The Next Generation of Consoles

[Bored of Canada]

Not sure if any of you have PS4's, but earlier today I went and fixed my friend's PC so he can play games on there with the Dual Shock 4.
It's not officially supported, but it literally takes 5 minutes and you only need the controller and the USB charging cord, so if you've got a PS4 controller, may as well take advantage of that.

Supports up to 4 controllers, and you can even change the colour of the little lights on the fly if you want.

[Jawaka]

Not sure if any of you have PS4's, but earlier today I went and fixed my friend's PC so he can play games on there with the Dual Shock 4.
It's not officially supported, but it literally takes 5 minutes and you only need the controller and the USB charging cord, so if you've got a PS4 controller, may as well take advantage of that.

Supports up to 4 controllers, and you can even change the colour of the little lights on the fly if you want.

How comfortable is that pad? Any better than the Xbox 360 one?

[Bored of Canada]

Maybe? I don't know. It's loads better than the PS3 one, which I hated, but feels about the same as the 360 one, really. It's comfortable. Does all the same things the 360 one can with that hack. It feels good and that but I don't know if it's better than the 360 one. Just feels like a controller, really.

[Jamie Oliver is fat]

damn, this threads been dead and is only resurrected to talk about getting a console controller working on PC :(

This "new generation" hasn't really caught people's imaginations yet has it

[Subtle Mocking]

I'm just very bored of gaming in general. The only reason I've still got my PS3 is because it saves me getting a blu-ray player.

[HappyTree]

I wonder if the cost-effective point has been reached already in game development. I mean, what more can they do in games in this next gen? Bit nicer graphics, but unless I'm very much mistaken big developers make games at amazing resolution and then have to scale it down for consoles so that's not really an added cost.

But there is more memory. That = more game. More stuff to develop. More story, more choices. That's very expensive. So can the devs even afford to exploit this next gen properly? Is this why maybe things haven't really got that much better?

[Jawaka]

Maybe? I don't know. It's loads better than the PS3 one, which I hated, but feels about the same as the 360 one, really. It's comfortable. Does all the same things the 360 one can with that hack. It feels good and that but I don't know if it's better than the 360 one. Just feels like a controller, really.

Good to know it's an improvement over the PS3 one.

The only reason I've still got my PS3 is because it saves me getting a blu-ray player.

Same. The only game I've got now is Rocksmith, but I'm rubbish at it and have more fun looking up tabs online.

[Jamie Oliver is fat]

Paul Thurrott, not quite a Microsoft fanboy, but a pretty well known Microsoft journo/blogger who says XBone better than PS4, pretty much slates it and says don't buy it yet

As I've often observed, the best way to tell the true value of any technology upgrade is to go back and use the previous version. And this past week, I used my Xbox 360 for the first time since the Xbox One came out. Your mileage may vary based on how you use the console, but for me, it was a bit surprising how little different the experience was. The Xbox One is in no meaningful way worth the $500 premium it commands.

If it helps, I also reevaluated the PlayStation 4 this week, and I stand by my original assessment of that machine vs. the Xbox One: the Xbox One is superior. Whether it is $100 better is of course up to the buyer. So far, it seems like more have chosen the PS4. But I'll just point out that the PS4 remains a much more Spartan environment than the Xbox One, and its fan is quite a bit louder. Not as bad as the 360, but much louder than the Xbox One.

But the PS4, of course, is not my concern.

The real issue here is whether the Xbox One represents an obvious upgrade for existing Xbox 360 users. Someday, it may be. But today, about four months after the console's launch, it's kind of a mixed bag.

The price, of course, is exorbitant. I didn't just discover that this week, but it's worth mentioning. There are indications that Microsoft is finally scaling back the crazy, but even with a price cut—you can typically get a Titanfall bundle for $500, a $60 savings, and there is at least a temporarily price cut on Xbox One to $450 at places like Wal-Mart and Best Buy—this is a premium product. (So is the PS4. Whatever.)

The Xbox One user experience is "better" than that of the 360 overall, but it's still ponderously slow. It seems like there's a one second pause between every button tap and the corresponding onscreen response. Some bits just aren't well thought out. While you could quickly access your friends list while playing a 360 game, doing so from the Xbox one is a multi-step affair that involves a "whack a mole" process of exiting the game, returning to the dashboard, navigating to the Profile tile, and selecting it.

And before anyone tells me that it's somehow quicker or easier via Kinect voice command, I'll just mention that it stops working periodically. Or it will humorously kick in a minute after intended, screwing up a kill streak or whatever it is you're doing in-game. Hilarious!

(I also get annoyed when the Kinect doesn't auto sign me in. It doesn't happen every time, but often enough that I don't trust it.)

With the advent of "Titanfall," many will argue that Xbox One finally has its marquee title, the type of gotta-have-it exclusive that is not available to PS4 users. That's semi-fair, though I'll make two points to that. One, I don't think Titanfall is all that amazing, personally, and it's certainly not the type of generally amazing game that will appeal to non-shooter fans. Two, it's only one game. And unless you waited until now to get an Xbox One, it's an additional $60 for a multiplayer-only shooter title. Hope you "Day One" fools don't mind. (Relax. I'm on that list. Twice.)

And Titanfall will ship on the Xbox 360 next month, too. Another reason to wait.

But regardless of Titanfall—a wonder of marketing more than game innovation, really—it is of course the games that really kill the Xbox One value proposition. The console shipped with a handful of games that you can also get on other platforms, including the Xbox 360 (like Call of Duty: Ghosts, where the Xbox One features noticeably but also slightly better graphics quality). But what it doesn't ship with is Xbox 360 compatibility, so that huge selection of available games just isn't there. Neither are the two free "Games with Gold" games that 360 users get each month. It's a wasteland, overall.

Xbox One also doesn't include many Xbox 360 features, including such basics as the ability to utilize USB-based storage. Fixes come every month, of course, but then that's the problem: Fixes come every month. It needs to be fixed.

Looking back over my Xbox One review, my original advice still stands: The Xbox One is both superior to and a better overall value than the PS4, but if you haven't yet pulled the trigger, you should wait and eek more value out of your 360. Prices will come down—they already are—and games will be released. Fixes will be made. Time will pass, and the Xbox One will edge closer to no brainer territory for Xbox fans. But today, the value just isn't there for upgraders.

[Nobody Soup]

I can't believe anyone would consider buying an xbox one so early after all the red ring of death stuff that plagued the 360 in the early days. who wants to deal with that after spending several hundred quid on the thing?

[mobias]

I'm still waiting for that 'must have' game to be released before I get a console. Though I suspect I'll get a PS4 before the summer. E3 should be interesting this year. Much more focus on games and not consoles.

[Subtle Mocking]

Yep, though I'd expect a boatload of sequels rather than some original console exclusives.

[mobias]

Yep, though I'd expect a boatload of sequels rather than some original console exclusives.

Yeah the only sequel that has me excited is Uncharted. The mind boggles at the possibilities the PS4 will bring to that franchise. Other than that I'm hoping for some entirely new games. Sounds like there's one or two games that we already know about that are in a spot of trouble. Drive Club on the PS4 has now been postponed indefinitely as the developers have had to go back to the drawing board with it after years of development. I think I read something similar about another driving game The Crew being made by Ubisoft. There's also some bad word going round about Watch Dogs which now finally has a release date. Apparently it needed extra development time as Ubisoft decided at the last minute they'd made a clever but fairly dull open world game. The graphics seem to have been brought down a notch or two from the demos that were shown last year.

[mikeyg27]

Yep, though I'd expect a boatload of sequels rather than some original console exclusives.

The rumour going around about Far Cry 4 being set in the Himalayas with ridable elephants has piqued my interest. Though the part in that report about them wanting it out by the end of the next financial year (so by next March) strikes me as crazy - I'm sure it took FC3 ages to get from announcement to release (certainly over a year).

[Mister Six]

I'm assuming a lot of the FC3 development was engine upgrades and developing/implementing new AI and physics systems, though. And it's possible they'd already started pre-development on this towards the end of FC3's cycle.

I'm expecting something like Arkham City - a game that doesn't really innovate in any way, but basically offers a more refined, expansive version of what came before. Which is totally fine by me, because I am ALL OVER a chance to go gutting tigers to fuck again.

[Bored of Canada]

I hope the writer's less of a wanker this time. Himalayas though. I'd definitely play a game set in the Himalayas regardless of anything. Seems a really interesting place to set a Far Cry game. I'd really like if there was India connected as well in game.

I'd quite like to play an open world game in Indian country. Darjeeling Limited sort of outback areas of big open space as opposed to the parts with too many larger dense cities.
Though of course, when the only real verb you have to interact with the world is "Shoot gun", the racial implications can be a little awkward.

Still, Himalayas is an inspired choice. Much like the African Savannah was in 2 and the Tropical Island back in the day with the first one, when dull corridor shooters and bleak WW2 shooters were key. A lavish, bright, saturated paradise is a FAR CRY from Stalingrad.

Ooh. Do you think that's why they call it that?

[Mister Six]

I'm gutted that Far Cry 2 was so shit, because that was a fantastic setting for such a game.

And a lot of fun to play with any South African friends, so they can translate the various Afrikaans swear words for you. Likewise playing Max Payne 3 with Brazilians.

[syntaxerror]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a Wii U for a while, mainly because I wanted a new system and there are barely any games on the Ps4/Xbox One right now - I never bothered with the Wii, so the backwards compatibility was a big draw too, as well as there are a few Wii games I wouldn't mind playing (and now I can go round and hoover them all up on the cheap). So I finally caved in and bought one, Managed to get the premium package with Nintendo Land, Deus Ex:HR and Wind Waker for £240 which seemed reasonable. I'm really happy with my purchase and think its a cracking little system, but I do get why it isn't selling and why people aren't 'getting' it. The games that there are, are good and you're obviously not going to find any first party titles anywhere else; having not owned a Nintendo console for a long time, there's an awful lot of Zelda/Mario games I need to catch up on. The gamepad is great, and the touchscreen is decent in Wind Waker and Deus EX as a map/inventory, but Nintendo Land really shows off the tech best, and although its not the sort of thing I'd normally go for, it is a lot of fun. I tried a free trial of Wii U Sports Club Golf, and that makes use of the gamepad and Wiimote in a really cool way (look it up). You'd think the touch screen/stylus concept would be good for things like strategy and simulation games though, but they're non existent on the system. (I'm vaguely aware of what that Wonderful101 thing is, I'll have a proper look another time)  The Virtual Console is a nice addition but a bit of a ripoff & why no N64 games yet? Oh and the web browser on it is fantastic; its the first time I've used a console/tv based browser to browse the internet properly and not just as a gimmick, it works that well. There's a lot going for the Wii U, and the poor sales mean that games are going pretty cheap for it (not counting the E-shop, the prices are shocking). If Nintendo just started marketing the bloody thing, they might actually start shifting some units, because its got a lot of potential. It's never going to reclaim the casual market in the way the Wii did, but it could create a decent niche for itself, away from the generic grey world of console shooters.

tl;dr - Wii U is good despite flaws.

[Noodle Lizard]

I still haven't met anyone who's got a PS4 or XBone, nor have I really heard that much about them on the internet and suchlike.  It feels like a real damp shit compared to the last generations' releases.  Wotsit, are they not worth bothering with?

They have come out, right?

[The Boston Crab]

My bro got one, thought it was pretty average and then wanted to play his PS3 games again so sold it for a couple of hundred quid profit to an idiot.

[mobias]

I still haven't met anyone who's got a PS4 or XBone, nor have I really heard that much about them on the internet and suchlike.  It feels like a real damp shit compared to the last generations' releases.  Wotsit, are they not worth bothering with?

They have come out, right?

I know a few people who have a PS4. I think VegaLA mentioned to me he had  an Xbone. I suppose with the release of the 360 and PS3 there was the obvious shift to high definition gaming plus all the new online stuff too. It was a bit more of a gaming revolution everyone was buying into. This time around its more of just an evolution of the consoles capabilities so it all just comes down to the games and like we've all said before there simply aren't that many great ones about yet for either console. That being said both the PS4 and Xbone are apparently selling way faster than the PS3 and 360 were in their first few months of release so people are evidently snapping them up. I think the PS4 is still selling faster than Sony can make them and it sounds like Microsoft are potentially going to announce a cheaper Kinect-less version of the Xbone to help sell the console. If you're holding out for the latter it might be wise to hold out a bit longer.

I've heard more and more people claiming this years E3 is going to be one of the best yet with some really interesting games announced. I guess they say that every year though.

[Subtle Mocking]

E3 could be pivotal in defining this era, depending on whether we get some exciting new franchises or Killzone 17 or whatever.

[Fry]

I pretty much agree unless they suddenly turn around and announce mirror's edge 2, a new deus ex or Skate 4. You see I hate the constant stream of sequels and reboots... most of the time.

[Bored of Canada]

I pretty much agree unless they suddenly turn around and announce mirror's edge 2, a new deus ex or Skate 4. You see I hate the constant stream of sequels and reboots... most of the time.

They've already announced the first two. Where's your next gen console?

[Consignia]

I've heard more and more people claiming this years E3 is going to be one of the best yet with some really interesting games announced. I guess they say that every year though.

I doubt they'd hype up their event with, "Well it's not as good as previous years, but excited about it anyway".

[chand]

I know a few people who have a PS4. I think VegaLA mentioned to me he had  an Xbone. I suppose with the release of the 360 and PS3 there was the obvious shift to high definition gaming plus all the new online stuff too. It was a bit more of a gaming revolution everyone was buying into. This time around its more of just an evolution of the consoles capabilities so it all just comes down to the games and like we've all said before there simply aren't that many great ones about yet for either console. That being said both the PS4 and Xbone are apparently selling way faster than the PS3 and 360 were in their first few months of release so people are evidently snapping them up. I think the PS4 is still selling faster than Sony can make them and it sounds like Microsoft are potentially going to announce a cheaper Kinect-less version of the Xbone to help sell the console. If you're holding out for the latter it might be wise to hold out a bit longer.

I've not got a PS4 yet, but that's only cos I'm a proper grown-up now with rent so I can't afford to drop £350 on anything. My impression of the last gen was that it was slow to take off too though. I didn't get my PS3 til the first price cut in October 07, seven months after EU launch and almost a year after it came out. And at that point there was still a debate about whether it was a complete disaster, with the early exclusives like the first Resistance getting fairly middling reviews. People were saying "It's just a PS2 with better graphics", nobody cared about the overpriced Blu-Ray element which had hoiked the price up into the stratosphere. Even when I bought mine six months in people were warning me that it was a failed console. The consensus was that the exclusives were shit, everyone was taking the piss out of Heavenly Sword and Lair's stupid controls. Far as I remember it didn't really become accepted as having been alright until late 2008.

[Thursday]

Yeah I don't think this is anything new, the 360 got of to a decent start if you were a fan of games where you shoot men. Though at the very least I think there were more interesting games that had been announced if not released at this point. Mind you one of the big things for me was that The Last Guardian would be a ps3 exclusive. That didn't turn out so well.

[chand]

The Last Guardian will be the reason I buy a PS5.

[wasp_f15ting]

I'm just very bored of gaming in general. The only reason I've still got my PS3 is because it saves me getting a blu-ray player.

Man this is exactly how I feel.. I got a PS4, got a few games. Played on it for one day... switched it off and started playing kerbal space programme on my PC, then got addicted to the new Diablo patch. Why don't I feel interested any more. The games are so pretty, they look nice but I really can't be bothered any more.

[Jamie Oliver is fat]

seems to be a wider issue of games peaking a bit in terms of graphical power, as a result of 5 years or so of going all out to make games look pretty, both in terms of hardware development and game writing

one would assume developers will wise up to this and start producing games people want to play, rather than just making games 13 year olds want to play for 6 hours straight while calling everyone faggot n**gers

[Viero_Berlotti]

Elder Scrolls, GTA, RDR, Fallout, Dark Souls

I think when those games make an appearance on PS4 I'll start to get interested.