I'll decide in two weeks.

by ShadowOfTheVoid , South Carolina, Monday, May 27, 2013, 20:00 (4208 days ago) @ ManKitten
edited by ShadowOfTheVoid, Monday, May 27, 2013, 20:11

I'm likely going to be an early adopter of one of the two forthcoming next-gen systems, as if I'm going to play Destiny, I'm going to want to do so with the full power of next-gen at my disposal. I still haven't finalized my decision on which one I'll get first. For me, my decision will all depend on three things:

1) How the consoles deal with used games. While neither system will block used games, it's unclear what the exact caveats, if any, are. I'm someone who finds tremendous benefit in the ability to borrow from friends or buy from the second-hand market. For one, there is less risk, as not only do used games cost less than MSRP (sometimes by a lot, sometimes only by a little bit), if I buy used from Gamestop I can return it within a week for a full refund. Also there's the fact that even if a game goes out of print, it's still possible to buy a pre-owned copy. Needless to say, anyone who makes it a hassle to buy (such as through prohibitive fees) will not find themselves in my good graces. I can always take my money elsewhere. Given the brutally negative reaction to even the possibility that used games could be hampered in any way, I honestly don't see either Sony or MS actually going through with any sort of plan that deviates with business is usual. They have more to lose from customers ditching them than from publishers going through their "Oh, woe is me! People are buying my games used instead of new" crap.

2) Whether the consoles require any sort of internet connection. The only thing I even get online to do is play the occasional bit of Halo matchmaking. The idea that my console would be become useless if I decided to disconnect it from the internet for more than some arbitrary amount of time (or if I took my system somewhere where there isn't internet, like, say, my parent's house) doesn't sit well with me. While Sony did say we could play our games offline, they weren't 100% clear if that entailed there would be no online requirements at all (though given that they said they realize that not everybody has good internet or even any internet at all, that leads me to think the PS4 will not require an internet connection). Meanwhile, at this point it seems that the XBO will require some sort of online connection, which would discourage me from being an early adopter (not to mention that it would hurt the system's prospects greatly).

3) What their game libraries for the first few months look like. Exclusives are very, very important. By definition I can play a multi-platform game on any system. If someone wants me to adopt their system, they need to offer me experiences that I can't get anywhere else. Sony has already announced new Killzone and Infamous games as well as Knack, and there's the possibility that other Sony IPs (e.g., Gran Turismo, Uncharted, Resistance, LittleBigPlanet) may carry over the the PS4. Meanwhile, MS's exclusives have pretty much dwindled to Halo, Gears, Forza, and Fable. While Forza will be present at launch, it's unlikely (though not impossible) that we'll be getting new Halo and Gears games considering that we just recently got new entries in the series. So, MS will have to either develop completely new IPs or resurrect older IPs (e.g., Crackdown, all the Rare IPs they have) that have been left collecting dust. They said they'll have 15 exclusives for the XBO to show off at E3, but we don't yet know if all of those are full retail games.

As of now, I've been leaning towards the PS4. Sony just seems to be focusing on the gamer first and foremost. Meanwhile, MS disappointed me by focusing on the XBO being a general media/social networking device, with games being treated as ancillary. I honestly couldn't care less about the features that were the main focus of the XBO presentation; I have a DVR, a Blu-ray player, a computer, and a smart TV, and thus have no need for yet another device that does those things. I'm interested in a game console, and right now Sony appears to be the one whose target audience is the core gamer. Still, that could all change come E3 when we see all the launch window games and (hopefully) have the situations regarding online requirements and used games completely cleared up.

Of course, right now I'm honestly more interested in what Nintendo has in store for the Wii U than anything else. I've been Playing With Power since 1987, and I plan on doing so for as long as the Big N keeps making games and systems.