Xbox One

[DarkeSword]

What the crap, Microsoft and Sony? Why did we suddenly stop doing backwards compatibility?

Not to turn this into yet another BC debate, but nobody "suddenly" stopped doing backwards compatibility.

360 didn't have full BC with XBOX.

Most PS3s didn't have full BC with PS2. In fact Sony has only ever done full BC with PSX games.

Nintendo only implemented BC with GCN > Wii, and then Wii > Wii U. Handheld fared better with Gameboy all the way through to DS Lite, and then DS > 3DS.

BC is not a thing that we've consistently had, and it's not something that suddenly stopped. Sometimes it just isn't cost effective to develop hardware that supports backwards compatibility; it can drive up the hardware costs and/or put limitations on innovation and architecture.

I'm fairly certain that if they could do it in an easy, cost-effective way, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft would all love to put BC into their systems, because having that preexisting library is obviously very valuable, but leaving out BC is sacrifice that the console makers are willing to make in order to push their system specs higher. I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, but it's a consideration that the console makers take into account.

[Garrett Williamson]

Not to turn this into yet another BC debate, but nobody "suddenly" stopped doing backwards compatibility.

360 didn't have full BC with XBOX.

Most PS3s didn't have full BC with PS2. In fact Sony has only ever done full BC with PSX games.

Nintendo only implemented BC with GCN > Wii, and then Wii > Wii U. Handheld fared better with Gameboy all the way through to DS Lite, and then DS > 3DS.

BC is not a thing that we've consistently had, and it's not something that suddenly stopped. Sometimes it just isn't cost effective to develop hardware that supports backwards compatibility; it can drive up the hardware costs and/or put limitations on innovation and architecture.

I'm fairly certain that if they could do it in an easy, cost-effective way, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft would all love to put BC into their systems, because having that preexisting library is obviously very valuable, but leaving out BC is sacrifice that the console makers are willing to make in order to push their system specs higher. I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, but it's a consideration that the console makers take into account.

I guess that makes sense, though I'm not quite sure what you mean by "full" backwards compatibility. Xbox > Xbox 360 seemed to have full backwards compatibility to me... I can't say much about the PS3 because I don't play them as often.

[relyanCe]

I never got why people like BC in the first place

just play it on your old console and don't sell your shit to gamestop for pennies

Fuck, i still whip out my old GBC to play some classic PokeRed

[Garrett Williamson]

I never got why people like BC in the first place

just play it on your old console and don't sell your shit to gamestop for pennies

Fuck, i still whip out my old GBC to play some classic PokeRed

I get that, but here's why I find it convenient.

If someone really wants a new game console but doesn't want to stop playing their older games and also doesn't want to pay so much money for the new console, they can sell the older game console and get the new console with that money and still be able to play the old games AND the new ones.

In fact, what I was planning to do was keep my GCN, sell the Wii, then get the Wii U, so I'm able to play all three. But my GCN is now broken and I've gotta fix it, and my Wii is the only way I can play my GCN games right now. In fact, that's all I use the Wii for right now. I honestly don't play Wii games anymore.

[jnWake]

Looks cool. Only sad thing is that so far it seems that this next generation will be the same than this last one, which isn't necessarily bad, but innovation is always welcome.

[Bleck]

I never got why people like BC in the first place

because the launch window game drought of a console doesn't feel as bad if you can still use it to play other games

for example I'm using my wii u to play metroid prime 3 right now, and really appreciating how the hdmi compatibility of the wii mode is opening up new options for where and how I play wii games

compare that to the xbox one where you'll have probably a new call of duty game at launch and several sports games and then uh literally nothing at all for probably a year

people are a lot more willing to shell out dollars for a brand new system if they know that it's not going to sit around doing absolutely fuck all for the first year, even if what it is doing is arguably of negligible importance

[zircon]

IMO it's a very smart move for MS + Sony to focus on consoles as more than just gaming devices. In this day and age, people are less interested in single-use devices... hence why smartphones are so successful and ubiquitous. Instead of carrying around a phone, and a watch, and a handheld gaming system, and a calculator (etc) you just have your smartphone that does everything. People like having a device that can do multiple things. The concept of a box that does nothing but play games is increasingly outdated.

This is the best direction for game consoles. They SHOULD be living room media centers, basically purpose-built mini-computers with customized OSes.

[Gollgagh]

Instead of carrying around a phone, and a watch, and a handheld gaming system, and a calculator (etc)

I still carry around all of those heh (my phone is a Galaxy S2 as well)

[Calpis]

for example I'm using my wii u to play metroid prime 3 right now, and really appreciating how the hdmi compatibility of the wii mode is opening up new options for where and how I play wii games

I agree with your statements, but I'm curious as to what the bold part entails.

Just to clarify, I've haven't ever owned either of the Xboxes, and this one doesn't seem any different until I see exclusives in the future. However, out of the PS4/XB1, I'll probably buy the one with the better media server capabilities. I've hated fighting with the PS3/PS Media Server BS lately and my coworkers tell me the 360 was a lot better in that regard. Had I known that before I bought the PS3, I would've reconsidered. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the PS3's exclusive downloadable games like Flower, Journey, PixelJunk and so on.

[EC2151]

IMO it's a very smart move for MS + Sony to focus on consoles as more than just gaming devices. In this day and age, people are less interested in single-use devices...

And that's why the Wii and DS sold so poorly, right?

People raise the "devices need to multi-task!" banner, but it never, ever seems to translate into concrete sales.

Did the PS2 really sell so much because of its DVD player, or the extremely high number of games it had?

If consoles aren't about games, then there's no reason to buy them over cheaper alternatives.

Edited May 21, 2013 by EC2151

[Mustin]

Those systems weren't just about games. That's not fair. You can do more than games on your Wii or DS.

I never got why people like BC in the first place

I'm on this. I still have all my old systems. I've never sold a system, though my Mom threw away my Maganavox Odyssey 2 for some reason I can't recall. Crap.

Anyway, there's too much wait and see. In the end, buy what you want, right?

[EC2151]

Yeah, but did anyone really fucking use PictoChat?

[zircon]

And that's why the Wii and DS sold so poorly, right?

People raise the "devices need to multi-task!" banner, but it never, ever seems to translate into concrete sales.

Did the PS2 really sell so much because of its DVD player, or the extremely high number of games it had?

If consoles aren't about games, then there's no reason to buy them over cheaper alternatives.

Where to begin? The Wii and DS came out in 2006 and 2004 respectively. It's 2013, with a different landscape. When the Wii first came out, the market of "non-gamers" was as of yet untapped. Thanks to the Wii, Kinect and PSMove (among other things) that market has been thoroughly saturated. Smartphones weren't popularized until years after the DS came out. This is an older graph but the trend is obviously still moving in this direction:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20054217-17.html

More people are playing games on their smartphones, thus cutting into the market for dedicated handheld gaming devices. Common sense.

http://cdn.gizmocrazed.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Chart_USportableGameRevenue_MarketShare_2009-2011-resized-600.png

The PS2 is absolutely incomparable to the PS4 / Xbox One in every possible way. Completely different landscape. At the time the PS2 came out, you were not seeing the biggest, most popular games released for all platforms - including PC - and PC games were on par or worse in graphics than top-tier consoles. Steam didn't exist. Internet play was basically non-existent on consoles and not nearly as popular as it is today on PC. Downloadable games were a tiny tiny market. Hell, the internet itself was still (relatively speaking) in its infancy. The PS2 was 13 years ago, dude.

What I'm saying is that TODAY, millions and millions of people are playing games on their phone, on their tablet, and on their PC. You can easily get a great, modern game on Steam for a couple bucks. Facebook and browser games are a multi-billion dollar market. These things were unheard of 10 years ago, maybe even 5 years ago. For consoles and handhelds to compete they need to do more than just play games.

If consoles aren't about games, then there's no reason to buy them over cheaper alternatives.

Well sure, if the Xbox One is $1000 then it's a pretty crappy alternative. But I suspect that these consoles will be much cheaper and have a better form factor than any comparable PC device. In other words, this IS the cheaper alternative.

Edited May 21, 2013 by zircon

[The Damned]

Guys, you're all missing the most important thing we learned from the conference.

X-Box One is huuuuuuuuuge. Really, really huge. Gigantic and monolithic. Like a slab of black stone polished and carved by eldric forces. I wouldn't be surprised if it weighs twenty pounds.

I think the ability to run cool without noise is due to the fact it's made of heat absorbing rock from another dimension.

Why are we going back towards massive bricks for consoles again?

Look at that screen shot of the system next to the controller. If the controller is the same size as the current one, then god damn, that's a big system.

And no one has been able to answer if you can put in on its side like every other system. I like putting stuff on its side. With multiple systems, it's like a wall of technology.

[Meteo Xavier]

Another system announcement, another system that will go on to sell millions of units no matter what it offers while millions of gamers who pose as weekend industry experts spend the next 10 years debating where and why it failed while saving up to spend $600+ on the next launch.

[Brandon Strader]

It was a fantastic reveal, I think I'm out of the console race though. Too expensive and just silly. I'll play the games on PC, hopefully developers start to realize that console exclusivity is dumb. I heard this already has more pre-orders than the Wii U had sales though. Sheesh.

[The Damned]

Another system announcement, another system that will go on to sell millions of units no matter what it offers while millions of gamers who pose as weekend industry experts spend the next 10 years debating where and why it failed while saving up to spend $600+ on the next launch.

Hey. Shut up. You're ruining it for everyone. Without unimportant things that don't affect us to bitch about, where would we put all our effort and time into? Careers? Family? Education? Fuck that. That's for elitist fanboys.

Like yourself! (and now for someone to take this post seriously...)

[ocre]

I heard this already has more pre-orders than the Wii U had sales though.

Did your uncle that works at Microsoft tell you that? Edited May 21, 2013 by ocre

[Bleck]

I agree with your statements, but I'm curious as to what the bold part entails.

the only way I can play my wii was to use a relatively low quality tv, but I can use the wii u to play wii games on my nice computer monitor with the hdmi cable

You can do more than games on your Wii or DS.

like what

[The Derrit]

anyone else find it funny how they were like 'integrated TV experience!' and everyone jumped on it like this is a new thing that Wii U isn't already doing

huh

[noTuX]

Guys, you're all missing the most important thing we learned from the conference.

X-Box One is huuuuuuuuuge. Really, really huge. Gigantic and monolithic. Like a slab of black stone polished and carved by eldric forces. I wouldn't be surprised if it weighs twenty pounds.

I think the ability to run cool without noise is due to the fact it's made of heat absorbing rock from another dimension.

Why are we going back towards massive bricks for consoles again?

Look at that screen shot of the system next to the controller. If the controller is the same size as the current one, then god damn, that's a big system.

And no one has been able to answer if you can put in on its side like every other system. I like putting stuff on its side. With multiple systems, it's like a wall of technology.

You know they are gonna start off big as shit, then they'll release as slim version...then a slim version in a different color...then an even slimmer version (the Xbox One 2).

Edited May 21, 2013 by Blue Magic

[zircon]

anyone else find it funny how they were like 'integrated TV experience!' and everyone jumped on it like this is a new thing that Wii U isn't already doing

huh

The Wii U just hooks up to your existing cable/satellite box, right? So it's not really its own device. It sounds like Xbox One is going to actually have its own original live programming.

[DarkeSword]

anyone else find it funny how they were like 'integrated TV experience!' and everyone jumped on it like this is a new thing that Wii U isn't already doing

huh

I have a Wii U and I'm pretty sure that what Xbox One is doing is completely different and looks a lot cooler.

I've tried to use TVii a couple of times and I find it to be very sluggish and basically useless.

[liquid wind]

No BC + used game fee makes me feel pretty meh about this, especially where most of my 360 games are third party/multiplatform to begin with so I don't feel like I'm missing out on much by not buying the next MS console.

[Brandon Strader]

Did your uncle that works at Microsoft tell you that?

(4:27:45 PM) Lukeyboy: yeah ocre

(4:27:52 PM) Lukeyboy: xbox-one already has more preorders than the wiiu has sales

I wish Lukas was my uncle who works at microsoft

But yeah I bought 99% of my Xbox360 games used so I'm out. Bye everyone!