PlayStation 4 or Xbox One or Wii U?
If you are a serious gamer, never get a Nintendo.
In bang for your buck, it looks like the PS4 is cheaper ($400 vs $500 for console, and $50 vs. $60 for online gaming)
Both the PS4 and XbOne will be close enough to each other for performance that either one you get won't be a huge mistake.
Though neither box has a backwards compatibility, you would get to use your existing subscription on the prior generation console to your new console. So if you have a PS3 with the Playstation PLUS, get the PS4 and the sub is good on both boxes. Same is true for 360 owners to XbOne.
In bang for your buck, it looks like the PS4 is cheaper ($400 vs $500 for console, and $50 vs. $60 for online gaming)
Both the PS4 and XbOne will be close enough to each other for performance that either one you get won't be a huge mistake.
Though neither box has a backwards compatibility, you would get to use your existing subscription on the prior generation console to your new console. So if you have a PS3 with the Playstation PLUS, get the PS4 and the sub is good on both boxes. Same is true for 360 owners to XbOne.
Goodsport
Explorer
Thanks for the info, Janx.
-G
No prob. Hopefully that was moderately unbiased.
The Anti-Nintendo angle is because Nintendo has a worse track record for really bad games getting made on it, and their technology tends to be behind the Big Two consoles. So there ARE good games on Nintendo, but you can get more and better games on the Big Two. Additionally, Nintendo tends to cater to the kid market. If you are a serious gamer, there are more serious games on the Big Two.
If you're not a serious gamer, Nintendo could be just fine for you (but conversely, if you have kids, there's plenty of kid games on the Big Two as well).
Choosing between the Big Two strays into Religion and Politics for most people.
If you're price-sensitive, go with the cheaper PS4.
If an extra $100 isn't a deal-breaker, go with the brand you already own (so stay with Sony or stay with MS). There's not a compelling reason to just absolutely switch and there will be some advantages to using the same paid account on the older/newer platform (think about putting the old box on a different TV so somebody else can use it).
I own both PS3 and 360. I like the 360 better, and the wife despises the PS3 UI. So I will most likely get a XbOne, but I will probably wait a year for the price drop and hardware revisions to come out, barring some windfall of extra cash to make it a trivial purchase.
CAFRedblade
Explorer
My options for Gaming: PC - seriously the best game machines and you can match/best the performance of the coming consoles with a well built system for about the same in raw parts. (monitors, accessories not included)
Both PS4 and XBOne will require subbing to their services PS+ and MSLive for multiplayer gaming.
PS4 ( and WiiU) don't require subbing to download and access the Netflix apps and similar unlike XBOne, MSLive is required for additional streaming features like Netflix access.
But really, what games are looking promising to you, get the system that has the games you want to mostly play.
Both PS4 and XBOne will require subbing to their services PS+ and MSLive for multiplayer gaming.
PS4 ( and WiiU) don't require subbing to download and access the Netflix apps and similar unlike XBOne, MSLive is required for additional streaming features like Netflix access.
But really, what games are looking promising to you, get the system that has the games you want to mostly play.
If I had to buy one now and planned on buying one later, I would get the PS4 first and Xbone later.
The PS4 only has one more game than the Xbone slated as launch titles, but the PS4 has more (announced) games in the pipe, both for Q4 2013 and for 2014. The PS4 also has more exclusive titles for 2013. I find it particularly interesting that there's no Halo title expected for the Xbone until 2014. This implies that the PS4 is going to do a better job of hitting the ground running with games than the Xbone, which is the opposite of what we saw with the PS3/360 release.
Also, while the slew of bad publicity for the Xbone may not include any issues that affect you personally, I think it's already in the heads of a lot of the early-adopter market. That means you'll get more user-generated support for the PS4 early on. And while I would expect both systems to drop in price by the end of 2014, I expect the Xbone will drop in price first.
I'm sure the Xbone will catch up fairly quickly, and the systems will remain fairly homogenous (as they are now) once the dust settles. But the PS4 is generally rounding up to look like a better launch.
Edit: Oh, and for reference, I have a PS3, 360, and Wii right now. I have no significant preference of one vs the other, but I have spent remarkably less time with any of them now that I have a toddler. I've personally opted for an Ouya as a media center instead of a next gen console for this year.
The PS4 only has one more game than the Xbone slated as launch titles, but the PS4 has more (announced) games in the pipe, both for Q4 2013 and for 2014. The PS4 also has more exclusive titles for 2013. I find it particularly interesting that there's no Halo title expected for the Xbone until 2014. This implies that the PS4 is going to do a better job of hitting the ground running with games than the Xbone, which is the opposite of what we saw with the PS3/360 release.
Also, while the slew of bad publicity for the Xbone may not include any issues that affect you personally, I think it's already in the heads of a lot of the early-adopter market. That means you'll get more user-generated support for the PS4 early on. And while I would expect both systems to drop in price by the end of 2014, I expect the Xbone will drop in price first.
I'm sure the Xbone will catch up fairly quickly, and the systems will remain fairly homogenous (as they are now) once the dust settles. But the PS4 is generally rounding up to look like a better launch.
Edit: Oh, and for reference, I have a PS3, 360, and Wii right now. I have no significant preference of one vs the other, but I have spent remarkably less time with any of them now that I have a toddler. I've personally opted for an Ouya as a media center instead of a next gen console for this year.
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Argyle King
Legend
Currently, my plan is to get the PS4. I've pre-ordered one. ...which is something of a shock to most of the people I know since I've been a huge XBox fan ever since the original console.
The bottom line was that there was a time when Microsoft seemed to believe they could do whatever they wanted with the XB1 and I'd buy it regardless. The fact is, I still almost did. However, there was then a slew of (what I feel were) snarky and [not sure I have a word fit for a public forum] comments made by the Microsoft team toward their customer base (which included me.) There were a few other things that happened as well, but that basically sums it up. Basically, in my opinion. Microsoft was making all of the mistakes that Sony made when they released Playstation 3, but then also treating their customers poorly on top of it. By the time Microsoft had changed their tune, I had already ordered a PS4... the first time I will have owned a Sony product since the days of the Playstation 1. With there seeming to be not all that much difference in specs between the two machines, I felt confident that I could express my disappointment by voting with my wallet and still end up with a good console.
I used to love Nintendo, but I don't even take the Wii U seriously. Since launch, there haven't been many games released for it. For some unknown reason, all of the big name games (i.e. Mario, Zelda) wont even begin to be released until December of this year. This is despite having a rather generous head start on the other two systems. On top of holding back on their own games, Nintendo has shown themselves to be uncooperative with third party publishers as well; so much so that some developers have decided to stop making games for the system. That doesn't bode well for Wii U. Nintendo used to have the edge when it came to kid games, and they still do to an extent, but I believe that edge will be minimal due to the extensive online networks that Microsoft and Sony have available; a lot of simpler games which would be akin to what Nintendo has to offer can be directly downloaded onto the consoles. In the case of Sony, there will be a robust amount of support for indy games at launch; many of the titles shown would be well suited for kids. I'm sure there are plenty of people who will still buy Wii U and be very happy with it, but -from my perspective- I don't believe the Wii U is currently worth it, and Nintendo is struggling to show me why the system would be worth the pricetage at a future time in which Sony and Microsoft have their newer systems available. Right now, Wii U isn't much more advanced beyond what the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 can do, yet it still carries a price tag which is barely cheaper than what the Playstation 4 will launch with.
I may eventually get the XB1, but I'm starting with a PS4.
The bottom line was that there was a time when Microsoft seemed to believe they could do whatever they wanted with the XB1 and I'd buy it regardless. The fact is, I still almost did. However, there was then a slew of (what I feel were) snarky and [not sure I have a word fit for a public forum] comments made by the Microsoft team toward their customer base (which included me.) There were a few other things that happened as well, but that basically sums it up. Basically, in my opinion. Microsoft was making all of the mistakes that Sony made when they released Playstation 3, but then also treating their customers poorly on top of it. By the time Microsoft had changed their tune, I had already ordered a PS4... the first time I will have owned a Sony product since the days of the Playstation 1. With there seeming to be not all that much difference in specs between the two machines, I felt confident that I could express my disappointment by voting with my wallet and still end up with a good console.
I used to love Nintendo, but I don't even take the Wii U seriously. Since launch, there haven't been many games released for it. For some unknown reason, all of the big name games (i.e. Mario, Zelda) wont even begin to be released until December of this year. This is despite having a rather generous head start on the other two systems. On top of holding back on their own games, Nintendo has shown themselves to be uncooperative with third party publishers as well; so much so that some developers have decided to stop making games for the system. That doesn't bode well for Wii U. Nintendo used to have the edge when it came to kid games, and they still do to an extent, but I believe that edge will be minimal due to the extensive online networks that Microsoft and Sony have available; a lot of simpler games which would be akin to what Nintendo has to offer can be directly downloaded onto the consoles. In the case of Sony, there will be a robust amount of support for indy games at launch; many of the titles shown would be well suited for kids. I'm sure there are plenty of people who will still buy Wii U and be very happy with it, but -from my perspective- I don't believe the Wii U is currently worth it, and Nintendo is struggling to show me why the system would be worth the pricetage at a future time in which Sony and Microsoft have their newer systems available. Right now, Wii U isn't much more advanced beyond what the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 can do, yet it still carries a price tag which is barely cheaper than what the Playstation 4 will launch with.
I may eventually get the XB1, but I'm starting with a PS4.
For my house, the 360 always gets way more usage. At this point, since the laser died on my BC 60GB PS3, it's not even hooked up anymore (doubly annoying is how a box that rarely gets used has a laser die).
Exclusive titles don't mean diddly to me. I don't buy a console for a specific game. I buy it for the general pile of usefulness I will get out of it. Most of my games are cross-platform, and generally there's an equivalent game to an Exclusive.
I think the Ouya is certainly an interesting new variable for the serious-casual gamer. It's cheap, and does every non-game thing the big boys will do, and will have a large catalog of games to play. It should certainly kill the Nintendo demographic if marketed well.
PC gaming is something I avoid. There was a time I used to play mostly PC games. I enjoyed building a reconfiguration system to get my autoexec.bat/config.sys to flip around to support various games. I don't get that kind of joy anymore, and it really irritates me when I have to spend time figuring out how to fix my wife's game so it'll run on her machine. PC games are naturally superior due to the better hardware and potential for customization. But PC software never "just works" like a Console. So PC gaming is not for everyone, and it's not even a problem of technical skill (I run an IT company). Once you get old enough, you just don't want to spend your free time fixing somebody else's mistake.
Exclusive titles don't mean diddly to me. I don't buy a console for a specific game. I buy it for the general pile of usefulness I will get out of it. Most of my games are cross-platform, and generally there's an equivalent game to an Exclusive.
I think the Ouya is certainly an interesting new variable for the serious-casual gamer. It's cheap, and does every non-game thing the big boys will do, and will have a large catalog of games to play. It should certainly kill the Nintendo demographic if marketed well.
PC gaming is something I avoid. There was a time I used to play mostly PC games. I enjoyed building a reconfiguration system to get my autoexec.bat/config.sys to flip around to support various games. I don't get that kind of joy anymore, and it really irritates me when I have to spend time figuring out how to fix my wife's game so it'll run on her machine. PC games are naturally superior due to the better hardware and potential for customization. But PC software never "just works" like a Console. So PC gaming is not for everyone, and it's not even a problem of technical skill (I run an IT company). Once you get old enough, you just don't want to spend your free time fixing somebody else's mistake.
Ron
Explorer
As a serious gamer, the only one I would ever buy is the Wii U. Despite the fact is less powerful than the others and will almost certainly receive the least support from all third party publishers, it will still receive the Nintendo games, which are are worth of the price of buying a console for. As for the XBone, it will eventually have very few exclusives worth of playing and, while the ps4 will have some, I would argue you will do much better with a PC instead of buying a console from either Sony or Microsoft.
Sony is making a point the ps4 is just a hyper charged PC. Well, it is actually a very capable PC for the money they are asking. However, if you're willing to expend the double in hardware, you can assemble a PC more powerful than the ps4 that will be fully compatible with previous generations of games (and thus have a rich library unlike the ps4), and much much cheaper in the long run as Steam's discounts are much better than anything Sony can ever try.
Sony is making a point the ps4 is just a hyper charged PC. Well, it is actually a very capable PC for the money they are asking. However, if you're willing to expend the double in hardware, you can assemble a PC more powerful than the ps4 that will be fully compatible with previous generations of games (and thus have a rich library unlike the ps4), and much much cheaper in the long run as Steam's discounts are much better than anything Sony can ever try.
