Which console for me?

The Game Room
1

It looks like we’re finally expanding to a two-TV household, which means I’ll need a new console to run to the new TV. I’m leaning toward getting an XBox One since I already have a 360 on our existing TV, but I want to get the opinion of some of you on here. Here is the situation I’m in:

-I primarily use my 360 as a media center for running Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and watching DVDs. My existing TV is a Smart TV, but the Smart functions suck, and I like the interfaces for them on the 360 better

-I don’t game much: I play World of Tanks maybe twice per week, and my kids (5 and 3) play Forza with me about once per month

-I like the interface of the 360, and my girls both know how to get to what they want using that UI.

-There is no circumstance that will lead to me building a PC for this. My wife and I work full time, and with all of our other activities (t-ball, hockey, dance, home maintenance, etc.) there’s no time for me to build something like that. Plus, seriously, I’m a light user; I just want to hand someone $350-$400 and get a plug and play box. Don’t suggest building a PC. I know it’s better and can be customized and all of that happy horsepuckey, but I ain’t doin’ it.

So, with that in mind, should I stick with the XBox family? I’ve heard that the PS4 is the better console, but I’m worried about having everyone learn a new UI - remember, my kids are 5 and 3. The 5 year old can learn it without a problem, but it might be tough for the little one to figure out the differences between the two.

Also, I really like World of Tanks, but Last of Us is supposed to be amazing as well; I’m not sure if one is a dealbreaker over the other or not. WoT is at least infinitely replayable, right?

2

The Xbox one is superior as a media center machine to the PS4, and since that’s what you seem to want to use the device most for, I’d say go Xbox one.

There’s a new SKU with a 1 TB drive coming out next month, and the old SKU is likely to see a bit of a price drop. You may want to wait until then.

Frankly in terms of power the PS4 is stronger than the Xbone, but, in terms of real world results you end up with a mixed bag on these low powered machines. Most high end games will see drops below 30 FPS in many games, given that you’re happy on an Xbox 360, maybe you won’t care either way.

So my recommendation would be an Xbone, if you really need to get a consoles for TV #2. But if you’re ok with a single console, and you want to use the second TV more as a media device, why not consider something like an Amazon fire TV or a Roku-like device instead?

Finally, Steam machines are coming out this fall, they are plug and play gaming PC’s that you do not have to build, and many are smaller than current gen consoles, most are also a lot more powerful, and it’s on PC that games with the replayability of World of Tanks tend to thrive, just FYI - PC has a lot of advantages over consoles, from much cheaper games, to a library that dwarfs all consoles combined, to better graphics and performance - don’t be so quick to dismiss the platform, specially as new, easier alternatives to building yourself are starting to come out - and now that Valve is making headway into making PC gaming on TV’s a viable, affordable, and easy thing to do.

3

I’d concur with Kinthalis - in your circumstance sticking with Xbox makes a lot of sense. Especially if Forza is a selling point, since its an Xbox exclusive. And that’s me talking as a satisfied PS4 owner.

My general advice in these situations is go with the console that will give you the better network of friends to play with. Technically the PS4 is stronger, but that difference is minor to me.

4

If all you’re doing is using it for a media center, why not just buy another 360? or a PS3?

It would get the same results and be worlds cheaper for you

5

Maybe they want to play Forza 6.

6

That was one of the reasons I switched over to PS4 from Xbox 360. Was the game worth it? Meh. I think the hype was too much and when I played it, I was disappointed.

However, I do love the system. I prefer the PS4 controller over the Xbox360 and XboxOne. The mouse pad on it made games like Far Cry 4 more enjoyable and the lights while getting chased by cops in GTAV was fun too.

The media channels are good and easy to navigate. The homescreen also lets you know what people have been up to as well.

Also, if you do a Playstation Plus membership, you get 2 free downloadable games a month. One of which was Valiant Hearts which was frankly so much better and emotional than The Last of Us.
Do I recommend it for you? Not particularly.

My buddy has cycled through all of the current gen systems and landed on the Wii U. They use it mostly for media center, but for games for kids, it really was the best. That and it’s cheaper than the other two as well.

7

Yeah, I’m in this camp. Or maybe even just get some kind of cheap media streaming device. Why buy a game console if you’re not going to play games on it?

8

NVIDIA has a console that’ll cost you ~$350 with a few added accessories. It runs Android so any software or service you’d want access to will have an app, official or otherwise. Similarly, the library of games is enormous and many are small-child-friendly. It can also stream PC games to the television if your PC has a compatible graphics card.

9

Yeah, my first thought was a Roku, Fire TV, or something to that effect. Then I noticed the “play DVD” requirement, so if that’s actually a thing, there’s got to be a Smart Blu-Ray player with a usable OS, right? With any of those, or a 360/PS3, we’re talking half or less of a current gen console to do everything as described (not to mention the extra accessory cost if you need multiple contollers or anything else).

On the other hand, if you want to play the new Forza, go for it. The OP did marginalize the importance of the games, though!

10

Yeah. Literally about 46 seconds of poking around brought me to this thing, which plays Blu-ray, DVD and like, all the streaming things. And it’s like $90.

And I’m sure you could do better with a little research. I mean, Amazon has a CATEGORY called “Streaming Blu-ray players”

11

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. The Steam Machine looks really interesting to me, but I see that the true Steam Machines aren’t releasing until November. Alienware has a compact PC available now that serves as a high-powered console, but the lowest spec comes in at $449 on Amazon. I’m leaning towards that for now, but I’m not sure if that lowest spec will play World of Tanks.

As for the gaming aspect, I’m kind of torn. On one hand, I really don’t play much right now. On the other, I’m thinking that maybe my lack of playing is related to the fact that we only have one TV and this laptop, which can’t seem to run anything that I want to play. If I have a second TV, I might be able to play more often, right? And there are things on the XB1 that look interesting: the newest iterations of Forza, Dragon Age: Inquisition, next year’s NHL game. I think DA:I and NHL will be available on the PC as well, though, right?

Finally, I really do appreciate this place. I’ve been reading and posting to this board since, I think, 2000; while I’m sure I could just Google this stuff, I know that you all are much more rational and reliable than the myriad links I’ll get from there.

12

DA:I is already out on PC. Not sure about the NHL game.