Upcoming Consoles

[Timman_24]

This year is exciting and I can't wait to see what happens in the next few days with Sony. E3 is going to be a lot of fun to watch. I thought I would start this thread so we could discuss what we would like to see and what we are hoping doesn't happen. Feel free to constantly update the thread with articles and such you find.

Looking forward to:

Smaller and quieter consoles: TDP should be WAY down this time around compared to previous consoles. What concerns me however is that the rumors suggest a bulldozer based processor, which is very power hungry compared to alternatives. I doubt this will matter since the rumors also claim that it will only be running at ~1.6GHz, but I'd imagine it would throttle up while gaming to around 2.4Ghz or so. I'd imagine that the processors would be running at a TDP of around 50-70W if true. The FX8100 is a 2.8Ghz chip that turbos to 3.7Ghz and has a TDP of 95W, so its the closest thing to compare t0.

x86 Architecture: Using "off the shelf" processors will certainly help devs develop games faster and allow them to not waste development time chasing down one-off optimizations. This move also bodes VERY well for PC gamers who have enjoyed much higher quality ports over the last few years due to the maturity of consoles. Hopefully going x86 from the start will make this gen a very smooth transition.

Cautious about:

Digital Distro: Although Steam has grown on me quite a bit over the years, I do not have the same faith that a publicly traded company such as MS and Sony will be as reserved with their DRM and pricing. The way MS seems to be willy-nilly about how they ban people gives me pause to think that all my game purchases may be lost if they decide I'm a hacker or whatever. How strict the DRM will be is also of concern. Will I be able to play my game at a friend's house? Can I loan a game to a friend to play? I do not mind not being able to sell a game, but it makes it all the more difficult to shell out $60 when my "license" could be revoked or lost at the whim of the company.

Price: We saw games rise from $50 to $60 last generation. Are they going to try to go up on the price or will they loosen the price in response to potentially killing the used market? Will we see steam like sales or will they use digital distro to corner the market? How about the consoles? I doubt Sony will drop a $599 console again especially since they do not have a new media disk to sweeten the deal.

Peripherals: Rumor has it that MS will not allow the use of the X360 controller with the new console. Will this also extend to racing wheels and such? I love the X360 controller and do not look forward to purchasing another round of controllers. There better be a great and radical change to the existing design to justify throwing out the most beloved controller of all time.

It will be interesting over the next few months. Better start saving up.

I saw this over at Arstechnica today: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/0...ext-dualshock/



New PS4 controller with front touch screen. Looks nice.

P.S. I hope the have an option to disable all hardware lights this time around.

[Kamakazie]

Peripherals: Rumor has it that MS will not allow the use of the X360 controller with the new console. Will this also extend to racing wheels and such? I love the X360 controller and do not look forward to purchasing another round of controllers. There better be a great and radical change to the existing design to justify throwing out the most beloved controller of all time.

Rumor says that the reason for this is because they're using a different wireless method than they did with the 360. If this is true, at least that means third parties will be able to make wireless controllers for the new system. I do seriously hope that if this rumor is true, that they make some change to the controller beyond the wireless tech to make the incompatibility easier to stomach.

[dyne]

If rumors are true and MS is taking more of a set top box approach they can play in a bucket of dicks. It's disgusting to me that you pay for Live and your dash is still a slow, sluggish mesh because 75% of what's on the screen is ads pinging their servers. What am I paying for if you still get money from my eyes seeing ads? Kiss my ***. They really had no exclusives this gen that made me say "I need the MS platform" either. For me personally I'm excited about next Wednesday. I've got a lot invested in the PSN between my PS3 and Vita and Plus is such a great value so I'm hoping at least PSN libraries carry over. If their event next week is a bomb, I'll have my PC as well as one last great year of PS3 with The Last of Us, Castlevania, RE Revelations, God of War Ascension and Remember Me.

[richardginn]

So does the front touch screen add like 25 bucks to the cost of the controller. We already pay 50 bucks for the privilege to buy a new PS3 controller at a retail store.

[PowerCreep]

Seems like the biggest knee jerk so far is Gamestop stock prices dropping due to the rumor leak of the new Xbox not allowing used games to be played on a console outside of the one it was initially purchased for. In other words, no used game sales. That's not good for gamers at all. I don't typically trade with Gamestop, I'm an Amazon guy and ditch my stuff on Ebay too so on a personal level, that's not good for me either. It also means my son and I can't share a game? Just not right.

Anyway, I'm mostly impartial except that I hated the PS3 controller so much (the analog sticks) that I never played games on it and sold it off a while back. That photo doesn't inspire confidence that I will like the PS4. The 360 controller is awesome and I hope they keep a similar format for the next one. I won't purchase either console right away. Give them time to get a few good games out, work out the bugs, then I'll see which I prefer.

[Timman_24]

Gamespot hasn't exactly helped themselves. They keep making press releases attacking Microsoft which lends credibility to the rumor.

[Kung_Fu_Fighter]

Seems like the biggest knee jerk so far is Gamestop stock prices dropping due to the rumor leak of the new Xbox not allowing used games to be played on a console outside of the one it was initially purchased for. In other words, no used game sales. That's not good for gamers at all. I don't typically trade with Gamestop, I'm an Amazon guy and ditch my stuff on Ebay too so on a personal level, that's not good for me either. It also means my son and I can't share a game? Just not right.

Good grief, that's not good news if it pans out. I buy 95% of my stuff used.

[James]

Seems like the biggest knee jerk so far is Gamestop stock prices dropping due to the rumor leak of the new Xbox not allowing used games to be played on a console outside of the one it was initially purchased for. In other words, no used game sales.

That description would also mean that you couldn't play them if your console died and you had to purchase a new one. That's the Nintendo path of things, and that is wrong.

[James]

Seems like the biggest knee jerk so far is Gamestop stock prices dropping due to the rumor leak of the new Xbox not allowing used games to be played on a console outside of the one it was initially purchased for. In other words, no used game sales.

That description would also mean that you couldn't play them if your console died and you had to purchase a new one. That's the Nintendo path of things, and that is wrong.

[taggart6]

:shrug:

With the way consoles are going I'm actually leaning more toward PC gaming. Nintendo might be the exception because I'm a sucker for their exclusives.

[fastitocalon]

I don't really care either way. I will wait for the actual information to come out and then either the consoles are still worth it for me to purchase or they are not. The decision is insignificant enough for me to not put any more thought than that into it.