Pros and Cons of the PS4 and Xbox One

[MinusTheBear]

Here are my quick pros and cons of each of these consoles having lived with them since launch.

PS4: Pros

• Best game controller Sony has ever made. A built in speaker, light sensor and center touch pad differentiate it the most from the Xbox One Controller.
• Charging controller in standby via USB only takes a few hours.
• Install times for games are extremely fast (were talking a few minutes or less) until you can start playing the game while the rest of the game installs in the background.
• Majority of 3rd party games are running at 60FPS and native 1080P.
• Console runs extremely quiet. It doesn't add any noise floor to the room.
• Internal power supply.
• Smaller than the Xbox One
• Blu-ray load times and picture quality are excellent.
• Theoretically more powerful and it's showing early in the life cycle.

PS4: Cons

• The rubber of the dual joysticks are very cheap. The joysticks wearing out is a concern.
• The light sensor on the controller (whether it's blue, red, green etc) is very bright and distracting. I haven't seen a purpose to it yet other than killing the battery life on the controller. There is no option to turn off the light either.
• Battery life is poor IMO 8-10 hours. I feel like I am constantly recharging batteries.
• Game library isn't there yet.

Xbox One: Pros

• Kinect 2. Yes I mean it. The voice controls work great for turning on/off console, navigating the system menus. I especially like the voice controls for Blu-ray and music playback (pausing, starting, fast fwd etc). The Kinect 2 integration for games is hit and miss right now.
• My favorite controller is still the Xbox 360 one, although I prefer the staggered nature and build quality of the dual joysticks compared to the DualShock 4.
• Rumble on the triggers
• Blu-ray playback is the same as PS4. Although I do all my Blu-ray on the Xbox one due to the ability to use voice commands.
• I prefer the UI as well as Xbox live.
• Console is also quiet (though not as quiet as the PS4).

Xbox One: Neither pro or con

• Controlling your set top box via the Xbox One and Kinect 2 through HDMI IN.

Xbox One: Cons

• The left and right bumpers and battery pack on the controller are a step back from the Xbox 360 version. I was expected to be blown away by the controller. I wasn't.
• Kinect 2 gesture control. I don't find it works very well and never use it.
• External power brick makes noise while in 24 hour standby mode (you might be able to hear it if you had the console in bedroom and sleeping at night when the noise floor is very low in the house)
• Larger than the PS4, though not as as big as the Oppo BDP 103
• Currently the Kinect 2 bottlenecks 10% of the Xbox Ones GPU (although its said they will change that to 2% in a future update)
• Majority of 3rd party games are not running at 60 fps and native 1080p. Developers are having to tradeoff resolution for frame rate. 60FPS and native 720P/900P. Some think this is due to the GPU restriction from the Kinect 2.

I'm probably forgetting a lot stuff here. What are your thoughts on these machines?

 

[j_garcia]

The light is for use with the camera in order for it to detect your movements not unlike the move controllers. At this time, I don't think there is any software to make use of it other than the playroom. Either the cameras completely sold out and were limited quantities, or there is an issue with them, because I can't find one. Since there's no software though, it doesn't matter to me right now because I have no interest in what everyone is using them for right now - broadcast yourself. The light is also used by a few games to indicate various things. IIRC, both Ghosts and Shadowfall use it for health indication, kinda cool, but not entirely useful. Yes, too bright normally and can't be turned down or off.

 

[MinusTheBear]

The light is for use with the camera in order for it to detect your movements not unlike the move controllers. At this time, I don't think there is any software to make use of it other than the playroom. Either the cameras completely sold out and were limited quantities, or there is an issue with them, because I can't find one. Since there's no software though, it doesn't matter to me right now because I have no interest in what everyone is using them for right now - broadcast yourself. The light is also used by a few games to indicate various things. IIRC, both Ghosts and Shadowfall use it for health indication, kinda cool, but not entirely useful. Yes, too bright normally and can't be turned down or off.

Another thing I forgot in my list is there is no battery life indicator on the controller light or in the UI for the Xbox One. Your playing and the controller just dies.

The Xbox One also has a sensor on the front of the controller but it is much less obtrusive. It just flashes these small red dots that you can hardly notice.

I noticed the light changes on Killzone. It didn't really add anything for me but found it distracting enough in my peripherial when the room is dark. Same thing with the blue light that emits from it when you are watching Blu-rays.

 

[jinjuku]

Isn't the PS4 cheaper by $100?

 

[j_garcia]

Isn't the PS4 cheaper by $100?

It is currently, but apparently Microsoft is going to release a lower cost version that is the same price as the PS4 sometime this year. The only thing about that is that means something will likely get downgraded or left out potentially to achieve that.

 

[jinjuku]

Just curios why $100 difference (20%) isn't a Pro. It certainly has to be a driving factor for PS4 sales.

 

[MinusTheBear]

It is currently, but apparently Microsoft is going to release a lower cost version that is the same price as the PS4 sometime this year. The only thing about that is that means something will likely get downgraded or left out potentially to achieve that.

The lower cost $399 version rumored is a 1TB diskless system (no blu-ray drive) that will still come bundled with the Kinect 2.

 

[Tyfighter]

Brand new article Published Sunday, 2 February 2014 regarding the two machines as Media players.

In the interest of a giant copy/paste, I had to trim it down but I will post the link so feel free to read it all. I will just post highlights to keep my post a LOT shorter. I know I browse forums from my smartphone all the time, so I always appreciate when people post snippets instead of requiring me to click on another link to load up 4G style. Right now I'm at home, so I'll apply the golden rule to treat other phone browsers how I'd like to be treated.

On to the show.

PS4 vs Xbox One: which is the better media player? • Articles • Eurogamer.net

PS4 vs Xbox One: which is the better media player?
Should you just stick with PlayStation 3?


Blu-ray playback - a mixed bag

...User reports of compromised 24Hz playback on the Xbox One, however, are disturbing for a console so heavily focused on non-gaming usage. 24fps is a core part of the Blu-ray specification, and any modern device worth its salt should be able to correctly handle that frame-rate without issue. Indeed, the PS3 plays back material at 24Hz flawlessly without introducing any unwanted side effects, and we found the PS4 to be equally solid in this regard. And yet we are on shaky ground with Xbox One. Initially we found the machine outputting a solid 24Hz signal free of any anomalies, but testing a number of discs over a two-hour period revealed some serious audio sync issues where the sound would often lag behind the video by a couple of seconds regardless of what audio setting is selected, making films viewed in this mode unwatchable.

At this point in time the solution is to switch the Xbox One to 60Hz when playing Blu-ray discs, but doing so introduces noticeable judder as the 24fps source is displayed unevenly through a 60Hz output - not exactly an ideal fix. In fact, we noticed some judder when using 24Hz playback from time to time, indicating that the Xbox One isn't always correctly handling this frame-rate. Microsoft is aware of these issues and is investigating the cause, but there's so sign of an update to fix it thus far - a particular disappointment given the Xbox One's huge multimedia focus.

Basic 1080p playback is more stable on the PS4, although Sony's system isn't completely without its own quirks. The console struggles to correctly de-interlace progressive 25fps content encoded at 1080i50 without throwing away a small amount of picture information and blending detail from one frame into the next, duplicate image (all of our test consoles output 1080i50 at 1080p50, resulting in each frame being duplicated). Manually switching the console to 1080i shows no improvement, indicating that the machine is internally de-interlacing the signal regardless of the output resolution.

On the other hand, the Xbox One gets the de-interlacing part right, but then converts the 50Hz output to 60Hz causing judder - for every five "native" frames, a sixth duplicate is added. To put things in perspective, the PS3 comfortably handles all high-definition material on disc without compromising the output in any way. And let's not forget that the PS3 also handles 3D Blu-ray movies too - a feature that is currently missing on both of the next-gen consoles...

DVD playback analysis

Similar as above, but feel free to read in link.

Netflix and LoveFilm - more issues

Both next-generation consoles support a decent line-up of streaming services, including key providers such as Netflix and LoveFilm, although there are a few apps that only appear on one of the next-gen platforms, and some that are absent entirely. For example, Sky Player is nowhere to the found on the Xbox One, which is surprising given that the service forms a core part of the 360's multimedia functionality (Sky itself says there are no plans for Xbox One integration). BBC iPlayer is also missing from the Xbox One repertoire, though it has made an appearance on PS4.

The PS4 and Xbox One support native 1080p for Netflix and LoveFilm by default, and video quality for each service is mostly identical across these platforms, bar small differences in colour temperature and saturation. The PS3 now also offers up native 1080p streams for LoveFilm, matching the two next-gen consoles. Impressively, both services feature similarly high quality video encoding and minimal compression artifacts at 1080p, as long as the connection stays stable.

With the Xbox One, Netflix playback during our testing kicks off to a decent start, but after around 10 minutes we noticed that the video stream began to judder, and then a few minutes later the audio dropped out of sync with the picture, with the problem intermittently reappearing across different films we tried. LoveFilm streams are also affected by unwanted judder, although the issue was a little more subtle and occurred less frequently. Thankfully, we encountered no audio sync issues, but we were only able to extract stereo sound output from the console using this service - despite forcing DTS output...

On the PS4 we find Netflix playback smooth and free from any lip-sync issues, although from an audio perspective we could only extract a stereo output via both optical and HDMI, even though the service is supposed to support surround sound on the platform. Interestingly, we see the same problem on LoveFilm - again, stereo-only sound - but on top of that we have some serious problems with stutter during playback, almost like video is speeding up to compensate for the judder/uneven frame cadence while maintaining audio sync. It's hugely distracting and in our opinion makes the service unusable at this point. The biggest problem is that these bugs are frequent, though they appear intermittently, so major issues can simply crop up after a few minutes of solid playback.

Once again, the PS3 powers through these services without nearly as many issues...

Xbox One vs PlayStation 4: which is the better media player?

...With Microsoft in particular, we understand that resources were strained owing to the last minute decision to drop the cloud-based DRM in favour of a disc alternative, necessitating a large repurposing of internal resources. But the bottom line is clear - across a range of media tests, both Xbox One and PS4 have their issues, while the last-gen PlayStation 3 copes brilliantly in almost all scenarios.

It it's Xbox One's poor showing overall that saddens us. This is a piece of hardware built from the ground up to be the centre-piece of the living room - but its innovative OneGuide TV functions have no support outside of the USA, there's zero respect for 50Hz content and there are fundamental problems with playback of disc-based media, while we have issues with the all-important Netflix client, which simply isn't fit for purpose in its current state.

If your primary media consumption lies with 1080p Blu-ray, the PS4 is generally up to the task, performing as well as any standalone player in this regard, bar the odd incompatibility issue. However, the console's handling of DVD content and 1080i Blu-rays will upset the purists given Sony's previous media focus with the PS3, which generally does everything right. However, it's clear that of the two next-gen machines, the PS4 offers the preferable experience right now in terms of general usage - even though there are some issues with the key Netflix and LoveFilm apps.

With that in mind, it's currently hard to give a concrete endorsement to either next-gen console as a direct media hub replacement for the PS3 when there are so many issues. Some of the intermittent bugs are annoying to deal with and make the whole experience more frustrating than it should be, and the lack of quality assurance in general is disappointing - even basic testing shows up some serious issues that shouldn't have made their way into a shipping product, especially on Xbox One...

...But as of now, just getting the core functionality completely nailed would be a start - and in that respect, the stalwart PlayStation 3 covers all bases.


=======
According to them, PS3 wins in media playback.

PS3>>>>PS4>>XB one.

That's the results I got in my home tests months ago as well.

 

[Tyfighter]

It is currently, but apparently Microsoft is going to release a lower cost version that is the same price as the PS4 sometime this year. The only thing about that is that means something will likely get downgraded or left out potentially to achieve that.

That's the expectation and rumor, of course, Sony could also match that $100 price drop with one of their own for PS4, ala the PS1/Saturn/N64 gen, PS2/Dreamcast/Gamecube/Xbox gen, or Wii/360/PS3 gen.

 

[Tyfighter]

Also, the install times on Xbone are atrocious. Worse than PS3, just awful. I am not sure if that is fixable, but it's a major con for me. It was also a big shock considering my 360 experiences from 2005-current.

The lower cost $399 version rumored is a 1TB diskless system (no blu-ray drive) that will still come bundled with the Kinect 2.

Unless they were lying as PR does, M$ just recently killed the diskless Xbone rumor yesterday. Aaron Greenberg, Chief of Staff for Devices and Studios Group at Microsoft, has firmly squashed that rumor.

Microsoft Denies $399 Disc-Less Xbox One | The Escapist

A $400 Xbone could ship this year, but other options (since the optical drive is remaining according to the manuracturers) on getting the price down are decreasing the HDD size or removing the force bundled kinect.

They could also keep everything the same and just drop the price. Usually they bundle games in before going for a price drop though.

I also had major doubts to the removal of the optical drive, A disc-less Xbone. Retailers want people to return to theirs stores and buy games from them. Someone who buys a disc-less game console has no reason to return to that store for games. The expectation that retailers stock a product on which they would be getting no margins, with no revenue from physical games to cover...it's a tough sale.

It could be done, sure, but I wasn't convinced that was their first choice when an unpluggable Kinect is ripe for removal for a potential price drop.

 

[darien87]

Also don't forget as cons to the PS 4, the lack of 3D BD support and no universal remote control, thought I assume both of those things can be remedied in the future with a firmware update.

A big con to the Xbox for me is that the stupid controller rumble cannot be turned off at the system level. Apparently there are certain games that allow you to turn it off but of course the game that I'm playing Battlefield 4 does not! This is totally stupid to me.

After using both the PS4 and Xbox as a BD player I went back to the PS3. So far as a media player the PS3 is superior to both of them, (plays discs, can put MP3's on the hard drive, excellent BD and 3D BD playback with an informative and easy to use interface).

 

[j_garcia]

Clearly they are going to release some big updates for the PS4 to enable a bunch of things, like 3D for movies and better audio configuration. The PS4 seems to have a lot of things in it for capabilities that are coming looking at the settings and configurations, but they sure are taking their sweet time doing it. No doubt part of the reason why things that were supported on the PS3 that are not on the PS4 is because they haven't actually figured out how do do it reliably yet with the switch to the new OS.

 

[GranteedEV]

Ps4

• Game library isn't there yet.

Nor is it for Xbox One. The only game worth picking up besides Assassin's Creed IV (which is on both systems, plus Wii U and PC) and Tomb Raider "HD...er" that might give it an edge is Killer Instinct. But of course, Guilty Gear Xrd for PS4 will make that pretty moot too in terms of fighting games as it should be in a totally different class. About all the X1 has going for it besides inferior ports are Gears of War, Halo and Titanfall.. Those will keep the system alive but don't even remotely interest me.

The only "next gen" system I see worth owning for a good time is Wii U between Wonderful 101, Pikmin 3, Bayonetta 2, Wind Waker HD, Lego City Undercover, Super Mario 3D World, X, Mario Kart, Tropical Freezw, Smash Bros, SMT x Fire Emblem, ZombiU, and Nintendoland. And honestly my anticipated games list for 2014 is mostly PS3 games.

Once MGS5, FFXV, Order 1886, The Last Guardian, KH3, and Rime drop, I'll switch to PS4. Prolly not til five of the six are out. Based on the amount of frustration my X360 has given me between noisyness and generally poor design (no wireless, batterys etc) i will probably never touch an X1 with a ten foot pole.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Nor is it for Xbox One. The only game worth picking up besides Assassin's Creed IV (which is on both systems, plus Wii U and PC) and Tomb Raider "HD...er" that might give it an edge is Killer Instinct. But of course, Guilty Gear Xrd for PS4 will make that pretty moot too in terms of fighting games as it should be in a totally different class. About all the X1 has going for it besides inferior ports are Gears of War, Halo and Titanfall.. Those will keep the system alive but don't even remotely interest me.

The only "next gen" system I see worth owning for a good time is Wii U between Wonderful 101, Pikmin 3, Bayonetta 2, Wind Waker HD, Lego City Undercover, Super Mario 3D World, X, Mario Kart, Tropical Freezw, Smash Bros, SMT x Fire Emblem, ZombiU, and Nintendoland. And honestly my anticipated games list for 2014 is mostly PS3 games.

Once MGS5, FFXV, Order 1886, The Last Guardian, KH3, and Rime drop, I'll switch to PS4. Prolly not til five of the six are out. Based on the amount of frustration my X360 has given me between noisyness and generally poor design (no wireless, batterys etc) i will probably never touch an X1 with a ten foot pole.

My two favorite next gen games so far between the PS4 and Xbox One have been Forza Motorsport 5 (best racing game of any the current consoles) and Dead Rising 3. They are both exclusives.

The most intriguing exclusive game for me in 2014 is called Sunset Overdrive.

Titanfall isn't even out yet and we have no idea about the exclusivity of Gears and Halo on next gen. Previously, Gears and Halo were developed on the 360.

I guess I am just the opposite. There are not many Wii U 1st party games that interest me, and too casual for me to invest in the console. The 3rd party games are just awful. Though I just can't invest money in a failing console. To me the risk of buying a Wii U right now would be like buying a Dreamcast after the Xbox and PS2 came out.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Clearly they are going to release some big updates for the PS4 to enable a bunch of things, like 3D for movies and better audio configuration. The PS4 seems to have a lot of things in it for capabilities that are coming looking at the settings and configurations, but they sure are taking their sweet time doing it. No doubt part of the reason why things that were supported on the PS3 that are not on the PS4 is because they haven't actually figured out how do do it reliably yet with the switch to the new OS.

Speaking of firmware updates there should be one rolling out in the next 24 hours. Update 1.60.

 

[GranteedEV]

Forza Motorsport 5 (best racing game of any the current consoles)

Gran Turismo 6 exists.

Titanfall isn't even out yet and we have no idea about the exclusivity of Gears and Halo on next gen. Previously, Gears and Halo were developed on the 360.

It's actually pretty clear they're X1 exclusives. Microsoft owns the Halo rights, and the other week they bought the Gears of War rights too. But Halo is being made by a different developer and gears likely will be too. Titanfall has been confirmed to be a 6 vs 6 online-only game.. basically just COD with mechs.

too casual for me to invest in the console.

Huh? ...Wonderful 101, Pikmin 3, Zelda, Bayonetta, X, SMT x Fire Emblem, Monster Hunter...far from casual. Casual is pick-up-n-lay stuff like iOS games, COD, Halo, Gears, GTA, and sports games (although hardcore sports gamers are a demographic on their own). Don't confuse colorful aesthetics or unique art-styles with "casual". Just because a game has lifelike human models does not make it less casual. Last gen the most casual game was Heavy Rain.

The 3rd party games are just awful.

It's not by any means the go-to system for AAA 3rd party games but the games that are there are not "awful". Ubisoft has raved about the usefulness of the unique controller in their Wii U games, which have, besides the early launch been pretty fine and glitch-free (Assassin's Creed IV, Zombi U (a true survival horror with great multiplayer too), Splinter Cell, and the upcoming Watch_dogs; also Arkham Origins runs smoothest on Wii U among consoles). Deus Ex: HR was always a great game and the director's cut is out for Wii U, again a fantastic port. And a lot of people think Lego City Undercover was one of the best-written games of last year. and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a great game, although I'm not willing to put in the kind of time that gets spent on it.

Though I just can't invest money in a failing console. To me the risk of buying a Wii U right now would be like buying a Dreamcast after the Xbox and PS2 came out.

When I look back at it, the Dreamcast in its single year had a better library of games than the original Xbox in its entirety (Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue, Shenmue 2, Rez, Sonic Adventure 2, PSO, MvC2, Rival Schools, Soul Calibur, Virtua Tennis, Grandia 2, Crazy Taxi, Re: Code Veronica, and Jet Grind Radio) and everyone who owned one loved it... it was never a ""risky"" investment... popularity does not equate to quality. The only xbox games worth owning were available on PC anyways back then (Halo, KOTOR)...with the exception of Jet Set Radio Future, a sequel to a fantastic... dreamcast game, and Crazy Taxi.. a port of a dreamcast game. Just because the xbox sold more does not mean it was a better investment for the end-user, and likewise in this generation.

It's your money and how you want to invest it is totally up to you, but we buy gaming consoles for games. The way the industry is these days though, it seems it's mostly a popularity contest.

 

[slipperybidness]

My two favorite next gen games so far between the PS4 and Xbox One have been Forza Motorsport 5 (best racing game of any the current consoles) and Dead Rising 3. They are both exclusives.

The most intriguing exclusive game for me in 2014 is called Sunset Overdrive.

Titanfall isn't even out yet and we have no idea about the exclusivity of Gears and Halo on next gen. Previously, Gears and Halo were developed on the 360.

I guess I am just the opposite. There are not many Wii U 1st party games that interest me, and too casual for me to invest in the console. The 3rd party games are just awful. Though I just can't invest money in a failing console. To me the risk of buying a Wii U right now would be like buying a Dreamcast after the Xbox and PS2 came out.

Microsoft just purchased all the IP associated with GOW, so it will almost certainly be XBOX exclusive. And that will probably make me buy XBOX.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Microsoft just purchased all the IP associated with GOW, so it will almost certainly be XBOX exclusive. And that will probably make me buy XBOX.

That's interesting. 343 has done an amazing job after they took it over for Bungie. Hopefully they can hit the mark on a new developer for this franchise too.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Gran Turismo 6 exists.



It's actually pretty clear they're X1 exclusives. Microsoft owns the Halo rights, and the other week they bought the Gears of War rights too. But Halo is being made by a different developer and gears likely will be too. Titanfall has been confirmed to be a 6 vs 6 online-only game.. basically just COD with mechs.



Huh? ...Wonderful 101, Pikmin 3, Zelda, Bayonetta, X, SMT x Fire Emblem, Monster Hunter...far from casual. Casual is pick-up-n-lay stuff like iOS games, COD, Halo, Gears, GTA, and sports games (although hardcore sports gamers are a demographic on their own). Don't confuse colorful aesthetics or unique art-styles with "casual". Just because a game has lifelike human models does not make it less casual. Last gen the most casual game was Heavy Rain.



It's not by any means the go-to system for AAA 3rd party games but the games that are there are not "awful". Ubisoft has raved about the usefulness of the unique controller in their Wii U games, which have, besides the early launch been pretty fine and glitch-free (Assassin's Creed IV, Zombi U (a true survival horror with great multiplayer too), Splinter Cell, and the upcoming Watch_dogs; also Arkham Origins runs smoothest on Wii U among consoles). Deus Ex: HR was always a great game and the director's cut is out for Wii U, again a fantastic port. And a lot of people think Lego City Undercover was one of the best-written games of last year. and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a great game, although I'm not willing to put in the kind of time that gets spent on it.



When I look back at it, the Dreamcast in its single year had a better library of games than the original Xbox in its entirety (Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue, Shenmue 2, Rez, Sonic Adventure 2, PSO, MvC2, Rival Schools, Soul Calibur, Virtua Tennis, Grandia 2, Crazy Taxi, Re: Code Veronica, and Jet Grind Radio) and everyone who owned one loved it... it was never a ""risky"" investment... popularity does not equate to quality. The only xbox games worth owning were available on PC anyways back then (Halo, KOTOR)...with the exception of Jet Set Radio Future, a sequel to a fantastic... dreamcast game, and Crazy Taxi.. a port of a dreamcast game. Just because the xbox sold more does not mean it was a better investment for the end-user, and likewise in this generation.

It's your money and how you want to invest it is totally up to you, but we buy gaming consoles for games. The way the industry is these days though, it seems it's mostly a popularity contest.

If "we" buy gaming consoles for games then why aren't people buying the Wii U? So who is we then? It certainly isn't the Nintendo user base as sales on even their best games are poor.

 

[lsiberian]

Gran Turismo 6 exists.



It's actually pretty clear they're X1 exclusives. Microsoft owns the Halo rights, and the other week they bought the Gears of War rights too. But Halo is being made by a different developer and gears likely will be too. Titanfall has been confirmed to be a 6 vs 6 online-only game.. basically just COD with mechs.



Huh? ...Wonderful 101, Pikmin 3, Zelda, Bayonetta, X, SMT x Fire Emblem, Monster Hunter...far from casual. Casual is pick-up-n-lay stuff like iOS games, COD, Halo, Gears, GTA, and sports games (although hardcore sports gamers are a demographic on their own). Don't confuse colorful aesthetics or unique art-styles with "casual". Just because a game has lifelike human models does not make it less casual. Last gen the most casual game was Heavy Rain.



It's not by any means the go-to system for AAA 3rd party games but the games that are there are not "awful". Ubisoft has raved about the usefulness of the unique controller in their Wii U games, which have, besides the early launch been pretty fine and glitch-free (Assassin's Creed IV, Zombi U (a true survival horror with great multiplayer too), Splinter Cell, and the upcoming Watch_dogs; also Arkham Origins runs smoothest on Wii U among consoles). Deus Ex: HR was always a great game and the director's cut is out for Wii U, again a fantastic port. And a lot of people think Lego City Undercover was one of the best-written games of last year. and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a great game, although I'm not willing to put in the kind of time that gets spent on it.



When I look back at it, the Dreamcast in its single year had a better library of games than the original Xbox in its entirety (Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue, Shenmue 2, Rez, Sonic Adventure 2, PSO, MvC2, Rival Schools, Soul Calibur, Virtua Tennis, Grandia 2, Crazy Taxi, Re: Code Veronica, and Jet Grind Radio) and everyone who owned one loved it... it was never a ""risky"" investment... popularity does not equate to quality. The only xbox games worth owning were available on PC anyways back then (Halo, KOTOR)...with the exception of Jet Set Radio Future, a sequel to a fantastic... dreamcast game, and Crazy Taxi.. a port of a dreamcast game. Just because the xbox sold more does not mean it was a better investment for the end-user, and likewise in this generation.

It's your money and how you want to invest it is totally up to you, but we buy gaming consoles for games. The way the industry is these days though, it seems it's mostly a popularity contest.

Never owned a dreamcast, but in those days PC gaming was at it's height. Nowadays everything is made for the PS3 and Xbox. I didn't even know they released the WiiU.