The Official Xbox One Thread

[exdeath]

I expect Sony to drop to $349 by November with no pack-in.

Id expect $349 black Friday deals and then $349 permanently Q1 '15. They have no reason to change. Now thst are both the same thing, a $399 game console only, with PS4 being 50% more powerful for the same price.

I'll see like 16+ PS4s busting the display case for 2-3 days thinking it's finally cooled, then I go back a day or two later and they are all gone again. This is the case for multiple retailers.

No reason to drop PS4 price any time soon.

Then again all the upcoming games I want are PS3, Vita, and Wii U. Sony E3 lineup doesn't look promising... more coming soon videos of games they showed last year.

 

[exdeath]

Yup...all PS4 games I really want are all multiplat. Watch Dogs, The Division, FFXV, KH3, etc

For PS3,Vita,U there is: Xillia 2, Tales of Hearts, Drakengard 3, KH 2.5, Persona 5, Xenoblade, Smash, Mariokart, Zelda, etc

So MS has a huge window for differentiating and polarizing exclusives and new and rebooted IP for the rest of '14.

If MS pushes Halo and Gears and Sony pushes Uncharted and Infamous it's just going to be another boring been there done that year.

 

[blackdogdeek]

A little more Sunset Overdrive gameplay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKzQ_i9T3wM

 

[cmdrdredd]

I don't think this means they're feeling any squeeze, though as I know nothing about their day to day numbers I couldn't say for sure. I will say there's a new leader and he's changing the direction for a lot of products. Which IMHO is a good thing.

Of course they are feeling it. They are getting crushed in sales numbers and Xbox still isn't profitable.

This is still great from a consumer standpoint. You can have an Xbox for halo, sunset overdrive etc for the same price as a ps4 and the holidays may see very generous bundle packages.

 

[sze5003]

Of course they are feeling it. They are getting crushed in sales numbers and Xbox still isn't profitable.

This is still great from a consumer standpoint. You can have an Xbox for halo, sunset overdrive etc for the same price as a ps4 and the holidays may see very generous bundle packages.

Gives me a reason to pick one up now later in the holidays maybe for myself or my little brother. I'd rather get him a ps4 so we can share games.

 

[Lil Frier]

Yup...all PS4 games I really want are all multiplat. Watch Dogs, The Division, FFXV, KH3, etc

For PS3,Vita,U there is: Xillia 2, Tales of Hearts, Drakengard 3, KH 2.5, Persona 5, Xenoblade, Smash, Mariokart, Zelda, etc

So MS has a huge window for differentiating and polarizing exclusives and new and rebooted IP for the rest of '14.

If MS pushes Halo and Gears and Sony pushes Uncharted and Infamous it's just going to be another boring been there done that year.

Well, we know that's not going to be the case. Sony's going to give folks Driveclub (though if Forza Horizon 2 launches, they lose racing due to the addition of Forza 5 for sim purposes), and they have The Order: 1886 apparently coming. If you're an indie fan, Sony obviously has loads of stuff coming there.

Microsoft seems to have more I care to pay attention to, though that's probably because I was already more-interested in them from the start. Quantum Break looks like it could be solid. Sunset Overdrive looks like a fun version of Dead Rising 3. Zoo Tycoon tried to give us something cool for kids. Titanfall is obviously there. Project Spark could be good or terrible. Killer Instinct's here already. We'll see what D4, Fantasia, and Fable ultimately are.

But I'm with you, third-party is the main thing this year. Ubisoft's doing the best of any team so far. The Division looks great, The Crew could be decent, and Watch Dogs is looking swell.

 

[SAWYER]

I started playing AC BF again, what is with the green line that you see on the mini map when you are in your boat? It changes color sometime as well

 

[007ELmO]

No exclusive killer games on any console right now

 

[futurefields]

792p must be a good resolution for Xbox One

 

[Wingznut]

On the one hand, I'm shocked that MS is selling a Kinect-less Xbox One. On the other, I'm wholly impressed by Phil Spencer, that he is listening to the market, and making changes accordingly.

I too thought that making Kinect a 100% attach rate was the only way that developers would embrace the peripheral. And I was looking forward to what could be done, beyond the typical motion gaming and unintuitive commands. But, unless I've missed something, that didn't seem to be happening anyway.

 

[Maverickbcp]

On the one hand, I'm shocked that MS is selling a Kinect-less Xbox One. On the other, I'm wholly impressed by Phil Spencer, that he is listening to the market, and making changes accordingly.

I too thought that making Kinect a 100% attach rate was the only way that developers would embrace the peripheral. And I was looking forward to what could be done, beyond the typical motion gaming and unintuitive commands. But, unless I've missed something, that didn't seem to be happening anyway.

Who knows what would've happened. It's still very early in this console's life. Now being "dropped" so early, it may never realize it's potential.

 

[Wingznut]

Who knows what would've happened. It's still very early in this console's life. Now being "dropped" so early, it may never realize it's potential.

True. :thumbsup:

 

[Lil Frier]

Well, there's a chance we could see what the future would have been. Developers might have used the initial Xbox One announcement and launch to see that the Kinect was required, and started developing for it FOR REAL from there on out. So, if we see 2015 titles with more Kinect functionality than 2014 ones, that would be a sign of such an epiphany/concept. Then, we'd either see that the Kinect had been adopted enough (we're talking a likely 5 million+ install base, and probably 75% of owners) that such a development trend continues, or we'll see the development for Kinect fall off, indicating that Microsoft's move here drove developers from the Kinect.

We'll need at least a year to see if the Kinect was having any impact on development strategies outside of Microsoft, IMO, and 2 years to see if this change reverses those ideas.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Well, there's a chance we could see what the future would have been. Developers might have used the initial Xbox One announcement and launch to see that the Kinect was required, and started developing for it FOR REAL from there on out. So, if we see 2015 titles with more Kinect functionality than 2014 ones, that would be a sign of such an epiphany/concept. Then, we'd either see that the Kinect had been adopted enough (we're talking a likely 5 million+ install base, and probably 75% of owners) that such a development trend continues, or we'll see the development for Kinect fall off, indicating that Microsoft's move here drove developers from the Kinect.

We'll need at least a year to see if the Kinect was having any impact on development strategies outside of Microsoft, IMO, and 2 years to see if this change reverses those ideas.

Kinect has been around since 2010. In four years, no one has figured out how to make a good Kinect game. Developers have known since months before the Xbox One release that it would include Kinect as standard equipment, and still nothing.

If no one could create a good game by now, it'll never happen. Furthermore, bundling Kinect with all consoles doesn't cause people to actually use it. By offering a no-Kinect bundle, MS can cut the price without losing profit and help drive sales and interest in the console. Anyone who buys a no-Kinect bundle was never going to buy any Kinect games anyway.

 

[smackababy]

I love the "reasoning" for the Kinectless bundle. People were complaining about affordability. I'm sorry, but if you can't afford $500, you also can't afford $400. I guess that is their credit limit on that new Best Buy 25% APR card they just got approved for!


I am glad all of the great Kinect features I've enjoyed will be pretty much left to rot now.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I love the "reasoning" for the Kinectless bundle. People were complaining about affordability. I'm sorry, but if you can't afford $500, you also can't afford $400. I guess that is their credit limit on that new Best Buy 25% APR card they just got approved for!


I am glad all of the great Kinect features I've enjoyed will be pretty much left to rot now.

Well honestly I think people are looking at it as follows. Ps4 + one game = ~$460 but xb1 and no game is $40 more unless you want one of the bundles which some people may not.

 

[smackababy]

Well honestly I think people are looking at it as follows. Ps4 + one game = ~$460 but xb1 and no game is $40 more unless you want one of the bundles which some people may not.

I get that some people just want a better deal, but a lot of people are crying about affordability. And, that is exactly why they are in financial ruin. If you can't afford a $500 item, you can't realistically afford a $400 either in 90% of the cases. But, since after your bills are paid, you have $450 left in the bank, you believe the PS4 is what you should do with that money, the Xbox is "unaffordable".


The real tragedy is that the Kinect stuff that got added into games (mostly voice) was really good in every case. Calling out substitutions in Fifa was wonderful. Calling out audibles in Madden was a breeze. Losing any real promise of developers being incentivized to do that is kind of a bummer.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I get that some people just want a better deal, but a lot of people are crying about affordability. And, that is exactly why they are in financial ruin. If you can't afford a $500 item, you can't realistically afford a $400 either in 90% of the cases. But, since after your bills are paid, you have $450 left in the bank, you believe the PS4 is what you should do with that money, the Xbox is "unaffordable".

Holy shit, we got an AT millionaire on our hands.

If you can't afford to spend $400 or $500 or whatever on a game console, chances are you can't afford to spend $200 either, or any other amount. Learn the difference between affordability and value. Most people will see two choices and will pick the cheaper option, all other things being equal. Before this announcement, the PS4 and XB1 were equal in most people's eyes, but the XB1 cost $50 more and included an accessory that many people do not care about at all. It's not like that $50 is the difference between paying your rent one month or not, it's just about providing a competitive value to the consumer.

The real tragedy is that the Kinect stuff that got added into games (mostly voice) was really good in every case. Calling out substitutions in Fifa was wonderful. Calling out audibles in Madden was a breeze. Losing any real promise of developers being incentivized to do that is kind of a bummer.

Kinect has always sucked and anyone who buys the non-Kinect version was never going to use it anyway. It's also sad that the best argument in support of Kinect is voice commands, which could be easily recreated with a cheap microphone instead of a $50-$100 motion sensing camera. The camera features have never lived up to the hype and that's why Kinect is dying. MS should release a "cameraless Kinect" for $20 or $30 that plugs into the Kinect port and gives you voice control. Accounts for 90% of worthwhile Kinect features.

 

[dguy6789]

^ This. You don't have to be poor to have the idea that $500 for a game machine is ridiculous and $400 is okay.

 

[Tom]

In a way this is BS because the price should have dropped to $399 WITH the Kinect.

No way is the Kinect worth $100 which is the implication.

 

[sze5003]

It's not that poor people are buying consoles. It's that most of them look at the total price with tax and generally they pick the lower one. That and most of the people buying a game console won't care much about kinnect. I know those with kinnect on the 360 and they use it for 2 months and then it sits there.

That's the same reason I won't buy a ps4 camera. I won't use it more than 2 times I bet. As for kinnect, I don't even have hd cable.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Glad I've been waiting this one out. Have been leaning towards PS4 for awhile but do still have a nice backlog of games I'm working through on the 360/PS3. I think once an Uncharted game gets released for PS4 I will finally take the plunge into next gen. At this point I'm not too sure what the draw will be for me on the One. Any exclusive killer apps on the horizon?

 

[Drako]

In a way this is BS because the price should have dropped to $399 WITH the Kinect.

No way is the Kinect worth $100 which is the implication.

The BOM cost alone is around $80, add in all the other costs and it costs MS over $100 per unit. I know worth and cost are different things, but MS is not making money on the Kinect.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Glad I've been waiting this one out. Have been leaning towards PS4 for awhile but do still have a nice backlog of games I'm working through on the 360/PS3. I think once an Uncharted game gets released for PS4 I will finally take the plunge into next gen. At this point I'm not too sure what the draw will be for me on the One. Any exclusive killer apps on the horizon?

Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, and whatever new Halo is released (either Halo 5 or Halo 2 Anniversary) are the big ones I think.

 

[007ELmO]

The Kinect is most definitely a $100+ piece of hardware. Maybe you don't think so, or maybe you don't think it's worth that, but it's sophisticated. 1080p RGB camera, depth sensors/IR emitters, multiple microphones, motorized tilt, etc. The V2 hardware is in beta for Windows right now, it opens up a new world for the non-gaming community (medicine has practical purposes for this type of tech, e.g. being able to calculate an estimated BMI just by looking at you).

To give you an idea, the Windows version that lets you program against it (the original V1) was $200-250 by itself. MS surely eats some cost on console hardware to get their foot in the door.

ELmO