What console do you 'personally' own?

[BigDaveX]

There's this perception that the PS4 is the lead console, Xbox One is closely trailing, and the Wii U is dead. The reality is that the PS4 is way way ahead of the Xbox One, and the Wii U and Xbox One will need to slug it out for 2nd place.

In fairness, that's probably because a lot of media outlets are only bothering to report U.S. sales figures, and going by that the PS4 is indeed in the lead, with the Xbox One also doing reasonably well and the Wii U well behind the two newest consoles (and even the PS3, IIRC). Outside the U.S. however, the PS4 is even more ridiculously successful, and the Wii U is also doing quite a bit better than the Xbox One, though mostly because it's out in more countries.

Can MS turn things around for the Xbox One? It's certainly possible, but the big problem they face is that thanks to them dropping Kinect, they've essentially been left with a chunkier, less powerful and equally-priced PS4 (albeit with more media functionality). They need to do what Sony did last generation and what Nintendo seem to be trying to do right now, and really ramp up their stable of exclusives. Either that or just slash the price.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Do remember that North America is the largest gaming market in the world.

 

[smackababy]

In fairness, that's probably because a lot of media outlets are only bothering to report U.S. sales figures, and going by that the PS4 is indeed in the lead, with the Xbox One also doing reasonably well and the Wii U well behind the two newest consoles (and even the PS3, IIRC). Outside the U.S. however, the PS4 is even more ridiculously successful, and the Wii U is also doing quite a bit better than the Xbox One, though mostly because it's out in more countries.

Can MS turn things around for the Xbox One? It's certainly possible, but the big problem they face is that thanks to them dropping Kinect, they've essentially been left with a chunkier, less powerful and equally-priced PS4 (albeit with more media functionality). They need to do what Sony did last generation and what Nintendo seem to be trying to do right now, and really ramp up their stable of exclusives. Either that or just slash the price.

Turn what around? People seem to feel that the number of consoles sold is something that matters to consumers. News flash? It doesn't. If the Xbox One sells 40 million consoles in NA and the PS4 sells double that, who gives a crap? Every game that isn't exclusive will be on it. The "value" of having the best selling console means zero if the competitor is selling well (and it is, in this case).

 

[Lil Frier]

When the truth came out about friends and family being just another demo scheme

Source? Everything I read said the exact opposite.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Source? Everything I read said the exact opposite.

From what I know, it wouldn't be a "share all" plan like people thought.

 

[Fulle]

The Xbox One doesn't really do a lot of differentiate itself from the PS4. It's just the slower, less popular choice, that will have less exclusive content.

 

[Aikouka]

I will own a Vita TV for Grim Fandango.

Isn't that also coming to the PC?

 

[purbeast0]

The Xbox One doesn't really do a lot of differentiate itself from the PS4. It's just the slower, less popular choice, that will have less exclusive content.

xbox one does a lot to differentiate it from ps4, just like ps4 does a lot to differentiate itself from xbox one.

as does the wii u.

 

[Fulle]

xbox one does a lot to differentiate it from ps4, just like ps4 does a lot to differentiate itself from xbox one.

as does the wii u.

You can't seriously think that. They're both black boxes with AMD APUs that will be used to play 90% the same games. The Xbox One tried to push Kinect and half baked TV features, but it did nothing but damage the Xbox brand. Now MS's just backpedaling into just copying Sony's game-plan with a slightly inferior product, and attempting to sell it at the same price.

Nintendo's Wii U is a different experience though. Nintendo puts out a lot of unique first and second party content, and the gamepad's second screen functionality is actually pretty useful in practice. The system is meaningfully cheaper than the competition, and makes an effort to try to attract areas of the market the competition is neglecting.

 

[purbeast0]

You can't seriously think that. They're both black boxes with AMD APUs that will be used to play 90% the same games. The Xbox One tried to push Kinect and half baked TV features, but it did nothing but damage the Xbox brand. Now MS's just backpedaling into just copying Sony's game-plan with a slightly inferior product, and attempting to sell it at the same price.

Nintendo's Wii U is a different experience though. Nintendo puts out a lot of unique first and second party content, and the gamepad's second screen functionality is actually pretty useful in practice. The system is meaningfully cheaper than the competition, and makes an effort to try to attract areas of the market the competition is neglecting.

all 3 have a bunch of exclusives that you can't find on the other consoles. that's different enough.

ps4 having better hardware means absolutely nothing if you want to play ryse, forza, or killer instinct. kinect means absolutely nothing if you want to play uncharted or the last of us remastered. wii-u being severely underpowere compared to the other 2 means nothing if you want to play mario or zelda.

so many of you are too caught up with all this stupid shit that means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. they mean nothing without games. look at the vita compared to the 3ds. vita is WAY superior hardware wise. how is that turning out for it?

 

[Dumac]

Turn what around? People seem to feel that the number of consoles sold is something that matters to consumers. News flash? It doesn't. If the Xbox One sells 40 million consoles in NA and the PS4 sells double that, who gives a crap? Every game that isn't exclusive will be on it. The "value" of having the best selling console means zero if the competitor is selling well (and it is, in this case).

So when the Wii U sales are low, its dead in the water and brought up every conversation.

But when the xbone has similar monthly sales, it suddenly doesn't matter?

I mean, I was always of the opinion that it didn't matter. A console provides what it provides to you as a consumer, regardless of how many other people are buying it. It is just funny to hear the change of tune recently now that the xbone isn't doing as well as the ps4.

 

[Dumac]

all 3 have a bunch of exclusives that you can't find on the other consoles. that's different enough.

ps4 having better hardware means absolutely nothing if you want to play ryse, forza, or killer instinct. kinect means absolutely nothing if you want to play uncharted or the last of us remastered. wii-u being severely underpowere compared to the other 2 means nothing if you want to play mario or zelda.

so many of you are too caught up with all this stupid shit that means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. they mean nothing without games. look at the vita compared to the 3ds. vita is WAY superior hardware wise. how is that turning out for it?

What is xbone's 'bunch of exclusives'? Forza and killer instinct? Halo (despite 4 being mediocre-to-bad IMO)? I don't think KI is as big of a deal as xbox fans make it out to be. Not to mention that there are competitive fighting and racing games, although Forza is better than GT in my opinon. I'm a bit interested in the exclusive by Platinum Games, but that seems like a long shot to be honest.

PS4 doesn't have many yet, but I predict a lot of Japanese gems to go onto it over its lifetime similar to the PS3.

All the Wii U has is exclusives, but they aren't everybody's cup of tea.

I just don't really see where the xbone fits in.

 

[cmdrdredd]

You can't seriously think that. They're both black boxes with AMD APUs that will be used to play 90% the same games. The Xbox One tried to push Kinect and half baked TV features, but it did nothing but damage the Xbox brand. Now MS's just backpedaling into just copying Sony's game-plan with a slightly inferior product, and attempting to sell it at the same price.

Nintendo's Wii U is a different experience though. Nintendo puts out a lot of unique first and second party content, and the gamepad's second screen functionality is actually pretty useful in practice. The system is meaningfully cheaper than the competition, and makes an effort to try to attract areas of the market the competition is neglecting.

Try trolling harder...you think Halo and Forza will magically appear on PS4 and Uncharted and Order 1886 will magically appear on XB1?

You seem to think everyone wants inferior versions of titles on the Wiiu. Unique is just a way to say "cutesy crap". If Nintendo was trying, the WiiU wouldn't be an utter failure thus far. Nintendo isn't trying, they have no clue how to market outside of Japan anymore.

They are stuck in the 90s and still can't make a competent online system.

 

[cmdrdredd]

So when the Wii U sales are low, its dead in the water and brought up every conversation.

But when the xbone has similar monthly sales, it suddenly doesn't matter?

I mean, I was always of the opinion that it didn't matter. A console provides what it provides to you as a consumer, regardless of how many other people are buying it. It is just funny to hear the change of tune recently now that the xbone isn't doing as well as the ps4.

The WiiU was out for a whole year longer and look at it... Seriously, look at it. The sales friggen suck. Even Nintendo admitted it has been mostly a failure.

 

[Dumac]

The WiiU was out for a whole year longer and look at it... Seriously, look at it. The sales friggen suck. period.

The recent monthly sales are pretty similar

Also this is exactly what I'm talking about.

"Wow the Wii U isn't selling well compared to the PS4"
"lol what a crappy console"

"Wow the xbox one isn't selling well compared to the PS4."
"Sales don't matter!!"

You can't have it both ways.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The recent monthly sales are pretty similar

Also this is exactly what I'm talking about.

"Wow the Wii U isn't selling well compared to the PS4"
"lol what a crappy console"

"Wow the xbox one isn't selling well compared to the PS4."
"Sales don't matter!!"

You can't have it both ways.

You can when the XB1 has been out for 10 months. If the XB1 came out a year before and had Sales like the WiiU I'd say the same thing. Plus, the games that may sell WiiU systems won't be out for a long time. The XB1 and PS4 have a slew of titles this year alone.

When Nintendo admits the WiiU has been a failure there is a problem.

 

[purbeast0]

What is xbone's 'bunch of exclusives'? Forza and killer instinct? Halo (despite 4 being mediocre-to-bad IMO)? I don't think KI is as big of a deal as xbox fans make it out to be. Not to mention that there are competitive fighting and racing games, although Forza is better than GT in my opinon. I'm a bit interested in the exclusive by Platinum Games, but that seems like a long shot to be honest.

PS4 doesn't have many yet, but I predict a lot of Japanese gems to go onto it over its lifetime similar to the PS3.

All the Wii U has is exclusives, but they aren't everybody's cup of tea.

I just don't really see where the xbone fits in.

oh so because you don't have interest in the exclusives, no one does?

that explains your point of view on this. no point in continuing to discuss it.

 

[Dumac]

You can when the XB1 has been out for 10 months. If the XB1 came out a year before and had Sales like the WiiU I'd say the same thing. Plus, the games that may sell WiiU systems won't be out for a long time. The XB1 and PS4 have a slew of titles this year alone.

When Nintendo admits the WiiU has been a failure there is a problem.

The Wii U is currently selling more than the Xbox One. The Wii U sales are increasing. The Xbox One sales have been decreasing.

So how can you say that the xbox one sales are better than the Wii U's? During the same period of time, they would have been, but what matters is current sales and future sales.

 

[Fulle]

Try trolling harder...you think Halo and Forza will magically appear on PS4 and Uncharted and Order 1886 will magically appear on XB1?

You seem to think everyone wants inferior versions of titles on the Wiiu. Unique is just a way to say "cutesy crap". If Nintendo was trying, the WiiU wouldn't be an utter failure thus far. Nintendo isn't trying, they have no clue how to market outside of Japan anymore.

They are stuck in the 90s and still can't make a competent online system.

If Forza was on the PC and PS4, I wouldn't care, because it's a micro transaction ridden POS, IMHO. Titanfall plays better on my PC than it ever would on the Xbox One. Ryse it a terrible game, but if I wanted it, it's coming to PC as well. Microsoft is always the weakest in exclusive games. Playstation and PC players don't miss out on much by skipping owning an Xbox.

The Wii U's games might not be what you're looking for, but they sell incredibly well. Mario Kart 8 sold around THREE TIMES more than Forza did in it's first month, and Nintendo games have long legs. Pokemon X and Y are still pulling big numbers. Nintendo certainly needs to iron out some edges on it's internet features, but they've come a long way with that, and they're currently pulling pretty improved digital sales numbers.

Then there's the issue of integrity. Nintendo actually sticks with a vision. You can buy a Wii U knowing that Nintendo will do it's best to bring quality titles to the system that take advantage of its features. Microsoft? The Xbox One is the "lying failure machine". "We can't just flip the switch to turn of online drm" Flips switch. "Kinect is essential to the Xbox One experience!" Sells Xbox One without Kinect. "TVTVTVTVTV". We're just kidding guys, it's all about games.

 

[Dumac]

oh so because you don't have interest in the exclusives, no one does?

that explains your point of view on this. no point in continuing to discuss it.

That isn't what I said at all. I just said that the xbox one has less than the ps4. Forza, Killer instinct, and Halo. That is three, and I see the later two waning in popularity.

 

[Lil Frier]

From what I know, it wouldn't be a "share all" plan like people thought.

What I heard was it's like Steam's sharing, but 1 person was possibly going to be able to play at the same time as the original owner. It wasn't a free-for-all, no, but it was supposed to be better than Steam sharing. the potential for going all-digital, while halving game costs (splitting them with a person who would share the games with you or vice versa) would have been awesome. I'm pretty sure it wasn't just "demo a friend's game," that makes no sense.

 

[cmdrdredd]

What I heard was it's like Steam's sharing, but 1 person was possibly going to be able to play at the same time as the original owner. It wasn't a free-for-all, no, but it was supposed to be better than Steam sharing. the potential for going all-digital, while halving game costs (splitting them with a person who would share the games with you or vice versa) would have been awesome. I'm pretty sure it wasn't just "demo a friend's game," that makes no sense.

I did read that the non-owner was supposed to have had extreme limitations on the games. It's been way too long to remember the details of what was leaked or rumored.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Then there's the issue of integrity. Nintendo actually sticks with a vision. You can buy a Wii U knowing that Nintendo will do it's best to bring quality titles to the system that take advantage of its features. Microsoft? The Xbox One is the "lying failure machine". "We can't just flip the switch to turn of online drm" Flips switch. "Kinect is essential to the Xbox One experience!" Sells Xbox One without Kinect. "TVTVTVTVTV". We're just kidding guys, it's all about games.

Hah...you're full of it you know. Nintendo is the one company who NEVER uses their gimmicks properly. Third parties have to show them. All Nintendo has done with the tablet controller is use it for a mirror of what's on your TV. 3rd parties pot maps and inventory up on there. On The Wii every game was just waggle to do random actions all the way until skyward sword, but 3rd parties like Sega with Mad World actually used the motion controls in a way that wasn't designed for grandma and 5 year olds way before Nintendo.

Also when it comes to you're bs about "flipping a switch" that required a whole rewrite of the OS and how online was integrated into the system. It took them hundreds of hours to get the day one patch. Do you know how many lines of code were there? I sure don't, but I know for a fact it's more than just turning it from on to off in some setting.

 

[Dumac]

Nintendo is the one company who NEVER uses their gimmicks properly. Third parties have to show them. All Nintendo has done with the tablet controller is use it for a mirror of what's on your TV.

Somebody never played Nintendoland.

Also when it comes to you're bs about "flipping a switch" that required a whole rewrite of the OS and how online was integrated into the system. It took them hundreds of hours to get the day one patch. Do you know how many lines of code were there? I sure don't, but I know for a fact it's more than just turning it from on to off in some setting.

What has been shown is that Microsoft's position on the Xbox One is a very soft one. They are willing to shift gears at the drop of a hat, if it makes sense. This is mostly good, as they showed that they can receive consumer feedback. But it also makes them inconsistent, since they are definitely capable of changing their minds about features or future removals/additions.

 

[Arkaign]

it's just because people feel a need to justify to strangers on the internet why they spent their money the way they did. they also feel as though they have to be on a "team" because they feel included in a bigger group.

it's gotten worse now too with all the sales info out there now a days, because people think that sales numbers actually matter to them as a general consumer. for as "terrible" as the x1 is selling (according to the internet) it's launch was better than the 360 launch was, regardless how it compared to the ps4, yet for some reason, people think it's failing.

sad really.

I follow the numbers weekly in the various markets.

The XB1 DID sell more than the 360 launch window.

However, it has rapidly dropped below the 360's monthly sales after that period, and is on track to cross streams fairly soon (probably before the end of the year, certainly no longer than next spring).

The 360 was initially heavily supply constrained, and then their problems compounded by having to divert new units to be RROD replacements, so 'outselling 360' in the launch period is a pretty weak statistic honestly. The 360 took off after Gears came out and really moved the holdouts from OG Xbox and PS2 over.

None of this means that XB1 is guaranteed to be a failure, in all probability it's headed for a ~35M lifetime sales figure. I know of many consoles that sold MUCH less that I still love, so yeah sales aren't the end-all/be-all. One could argue that the monstrous sales of the PS2 led it to be supported for a lot longer than OG Xbox was supported, but if monstrous sales were all it took, where's Wii support been for the past few years? (yes, everyone knows that TONS of Wii sales were to people that will probably never buy another gaming console in their lives, and maybe never had before either).

There will be a 'round two' period where the majority of the sales of PS4 and XB1 will occur, and it's going to be the 2015-2017 period when both consoles are available around $300 or less, with multiple major franchises in place, no cross-gen mucking up the quality, and plenty of old PS3s/360s hitting the dustbins.

So, I love following the sales, I like examining PR spin, I love seeing the various strategies, failures, and successes of the major players. I like predicting and being correct. But none of that means that any particular console is GOOD or BAD for anyone.

The only thing that matters is if the owner of the console has fun and feels they got their money's worth out of it.