Next Gen Consoles - Don't Get One

 As some of you may have heard, there are brand-new consoles out there for us to spend our money on. Recently released where both the Xbox One, colloquially named the “X-bone,” and the PlayStation 4, called the PS4.  Since both consoles were released this past November, we’ve had plenty of time to take a look at which is better. However, I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t buy a next-gen console, at least not yet. Let’s start by talking about the consoles themselves. Since the systems have similar hardware stats, let’s focus on the differences.

The Consoles

 Both systems hardware capabilities include Blu-Ray players (FINALLY, XBOX!), game DVR, 8GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive space, 8 core processors, cloud storage, play while downloading, remote download, multiple account access, no required internet connection, no used game fee,  and no digital game sharing.

Features that both systems offer are almost identical as well: no backwards compatibility (this is a big deal so I’ll emphasize it), there is no backwards compatibility. They do offer game chat, rechargeable wireless controllers, motion sensing controllers, voice commands, online subscription services, USB ports, Live streaming, Web browsing/connection, HDMI output, and neither unit is regionally locked. For the majority of gamers, these are the things that matter.

Most of the online features between the two consoles are different. However, there is one thing that they both share: online play must be done through subscribing to their online networks, PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold.

Let’s talk about differences (edited list from IGN):

Feature	PS4	Xbox One
Price	$400	$500
Game DVR	Yes, PS+ subscription not required	Yes, XBL subscription Required
RAM	DDR5	DDR3
GPU	AMD Radeon – 1152 Shaders	AMD  Radeon – 768 Shaders
Peak GPU Shader Throughput	1.84 TeraFLOPS/s	1.31 TeraFLOPS/s
External Storage	None	Yes, USB
Removable Hard Drive	Yes	No
Mandatory Game Installs	No	Yes
USB 3.0	2 Ports	3 Ports
A/V	HDMI Output	HDMI Input/Output
IR	No	IR Out
Power Supply	Internal	Power Brick

Online Apps and Features:

Feature	PS4	Xbox One
Netflix	Free App	XBL Gold Required
Amazon Instant Video	Free App	XBL Gold Required
Redbox Instant	Free App	XBL Gold Required
Hulu Plus	Free App	XBL Gold Required
Twitch	Free App	XBL Gold Required
CrunchyRoll	Free App	No
Skype	Possible	XBL Gold Required
Game DVR	Free App	XBL Gold Required
Streaming Game Video	Free App	Via Twitch App
IGN App	Free App	No
Web Browser	Yes	IE
ESPN	No	XBL Gold Required
NFL App	No	XBL Gold Required

Look at all that! When you break it down, it’s hard to choose which console to buy. The features are pretty comparable… what one has, the other doesn’t. One might have better games, but worse gamers; the other might have better online features but require you to pay for it. It’s all difficult enough to choose which to buy… in the end, I don’t think you should buy either of them.

That’s right, don’t buy either of them, and here’s why:

Backwards Compatibility

As I’ve already mentioned above, neither station is featuring backwards compatibility. This probably won’t hold true forever, as it didn’t with their predecessors, but for now, this is not a reason for you to buy this console. When my friend’s little brother told me he spent his X-mas money on an XBone because his old 360 was “dying” I laughed and said “Bad reason, since you can’t play your games on the new console.” Why he even tried to convince me of that is a strange thing in itself… but whatever. If he’d simply said “because I wanted it” I would have been more okay with his decision.

Ultimately, we want to be able to play our game libraries on our new consoles and get new life out of the games. For now, however, we’re stuck playing both consoles… for people with other responsibilities than gaming, this can make life difficult.

Console companies usually offer a feature to digitally play previous games which takes both hard drive space and emulation software. Since someone is building these programs, that usually means you have to pay for it. How many of you like to buy your games twice? As I said, this is not a good reason to buy a next-gen console, so don’t do it.

Hardware Issues

On launch, Xbox 360 featured as much as a 30% failure rate. One article states that as many as 68 out of 100 consoles coming out of manufacturing were nonfunctional. For the PlayStation 3, this article shows failure rate was much less, about 10%, which is still more risky than I want to deal with. What this tells me pretty clearly is that all the hardware kinks won’t get worked out for the first couple of years. I hope that these companies have a better plan going into this generation of consoles but I wouldn’t expect it. Any one of you that has worked for a corporation can tell me how forward-thinking they are… and it’s not very much. Really… why buy this console now?

Cost

On launch, game consoles are EXPENSIVE. I’m not saying that consoles are more expensive now than they used to be, since that’s not true, for the most part. Most consoles that have gained wide popularity have hovered around the $400 mark, with the exception of the Wii and the Gamecube, both cheaper options than the hard-hitters these days. Today’s money is one thing to spend $400 dollars on a console, but back 10 years ago would have meant something different. For the most part, these consoles have had costs that have risen along with inflation. Unfortunately, our wages have not. According to a few different articles, the median annual income since 2000 has fallen by 7%, not increased like is typical over a decade.

Since the recession in 2008, there has been both a sharp decline in wages, and an increase in inflation. Depending on whom you ask, our inflation is between 4 and 14 percent. Even the low end of that spectrum is considered high.  Prices for consoles typically show their first drop around Christmas time of the year following launch. This is not something that’s really all that easy to figure out though. On one hand, XBone and PS4 consoles have already said they won’t have any price cuts until 2015. So unless you want to sell one of your children, I’d avoid getting one of these consoles right away.

Game Library

From where I’m sitting, the best reason not to get a new console on launch is that the game libraries are typically atrocious. Meaning you don’t want to get stuck with only one game for the next 6 months, unless you’re one of those gamers that only sticks with one or two games a year, even though you’re probably not.

Regardless, let’s look at the games available on each system so far (taken from IGN):

Italics are console exclusives – released nowhere else

PS4	Both	Xbox One
DC Universe Online	Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag	Crimson Dragon
Warframe	Battlefield 4	Dead Rising 3
Don't Starve	Call of Duty: Ghosts	Forza 5
FinalFantasy XIV: Realm Reborn	EA sports UFC	Killer Instinct
Killzone Shadow Fall	FIFA 14	Lococycle
Infamous Second Son	Just Dance 2014	Powerstar Golf
Knack	Madden 25	Ryse: Son of Rome
Tekken Revolution	Need For Speed: Rivals	Titanfall
The Playroom	NBA 2k14	Zoo Tycoon
Blacklight: Retribution	NBA Live 14	Zumba Fitness World Party
Resogun	Peggle 2
The Pinball Arcade	Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare
Flower	Thief
	Skylanders Swapforce

Have you read any of the reviews for these games? I’ve read a couple, and they suffer from typical AAA game problems. Some of them missed the mark entirely, others just some of the time. The point is that these game libraries aren’t exactly spectacular. As much as I enjoy Zumba Fitness World Party, I don’t think I want to be playing it for 6 months. Additionally, how many of these games are exclusive to those consoles? The majority of these games on that are found on multiple platforms are playable on PC, a good argument for becoming a PC gamer.

Conclusion

Since this is already rather long, I’ll have a short conclusion. These consoles are pretty similar in most characteristics… make the decision which one you’d rather have, and then wait to buy it. At the very least, I will probably wait 2 years to purchase either of these consoles. In this time, it should be more clear which technology is better, which console has the better games, and which one is  going to be more gamer-friendly. If it weren’t for Titanfall, I’d say pick up a PS4, so we’ll wait and see if that game ends up being any good.

Until next time, enjoy the games you have, and beat the ones you haven’t beaten yet… since you probably don’t beat games anymore.

- Jack

The Surly Nerd

Good day, people.

I wanted to take this time to speak to you about something that I’ve discovered I rather love: podcasts. Specifically, my favorite podcast by far is a small group of guys who call themselves The Surly Nerd. It’s a podcast about geek culture. From their Facebook page:

About

All the geeky Comic Book/Entertainment/Gaming news you need, we are TheSurlyNerd.com. Also available via iTunes -Two Drink Minimum

Description

Discussion and debate of nerd news and related topics. We rant about movies, comics, TV, technology, and video games. Some (ALL THE) adult language.

This basically sums up my experience with listening to them. It’s a group of guys local to the Austin, TX area that talk about the things that they love – which so just so happen to be games, movies, comics, and technology. Y'know, the things that I love to talk about, too.

Their show is divided into segments that they call "levels." This, of course, being a nod to video game culture, but is intended to divide the topics up into discreet parts. I enjoy that they did this, rather than being all over the place, because it makes it much easier to mentally digest. Even though loosely organized in these discreet parts, it's easier to follow than other radio shows.

Since I have to commute in to work every day, it’s been really nice to have something to listen to. I can’t emphasize enough how obnoxious regular talk radio is. I either get fart/sex jokes that aren’t funny, or I get news that’s either barely newsworthy or done in a format that makes me want to pass out from boredom. I ended up choosing neither of those options because they both suck. Really, which of those options would you choose?

The main personalities of their show are James, Tony, and Jay. Each of these guys has a full-time job; some of them even have their own families. The Surly Nerd is a side project for them, something they do because they enjoy it, and not their full-time gig. This makes it better, in my opinion. While the production value isn’t as impressive as an established radio show, they may up for it in vigor.

James is the main host and does most (all?) of the research that goes into their talking points. With a weekly format for their show, they cover a tremendous amount of material. I’m constantly impressed by how much work James must put into this show. His topics are not always interesting to me, but the sheer volume of information gives me pause. I’ve always been curious where he gets his info, it would make writing Fictiverse a lot easier if I had half of his network. Admittedly, I envy his dedication to the show.

Tony is the surliest of their surly bunch by far, being called Angry Tony for a reason. Being the co-producer he has his plate full with much of the other aspects of the show that don’t fall under James’s purview. From what I gather, he is largely responsible for all of the show’s logistics: website, sound editing, music, and video (for their rare video episodes).  His opinions are almost always very strong and usually all over the place. Any consistency he shows comes from his love of artistry… and while I don’t agree all the time, I respect that in him.  Additionally, he hates Michael Bay… FINALLY SOMEONE AGREES WITH ME!

Jay is busy doing other projects and hasn’t been around as regular as I would have liked. He’s a Brit, and it’s nice to have his sense of humor and personality in the mix. Plus, he tends to align closest with my opinions of things. The best thing about having him on the show is that he’s an excellent counterpoint to Tony. While Tony gets very passionate about things, Jay is much more laid back, so he offsets some of the anger coming from Tony. He likes the things he likes and no matter what goading is done by Tony, he rarely takes the bait.

There are a few reasons why I like this show. As I already mentioned, it’s a lot better than the crap played on the radio these days. Besides this, these guys do it because they want to and they like it. Since they’re not getting paid for it – operating out of their own pockets or on slim donations – they put more of themselves into it. I always like trying to help out people working for their dreams because I like to think people would do the same for me. It’s easy enough for me to listen to something I enjoy and tell others about it.

Additionally, since these men haven’t been established as an industry icon, their opinions and feelings are honest. The impression I get from many large studios and established “reputable” news sources is that they are for sale. At the very least, these places can be held ransom by publishers or developers. Take GameInformer, for example. This is a magazine that I have had a subscription to for years. However, it’s pretty clear that someone tells them what reviews to give – which is why I recommend ignoring that section. For example, they have given games terrific, extremely high ratings when games didn't deserve it. Some games are almost nothing more than additional levels, skin changes, and not even bug fixes. Otherwise the games are buggy beyond belief, don’t deliver things that were promised, or aren’t nearly as great as they tell us they are.

The guys at The Surly Nerd almost never let the industry pull the wool over their eyes, which is one major reason why I continue to listen. While some of the foul-mouth talk has put me off occasionally, the fact of the matter is that no one is putting these guys on but themselves. It’s refreshing to me to see people that aren’t being bought by the industry. I may not always agree with them, but they stick to their guns and they almost always justify their opinions with statements of fact. While guilty of some fanboy moments (who isn’t?), the three of them have different enough opinions that they keep each other in check, which is another reason I like this show. They will debate with each other about differing opinions and it doesn’t result in a shouting match. They’ve had guests on the show and when they said something counter to the opinions of the others, they weren't screamed at. I can’t say enough how important it is to live with people that have opinions different than your own. Accepting others is an important life skill.

Got a little off track there, sorry.

Anyway, I think this show is worth listening to. There is adult language and they talk about adult themes, but I hope that doesn’t put you off. When they’re not using bad language and being generally grumpy (it is called The Surly Nerd, after all), they make excellent points and talk about things that most nerds like to discuss. What’s more, they actually respond when you email them.

I must mention that I’ve met these guys before, though they probably don’t remember. We had a nice discussion on how they became media when I met them at RTX, which is why I listen to their program now.

I promise, they’re not as surly in real life.

-J

Tuesday Games! 9/3/13

These past few weeks have seen some interesting developments in the world of Video Games. Of note: PAX 2013 took place and it was the 10th one ever. It's pretty great knowing that I was able to attend it once, and I'm hoping to go back next year. I've compiled a short list of video games and news about what's coming up in the near future. Just a few games that caught my eye...

PAX 2013

Probably my favorite piece of gaming news for now: PAX Prime was this past weekend in Seattle. Some of you may remember that I attended last year, and it was totally awesome. There are tons of panels, tons of booths, and tons of people to see and talk to at PAX, it's a pretty awesome time. There are a few noteworthy things that came out of all the PAX Prime news this year, but what most caught my eye is the new game by Gearbox.

A new Homeworld game is being made! Homeworld is a sci-fi series that was based around fleet actions. It's a real-time strategy game that is so expansive that you were allowed to build massive fleets of capital ships, escorts, and fighters. It was so in-depth, that you could actually follow the actions of individual fighters. It was a difficult game that required a high attention to detail. The new game is called "Shipbreakers" and appears to be a brand new game rather than a remake. Should be fun to see, it'll be produced by Gearbox Entertainment. Check out some of the news sites for more info, there's a lot of indie stuff that came out of PAX this year.

X-Com: Enemy Within

It has come out recently that there is going to be a pretty large expansion to X-Com Enemy Unknown, a game released this past year. They are adding the option to upgrade your soldiers with cybernetics and genetics. It would appear they are making an attempt to balance the game more between humans and aliens. My guess is that this will make the game much more aggressive, allowing humans to charge up the middle better than they used to.

It's going to be a large expansion, requiring a full separate game for those people silly enough to buy it on console. I was a huge fan of the original, so when it came out I made sure to purchase this remake. It does pretty good service to the original, but there are a few things I would have changed. Regardless, I still spent many hours playing this new version and quite enjoyed it.

With this expansion, it feels like it will play more like a new version of the old Syndicate game. Some of you may get what I'm talking about. It was a pretty awesome game back in the 90s... back when games were still difficult (ahem!). I played Syndicate a ton, so making this game feel more like that is a bonus in my book.

Space Hulk: Deathwing

A studio called Streum on Studio is creating a new Warhammer 40k Game called Deathwing. The idea is to bring the awesome action of the Space Hulk boardgame, and the original Space Hulk video game, to a new generation of gamers. It will be an FPS game taking place on huge, dilapidated space ships called space hulks. In this universe, their ships are massive, reaching more than 15 kilometers long on some of the larger ones. What will make this game interesting is that these ships, similar to our own ocean-going vessels, are limited on space. A hulking space marine in a huge set of armor can't move around all that well in cramped corridors.

I think the game could be an excellent combination of horror and action. The player will be fighting an alien species called the Tyranids - which is what the Zerg from Starcraft are based upon. In a simpler explanation, the aliens are giant insects that consume everything in their path. In particular, they will consume any biomass they encounter to add to their own species. Think of them as a biological Borg species that adapts what it consumes. I think this makes for a potentially awesome game, and I pretty much have no choice but to buy it.


There you have it. Looking forward to some upcoming games. Talk at you again, soon!
-Jack