One Year In: Xbox One or Playstation 4?

It's been about a year since the Xbox One and Playstation 4 came out; so which one did I get? Neither one, so far. Which one am I eyeballing? Neither one in particular. Both consoles have failed to produce critical mass of titles which interest me. The Last of Us Remastered looks awesome, but I'm not spending $450 to play a slightly prettier version of a game I've already played (and thoroughly enjoyed). The Xbox One has Forza Horizon 2 which looks pretty cool, but I'm not that social so it probably wouldn't be fun unless my few friends joined in. Otherwise, nothing out now looks that interesting.

Looking into the future, From Software's Bloodborne seems really promising. It's a PS4 exclusive that I'll be keeping an eye on. The Xbox One doesn't have any exclusives at all I'm looking forward to at this time. In terms of console exclusives, the next-gen market is largely stagnant.

Multiplatform titles are starting to come out, albeit slowly and the previous-gen versions are still available so there's no compelling reason to upgrade. The fatal flaw of Xbox One/PS4 is they are simply not powerful enough. Neither one can reliably output 1080p (without an upscaler) at 60 frames per second. The graphical jump from 360 to One and PS3 to PS4 isn't all that earth-shattering; the least they could have given us is full HD at a reasonable framerate. But this generation's consoles are too weak for even that, let alone other improvements. Here's hoping developers can innovate on gameplay, at least.

Since most next-generation games appear to be multiplatform so far, I'll be sticking with the PC until further notice. PC and Wii U seems to be the gaming combo of choice at this point in 2014.

The Next Generation

There are plenty of articles out there with insider information comparing Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One, but ever since Microsoft pulled a total reversal on its DRM policies this summer, I've been wanting to make a brief comparison of my own. I'm going to try looking into the business side of the console wars, keeping in mind some tenants that make a console a success in both business and with its fans.

First let's take a look at the market for last-generation consoles. According to VGChartz in Q2 of 2013, 77,313,472 PS3s had been sold during the console's lifetime. In the same quarter, the figure for Xbox 360 consoles sold is 77,311,669. It took nearly six years but it appears the PS3 finally did overtake the Xbox 360 - just in time for the next generation to come along and bury this battle in the past.

It's worth noting the Wii is still over 22 million units ahead of even the PS3, but Nintendo is really in a rather shaky position.Wii sales dropped off a cliff (let's not even discuss the Wii U) a few years ago after a rabid selling spree during its youth. Does that strike you as a hardware prolem? I think it's an indicator of failing to deliver a steady stream of quality software, which is ultimately what continues to sell consoles (and more of said software).

This is important. Let's face it: the PS3 had a slow start. Killzone doesn't quite hold up to Gears of War. It wasn't until, probably, the Uncharted series that PS3 really began to catch up to the 360. It's not going to come down to who has flashier hardware this generation. It's going to be a software battle. Who has a better user interface? Who has better games? Who offers better independent development and fosters a stronger community?