I have to agree with Airk there. Average gamer Joe doesn’t know anything about modern computing hardware and doesn’t care to know.
Which is why I think smart TV’s and other more casual gaming options will continue to be more and more popular, leaving consoles behind.
Bro gamers mock Wii users all the time as casual owners of a weak system. I see comically stupid fights to the death over miniscule differences between games for ps3 and 360. There was no unambiguous winner for that gen but there may be for this one. People that comically think of themselves as hardcore gamers will want the best one.
I’m slightly torn on what console to get for the next generation, honestly. I’m pretty sure neither will be a first-day buy for me, but I’ll have to make a choice. Playstation’s never really been an option for me at all previously, but I’m not a huge fan of the mandatory Kinect. We’ll see when more details emerge.
I’m sure Nintendo is crying all the way to the bank. I can almost see the meeting:
Wii Program Chief: “I don’t know. It’s a risky move. How do we know if we’re doing the right thing here?”
Flunky: “I know! Let’s leak the idea to the hard-core gaming community. If they trash us for it and say it’s a terrible idea that will never work, we’ll know we’re on the right track!”
Wii Program Chief: “Brilliant!”
Saw this. Found hilarious. Must share:
http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18of8t3b9xrjujpg/ku-medium.jpg
The Xbox 1 has already been accused of looking too much like a VCR. 
Also, sorry Beef, but don’t mistake idiotic tribal wars (“My stuff is better than your stuff!”) for people actually giving a sh*t about the technology of their consoles. Again, the most powerful console has basically NEVER WON the console war. Ever.
People are super ill informed about this stuff, and fundamentally just don’t care.
Edit: Also, do not overestimate the value of the so-called “hardcore gamer” to the console market. Remember: if you ACTUALLY CARED about the specs of your gaming platform, you’d be a member of the PC Gaming Master Race. 
A few sites in Europe, in the UK and the Netherlands are leaking the Xbone price at the Euro equivalent of $600-$650.
Not confirmed, obviously, but interesting if true.
That would be…such a disaster.
If true, I’d wager they’ll have a cheaper SKU attached to a monthly plan. Like a cellphone.
If you prepay for x years of Live, that’s supposed to drive the cost down as well.
So the new Kinect… thing is, I actually have a Kinect I can’t use with my Xbox because we just don’t have enough room in the living room. Are they going to improve that any?
Well, it looks bulky, but I don’t think you mean room on your entertainment center, right?
I believe they have mentioned better optics and a wide angle lens. It’s supposed to be capable of working in environments where you are up to 3 feet closer to the unit than was recommended for the old kinect.
Also, it’s always on, and the new xbox requires it in order to even turn on at all. It’s not optional hardware.
Pay us now or pay us later, just pay us!
I’d pre-buy a couple years of Live for a lower cost. Hell, I know of folks that pick up a year or three any time they can find sales online for $35 or so.
I may be overestimating, you’re right. As to your second comment, people would have to understand their choice and considering most of what I hear from “hardcore gamers” on consoles are that PCs can’t possibly be as good as xbox, cost $5000 anyway, and require you to put another $600 into them every 6 months, so I’m not sure that’s actually true.
And given this belief on your part regarding how informed console gamers are, you somehow feel like the fact that PS4 has some level of technological advantage is going to mean JACK to these people?
Yeah, I can’t get far enough away from the unit without standing on my couch. And it’s not like I live in a Manhattan closet or something.
Yes, word will get around that the PS4 has better hardware because, like I said, 360 vs ps3 fights are all over the internet. In the last generation, PS3 was potentially better but hard to code for, so the practical differences didn’t always show. This generation the PS4 sounds like it’s going to just flat out be better. Not by that much, but it’ll be enough to sway some people.
Sounds like my living room. But yeah, the new Kinect is supposed to be better about that.
Yay.
I think my favorite bit of news is the patent they just took out: if the device detects “unauthorized” people watching a movie, it’ll turn off. So you think that’s going to be a parental-lock thing, or a way to require multiple-viewer licenses for rentals?