There has been much information coming out of E3 this week. Most of which deals with games. However, the biggest most important information we gamers can take from E3 is the difference between the XBOX One and the PS4.
Here are some of the facts:
XBOX One:
• Price $499
• Requires once every 24 hours check-in. This still hasn’t been clearly stated as to why and what happens if you don’t check in, not to mention how long your console won’t work for once you do turn it back on to check in. (If it has been mention, please someone give me a link so I can post it) I will say this. I’m NOT a child who needs to be baby-sat. Why MUST I check in with you Microsoft? Big brother indeed.
• Kinect included (A MUST feature that you can not choose to NOT have) With the tech this new Kinect has (being able to read heart rate, heat signatures, bone structure, is just a bit TOO invasive to me.) The tech sounds cool, but it’s implementation leaves something to be desired, IMO.
PS4
• Price $399
• No daily check-in
• No Kinect, which also means no invasive look at your bodice.
Now the matter of used games being bought/sold for fees or not is still muddy to me. Both companies have said you can buy/sell/trade their games without additional fees. However, if you look at those words carefully they both said THEIR games, not third-party games. So it could be taken as games developed by XBOX and PS won’t have costs, but outside developed games might. Again, offiicial links to say otherwise would be helpful.
Yes, there are more comparisons, but these are the ones that jump out at me the most and what I see/hear/read other gamers talking and complaining about.
Now on top of this we have Don Mattrick, President, Interactive Entertainment Business for XBOX saying that if you don’t have the internet, then stick with the 360. (Essentially saying the XBOX One isn’t for you.) He comes across as rather smug and further shoots Microsoft in the foot by this following comment: “When I read the blogs and they talked about who’s really most impacted, it was a person who said ‘Hey, I’m on a nuclear sub’,” said Mattrick. “I don’t even know what it means to be on a nuclear sub, but I’ve got to imagine it’s not easy to get an Internet connection.” How can you not know what it means to be on a sub? Really? Dude, you’re a president of a major corporation. You got to that position somehow. I’d hope smarts have something to do with it. If that’s the case then you should know what a sub is and that they don’t have easy access to the internet for casual purposes such as playing video games. He goes on to say, “It isn’t just about price, it’s about value. It’s the value for the price. What I believe is we have incredible value for the price we’re offering our system. And I think it’s unmatched compared to other things.” Um, hello there Don (may I call you Don)…XBOX 360 integrated movies, sports music and many other things into it without costing us anything more. So you’re basically saying we MUST have a Kinect (When that tech while better still isn’t perfect) with the new XBOX? How about giving us a “XBOX One Lite” that doesn’t have the Kinect and for $100 less… I’m fine with using my controller to get around, really, it’s okay Don.
Look, we know Microsoft wants to propel gaming (and other entertainment sources) into a full connective media. However, judging by the reaction from the gaming community at large that is something WE don’t want. Couple that with the creepiness of the Kinect being able to look at you and derive your heartrate, bone structure, heat signature and it’s just too much. Now add that you have to check in with them? Give me a frakin’ break. Oh and “Fantasy sport”…really? How many people are going to use that Microsoft? That was a selling point in your initial press release…really?
Sony/Playstation said all the right things in their conference at E3. Now we need to wait and see if what they said remains true or not. But in the meantime, Microsoft MUST counter this by either back pedaling on their new structure for the XBOX One or adding something so much more positive and better than the PS4 can give that gamers just can’t ignore it. Right now, MS is NOT doing that. And I highly doubt they are going to go back on their procedures for XBOX One now. That would look bad on them, even if it was to save face in the gaming community. And with comments like the one Mattrick stated above…well, the damage has clearly been done.
I’m a HALO fan. NOT a Microsoft fan. I was a Playstation gamer before switching to XBOX. When I discovered Halo for myself I was hooked on that game. I didn’t look back to Playstation even though I missed out on two of my favorite other franchises, those being Ratchet and Clank and God of War.
The community of gamers with XBOX is the only other thing next to Halo that is keeping me with XBOX. That said, if MS doesn’t give 343 more leeway with Halo and Halo 5 is just a good game, well…this gamer might have to think about some things. I want Halo to succeed. That much should be obvious due to my gamertag: HaloFanForLife1 Plus the fact that I have a whole blog dedicated to HALO!
But I’m NOT going to continue to support a company (MS) who can’t see past itself and the mistakes it is making all in the name of technological advancement.
We now as Halo fans have a greater understanding as to why Halo 4 was not the complete game we expected. The team at 343 was divided into the Halo 4 team and the Halo 5 team. Not to mention that small portion that had to advise on Spartan Assault, as well as those for Halo CE Anniversary. WAY too much on their plate for a start-up developer, even with MS throwing all sorts of money their way to get it all done.
We as Halo fans suffered a Halo game, that while good, was definitely not all it could and SHOULD have been. I blame this on Microsoft, not 343. It’s very obvious now why 343 was sweating it out when Halo 4 launched. It’s also obvious why we’re not getting a Spartan Ops season two, even though we were lead to believe this would be an ongoing series past season one.
Gawd, give me the opportunity (and management power) to right this course and I know I could bring something to the Halo franchise that would bring back the confidence in it’s fans. But that’s a whole other thing. I’ve applied twice to 343 before and it didn’t go anywhere…
Anyway, that aside, I won’t be getting the XBOX One at launch. Not just for all the restrictions, but also the likely bugs that the first adopters are going to have to deal with. Also, Halo isn’t launching first day.
Microsoft you MUST come clean as to why all these restrictions and rules need to be. Convince me why I should plunk down an extra $100 for your console. And you know what…Don’t be smug about it. Be apologetic for your XBOX President’s words. Bring your console back to being mostly and MAINLY a gaming console.
Does this mean I’ll switch to Playstation? Likely not. Actually what it may mean is that I give up gaming altogether when the 360 servers are finally shut down. Maybe I’m getting to old for this, but I do NOT want a company being able to look at me while I game. I do not need/want all of this extra connectivity. gawd knows life is already way to more complicated than it need be. You say you’re trying to simplify that, but in reality, you’re just making it easier for us to have MORE complicated lives…
In closing, Microsoft, PLEASE for yourselves and your consumer (you know the ones that actually drive your PROFIT margin) back off on these restrictions. Come clean with what those restrictions mean and for gawd sakes LOWER the cost of the XBOX One to MATCH the PS4!
Respectfully,
Sal Salerno
Owner/Blogger
HaloFanForLife.com