clunky online platform in the PS3 when they were enjoying Uncharted. The bottom line is that people are going to get the system that best fits their style of entertainment. Everybody wants to make a console war. I guess people find it entertaining (or perhaps mentally fulfilling) to take a position as if these consoles are like politicians or a religion. The fact is that these are consumer purchases. If one of these platforms totally dominated, we would all be worse off for it. Sony would not be focusing on indie support now if it weren't for the success of Xbox Live Arcade, and Microsoft would not have ramped up Xbox Live Gold to include free stuff if it weren't for Playstation Plus. And Nintendo is still in the wings delivering something completely different which is probably why the Kinect came along in the first place...it's likely a response to the Wii Remote and that kind of fewer button, non-controller interaction.
But hey, it's not very interesting for me to not take a public position on it, so here are my thoughts on the system, both positive and negative.
Let's start with the hardware itself. Much like the Playstation 4, the design is sleek and definitely much more elegant than its predecessor. When I removed my Xbox 360 from the entertainment center, it just looked old to me. Perhaps I'm just spoiled.
The controller feels very nice to me with the analog sticks. I've heard gripes about the positions of the triggers and bumpers, but so far it has not been an issue for me. If I had to choose one, I would probably go with the Playstation 4 controller, but both are good.
The differences really start with the Kinect and how it delivers a totally different and unique experience from the Playstation 4 in terms of how it works with the rest of the devices around your TV. There is an HDMI input for your cable box, and as a result you can do more interesting things with the Kinect. For example, if I say "Xbox Watch ESPN" it just changes the channel to 570 (ESPN on FIOS) and it's done. Sounds good, right? Well...ask it to change to NFL Red Zone or NBA TV. Those don't work so well. It turned me to Lifetime, TNT, NBC...just not the channels I wanted. That can be frustrating. But when I say "Xbox Turn On" when I get home the whole thing turns on and tunes to whatever channel I was on last while I'm doing other things like feed the cats or put down my work stuff. Overall it's a positive experience, but I found that I did have to go back to the remote control quite often. The Xbox also features something called One Guide. This is like a TV guide, but I think it's not so great. If you channel surf, it's just way to slow. I kept having to say "page down", which is obnoxious to others in the room and annoying to do. When I use the remote, I just press down a bunch and it moves faster. I don't know how it would work, but like a "surf" command would be nice for the system to just scroll through the channels at a reasonable speed. Perhaps it exists and I just don't know about it.
The Kinect also can do other things like Skype calls or party chats, which I think work pretty well. When I did a Skype call with a friend, the camera was smart enough to zoom in on him as he walked around his living room. That was impressive. What wasn't impressive is how it thinks my cats are people, so it won't do the same zooming quite as well in my living room. Also, I can't get the hand gestures to work the way they are supposed to. It feels slow and again it may have to do with the fact that my cats are in the room or that the room isn't oriented in a way the Kinect likes. It's clearly a more sophisticated camera and microphone system than the PS4, but I don't know how necessary it is. The PS4 actually seems to do a better job recognizing my face and not seeing my cats as people even though the camera is less powerful. That is a software issue, so Microsoft should be able to fix it I imagine.
From standby, the system turns on very quickly. But from a completely powered off state, it is extremely slow to boot up. Much slower than the PS4. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.
The dashboard itself is awful. It has that Metro UI that I never liked on the 360 or in Windows 8. I think it's very colorful and artistic but has no logic behind it. That said, if you are using voice commands to open applications and games (which works nearly perfectly) the dashboard is totally irrelevant.
The Xbox also allows some limited multitasking with the use of "Snap". For example, on Sunday night I had the Broncos/Patriots game snapped to the side of the screen as I played Forza Motorsport 5. This is a gimmick in my opinion. I couldn't pay attention to the game on the tiny part of the screen while racing. It's totally impractical. Also, the video in the snapped portion of the screen seemed much less smooth. I seriously doubt I will continue to utilize this feature.
For the time being, the Xbox has the superior exclusive games. Forza 5 is probably the best overall console launch experience for both systems in the sense that it is a complete game, looks incredible, and is just a lot of fun. If you are a fan of the show Top Gear, it is a must buy for the tie ins to the TV show. I also purchased Dead Rising 3 which is not available on other platforms but I have yet to open it. All of the buzz surrounding that game is positive though so I'm sure I will enjoy it. I hear the graphics are a bit lacking. Killer Instinct I bought digitally and it's a strong sequel to the previous games. It feels the same with a fresh coat of paint. I purchased the ultimate edition, but for $20 you can get the game with all of the characters (2 are coming as DLC later). If you like fighting games at all I strongly recommend it. It's not perfect, but $20? You really can't go wrong. Does this make the system the one to buy on launch? Maybe...it depends on what your tastes are. But I don't think the PS4 will be lacking in exclusives and I would actually imagine that the exclusives I care about like Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, and The Last of Us (in addition to anything Japanese in origin) will be coming to the PS4.
For the time being, I prefer the Xbox One. I just think that today I will get more value out of it. But I like both systems. I think they are well designed, the games look good, the controllers are awesome, and they have some ambitiousness behind the fundamental design. Unlike the old days of the NES, these systems will continue to evolve with firmware updates that will enhance them even more.
I'm sure I failed to mention a few things about both systems...for example, I don't think I mentioned the PS Vita remote play on the Playstation 4 which works exceptionally well. But I think if you are going to buy one or both of these systems, you have to make the purchase based on what is known about them for now and what matters to you. I suspect that if you are into some of the bigger titles such as sports games or first person shooters, the Xbox will likely be the right choice. If you prefer games that have a more specific niche audience, the PS4 is probably going to be a better decision. You can't really go wrong though.
So which system is going to get my attention this holiday season? The answer is...The Nintendo Wii U and 3DS. I have been a very harsh critic of Nintendo for their weak online functionality, underpowered hardware, eccentric design, and lack of 3rd party support. All of that stuff gets thrown out the window when you load up The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (expect a post just on this game) and you realize that you are having more fun with a game that runs at lower resolution on a weird looking system. Nintendo has some significant problems as a company including getting people to buy their poorly marketed Wii U as well as having 3rd party publishers bring exclusives to the platform, but Rayman Legends, Super Mario 3D World, A Link Between Worlds, Wind Waker HD, Fire Emblem Awakening, Pokemon X/Y, etc. are some of the best games that came out in 2013. I'll be doing a top 10 games of the year and honorable mention blog post soon as I complete a few more games, but expect to see Nintendo well represented.
This gets back to my fundamental point about new consoles. People get into flame wars over hardware specs, backwards compatibility, online play, and other factors that don't have much to do with what games are actually on the system. If the next Gears of War game comes out for Xbox and everybody loves it, nobody is going to give a shit about the fact that Microsoft initially wanted to get rid of used games or that the system is technically less powerful than the PS4. DDR3 or DDR5 memory means nothing when you are enjoying the experience. The Last of Us could very well be the game of the year, and it has a lower resolution and an inconsistent framerate on a platform that is 6 years old.
If you see one of these new consoles in a store and you really want to play Forza or Resogun, just get the system that has it. I'm sure it will all work out in the end. You will find plenty to enjoy on all of these platforms.
Comments and feedback are welcomed. Feel free to share this or my other posts with friends. You can reach out to me on Steam, Xbox Live, PSN at IMTheWalrus610, or connect with me on Google+ through this blog.
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