A lot of things from Microsoft's side pleases me. A lot of the games presented looked beautiful and exciting (Ryse, Halo and holy crap Titanfall). The features such as family live sharing seems perfect for families both small and large and of course with family restriction you can give time limits to the kiddos and what not.
Now that's all well and good but anyone that knows me knows about my frugality and in the long run I think Sony will end up saving me money while providing a great gaming experience.
First off Sony's starting price $399.99. That's starting off with the same memory as Xbox One while removing what to me feels like a tacked on device for them to force Kinect features on Xbox games and apps (Kinect). With that extra hundred dollars I could either get me an extra controller/game or just subscribe to PS+ (Which would give me a free PlayStation 4 game on launch) with some money to spare
If that third rumored sku is a bundle that comes with a Vita and PlayStation Eye I would put down on that. Before the hypocrisy word is thrown out let me explain. The Vita to me is a mesh of the Wii u controller and smartglass. Yes its its own system but I look at it more as a console extension of the PS3/PS4 than a Vita console. With Sony calling for mandatory remote play for PS4 games that means my wife can watch her TV as I play PS4 games on my Vita anywhere in my house (Which to ME trumps the whole "Watch TV and Play games at the same time" feature with Xbox one) and with Gaikai as someone who hasn't really put down a lot on PS3 games it's a nice extension for me to play PS3 games anywhere so long as I have a Wi-Fi connection (work). If in fact they do come out with a bundle for the Vita and PS4 with their track record of cross buy features (Buy it for PS4 get it free on Vita) even sweetens the deal even more for me to play my games on the go (Here's looking at you The Show) The Playstation Eye will be used for the reason I had Kinect and what will happen if I buy the Xbox One that has its upgraded Kinect = Family/Baby Sitting distraction. That is it.
Smartglass seems like its on the up and up but there are a lot of misinterpretations on what was shown on the floor that people assumed was smartglass. Commander mode on Battlefield 4? That's Battlelog not Smartglass. We've seen third party games like Battlefield and Call of Duty have their own apps to make sure that no mater what console you were playing you had the same experience and I highly doubt that they will cause an uproar by making a feature that was so well loved in Battlefield 2 be tied to one console. Another example: The Crew. Ubisoft also explained that they will have their own second screen experience but never explained how. To me that's them trying to come up with an upgraded uPlay app that will work across the board with all consoles. But then that leaves Smartglass. Microsoft exclusives will still have smartglass for extra features right?? Well in the last conference Sony announced their own second screen app that does chat/buy content/view up loaded videos and have second screen capailities such as maps, stats etc just like smartglass. Will it be available at launch? Probably not. But it will be there.
The one aspect that Microsoft has over Sony is the limitless cloud gaming feature. I see that as a great and huge potential especially to open world type of gaming and game AI that would cause a huge difference between each systems EXCLUSIVE games not third party. Again when it comes to third party games I highly doubt that they would create such a big of a difference to alienate one console over the other due to each systems profitability. Perhaps using it to add content in an easier fashion? Yes. But honestly I don't see Call Of Duty or Battlefield making a large difference between the two consoles other than "DLC will arrive on X console first" which is all moot because how many map packs have been downloaded and we still end up playing on Hijacked (Ship level) 4 times in a row on Black Ops 2 as soon as the DLC is downloaded.
So in the end what does it come down to me? Games and Services. Xbox Live is Xbox Live. I already know how it rolls since I've been using it for the past what 6 years and with the family feature for up to 10 people that seems ridiculously awesome but there's only one issue: The only person going to use it for competitive multiplayer is me! As much as I love my wife the main reason she used live was for Netflix, Online Rock Band (and track packs) and Splinter Cell DLC. Other than that I'm the one using online multiplayer. In that case I might as well go with the 49.99 option of PlayStation Plus which will give me access to that as well as Netflix and any other streaming service. If she wants to play a PS4 game pop in the disc that I bought for cheap. Single player exclusive games I don't buy on jump because one: Why? lmao two: it's most likely going to end up discounted or plain free on PlayStation Plus.
So in weighing the options in the long run I believe that Sony will allow me to play with less money coming out of my pocket with their track record of deals and free games while under PlayStation Plus and with the potential that they got in Game Sharing/Screen Sharing on the Vita while still providing next gen games I want to play , and buying exclusives from their established franchises without shelling out too much money. I'll miss out on playing Halo and Titanfall but with the recent bitterness that Halo left I'm not feeling like I'll be missing it that much and believed I played it in its highest moments before its marginalization. Gears? I traded the last one a week after I bought it and that's after giving it a chance by going through single player multiple times and playing online with everyone literally quitting matches and single player walkthroughs.
Will I end up buying an Xbox One? Probably after a few price drops but for now...
PSN: Papito208
