Why Playstation 4 Won the Console War

   Watching Microsoft reveal the latest news on the Xbox One, I was impressed with many of the new titles that the console was being launched with and was proven wrong from a previous article I wrote about Xbox One being released with primarily Kinect games. The reality is that there are some pretty interesting games that are being released with Xbox, along with the promise of a new installment in the Halo series by 343 Studios and Bunjie. However, as the conference continued, Microsoft managers continued to prattle on about how Xbox would be the next big thing in home entertainment, making numerous reiterations on the "TV" functionality of the console. Like I said in my previous post, the Xbox and Playstation consoles should be tailored towards the hardcore gamer types and emphasis should be made on games.

   Well, for a long time we've argued, Sony fanboy vs. Microsoft fanboy, but Microsoft concluding that Xbox One will still have its' "Always Online" feature along with the restrictions on trading and lending of used games, topping it off with a $499 base model launch price paved the golden road for Sony to take race and end the first day of E3 with Microsoft trailing in the dirt behind them. The polls don't lie as IGN's latest poll stats (3:55pm-6/11/13) state that according to everyone, not only fanboys (though there still are some holding on for dear life to Microsoft's next console) that Sony won this generation of consoles. Sony currently presiding at 1st with 82.54% of the votes, Microsoft in 2nd with 12.44% of the votes and the Wii U in 3rd with 5.02% of the votes. If you won't take it from me, at least take it from the rest of the voters.

   The Sony conference event shining moments, that literally had fans in a standing ovation (usually standing ovations only exist during game announcements like with the announcement of the continuation of the Star Wars: Battlefront franchise by DICE) chanting "Sony! Sony! Sony!" consisted of when Jack Tretton (President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America)claimed that the PS4 would not have any Used Game restrictions. This news continued into Jack stating that there would be no required online connection to play them, nor would it require a periodical "check-in" online to continue playing them, furthermore, the games would not quit working if you don't authenticate them within 24 hours, this all leading to even louder cheers and applause. The end of the Sony conference had Andrew House coming out and speaking some final parting words, ending with the Playstation 4 base model launch cost being $399, $100 less than it's Microsoft counterpart, leading to the loudest applause heard from any E3 footage shot so far.

  Unfortunately there was a bit of bad news for the hardcore gamers on Sony's side. Though all these exciting new features are here, to be able to play games online with friends or other members of the playstation community, you will be required to purchase a Playstation Plus membership. Now before you get upset, lets look over the Pros and Cons of this.

   One of the first things you get upset with is the fact that you will have to pay to play online now, however, you've got to understand that the cost is less than $5 a month, rivaling the Xbox Live membership fee of around $8 a month. And of course you know there will be special deals like a percentage off for paying for a larger amount of membership at a time. So considering that, I think that this will be beneficial already, without the other benefits. What are these benefits? Lets check them out:

• Discounted Games (This was already a big thing for the PSPlus before, and now that PSPlus is being expanded so that even brand new games are being released for download on the day they come out in retail, this is an awesome change. Though I wonder about how much this will effect middle parties such as GameStop)
• Cloud Saves (Another feature that was introduced previously in PSPlus. Cloud saves will allow you to save your progress in a game from your console at home, then continue your game on another PS console at grandma's house or college or a friends house even.)
• Automatic Game Updates (One of the other amazing features previously introduced. This feature will force your PS console to turn itself on at a time set by you so that it will look at all games that you have installed on your console, (Game Data) and update it, so when you wake up or get back from work or class, your PS will be ready to go and play your games without having to install new updates before you play.)
• Early Access to Beta Programs (Speaks for itself, haha!)
• Instant Game Collection (This is a newer feature that Sony implemented that allows users to download certain games during a time period that may have been out for a while or even some new popular games that Plus users will get for free! Also, Sony confirmed that PS4 launch users will gain access to a free copy of DriveClub  PSPlus Edition($60 value) immediately for free.

   One of the other cool features that Andrew House spoke of next is of Sony's partnership with Gaikai cloud service. He explained that they will be beginning a new service called All Access, where PS4/PS3 (and soon after Vita users) would be able to stream a large library of popular PS3 games. So even though the PS4 will not be backwards compatible, as long as your game data is saved (I guess Via Cloud saves) you will be able to continue playing your game without having to re-progress through what you've already completed.

   Thanks for reading! Check back for more E3 info, or post about what your want me to write about!
Thanks Again!

E3 - Xbox One or PS4?

Alright, so today has a huge important topic. Xbox One Conference vs. the Playstation 4.

Based on the conferences today, the PS4 took a massive dump on Microsoft. The Sony conference started blandly with a few titles launching for the PS3 that was personally scared for what may come. After this, everything took the cake as they announced several features that I will outline in a graph below. During the Sony conference, there were 3 moments that literally had the audience on their feet chanting "Sony, Sony, Sony!" or "OOH, OOH, OOH, OOH, OOH!" and clapping, even laughin hysterically. These three moments were when it was announced that Sony would not have Required Online Restriction to the games you play on their console, Used Games not being Restricted, and the moment at the end where Sony announced the $100 cheaper price than their Microsoft counterpart, the Xbox One. There will be more information I will post in the graph soon, bear with me! :)

Edit: Sony has confirmed that the base model of the Playstation 4 will ship with a 500GB hard drive, with the possibility of other models for the release. This keeps them one step ahead of Microsoft.

	Xbox One	Playstation 4
System Launch Cost	$499	$399
Backwards Compatibility	No	No
Cross Game Chat	Yes	Yes
Online Connection Required	Yes	No
Live Streaming	No	Yes
Used Game Payment	Yes	No
Cloud Storage	Yes	Yes
Required Game Install	Yes	No
Game Recording	Yes	Yes
Storage Amount	500gb	(None Announced)
Optical Drive	Blu-Ray	Blu-Ray
CPU Chip	8 Core Custom	AMD 8 Core
RAM	8GB DDR3	8GB GDDR5
Motion Control	Kinect 2	PS4 Eye/Dualshock 4
Voice Command	Yes	No
USB Ports	USB 3.0	USB 3.0
Subscription	Xbox Live	PS Plus
External Screen Control	SmartGlass(Optional)	Vita(Optional)
AV Jacks	HDMI + Optical	HDMI + Optical
Bluetooth Capability	No	Bluetooth 2.1

Watch Dogs Upcoming New Franchise

     Alright, so it's been a few days since I last posted, I promise that I'll get on a schedule soon and hopefully start posting a new article each day, but for now while I'm getting ready to head back up to college I will be constrained for time.

     Anyhow! Today's talk is about upcoming releases of an exciting new franchise. Sorry if you want to hear about the new Call of Duty: Ghosts or Battlefield 4, I'll be sure to cover that really soon. One of the games that I personally am really excited for is the release of Watch Dogs. The developers at Ubisoft took such a simple concept idea from popular topics of today and turned it into a game. The controversial topic that I'm talking about is the idea that EVERYONE's personal information (i.e: their blood type, cell phone number, address, bank account info, etc) is stored on a central computer that keeps it for the government to reference if they find the need to, and that this super computer can control everything that goes on in it's "Zone." By controlling everything, I mean controlling which way security cameras face or whether they're working or not, changing the traffic lights from green to red or vice-versa, even something like making a public transportation vehicle (like a train or subway) brake or speed up. This concept of having "Big Brother" "watching out for us" or in others opinions "controlling us" is a major controversy just like gun laws because there's always two opinions on it with numerous reasons and arguments backing them. Although it is a major topic, Ubisoft made it into a game, portraying a man by the name of Aiden Pearce who was able to procure a particular smartphone that allows him to control this central computer, giving him unlimited access to do whatever he wants in the city, ultimately using this "power" to become a masked vigilante. (not your normal superhero eh?) In a game-play video that was released recently, the game shows many aspects of Aiden's power over the city while it shows him just looking at different people and being able to pull up several personal facts about the citizens; things like their job, what their chance of being a victim of a crime is, even their bank pin and accounts.  At the beginning of the video, Aiden walks to a convenience store and spots a wealthy looking man talking on his phone, using his phone, he "downloads" the mans bank pin and heads to the nearest ATM, withdrawing a hefty sum of money from the man's account before moving on. Other parts of the video portray him free-running and using parkour-like moves to move around obstacles, also showing him overloading a fuse-box to catch a criminal. More information is apparently coming soon and I can't wait to see it.
     If you have another game you want me to check out and write an article about, be sure to post in the comments. I'll post a video of the game-play trailer for you to see exactly what I was talking about if you want. Thanks for reading!

Click Here for Game-play Video

Microsoft Disappoints Expectations at Xbox One Reveal

Before getting into my arguments, I'd like to say that I personally own both Sony and Microsoft products (both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles) and though I do prefer Sony's console, I am speaking not as a fan boy, but as a viewer of both of the recent events. I will be making claims based on the information revealed and information that has yet to be revealed.

   My thoughts as I woke up this morning were of excitement as I waited anxiously for the Xbox reveal to begin. (Just the same as when the PS4 was revealed) As the video began playing revealing the XboxOne's new sleek box-styled case, I couldn't help but cock my eyebrows a bit and my grin faded. I wasn't expecting the plain rectangular case that stretched across my computer monitor. As the camera rotated around it, further showing off the disappointing case style that wasn't nearly as impressive as the Xbox360's case, (or even the original Xbox for that matter) my once jittery hands fell still. I continued watching, waiting to see the new controller and what I found to be a new model of the Kinect. As the trailer continued rolling and revealed the Kinect 2. My faded grin turned into a slight scowl and I squinted as I looked at the plain box-styled device that would be the Kinect 2. Thinking back and looking at the design to the new system case, I thought further about it, coming to the conclusion that it looked like a bulky DVD player, not an awesome show-off-my-console-to-my-friends feel.

   So the case for the new Xbox One console didn't catch my attention so well, whatever. After that, of course they revealed "IntelligentTV" which was a cool feature, though they didn't say how it would tie into cable users other than Comcast, like VerizonFiOS or Timewarner cable. This worries me that the only way I'll be able to use these new features is by buying a new service through my Xbox, or by purchasing VOD from the Xbox Live Marketplace. The new features included brand new voice commands and motion commands that let you interact with the Xbox, without using a controller or remote. Freaking AWESOME! But again, how usable will that be by me? "SnapClip" was one of my favorite features. Allowing you to do two things at once, like surf the web while watching a movie or tv. Something I've always hoped I could do on my tv. No worries with this feature, I know I'll definitely use it, though maybe not really often.

   Ok, so due to my desire to keep this article short, I want to get to the point.
The first disappointing thing in the video, that has become a widely popular argument that has been going around forums and popular articles on game reporting sites like IGN or GameSpot has been the statement that was made in reveal event claiming that Microsoft Studios would release 15 Xbox exclusive titles in the first year of the Xbox One's release. This would be great, a lot of games that you could only get on Xbox, fantastic. But the reality, is that many of these games that have been released by Microsoft Studios recently, have been, for the majority, made for the Kinect. Because most gamers (like myself) who buy the Xbox or Playstation are hardcore gamers, we don't play games like Kinect Sports or Kinect Adventures, even games like Dance Central very often. These games are leisure games for the casual gamer or for family gaming. These games were meant for the Wii and Wii U. Not the hardcore gaming consoles that they are being wired for. The XboxOne and Playstation4 both have high system specs, boasting 8GB of RAM and other properties that are making them more and more similar to PC's. (Though they have their own operating system, I know, please don't attack me on this, it's a mute point in this article.) They were made to be amazingly detailed and intense action scenes and game-play. Games like Kinect Adventures are fun every now and then, bu they don't need the 8GB of RAM to run, nor should any part of those 8gigs be wasted on the casual game. Cool, you get 15 exclusive titles, but how many of these will be worth buying and be played repeatedly by your biggest sources of revenue?

   Something else that I read about, was an article where Xbox's UK marketing director, Harvey Eagle, said "the console will not function without Kinect connected." This begs me to question whether this will be remedied in months to come, or will it always be about the Kinect? Why is Microsoft pushing it, so that it's required to have a Kinect. Friends of mine that have 360's are Call of Duty and Battlefield players. They don't even have Kinects. From my understanding, Microsoft is forcing them to pay for something that they don't even want to use, or keep up with. Because you know that the Kinect 2 isn't just coming with the XboxOne's cost; it HAS to be included in the cost of the full machine. It sounds as though it'll be just as important to have the Kinect 2 attachment as it would be to have the power cable, cause apparently, the console won't function without either of them...

   My biggest concern with Microsoft is that they are ruining their own name as a major gaming console. They have awesome features, yes, I agree completely. But they are turning a GAMING CONSOLE into a "Social-Entertainment Console." By this I mean they are trying to keep it being updated with features that many people like: Skype, Multitasking, (Lazy)Entertainment Control; and they're starting to move away from what is important. For the sake of reference to one of my favorite low-budget movies "Video Game High School," the dean of the school says it all too well when he says, "It's all about the Game." Unfortunately the XboxOne is moving away from this; and to me, it seems like it's changing to become a new type of console. If they want to continue having a strong console, I recommend they split the features into two devices. One will be the Xbox: the gaming console, what it was invented to be. The other, will be a new console, something I would like to coin as "XboxSEC" = Xbox: Social & Entertainment Console.


 

    Feel free to comment on my article on your own views of what it is or with any sort of suggestion. I can't promise a response quick or at all, but I'll do my best. Thanks for reading! ^_^