Playstation 4 and the Xbox One

With the Xbox One slated for its midnight launch Friday November 22nd, what can the general public expect from this machine? Speaking with multiple GameStop employees prior to the Playstation 4‘s launch, they swiftly stated how inferior the Xbox One launch is compared to PS4‘s.

Over the last week, the world has seen exactly what this next generation of gaming is all about: Pure power, stunning visuals, and interactivity between gamers via online connectivity. The Playstation 4 launch at ONE GameStop location in particular (in the greater Raleigh area) saw over 100 reservees and hopeful buyers waiting in line for over an hour to be the first to get their hands on the system (that’s just the ones who showed up. Does not account for ALL of the reso’s). When the happy PS4 owners got home, they were immediately dealt a disappointing blow as the server systems were moving at an alarmingly slow rate due to the extremely high volume of owners across America downloading their free games such as the highly touted Resogun. This left a sour taste in many gamer’s mouths, but they were all excited to wake up early and get crackin’ on those games that downloaded all night! Even with below-optimal server speed, PS4 owners owned the night. Our own Nerd Bacon writer, The Watchman, had some overall positive experiences with the PS4, and you can read about those right here.

With a full week of Playstation Fouraganza going on, what are the expectations for the Xbox One? Extremely high. ESPECIALLY when put up against the pre-release success of the PS4. I recently wrote an article on whether the Xbox One can bounce back from their missteps and marketing blunders (read that article here) and not much has changed since then. They will struggle mightily. I mentioned that a single GameStop location saw over 100 people for the midnght launch. When inquired about the launch, they informed us that they only received in the vicinity of 50 reservations for the Xbox One versus hundreds for the Playstation 4. Those numbers are tough to shake off, folks.

Fact is fact, yes, but the media is what really controls the initial success of these powerhouse machines. With a myriad of websites devoted to current generation video games and trending entertainement, word travels fast. And the word is: (THESE ARE NOT THINGS NERD BACON IS SAYING. THESE ARE THINGS I HAVE READ ON OTHER WEBSITES. THE POINT I AM MAKING is that no matter what the truth is, media can make a huge impact on sales with misleading or outright incorrect statements)

• The Xbox One is less powerful than the PS4.
• The Xb1 contains more unnecessary features than the PS4.
• The PS4 is more focused on hardcore gaming while the Xb1 is more focused on entertainment as a whole and less on gaming.
• The PS4 showcases the stronger game line-up at launch.
• The PS4 is much more indie developer friendly, which truly benefits PS4 owners greatly.
• “The Xb1 is one pile of doggie-doo.” – Anonymous

The Xbox One is backed by Microsoft, who is currently sitting at #41 on Forbe’s richest companies list with a market value of $234.8 billion dollars while Sony is riding the tail at #506 with a market value of $17.6 billion dollars. Granted, those figures are somewhat skewed by Microsoft’s Windows and Sony’s audio and video hardware sales, but the numbers don’t lie. Microsoft has proven that success is possible and is still within their grasp. They might be unprofitable for a while, but they certainly won’t let this system die. The Xbox One might start out slow but I think it will find its niche the same way Nintendo Wii found its.

Give the Xbox One a Chance

With all of this negative outlook on Microsoft’s Xbox One, I challenge everyone out there to keep an open mind. I, for one, am very excited about the Xbox One due to its creativity and willingness to venture into uncharted territories. As many of you may know, I’m a bit of a retro-gamer. Okay, you read right through me. I’m a HUGE retro-gamer but the other day I picked up the sticks and got on my Xbox 360 for the first time in nearly 6 months. The Xbox Live interface was beautiful, as always, and really captivated me. I began to think about the entertainment possibilites if I owned an Xbox One.

The Xbox One is your all-in-one entertainment hub and provides hardcore gamers and casual gamers with some strong entertainment possibilities. I can play a video game and keep up with my fantasy football stats on the same screen! If you thought the 7th generation systems were interactive, wait until you get involved with an Xbox One Kinect set-up. You can video chat with your friends while you play a game or watch TV. You can seamlessly flip back and forth between a Blu-Ray movie and the World Cup 2014 (which is going to be bonkers yall)!

The capabilities are starting to grow on me. I still do not think that the hands-free gaming is quite there yet. It’s just not. But that is why Xbox One has a classic controller for those games as well as integrated voice commands (which is definitely doable in our day and time). I have turned around a full 180 degrees and I’m completely on the Xbox One bandwagon (how come I’m riding this wagon alone…? WHERE IS EVERYONE ELSE?! I’M AFRAID OF BEING ALONE! HELP!).

Microsoft’s Xbox One, the Sacrificial Cow

That’s not to say that I’m not completely into the Playstation 4 either. I’m not playing the versus game. I think both systems are a strong entry into this wonderful time of awe-inspiring media and entertainment. I just really like the concept of simplicity and ALL-PURPOSE entertainment that Microsoft has insisted is the next big thing. And they’re probably right. BUT, they might be a little ahead of their time. I think one day, all movies, all streaming, all TV, all sound, all music, all everything-entertainment will be linked up to one all-purpose box. One day. But I don’t think we’re ready for that yet.

Nothing is successful right off the bat. Well, not nothing. But not often does a brand new unconventional system take off. The Sega Dreamcast was ahead of its time with screens in their controllers… look at the PS4 controller (and proto-type Xb1 controller)! The PS4 now has a screen and the Xb1 ALMOST got a screen! The Dreamcast was the first video game system to REALLY push online gaming but it just wasn’t enough to keep them alive  because not everyone had internet yet. The Dreamcast sacrificed for the greater good of future video gaming. I think the Xb1 is taking the same plunge, but with a better reputation (don’t forget the ill-fated Sega Genesis 32x, Sega CD, and Sega Saturn). I don’t think the Xb1 is going to fail Microsoft out of the console business, but they sure are going to provide future companies with the blueprints to actually make a successful all-in-one system. If this fails, Microsoft might be too afraid to try it for their 9th generation system while Sony or Nintendo is attempting to harness it.

Time has proven that the only thing that really matters is games. You can have all the bells and whistles in the world but without quality games, your system will fail miserably. The Atari Jaguar with its Atari Jaguar CD add-on was a fairly strong system that boasted impressive specs but their game library was pathetic. The Panasonic 3DO was a little better than the Jaguar, but still lacked true exclusive games (and was much too expensive). The Nokia N’Gage was a cell phone / video gaming system but was more of a hand held gaming system than a phone and the games just weren’t good enough. The Philips CD-i was supposed to be an all-in-one music, video, TV, computer, and gaming machine. None of these systems could do anything against the gaming giants who focused solely on quality games.

So, is the Microsoft Xbox One sacrificing itself for the success of future gaming companies? Or have they accurately predicted the appropriate time to unveil such technologies thus leading to their trend-setting success? Only time will tell.

But your opinions matter, so tell me what you think in the comments below or drop me an email!

– Nerdberry