When you were young, maybe even now, what was some of the first thoughts when you heard the word Carnival? Some may think roller coasters, ferris-wheels, and rigged carnival games. For me it was the a carousel. I remember all of the different things to do at the carnival, yet so many people were drawn to the carousel. I look back now and wonder why? All the carousel did was allow you to ride a magical unicorn in a circle, sometimes bouncing up and down to a pretty tune. The reason why this is a rather unconventional start to an article, is because I want you to understand the connection I'm making with Microsoft and their way of addressing the public.
Alright, onto the point. In a recent announcement by Microsoft's director of product planning, Albert Penello claims, "I'm not dismissing raw performance. I'm stating--as I have stated from the beginning--that the performance delta between the two platforms is not as great as the raw numbers lead the average consumer to believe. There are things about our system architecture not fully understood, and there are things about theirs as well, that brings the two systems into balance." Well, thank you for that enlightening message Mr. Penello. Microsoft has, from this statement, told us nothing as to why their system is better, and why I should spend the extra $100 for theirs instead of my already pre-ordered Playstation 4.
Let's take a step back so we can get a broader picture of what I'm talking about. First off, the "average consumer" as they call us, knows the raw system specs, the PS4 having much better specs when comparing the GDDR5 to DDR3, giving the PS4 a huge lead on the XBone. Now, Penello is claiming that even though the PS4 has higher specs, the systems will still even out in the long run. Now anyone that knows anything about RAM knows that GDDR5 is better than DDR3 because of the (lets call it Long Term Evolution for the time being) LTE of it's hardware, while DDR3 will stay strong and is more balanced generally. (I apologize for the quick, terrible explanation, just trying to condense this explanation for those that might not know the difference)
Now, closer to the point, (really sorry for the sudden jumps all over the place, just trying to get a point across quick) Microsoft continues to "carousel" their customers with promises of a dream console, yet they can't/won't tell us why/how it is a better console. Albert Panello dismisses the difference in the technology in the systems, but I think that Howard Stark said it best when he said, "But I'm limited to the technology of my time." This quote just goes to show, no matter how brilliant you are, unless you have the technology to back up what you've invented/designed, you cannot move forward.
Microsoft is leading everyone around in a circle, promising them that it's the console of their dreams, but not Why. When Microsoft can tell me why I should cancel my preorder for my Playstation 4 in lieu of their console, and it's legitimately better, then I will. Until then, I will continue my argument in lieu of Sony due to their complete explanations as to why their product is the better choice.
Here's my challenge to you Microsoft. I hope someone will read this. When you can give me an argument that shows the XBone is better than the PS4, then I WILL cancel my PS4 preorder, and exchange it for your XBone, also taking back all the negative arguments I have made towards your company and your console, explaining, that I was wrong. I'm waiting.
