So, New Xbox Reveal In About 14 Hours.

[Stark]

Are there backlashes in today's gaming media? Was there a backlash against Bioshock Infinite being terrible? The Ouya being terrible? Star Command being terrible? At worst everyone will simply forget they ever read, believed, or said those things.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Yahtzee's basically come out saying the next-gen is just going to plain suck. I have to agree, given what I've seen so far. I find each successive generation has me buying fewer and fewer games, these days.

Oh well. At least Phoenix Wright HD is out for iOS now. Score.

[Vendetta]

I'm not sure he counts as a real person though.

I think we'll have to see at E3 when people actually start talking about actual, y'know, games for the next gen whether it's all doom and gloom.

I do, however, think we're going to be looking at another round of everyone buying a Playstation, by the time the first round of price cuts are around, I expect the PS4 to have a larger used market because they're not going to be controlling used prices. The Xbox used games thing is apparently a fee the retailer has to pay to deactivate the license on a used copy so that it can be sold to a new user, which means that Microsoft and the publishers can effectively control the minimum used games price. That wil make the retailer margin smaller on used copies and depress their offer price even further for that platform. The PS4 has no such system (and no "phone home every 24 hours to see if all your licenses are still valid" system) so the used prices will be, as they are now, just set by demand for copies and tradeins. Also, Australia, this means that you probably won't be able to rent games from EB any more because the retailer can't sell the copy after you've activated the license without paying that fee, they'll do what they do in the UK and only accept it back still sealed.

That means that, when the first round of pricecuts happen and the second wave adopters walk into Game or CEX or wherever and look for the new console they'll see one of them has racks and racks of cheap games and one has the shitty shelf at the back of the shop that's hidden behind a pillar and all the games on it are twice the price. (Next time you're at your game store look for the shitty shelf. It's probably got PC games on it right now. It's the hardest one to see in the store from the entrance. The shelf right next to the entrance that you walk past first is probably used Xbox 360 games.)

Which one do you think they are going to buy?

[bilateralrope]

Are there backlashes in today's gaming media? Was there a backlash against Bioshock Infinite being terrible? The Ouya being terrible? Star Command being terrible? At worst everyone will simply forget they ever read, believed, or said those things.

I haven't paid enough attention to the Ouya or Star Command to comment on them. As for Bioshock Infinite being terrible, that's a subjective opinion. Even worse, the vast majority of the people I've seen talking about it have liked it. There was no backlash there because most people didn't change their minds.

If you want to see a backlash, have a look at Aliens: Colonial Marines where the backlash started with an objective fact: ACM was not as advertised.

The second hand issue sounds much closer to the lies of Aliens. Right now there are a lot of people saying things like:

I expect the PS4 to have a larger used market because they're not going to be controlling used prices.

People who are going to be in for a really nasty shock when they realize that Publishers don't like second hand sales and that Sony isn't going to do anything to stop the publisher blocking the second hand sales.

Sure, Sony isn't lying here. But that's not going to mean anything to the angry people who didn't think about the full implications of Sony's statements.

[Vendetta]

People who are going to be in for a really nasty shock when they realize that Publishers don't like second hand sales and that Sony isn't going to do anything to stop the publisher blocking the second hand sales.

Letting publishers carry on doing what they're doing now with things like online passes isn't the same as only allowing selected retailers to sell second hand copies and effectively controlling the minimum second hand price by imposing a fee for resale directly on retailers. Microsoft's system doesn't just control the minimum price of used copies but who can actually sell them.

The fact remains that even if some publishers do implement activation for used copies that implementation isn't going to be universal or as easily enforcable because the PS4 is able to work completely offline.

[Lagmonster]

Yahtzee's basically come out saying the next-gen is just going to plain suck. I have to agree, given what I've seen so far. I find each successive generation has me buying fewer and fewer games, these days.

I thought that happened to me, once. Turns out I just got too old to be part of their main consumer demographic. Now I just buy lots of 16-bit-graphic 'retro' titles in a vain and embarassing attempt to make my generational perspective be an economically viable niche to cater to and a socially desirable clique to belong to.

[TheFeniX]

I haven't paid enough attention to the Ouya or Star Command to comment on them. As for Bioshock Infinite being terrible, that's a subjective opinion. Even worse, the vast majority of the people I've seen talking about it have liked it. There was no backlash there because most people didn't change their minds.

Bioshock Infinite should have received backlash because what was delivered was vastly oversimplified over early hype videos. Of note, multiple non-combat solutions to encounters (such as pointing your gun at NPC to dissuade them from messing with you) and multiple factions that would fight each other and you and who could team up (with other factions or you) depending on circumstances. Instead, what we got was a linear "Shoot anything that is moving" corridor shooter that makes Bioshock 1 look like a sandbox game in comparison. Sadly, the hype videos weren't even promising anything groundbreaking, so axing it looks even worse.

But no one gave a shit because the game looked decent and didn't abuse the player, unlike Alien: CM. Molyneax (or whatever) has been doing this same thing with Fable for years: bald face lying about what the game does and releasing a mediocre hack n slash.

The problem is the average person screaming about how great B:I is really doesn't know any better. But even the dumbest motherfucker on earth can take one look at Alien:CM and see it for what it is. I have no idea if this generation can understand how the used market is going to fuck them or if it even is because it might not happen at all. Overreaction to even the idea might make Publishers reconsider.

The wife wants an XBone when it pops so I'll find out either way. I'm considering using this generation to actually buy a PS3 and play all those movi.... games like Nude Shower Simulator with Controller Waggle and Metal Gear 15 Extended Cutscene Edition.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I thought that happened to me, once. Turns out I just got too old to be part of their main consumer demographic. Now I just buy lots of 16-bit-graphic 'retro' titles in a vain and embarassing attempt to make my generational perspective be an economically viable niche to cater to and a socially desirable clique to belong to.

Ha, that actually sounds like me. I have all sorts of classic games on my phone and, recently, I got into SNESbox and hooked my PS3 controller to my Mac so I can relive the glory days when games didn't suck. Ever. Not once. Because... nostalgia.

I'm also a tad unsure what MS hopes to achieve with that phone home thing. I need to read up on it again, since I still thought it was an "always on" deal, and we all know how well those things work out, right Ubisoft & EA? If Sony is going to ignore the publisher rage over second hand sales, except for the bullshit DLC items etc. that you only get with a new first purchase, then maybe that will be a big deciding factor. Looking at my local GAME, it does seem to stock a metric shitload of used games these days, and it seems to vary between predominantly Xbox and PS. I never see one brand win outright, though it does seem there are more PS2 used games than Xbox ones.

I think MS is more into getting Xbox to be your friendly interactive media station, while Sony may be focusing more on social gaming, it's at least gaming first, much as I hate the social part. E3 will be where this is fully realised, so if Sony come up with shit, but MS have a load of decent triple A titles, then I think round one to MS until we see pricing.

[Vendetta]

I'm also a tad unsure what MS hopes to achieve with that phone home thing. I need to read up on it again, since I still thought it was an "always on" deal, and we all know how well those things work out, right Ubisoft & EA? If Sony is going to ignore the publisher rage over second hand sales, except for the bullshit DLC items etc. that you only get with a new first purchase, then maybe that will be a big deciding factor. Looking at my local GAME, it does seem to stock a metric shitload of used games these days, and it seems to vary between predominantly Xbox and PS. I never see one brand win outright, though it does seem there are more PS2 used games than Xbox ones.

This is because retail makes fuck all margin on new copies. They'll get to keep maybe 10% of the cover price of a new game if they're lucky. That's why Game went down the shitter last year.

[Ritterin Sophia]

Current rumors are indicating that the One is having eSRAM issues and is going to have the GPU underclocked to 900GFLOP/s. A couple of websites are reporting it as true and some credible sources on Neogaf are as well, but it's still a rumor so grain of salt.

[DaveJB]

If that does turn out to be true, reducing the GPU speed would probably be the least problematic option for Microsoft. The alternative would likely be having the console priced high and available in very limited quantities at its launch, which would be the absolute worst thing Microsoft could do on top of the online requirement and especially the used game restrictions.

Having said that, if the rumours that all the major publishers are cosying up to Microsoft are true, odds are slowing down the GPU won't affect much other than having games run below 60fps, since they'll likely be designing their games with the XBone in mind and just turning up the anti-aliasing and shader effects on the PS4 (sorta like how most games back in the PS2's generation were designed with that console in mind and generally didn't look that much better on the other two consoles).

[Ritterin Sophia]

If that does turn out to be true, reducing the GPU speed would probably be the least problematic option for Microsoft. The alternative would likely be having the console priced high and available in very limited quantities at its launch, which would be the absolute worst thing Microsoft could do on top of the online requirement and especially the used game restrictions

Well there's another alternative, a release delay, but that might be even more devastating than either of the other two since it gives the PS4 a couple months of uncontested market time. This may be the likely outcome though since I'm reading a number of reports from people who pre-ordered from Amazon that Amazon is sending an e-mail about delays.

[InsaneTD]

An interesting article.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/vi ... e-Concerns

[Lord Relvenous]

"Every Xbox One owner has a broadband connection," Major Nelson writes, and because of this, "developers can create massive, persistent worlds that evolve even when you're not playing."

I thought they had learned from the whole thing with the employee earlier this year who insulted all their rural customers. But nope.

[Marko Dash]

well, he's correct in saying that eyerbody that buys an XBone will put up with M$'s crap, but only because everyone else won't be buying one.

[Flagg]

well, he's correct in saying that eyerbody that buys an XBone will put up with M$'s crap, but only because everyone else won't be buying one.

And you base this on what? Pixie dust?

[Admiral Valdemar]

Because giving money to those douches isn't exactly fighting The Man, is it? If people are happy to wait, then part with a load of cash for a substandard service or device, it sounds more like they're happy to bend over.

[Flagg]

Because giving money to those douches isn't exactly fighting The Man, is it? If people are happy to wait, then part with a load of cash for a substandard service or device, it sounds more like they're happy to bend over.

And you think most gamers will want to fight the man, why? I mean if all of the doomsaying about the new Xbox were true, which it's not as things aren't set in stone, what makes you think the average console gamer will give enough of a shit to not buy the new thing from the same people that built the old thing they loved?

[Admiral Valdemar]

I doubt they will, because as I say, a lot of gamers will just accept things so they can play the next CoD with their mates. I have a limit for how much bullshit Sony throw my way, and the PS4 will have to have more of a USP than social gaming to get my coin. But no, I don't imagine many will care what MS or Sony do for the most part. I only have beef with those who bitch about it after they went and bought into something they knew was going to be below expectations. Some gamers just live to bitch.

[DaveJB]

Among Microsoft's many announcements today was the price of the XBone... $499 in the US, £429 in the UK.

While I can't speak for the US pricing, over here that's £4 more expensive than the PS3 launched at back in 2007. A price that was widely considered absurdly expensive, and probably responsible for Sony only selling two-thirds of its launch allocation.

On the plus side, at least they announced a super-slim version of the 360, hopefully that should make it more economical for me to completely replace my currently kinda-broken unit.

[Losonti Tokash]

Even without adjusting for inflation, that's $100 less than the PS3 was at launch over here.

[Flagg]

Yeah, that's a good price. It's what I expected. I just hope that rumor about a cheaper with subscription for two years Xbox One is true.

[Lord Insanity]

If the rumors of "must have internet connection" are true, Microsoft can go screw themselves. I don't even play PC games online. (I don't even have internet at home right now.) I certainly have no intention of ever playing a console game online. I also never get rid of an old console. I still have an original Nintendo hooked up to my old TV. My 4 year old loves Duck Hunt.

[Ford Prefect]

Even without adjusting for inflation, that's $100 less than the PS3 was at launch over here.

However it's $100 more than the PS4, which has been confirmed to lack online DRM, connection requirements, codes for games etc. Consoles basically sell on the strength of their exclusives, but the Xbox One is at a serious disadvantage to begin with. Its exclusives need to be ludicrously killer to make up the gap, and I don't think that's likely. Like if Ghosts was exclusive, maybe, but ...

[ray245]

Well there will always be a bunch of halo fans who are more than willingly to spend a 100 bucks more to play halo 5. But the fact that ps4 dies not require a online connections means I can actually bring it to holiday resorts and play with my friends there.