Nextbox infinity anticipation station

[Merusk]

As an European, I find it incredibly funny that most of the features of the Xbone don't work in Europe. Hell, even Kinect voice commands are disabled by edict.

Voice commands should also be disabled in the southern US since the fucking thing can't understand me.

No, voice commands should always be forced on in the south, just as punishment.

PUNISHMENT FOR WHAT

I was thinking today of how my grandmother would rhyme "peaches" with "britches".

My mom spent many years of my youth explaining to Northerners she needed a PIN to write with after they gave her odd looks to the request without the explanation.

[Paelos]

If people from the south would learn to speak English, everything would work better.

Go ta heyll Yankee Devil 

[Quinton]

Probably no. I'd consider it, if PC gaming worked more like console gaming.

I like the 'slouching on the couch while playing games on a huge TV' model too much.

After what everyone has presented so far maybe Valve has the right idea with the rumored steam box?

Dell x51

I wonder how noisy the next one up (with the GTX660 instead of the really low-spec GTX645) is.  Unless there are some really amazing games for PS4, I think something like this may end up being a lot more appealing to me for living room gaming.

[Rendakor]

I don't see any reason why you'd buy an XBone instead of a PS4.

Don't buy either.



Isn't it time you joined the Glorious PC Gaming Master Race?

I play everything I can on my PC, but certain game genres (like JRPGs) only come out on consoles.

[Sophismata]

Has there actually been a good JRPG in the last 4 years?

[koro]

Probably no. I'd consider it, if PC gaming worked more like console gaming.

I like the 'slouching on the couch while playing games on a huge TV' model too much.

After what everyone has presented so far maybe Valve has the right idea with the rumored steam box?

Dell x51

Somewhat off-topic, but I glanced over that X51 and something stuck out at me: 250 watt power supply. Isn't that a bit low for pretty much any system nowadays, or am I missing something?

[Trippy]

Yes it is. A Digital Storm Bolt or a Falcon Northwest Tiki are better choices.

[Kageru]

A lot of the PC components have much lower power requirements these days. And if it has few drives or an SSD, mid range graphics card and chip (or SOC) 250 is possibly enough. Though dell do have a bit of a reputation for being parsimonious.

There are pretty much only two things a console can do that a PC can't be made to do. Be very cheap due to single-spec integrated design and economies of scale (which is what steam box is aiming at) and run platform exclusives. And if most of the JRPG's are going to come out on the PS4, and it's basically a PC, there's a better chance than before of getting a PC port.

[Sophismata]

There are pretty much only two things a console can do that a PC can't be made to do. Be very cheap due to single-spec integrated design and economies of scale (which is what steam box is aiming at) and run platform exclusives. And if most of the JRPG's are going to come out on the PS4, and it's basically a PC, there's a better chance than before of getting a PC port.

Three things, the third is "just work" without having to install drivers or muck around in the BIOS :)

[Kageru]

That's basically a side effect of having a single and stable spec and being conservative with vetting new drivers. It's not like these things won't be running similar drivers to PC's.

If you bought the alien-ware you'd probably get about the same reliability, though I don't like them much... I like being able to spec my own and upgrade bits when I want.

[Quinton]

The "just work" part has become less of an issue in recent years.  My gaming PC running Win7 + Steam + NVIDIA drivers pretty much just works.  As did the previous iteration using WinXP + Steam + NVIDIA drivers.  Nowadays the update process for my PS3 is usually more annoying than for my PC -- and definitely slower and involves more reboots.  I can leave my PC suspended and it wakes up in a second, gets on the network in another couple seconds and I can play games.  The PS3 is not terribly fast to boot and the update process is slow and clunky.

I haven't bought a PC game on physical media for years, and Steam beats the pants off of PSN store for painless install and play.  And I can log into my steam account on a PC at a friend's place and play any game I own completely painlessly.  The diversity of small shop and indie titles for PC just keeps growing.  None of the major console vendors have figured out how to be anywhere nearly as open as Steam (which is not perfect), and of course on a PC I can install games directly from a developer's website if their stuff isn't on Steam.

Really the only likely draw of a PS4 would be if there were some exclusive titles that were really compelling.  I found this to be less true of PS3 than PS2 and wonder if PS4 might finally be the Sony console I don't bother buying.  There's never been an xbox-centric title sufficiently interesting for me to buy any generation of xbox so far, and the last Nintendo console I owned was the Gamecube and I only played 3-4 games on that thing.

[jakonovski]

Has there actually been a good JRPG in the last 4 years?

Only on iOS/Android.

[Velorath]

The "just work" part has become less of an issue in recent years.  My gaming PC running Win7 + Steam + NVIDIA drivers pretty much just works.  As did the previous iteration using WinXP + Steam + NVIDIA drivers.  Nowadays the update process for my PS3 is usually more annoying than for my PC -- and definitely slower and involves more reboots.  I can leave my PC suspended and it wakes up in a second, gets on the network in another couple seconds and I can play games.  The PS3 is not terribly fast to boot and the update process is slow and clunky.

Pretty much. I haven't had mess with drivers much in the past few years. I haven't had to mess with BIOS since I built this computer. Meanwhile with my "just working" consoles, I've had a PS3 and a 360 outright die. I was trying to watch Arrested Development on Netflix on my PS3 the other night and PSN was disconnecting every 10 minutes. Meanwhile on my computer and iphone it was working fine. And lets not forget that 24 day PSN outage a couple years back. You've got long installations and day 1 patches just like on the PC. My dad and my sister have both had 360's brick in the middle of updates that required looking up extremely non-intuitive steps to fix. It's been a long time now since this shit "just worked".

[Rendakor]

Has there actually been a good JRPG in the last 4 years?

Tales of Graces and Xenoblade just from last year. I'm also enough of a weeaboo that I can get a lot of fun out of a mediocre JRPG. YMMV.

Only on iOS/Android.

What good JRPGs are there for Android? I need things to play on my tablet.

[jakonovski]

Chaos Rings series, Zenonia series, Chrono Trigger and various Final Fantasy remakes. There's also some The World Ends With You thing.

On the non-jrpg front you should get Waking Mars. It's like whoah.

[Sky]

Probably no. I'd consider it, if PC gaming worked more like console gaming.

I like the 'slouching on the couch while playing games on a huge TV' model too much.

Since 2003, bitch.

As far as the south's dialects: I'm the only family member north of the Mason-Dixon that can understand my Aunt Hazel from Mississippi. Her accent is so awesome, but I feel bad for people without an ear for it. Sometimes I annoy my mother by calling her and talking like Aunt Hazel (SHE'S LOUD, TOO). She makes great pickles. Her mom never wore shoes.

Oh, the XBone. Besides rabid fanboys, the clueless masses will also probably buy it in droves. As much as it needs to fail, it's doubtful it will. Tough to turn a battleship.

[Paelos]

Mentioned this to my boss, who's kid owns consoles. His comment about the XBone?

"Sounds like it's cool. I've only heard good things from the people that know about this stuff."

 

So yeah, this will set sales records.

[Pennilenko]

I am fucking disappointing in humans. I take an entry level pc essentials style class that I can't test out of on Wednesday nights. There is 20 people in the class not including me. Every single one of them including an aging IT instructor were going apeshit over wanting an XBoxone right now. Every single one of them is going to be waiting in line to purchase them as soon as they drop. I was fucking disgusted.

[jakonovski]

XBone will win in America because it's basically the Console of America. But like I said before it's astonishingly useless elsewhere, IMO almost ensuring Sony victory.

[Cyrrex]

But....I don't get it.  What is it about the thing that they just have to have?  

My prediction (and honestly, it depends a huge amount on what Sony ultimately ends up putting out there) is that it will have massive initial adoption, because apparently there are just gazillions of idiots out there...and then a nosedive unlike anything we have ever seen in the console market.  Once people realize how much of a giant cockstab this whole thing is.

[Paelos]

No shit, the shit they talked about in the presentation excited them. They liked the idea of the box acting as your cable box and controlling the TV.

[Cyrrex]

No shit, the shit they talked about in the presentation excited them. They liked the idea of the box acting as your cable box and controlling the TV.

I just struggle to imagine a scenario where someone would routinely do that.  You will already have a machine in your living room that does a far better job at controlling the TV without any silly extra costs, dongles or anything else...plus with the ability to record. 

Maybe I am getting too old for this shit, but I can't help but believe that the only thing the market really wants is a kick ass next generation gaming machine at the end of the day.  Some of the bells and whistles are fine (e.g. Netflix and similar), but we're well beyond the line here.  I am really hoping Sony eats their lunch. 

[Sophismata]

Has there actually been a good JRPG in the last 4 years?

Tales of Graces and Xenoblade just from last year. I'm also enough of a weeaboo that I can get a lot of fun out of a mediocre JRPG. YMMV.

I used to love all of them, but then something broke inside me and now I find fault with everything :(

[Paelos]

I think people who buy the Xbone will be sorry they bought one. I'd want to get numbers on the returns policy for the system, or what the sales number look like 3 months post-release.

[Rasix]

Has there actually been a good JRPG in the last 4 years?

Only on iOS/Android.

<derail>
I wouldn't consider any of them I've played on IOS good (outside of already released games like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Cthulu Saves the World, etc). That Zenonia crap is particularly awful.  Any you recommend?

edit: Ohh, you answered this.  Looks like the only unique game that I haven't tried is Chaos Rings.  The FF ports and other Square releases are usually fine, but their pricing is fucking crazy. I can deal with a $9 IOS game, but $16 crosses a line I'm unwilling to cross at the moment.

[jakonovski]

What I'd actually recommend are completely different games. Waking Mars and Dark Meadow are the two best things I've played lately. Can't wait to try Horn.

[KallDrexx]

Let's be honest, what would the console have to have to get people excited? 

I'm really not sure of what hardcore gaming features that a modern console can have that really would have blown people away. 

[01101010]

Let's be honest, what would the console have to have to get people excited? 

I'm really not sure of what hardcore gaming features that a modern console can have that really would have blown people away. 

The words: NEXT GEN.

[KallDrexx]

Those words have no meaning.  We are already very nearing the limit of what graphics you can have for a reasonably budgeted game.  So what would be considered next gen other than graphical capabilities that most games can't afford to take advantage of.

[jakonovski]

One thing that popped to my mind is, what happens if all the stuff about no used games and subsidized consoles is true. That's a shitload more running expenses just to play the same games you used to before. Like 100% more. That will reflect in sales numbers. And that's not even taking into account the possibility of a price hike to $70 or whatever.

[01101010]

Those words have no meaning.  We are already very nearing the limit of what graphics you can have for a reasonably budgeted game.  So what would be considered next gen other than graphical capabilities that most games can't afford to take advantage of.

Like I said before, the target audience doesn't care about that. It is about having the Next Gen console to play with and tell their friends about. It is next gen - that label, those words... that is all they care about now, not the meaning behind it.

[apocrypha]

Here's an article about a study trying to predict what could happen to the games market if used game sales were eliminated completely, based on research in Japan. The study authors suggest that without anything else changing, removing used game sales from the market would lead to a 10% drop in profit per game sold. If new game prices were reduced by about 1/3rd at the same time then they predict that profit per game sold would increase by 19%.

As the Wired article says, the reality is likely to be somewhere in-between those two options, and I seriously doubt anyone is likely to reduce new game prices. I suspect the myth that every used game sale equals a lost new game sale will dominate the marketing minds and the resulting decrease in sales will be blamed on piracy or bad weather or wizards or something.

[HaemishM]

The target audience WILL care about all the things like no used games and shit when they have to buy every single game for $70 and those games aren't a significant upgrade from the shit they were playing this gen. This console is one huge stinking shitpile of fail waiting to happen. God help Microsoft if they have manufacturing issues like they did with the initial run of 360's.

[01101010]

The target audience WILL care about all the things like no used games and shit when they have to buy every single game for $70 and those games aren't a significant upgrade from the shit they were playing this gen. This console is one huge stinking shitpile of fail waiting to happen. God help Microsoft if they have manufacturing issues like they did with the initial run of 360's.

They'll find excuses. My G+ "friend" is handwaving away every criticism of the console as PC gamers hating on the next gen consoles. If a shortcoming is pointed out, he simply links some Microsoft shill or some 'hands-on' article to make his counter argument. This is how they operate...

[Merusk]

Denial doesn't translate in to dollars, nor do fanboys and haters convince the consumer market about a purchase.

If they did, then the Wii would have been the WORST selling console of the last gen, not the best.

Let the fanboys and haters have their circle-jerks and live in the real world. Trying to discuss with either is only worth doing if you happen to like having arguments that will never resolve.