Next Gen consoles - PS4/Xbox One

[Deco]

Much better??

They sold a million consoles in 24 hours. I would consider that to be a pretty decent launch.....

True. There just seems to be a lot of people who haven't bought it because of the lack of games - and if one of the consoles had a top top game at launch it may have swayed some sales.

 

[evilwebby]

Truth is that they're probably selling as many consoles as they can actually physically make right now, regardless of the launch titles, but once the initial rush of next gen adopters is over, they will need a stream of decent software releases to keep existing owners happy and to attract new buyers.

Developers are in a chicken and egg situation. They're not going to plough massive R&D into a new IP for platform without a decent user-base, so they aim for a few months down the line to release their first triple-A title, and hope to hit some sort of a sweet-spot in the console's early life cycle.

 

[BirkenheadBlue]

so underwhelmed by the xbox one, in terms of graphics there is nothing next gen about it. BF4 only runs at 720p and is so far off the PC version in terms of graphics and smoothness that its ridiculous... obviously you'd expect PC version to be better but id go as far as saying BF4 on xbox one is closer to the 360 version than the PC version in terms of graphics.

assassins creed wasn't visually impressive either, again running at sub 1080p.

forza 5 is also nothing special to look at, side by sides show its really not that much better than Forza 4.

Just need to see what the PS4 is saying now, hopefully its a significant improvement otherwise i will be passing on this generation of consoles.

both consoles are capable of SIGNIFICANTLY better graphics than their respective predecessors.

Not all games are necessarily showing that so far, (some of them are though - check the graphics on NBA 2K14, and i also don't agree about the Forza 4/5 comparison - plus it leverages the new tech in several ways other than graphics which the previous gen simply couldn't do) but to write off the generation of consoles (almost 10 years of gaming, probably) after a week of them being out is frankly ridiculous.

To see how daft that is, check out the visual difference between 360 games released in November 2005, and the likes of GTA 5 etc. Developers ALWAYS take a little while to get to grips with new consoles and the related dev kits.

 

[SteKelly]

I really don't understand why one of the brands didn't get a major title (I know Forza etc are big names but not game changers for me) and grab hold of the launch market - I'm sure if Titan Fall came out on release the Xbox One would have done much better.

Do you even like the look of TitanFall though? I hate all those Sci-Fi games, robots flying around in the air and that.

 

[Tubey]

both consoles are capable of SIGNIFICANTLY better graphics than their respective predecessors.

This is true, but therein actually lies the problem - the overall end specs of the machine indicate that the PS4 will have the longer shelf life in terms of graphical development when set against the comparatively weaker XBone.

And it is certainly true that even now games that should look better on the XBone than they do - like Battlefield 4 - are suffering when compared to true 1080p on the PC, and that's on release, where you'd at least expect the "next gen" to be competitive with the PC.

It's the contrast where 720p suffers. I don't think it's a deal-breaker for casual gamers obviously but the more serious and long-term minded players are going to move in their droves away from the XBone unless they can come up with a solution. There are more comparison videos going up on YouTube day by day and it's looking increasingly worse.

 

[BirkenheadBlue]

This is true, but therein actually lies the problem - the overall end specs of the machine indicate that the PS4 will have the longer shelf life in terms of graphical development when set against the comparatively weaker XBone.

You could have said the same about the PS3/360 though, and that difference and shelf life never materialised.

And while I agree that the comparison with PC isn't favourable (for either console tbh) it's really irrelevant, because say what you will, neither the PS4 nor the Xbox One are actually competing against the PC, they're competing solely against each other.

Yes there are all sorts of PS4/XO comparison videos on youtube, but pretty much every review of the two consoles (and respective games) say that the difference between the two is negligible in real terms, and more or less imperceptible unless you actually have the two running side by side to compare.

As it pretty much always has, the decision on which console to get should basically come down to which one most of your mates are getting.

 

[ijjysmith]

I dreamt I had a PS4 last night.

Was good.

 

[Tubey]

You could have said the same about the PS3/360 though, and that difference and shelf life never materialised.

And while I agree that the comparison with PC isn't favourable (for either console tbh) it's really irrelevant, because say what you will, neither the PS4 nor the Xbox One are actually competing against the PC, they're competing solely against each other.

Yes there are all sorts of PS4/XO comparison videos on youtube, but pretty much every review of the two consoles (and respective games) say that the difference between the two is negligible in real terms, and more or less imperceptible unless you actually have the two running side by side to compare.

As it pretty much always has, the decision on which console to get should basically come down to which one most of your mates are getting.

The difference isn't negligible though - in terms of frame rate it's in theory nearly a 50% difference and already in practice it's close to that. Battlefield 4 runs about 900p on PS4, barely 720p on XBone with a choppy framerate and some real bad aliasing. Some PS4 titles like Assassins Creed aren't even adopting the full power of the thing yet as they're going 900p to ensure an even frame rate, whereas the XBone is pretty much maxxed out (sure you'll have the generational improvements as things go on, but the truth is that the XBone will be at a permanent disadvantage.)

This is a substantial thing to consider for a gamer. As I said, I know these aren't deal breakers for the casuals, but for a fair few I don't think that it'll come down to whether your mates have it in the long run, because I'm fairly certain that a sizeable portion of the gaming market are adopting a wait and see attitude until the new year before buying collectively.

As someone who is buying neither console for a good two years, it's interesting to be on the outside looking in. I don't think brand loyalty to Microsoft is going to cut it long term. The smart thing to do is to avoid both as there's no real reason to buy either console for some time to come, but when people do start to buy en masse then I see the PS4 having a distinct advantage.

 

[BirkenheadBlue]

The difference isn't negligible though - in terms of frame rate it's in theory nearly a 50% difference and already in practice it's close to that. Battlefield 4 runs about 900p on PS4, barely 720p on XBone with a choppy framerate and some real bad aliasing. Some PS4 titles like Assassins Creed aren't even adopting the full power of the thing yet as they're going 900p to ensure an even frame rate, whereas the XBone is pretty much maxxed out (sure you'll have the generational improvements as things go on, but the truth is that the XBone will be at a permanent disadvantage.)

This is a substantial thing to consider for a gamer. As I said, I know these aren't deal breakers for the casuals, but for a fair few I don't think that it'll come down to whether your mates have it in the long run, because I'm fairly certain that a sizeable portion of the gaming market are adopting a wait and see attitude until the new year before buying collectively.

As someone who is buying neither console for a good two years, it's interesting to be on the outside looking in. I don't think brand loyalty to Microsoft is going to cut it long term. The smart thing to do is to avoid both as there's no real reason to buy either console for some time to come, but when people do start to buy en masse then I see the PS4 having a distinct advantage.

We'll see I guess, but the spec advantage was similar in the last generation (in fact several industry commentators actually put the discrepancy at BIGGER between PS3/360) and that certainly didn't translate to a win for Sony.

And given that the Xbox One is currently the fastest selling console ever (perhaps to be eclipsed by PS4 in the next 12 hours or so) less people seem to be "waiting" than ever before - which implies that 'which console do your friends have' will still be a massive influence on people's buying habits - for online play etc.

Not saying you're necessarily wrong about PS4 eventually selling more etc, but if it does, I think it'll be more to do with factors other than the graphical differences, which on paper and side by side seem a lot bigger than they are in the "real world"

 

[evilwebby]

BirkenheadBlue speaks much sense!

Frankly I like the look of PS4 more at this stage, but at a point of diminishing returns in graphical fidelity, this war will far more about overall competency of the platform rather than hardware spec.

Also, it cannot be denied that as a company, Microsoft have sh1tloads of money to back its machine in order to swing things in their favour. Microsoft is a company with a $234bn market capitalisation with a superbly cash generative business, Sony's troubles OTOH have been well documented, they are in the doldrums, losing money and have a market captilisation of $18bn.
Microsoft could probably buy Sony and have change to spare.

 

[njligernj]

It's posts like this all over the internet that made me say "Nah, not paying close to £600 for the kids an xbox one with an extra controller and a couple of games." Instead I went to Currys and got them a new shape xbox 360

I would have gone utterly mental as a kid if I wanted the hot new game console and the parents came home with the old one ... I hope your kids are more mature than I was mate.

 

[larrygobfiend]

It's posts like this all over the internet that made me say "Nah, not paying close to £600 for the kids an xbox one with an extra controller and a couple of games."

Instead I went to Currys and got them a new shape xbox with 4 games and extra controller for £212, Fifa & Minecraft to get for them so another £50 for that.

won't let them play Halo 4 like cos it's an 18 Rated, but the console on it's own was only £20 Cheaper. Plenty of pre owned xbox games out there for them to buy as well, pity the Halo 4 is a download one tbh although I suppose I could sell the card with the code ? or play it myself but not exactly into gaming really & especially those types of games.

although looking at that it's Tomb Raider thats 18 ?

That Tomb Raider's pretty brutal mate unfortunately. Cracking game though, just too bloody short.

Also, look out for the scat cutscene in Lego harry Potter.

 

[moosed]

Got a chance to compare ps4 and Xbox one copies of BF4 against each other today. Ps4 looks crisper due to higher res and less aliasing but like the xbox it still has that "console" look to it, it's just nowhere near pc standards, night and day difference.

This generation is a complete con, you're literally paying 4 ton for mildly improved graphics and that's it... In the xbox ones case it doesn't even run at a higher res than the 360 most of the time. Madness.

 

[ianefc]

Got a chance to compare ps4 and Xbox one copies of BF4 against each other today. Ps4 looks crisper due to higher res and less aliasing but like the xbox it still has that "console" look to it, it's just nowhere near pc standards, night and day difference.

This generation is a complete con, you're literally paying 4 ton for mildly improved graphics and that's it... In the xbox ones case it doesn't even run at a higher res than the 360 most of the time. Madness.

I agree From what I have seen, was In game last sat and the had a PS4 on the go with fifa14 and I was Expecting more in terms of graphics, baring in mind they will use top quality tv's to really sell the thing.

 

[COYB]

heads burnt out, ps4 looking for one

everywhere sold out / pre order not guaranteed for before/ crimbo

anyone know a genuine site that can order one now