Answer this:

You postulate that because the Xbox One has an internet requirement (a very odd 24 hour check in, but I digress) but what does the Xbox One offer from a fundamental level that the PS4 cannot? If a developer wants to create a game that requires an online connection so that it can offload computations to the cloud - which I'm extremely skeptical about - why can the PS4 not do that? Sony has come out and said developers could do the same thing with Sony's Gakai cloud without forcing a PR statement down our throats that's the infinite power of the cloud will increase the console's performance greatly.

With the original Xbox, we had NO CHOICE but to improve our internet. It was something that was happening gradually to our country regardless of gaming, but the Xbox made us change sooner. Having this odd 24 hour check in online requirement is purely restrictive without the ambitious goals of progressing the games industry forward.

love how the article says "Before you go off guns blazing, read the article and see if it makes any valid points. If you don't think it does, feel free to lambast me in the comments"

he knows ps fans are ready to finish him off. and before you disagree i am a ps fan

And if PS4 adopts a DRM policy similar what will we all do? Do you think we can all get refunds? Sony said they would not charge for online and now they do. Sony is great innovator at following others. Hey, we have motion controls too. We also do this camera thing. Sadly neither is really supported. I'm not a fan of Kinect, but I respect Microsoft's decision to support the product 100% instead of simply taking the me too approach.

Im sorry I couldn't hear you over the 500 dollars you are asking for.

Did greenpowerzz write this for his Microsoft paycheck?

Where do i sign up to write this kind of s**t and get payed by ms? I really need money. To buy ps4.

A few points about this article.

Firstly, comparing going to the cinema to purchasing a video game is ridiculous. When you go to a movie you have no expectation of retaining that film or being able to watch it more than once, lend it to friends etc. Instead compare buying a game to buying a DVD and you will see that all the points made about only consuming a movie once are utterly false. When you buy a DVD you can pretty much watch it when, where, as often, and with whoever you want, why should Microsoft be allowed to take this freedom away purely for corporate greed? If game publishers aren't making a profit they need to start making better quality games, not blaming low sales for they're low quality shovelware.

Further to this, if game publishers want to sell more copies of their games then they should consider lowering the prices. The reason the second hand market is so active is because people just aren't willing to pay £50 for games that they feel probably aren't even worth £30. Just because DRM is put into place on the xbox one doesn't mean that all those people who buy second hand games for £20-£30 will start forking out £50 for every game released. Many of these people will simply stop purchasing games they would have picked up second hand completely and this has a strange knock on effect that will actually harm further sales. When you curb used game sales you stop the people who buy day-one from making any profit back from said games therefore giving them less disposable cash to then purchase more day-one games. Ultimately it will result in cash leaving the system even quicker than with used game sales allowed.

Secondly, steam is so popular because it offers huge discounts on games over other available methods of purchasing. If you could get the deals available on steam through your local game retailers then far more physical copies would be being sold. Whilst steam has very fair and enticing prices Microsoft is busy nickel and diming everyone for every penny they can get, the prices on XBL are far more expensive than local supermarkets/game stores/steam etc. With a forced move to digital by MS we will only be forced to pay these inflated prices.

Whats also interesting is how high street retailers are going to react. IMO what would be the point of pushing the Xbox one over the PS4. Used games make up large part of high street revenue, for every Xbox one customer thats one less person trading in games. The big retailers are going to be pushing the PS4 like mad IMO. Maybe even discounts on the PS4 to sway the people who aren't sure what to get.

Its what I'd do if I ran a Video Game store.

I currently own a PS3 and Xbox 360, even though I have always on high speed internet and buy day one purchases mostly I dislike microsofts attitude towards gamers with the Xbox one so will be puchasing the PS4 on release for sure. Its currently a no brainer.

Mircosoft won't just be losing customers with poor or no internet.

The author is talking about a fundamental shift in the way we sell and consume games without realizing it. By equating the gaming experience to the "cinema" or "concert" experience as opposed to the "home video" or DVD experience, he is essentially describing the business model that is "Software as as Service". It is one of the largest segments of the cloud computing market, and it is meant to replace the software as a product mentality that has existed for so long.

The reason for this big push is actually greed and control. Software companies are not content anymore to create a one-off product; wherein you pay for it once and use it as you wish. They wish to have you continuously pay for the privilege to use their software and consume it like it's a service. The "cloud" is just the internet. That's all it means. They've created a new fancy buzzword for the internet so they can tack on all sorts of fancy machinations, suppositions and "dreams" to sell to their customers. The modern broadband infrastructure around the world is allowing them to accomplish this, wherein the overall aim is that the majority of the computing is accomplished "server" (e.g. MS) side, and not on the "client" (i.e. consumer) side.

The reality is that when someone is describing "cloud" computing as MS are, they're talking about getting everyone onto their big SaaS/PaaS initiative, and MS's offering is known as Windows Azure. Azure allows MS or people who pay MS to host virtual machines/computers (and thus applications, infrastructures or platforms) for them. They wish to become the world leader in software as a service and platform as a service technologies, and have been investing HEAVILY in this future since 2008. XBO is their attempt to extend SaaS to every living room in the USA, a trojan horse if you will.

The "cloud" movement is really just a means for people like MS to get you to pay for all of their products continuously, and also pay for the "privilege" of them storing and essentially owning your data. Resist it for as long as you can, folks. The days of the internet being the "hole in the sky" are coming to an end.

First thing before i read any article i look at the name of the site...yup there is the problem

All this brand loyalty is making my head hurt.

With the Xbox one, the whole idea is to have a single device that allows easy access to all your chosen media.
The fact that you can install your whole game library onto the console and switch between games on the fly (No disc swapping), have matchmaking running for a different title in the background while playing or viewing something else. You can wave your hands at it, talk to it, or use your controller, all while relaxing on your chair of choice is truly a stepping stone to the future of connectivity and interacting with your entertainment.
This is truly exciting for me, as I am possibly in the minority, but I will be utilising all of the demonstrated abilities that the xbox one has incorporated. I am totally sold on the accessibility of the console and its features. I’m surprised that there is so much hate for a company that is really trying to do something different. I love the idea of being able to interact with my media on so many different levels, controller, hand gestures and voice. Im a kid when it comes to gadgets, I love advancements in input devices and gaming tech, and the xbox one is a thing of the future.
But… alas the biggest downside to the proposition is the 24hr check-in. This sucks big time, I’m waiting for the ins and out of the requirements, especially for people who either have no internet or intermittent internet from crappy providers. Will there be a backup plan for people with prolonged outages, such as checking in via mobile internet via xbox.com or something like that (I don’t know) or increase the ckeckin time to once a fortnight or something.
The only way I can come to terms with this requirement is that I need to look at this new device as something completely different to what defines a traditional games console (PS4). A seriously capable internet based home entertainment system that feeds off the internet to provide content to the user. No internet, no fun. 
The only suggestion I could come up with for MS is that: give the gamer the ability to choose how they want to play their games. If they wish to remain offline or do not have an internet connection at all then why not allow the console to play games providing the disc is in the tray. Just like what we are all used to. Why oh why MS, surely if you have gone to such great lengths to create a forward thinking entertainment device, cater for everyone and not just the “always connected” generation.
How can you not see that, not allowing a gamer to play his/her games that he/she has spent a significant amount on because the internet has crapped out, is just plain wrong. All of the other bells and whistles I understand requiring a connection, but when I physically bought the console, bought the game on disc, AND the disc is in the machine, why exactly will it not work? No answer could justify your decision to not allow me to play. Sorry.
I really want to be excited about the xbox one and most of me is… really excited! But dudes… come on… please sort this out. Give me a games console when I don’t have internet, and then give me the future when im connected.
Its not asking for much… is it?

"Microsoft’s Phil Spencer said “This isn’t a sprint.”

"It is a forward looking console. I’m not getting one at launch, I’ll be more than happy with my PS4. But I see no reason not to get one 4 years down the line when it’s cheaper, has a bedrock of quality exclusives and technology and internet connections have had more time to catch up to Microsoft’s vision.

It may not be a sprint Mr Phil but you have to at least make it out of the gate to have a race.. this is so retarded. People aren't gonna freakin pay hard earned money to wait for something good 4 years down the road. its just stupid, MS Needed something amazing out of the gate to attract customers and what they have shown so far and all this talk about waiting a few years, it will be better talk is bs.. I jumped of the MS boat a few years ago when I realised how shady the company is.. looks like I made the right choice with Sony

I am not defending one console or another, but this article sort of makes a point. Very poorly I might add.

Change needs to happen. When we have games like Tomb Raider that sell 3 million and are considered a failure, something is wrong. Maybe it is developers, maybe its publishers, maybe its used games. Doesnt matter which one it is, but change needs to happen.

Sony isn't doing anything to change, while Microsoft is trying something new to move the industry to a new place where maybe these issues can be fixed.

The problem is, Microsoft is doing a horrible job at telling the consumer why the change needs to happen.

There was a company called Valve that made some bold changes to the PC market, and it was called Steam. Sometimes change is for the better.

I really hope this is just for hits, cause i really cannot see a single thing MS is "Doing right" over any of their competitors. Also as a consumer i just don't see how you can defend something that nickle and dimes you to shit

Tell me again how the multiplatform strategy was supposed to fix everything. Look at your results and compare them to Nintendo, which keeps thriving with exclusives. Your loyal fans are gone. And let’s not forget the pile of IPs you purchased only to let them rot.

The worst thing is this is down from last years numbers/expectations which was down from the previous years numbers/expectations. You think about how long “down” has been a consistent part of the communication and you realize those subscriptions are what’s holding that boat together. The price cut of gamespass is still a price raise in a string of price raises. They are trying to use players to offset the missing revenue. Now call of duty is out of gamespass, which is literally WHY they bought the company. To draw people to the subscription. They realized they missed a boatload of money and that wasn’t sustainable. Now you pay for it like you would have if they never bought the company… so why buy the company? Mind you those billions still need to be paid back. Yeah it gives you a chance to say we make the biggest FPS… but the internal conversations must be brutal at high level on topics that really matter. Like revenue. Profitability. And ROI for the shopping spree.

Is this like the 10th quarter in a row they're down 33% on hardware how is that even mathematically possible. You would think their mediocrity would Plateau

Helix will be expensive but it's still a day one for me.

Oh, my days...
So Nadella meets with the US president multiple times to ensure AI regulations are minimal if any at all, donates to the inauguration and ballroom, and his boy not only won't regulate AI as farmers lose land and billionaires/corporations buy up farmland to build data centers...but because he's insane and compromised, he starts a war on behalf of a rogue colonial zionist state and [further] destabilizes the Middle East, restricting component access and helium supply.

Now the head of Xbox is saying the hardware pricing "could impact" next generation hardware pricing? Asha,...your boss at a minimum played a direct role in this. What are we even talking about?

Yea because a $3 trillion company can’t absorb the majority of the cost to keep the product lower for consumers.

Expensive… oh no, here comes another flop.

Could? Strange how prices rise for virtually everything we buy, yet when things settle down, prices don't come down. This has been happening in the UK probably before I was born. With that, how much is a next gen console going to cost? Look at the price of the PlayStation 5 Pro, which has been a flop for Sony. On that note, we don't need the next consoles for another 5 years.

I guarantee if people just stopped buying this kinda stuff all together. This would all be sorted within 2 weeks and everything would be back to normal.

We seen the exact same thing through the COVID period. Companies just jumped on the bandwagon realising that they can get away with charging far more under false pretences and fear mongering.

Consumers now have this fear of "you know what, I only live once. I'm going to spend all this money I earned through my hard work" Or "I only live once I'm going to take a loan out and enjoy my time here".

Silicone Valley spends literally billions of dollars researching how much they can push society to the limits to increase spending. You can research it yourself. There's published written documentation about it. Have a look for yourself into their group research into subscription programs to see how evil they are and why it's such a giant focus of current civilization. Its the very essence of corporate capitalism.

Just delay all new consoles. I could easily go another 5 years with my base PS5.

could? it's already affecting current gen pricing.

It is greed. Apple are selling at the same price, while Microsoft Surface increases 500$ per unit. Karma will tell.