PS4 vs Xbone vs WiiU vs Oculus Rift. Your predictions?

[Kinthalis]

@Gozu

Forbes thinks Microsoft f**ked up with its draconian, controlling DRM measures.

While reading this post, keep in mind I’m definitely biased, as I am vehemently against any gratuitous crippling of the products I’ve loved and bought for so long.

In general, any actions taken by a company because of mistrust towards its consumers is a toxic behavior that is absolutely counter-productive in the long term and must be severely (economically) punished until the incentive to behave that way is removed.

Will people see it my way? I thought Steam Beta was amazing when it was free and buggy, when Beta ended and prices were announced, they were identical to retail, while sneakily removing right of second sale and using the (then) hated Online DRM. I stopped using Steam but it was a smashing success nonetheless, and later started lowering their prices until Valve’s popularity soared and I started coming around.

Yet, I still don’t buy on Steam. I believe deeply in the second hand market. I want to be able to do the same things with my videogames that I can with a painting or a sculpture, as they are all pieces of art. I want to be able to lend them, buy them or resell them without asking for permission. I want my videogames to be an investment that holds value, not some valueless license that can be revoked or require authentication and verification.

Unless Microsoft backs down due to huge consumer backlash, or Sony decides to follow suit instead of positioning themselves as the good guys, I see the xbone as being profitable, but losing dominance and (temporarily) tarnishing the xbox brand.

the regular console DRM was meant to combat piracy, while this new DRM is meant to combat second hand sales, which are something popular with everybody.

Eventually, when the internet is as omnipresent as electricity (including electricity from a generator!) and when people don’t know what speed their internet pipes are because they keeps going up like GMAIL disk space, maybe we’ll move to a licensing model, with official internal ebay clones or integration for resale and trade, and overall have 1:1 digital equivalent guaranteeing our rights. The Xbone isn’t it.

The Xbone is the Anti-christ of consoles.

This is an outdated way of thinking, IMHO. And your analogy breaks down when you realize a physical piece of art is PHYSICAL, and no just data.

[Gozu]

@Kinthalis

This is an outdated way of thinking, IMHO. And your analogy breaks down when you realize a physical piece of art is PHYSICAL, and no just data.

Depends on the art, really. Books are art. Is a book a physical thing or is it really the data encoded in the words inside it? Is an ebook I open on my computer just a (temporary) physical book made of different kind of molecules?

Similarly, is a high-enough resolution mona lisa, that is indistinguishable from the real thing by my old eyes a different piece of art? What if I could make a perfect copy of the mona lisa at the molecular level. Is one or the other the original, or is it just sentimentality at that point for all practical intents and purposes?

I shouldn’t have to know or care. As a customer-king, I just want something that is convenient to me. I have had it since I was born. I don’t want it taken away from me. I don’t want to have to start boycotting consoles either and weigh lofty ethical dilemmas regarding whether or not to play the next Gears of Wars. I want to pay a fair price for a good game and enjoy myself without headaches.

I would never have seen this crap coming 20 years ago.

[Gozu]

And there we have it. The PS4 will not mess with used games or always on DRM, and its prices will start at $100 less than the Xbone . Doubtless, the lack of a bundled Kinect/PSeye is what allows them to do this.

Between these two revelations, and the fact that the PS4 is significantly more powerful, Sony is definitely poised to crush Microsoft on the world market, unless Microsoft backtracks very quickly, very hard, or does something crazy.

[Mahaloth]

@Gozu

Between these two revelations, and the fact that the PS4 is significantly more powerful, Sony is definitely poised to crush Microsoft on the world market, unless Microsoft backtracks very quickly, very hard, or does something crazy.

Yeah, I agree and as I stated in the Xbox thread, I’m a complete outsider who has no bias towards either system.

I think unless Microsoft backs way down on some of their claims, the PS4 will be a clear winner. Even Microsoft must see that.

[Airk]

@Mahaloth

I think unless Microsoft backs way down on some of their claims, the PS4 will be a clear winner. Even Microsoft must see that.

I agree; Though I suppose it’s possible Microsoft could pull some sort of amazing collection of exclusives, maybe due to leverage with publishers on the ‘used games’ thing.

The PS4 has a huge edge with the price point though - that alone is going to sell it to Joe Consumer well ahead of the Xbox.

[Gozu]

@Airk

The PS4 has a huge edge with the price point though - that alone is going to sell it to Joe Consumer well ahead of the Xbox.

If I were named CEO of Microsoft today and had no soul, I would gather all the developers I could, point to Steam’s pricing, tell them we need to offer all games $10+ cheaper than the PS4.
Microsoft:

“thanks to our new, uniquely robust DRM, we can make up for this 15% upfront loss with the increased sales we will see due to the elimination of rentals and second hand sales .”

“we project an increase in revenue for AAA titles of 37% during launch week, and over 50% over the lifetime of the console, compared to the previous generation.”

“And all we need to do is fuck the customer in the ass. Gentlemen, this is just a console, nobody is getting sent to prison and nobody is losing sleep over this. let’s enjoy this big pile of money that we deserve for our hard work making those games!”

Publishers:

“Clap Clap Clap”

[Jragon]

So wait, the new Xbox has to call home once every 24 hours? So people aren’t allowed to move cross-country anymore? Take a vacation and unplug their appliances for safety? I’m really not getting how this is going to work.

[Mahaloth]

@Jragon

So wait, the new Xbox has to call home once every 24 hours? So people aren’t allowed to move cross-country anymore? Take a vacation and unplug their appliances for safety? I’m really not getting how this is going to work.

Uh, when you move, you plug it in the internet and it works there. It simply means that if you disconnect the internet, it will not function offline for more than 24 hours, not that it would never work again. You just connect it to the 'net and it works again.

[Gozu]

@Jragon

So wait, the new Xbox has to call home once every 24 hours? So people aren’t allowed to move cross-country anymore? Take a vacation and unplug their appliances for safety? I’m really not getting how this is going to work.

It “only” has to call home if you want to play videogames on it. If you don’t want to use it, you can unplug it.

If you want to play and don’t have internet, Microsoft recommends you use an xbox 360.

I’m not making this up, it’s an actual Microsoft statement.

You’re also out of luck if you don’t live in a Microsoft-approved country.

People thought that twitter exchange was a joke. Nope. It’s real.

Honestly, if you had told me all this 2 weeks ago, I would have written a 2-page post explaining in detail why you were full of sh*t.

Yet here we are…

[Jragon]

@Mahaloth

Uh, when you move, you plug it in the internet and it works there. It simply means that if you disconnect the internet, it will not function offline for more than 24 hours, not that it would never work again. You just connect it to the 'net and it works again.

I misunderstood. The way I interpreted the comments was that it was some sort of psychotic scheme where if you didn’t call home once every 24 hours your account/console would be suspended and you’d lose the ability to play games permanently (or at least until you call MS and beg for forgiveness). At least they’re not THAT dumb.