Why I Chose PS4 Over The Xbox One!

Big news around the Sony Playstation 4, So what is all the hype about ? Well let me break it down on what was revealed about the PS4 at the E3 show in L.A. As well as a little bit about the Xbox One.


 One of the big things is the Price for the PS4 which is $399 a whole $100 less than the Xbox One. Now why is this important to note ? Well that is because the PS4 offers a lot more than what the Xbox one does, well maybe, the Xbox One offers more than the PS4 does, but it offers something that we don't want. Let me explain.

First off there is some details stating that the Xbox One Console requires a Internet connection in order operate, this is false, However is does need to connect to Microsoft servers every 24 hours. So in a way it would be a pain having to connect to the internet everyday. Another bothersome feature is, say I go to a friends house and play his Xbox one but I am in my profile in order to do this Microsoft requires you to check in every hour, which I have to say is ridiculous. Now if you miss a check in you will only be allowed to watch Tv shows or play DVD's, no gameplay will be allowed until you check in again with home base.

Also to note is that in order to play games you will have to have internet connection throughout the gameplay unless 24 hours is all you  need, which is insane.

That is not the only ridiculous feature they added, one of the most troublesome add in is the inability to sell your games to a friend or even ebay. They set up where you can only sell a game to participating retailer, again ridiculous. You are however able to lend a game to a friend, then again Microsoft
adds another bogus
requirement which is games can be given only once and the person you give it to has to be on your friends list longer than 30 days. I truly think Microsoft is going to bring a lot of heat towards themselves from all gamers.

So that is what Xbox one is doing which is completely and incredible stupid, Now onto the PlayStation 4 whose hardware is mostly the same as the Xbox One. Some specs listed below for the PS4.

•  An eight -core X86 AMD Jaguar CPU
• 1084-teraflop AMD Radeon graphics engine (with "18 compute units")
• 8GB of GDDR5 memory
• 500GB Hard drive
• Blu-ray drive
• 3 USB 3.0 ports
• 802.11 b/g//n WiFi
• Ethernet, HDMI Bluetooth 2.1, optical audio and analog AV out

Now I know what your going to say, which is, Wow they copied Xbox One well I can tell you this the hardware may be similar but the Playstation 4 has the Total package minus the Xbox one's restrictions.

Meet the Ultimate Entertainment Centre: Xbox One

The long awaited Xbox One has finally arrived, albeit its not called the Xbox 720 like many people thought, for a very long time. Either way, its finally here, and its actually a lot like what the FTI team predicted a few months back, saying that the future in the living room could be an all around device, and from what Microsoft unveiled on the 21st of May, that turned out to be very true.

Always On DRM?

We all know that Microsoft is getting ready to unveil some more information about their next entry into the world of gaming very soon. The next Xbox, which carries the codename “Durango” is going to be coming down the pipes within the next few months, so naturally the press conferences will be popping up shortly. There has been a lot of drama lately about the potential that the next console would require an “always-on” internet connection in order to play games, and what the consequences might be for Microsoft for launching such a console – personally I’ve got my own opinions on the matter, here’s what I think.

The biggest issue here, isn’t the concept of some sort of “always-on” DRM itself – that sort of thing is becoming the norm in the world of PC gaming already, and as long as piracy continues to grow we’re going to begin seeing more and more techniques not unlike this one designed to prevent pirates from gaining illicit access to games. The biggest problem here is the simple fact that an Xbox is not a computer in the traditional sense. On a PC it’s a little bit safer to assume that the user is going to have access to the internet available – and the ones that don’t simply won’t buy the game – those people have a computer for other reasons as it is, whether that’s work or school, or whatever. When we’re talking about a new video game console the situation becomes a little different. We can’t make the assumption that just because somebody is interested in a video game console, that they have an internet connection at home – and if they’re not gaming on their console, it’s probably not doing much else.

The biggest issue here might not even be the concept of Microsoft requiring an internet connection in order to use the console – it might be Sony NOT requiring an internet connection to use the console. We all know the Wii U from Nintendo doesn’t have this requirement, and we have heard rumblings from the Sony camp that suggest they have been swayed from the concept of using some sort of technologically prohibitive DRM in their next console, the PlayStation 4. If Microsoft does decide to make the jump into this world of always-on connectivity they’re going to be giving Sony and Nintendo a HUGE edge in the market over the next few years. If companies want to force major changes on the market they really need to commit to the changes, and in an oligarchical market like that of home video game consoles the major players need to be in on the idea together. Without being forced to make a change most consumers won’t do it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, people hate change.

My final concern about some sort of always on functionality is consumer awareness. How exactly do you demonstrate to a consumer before purchasing your hardware that they are going to need an internet connection in order to make use of the device? Personally, I couldn’t count how many USB A to B cables (printer cables) I sell at work to people who didn’t read the fine print on the box “USB cable sold separately” – and something like an always-on internet connection is certainly not an item someone can walk to the corner store to pick up for a few bucks. It’s something that’s going to force somebody to return the console to the store for a refund forcing a lost sale on Microsoft.

If you want my opinion, I don’t think we’re going to see this kind of requirement in the next Xbox. Not unless Microsoft can convince Sony to sign on with them anyway – it would simply bar too many potential consumers from the market. Maybe in the next console generation, whatever it may bring, we will have a large enough portion of our population online that this kind of DRM will make a little more sense, but right now you would be shrinking your consumer base, which is something most people would consider bad for business. Do you agree with me? Disagree? Let me know in the comments, connect with me on Twitter at @CallChrisNow, or send me an e-mail at chris@chriscall.me – I’d love to have a discussion about the topic!