Business Approach Comparison Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox

[RancidLunchmeat]

What would be funny is if this turned around on PS and questions became BUT it doesn't do what xbox can do...

Well that's exactly what is going to happen after E3 in the mainstream press. Everything that Sony showed off in their PS4 "reveal" was an upgrade to current 360-Live but was generations behind what MS demoed in their One reveal.

There's a reason why Slate, Wired, Huffington Post, et al., have been so overwhelmingly in favor of the One and at the same time, nothing came out from the main stream media after the PS4 reveal.

It simply doesn't matter to them. The PS4 isn't going to make appearances on Martha Stewart or Today or Rachel Ray or Judge Judy or any daytime TV shows. The One will. And unless the PS4 can demonstrate obvious clear graphic superiority it's going to be dead in NA. And, ofcourse, even if it can, it will still have a fight on its hands. But that is the only chance it's got. And with both systems running similar architecture this fight is going to be alot different than the "developers just don't know how to use cell" this time around.

 

[MrFox]

Well that's exactly what is going to happen after E3 in the mainstream press. Everything that Sony showed off in their PS4 "reveal" was an upgrade to current 360-Live but was generations behind what MS demoed in their One reveal.

There's a reason why Slate, Wired, Huffington Post, et al., have been so overwhelmingly in favor of the One and at the same time, nothing came out from the main stream media after the PS4 reveal.

It simply doesn't matter to them. The PS4 isn't going to make appearances on Martha Stewart or Today or Rachel Ray or Judge Judy or any daytime TV shows. The One will. And unless the PS4 can demonstrate obvious clear graphic superiority it's going to be dead in NA. And, ofcourse, even if it can, it will still have a fight on its hands. But that is the only chance it's got. And with both systems running similar architecture this fight is going to be alot different than the "developers just don't know how to use cell" this time around.

I'm sorry but you're living in a fantasy world.

These talk shows and some publications are publicity platforms. Always have been. If Sony doesn't appear there it's because Sony's marketing firm decided not to be there.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

And unless the PS4 can demonstrate obvious clear graphic superiority it's going to be dead in NA.

I think that's a stretch. There are still plenty of gamers and PS fans in NA. Might be outsold 2:1, say, but far from 'dead'. A lot also depends on what Sony does with the cameras. Things like the virtual makeover demo from Toshiba for Cell are of mainstream interest. But for the time being, Sony set its sights definitely on the gamers, and we don't know if they have anything planned for everyone else or not.

 

[warb]

I remember seeing Kinect Dance Central on Ellen, it didn't do Kinect any harm. If Sony have things like that to demo, they're not too cool for daytime TV.

X1 can't help but show well to that audience.

 

[Nesh]

I consider them options. *shrug* I have built HTPCs before, I own a jailbroken apple tv running xbmc. The reason why those devices have been niche, both market wise and sales wise is because no one cares enough to try to integrate the experience of using those devices into their media life. Gaming devices however are first class citizens in peoples media setups. The xbox one takes everything those other devices tried to do but couldn't get anyone to care and co-locates it with and through their first class citizen gaming device.

I thought the beginning of the reveal right through Marc Whitten was great. I loved the NFL tie-up and the spec reveal wasn't a geek fest. You have to remember that tech/spec geeks are a minority within the tech enthusiast community.

Everyone person I have encountered that knows about the xbox one reveal, thought it was great because of what it seems to DO. Consolidating inputs is not a minor feat to the average family. They were sure the games they wanted would be there for them at some point.. its xbox after all...

What would be funny is if this turned around on PS and questions became BUT it doesn't do what xbox can do...

You didnt get what I said. You said more options. Right? The only extra feature they demonstrated on the XBone was watching TV channels with augmentations through the cable box. Its not like it opened a whole new world of options. For example PS3 has Hulu, Netflix, Vimeo, NHL Gamecenter, MLB TV, Cinema Now, Youtube, Vudu, Crackle, Amazon Instant Video, BBC player etc etc. These are stuff we get already on current consoles. No HTPC needed. First class citizens right there. Easy configuration. Many features brought together. On a single device. They already did the "more options" thing.

So again, I dont see how XBone brought a whole new world of options that were not available before to the simple consumer except cable TV related features which still requires an extra device to use it. That defeats the purpose of the all in one device solution.

Considering what we got with the previous consoles it does what previous consoles did except more efficiently as expected from a hardware that came 8 years later.

edit: Where's that special new stuff??? The XBone was more like "Hello we are MS. Now lets spend 1 hour talking about the things we showed you before. But surprise we are gonna show you how to do them better"...."now our MS people will applaud so you dont hear crickets"

 

[warb]

The more efficient access is what's new. The duel OS letting you switch applications or multitask on the big screen/sound setup, in a flash.

 

[Nesh]

Oh...now its not the new options....its that
As if we werent expecting it as a straightforward feature on newer hardware.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

edit: Where's that special new stuff??? The XBone was more like "Hello we are MS. Now lets spend 1 hour talking about the things we showed you before. But surprise we are gonna show you how to do them better"...."now our MS people will applaud so you dont hear crickets"

Hi! You seem to have had too much coffee. Regardless, I'll answer your question.

The difference is that while Sony TOLD us that you could pause a game and then seemlessly return to that game at the same point, MS SHOWED us that you could be playing a game and take Skype call and surf the internet and pause the game or play the game and go back and forth between three multitasking options instantly without having to be dumped to the main menu (dashboard) and then have to load a new app.

That's a huge difference, and it's a huge difference in the gaming experience. So yes, it's one of those little things that "gamers" don't give a F about until they actually try to use the system and find out that it's a whole lot nicer to be able work with the One that it is with the PS4.

Yes, they did SHOW us what the future of gaming will be and if you've used your console since the reveal, I can't believe that you haven't sat there and been pissed off about not being able to do those things now because I sure as hell have.

 

[Brad Grenz]

No they didn't. They didn't show any games running at all. They showed taking a call while watching a movie. The showed Web browsing during a video. My Vita can do both with a game running now. PS4 will not be a step back. No one should be impressed by multitasking. Features Sony did demonstrate include remote play, game capture, & integration with social networks.

 

[MrFox]

Hi! You seem to have had too much coffee. Regardless, I'll answer your question.

The difference is that while Sony TOLD us that you could pause a game and then seemlessly return to that game at the same point, MS SHOWED us that you could be playing a game and take Skype call and surf the internet and pause the game or play the game and go back and forth between three multitasking options instantly without having to be dumped to the main menu (dashboard) and then have to load a new app.

That's a huge difference, and it's a huge difference in the gaming experience. So yes, it's one of those little things that "gamers" don't give a F about until they actually try to use the system and find out that it's a whole lot nicer to be able work with the One that it is with the PS4.

Yes, they did SHOW us what the future of gaming will be and if you've used your console since the reveal, I can't believe that you haven't sat there and been pissed off about not being able to do those things now because I sure as hell have.

You're not... you're not saying anything that the PS4 cannot do.
The PS4 also had dual OS, multitasking, background services, and memory reserved for immediate switching. Additionally it has a dedicated CPU for I/O, background downloading, installing, and updating. Which, as far as we know, the xbone doesn't have.

 

[wco81]

Current Apple TV box is pretty much useless if you don't have an Apple device. It's an accessory more than a standalone product.

Mythical Apple television ignores the fact that the UI isn't the problem, content deals are. It's the only thing preventing any consumer electronics company from saving us from the shit that is the cable box. No doubt Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc are far more capable of building better boxes with better UIs in a more consumer friendly fashion than anything made by Scientific Atlantic or Motorola Solutions. The Xbox One guide just shows you how terrible today's cable boxes are.

But that's the point, none of those devices have gotten content deals.

It doesn't appear MS has gotten a breakthrough deal either, or else they would have found a better way than HDMI-in. Interposing a layer on legacy TV distribution hasn't worked for anyone else, so there's no reason to believe it will work for Xbone.

If you're not a heavy gamer, will you pay $400-500 for a box and then possibly some service fee, to be able to speak and have it change channels?

The other boxes are much cheaper and they haven't taken off. Hell there are "smart TVs" with voice recognition built in, it appears. Samsung TV commercials seem to indicate that is the case.

There's a lot of room for improving the UI but the media companies have no incentive, unless the product you're offering gives them more revenues than they have now. Was Apple going to cut the studios in on the profits of the iPhone or iPad or this mythical TV device? No way, so no deal.

Similarly, the studios see Google making money hand over fist and Google was going to enter the TV business without any deals? No wonder they're hostile to it.

Maybe MS could share some of the service fees they would collect to use the TV-in features. Hell, I suspect that the DVR service fees are as expensive as they are (up to $20 for shitty cable company DVRs) because they're secretly or not so secretly sharing those revenues with the studios, to get the right to play on demand content through them.

What's ridiculous is most of the TV shows are produced in the US but Americans pay more for them than in other countries. DVRs in Japan don't have such ridiculous fees.

 

[warb]

Oh...now its not the new options....its that
As if we werent expecting it as a straightforward feature on newer hardware.

Will that be a straight forward feature on newer hardware?

It looks like I can launch the browser or whatever else from any game, or even TV , and run both side by side or instantly flip between them. Seems pretty nifty.

 

[XpiderMX]

We have not yet seen the PS4 OS.

Are we sure that Xbox One does not have an ARM cpu?

 

[Nesh]

Hi! You seem to have had too much coffee. Regardless, I'll answer your question.

The difference is that while Sony TOLD us that you could pause a game and then seemlessly return to that game at the same point, MS SHOWED us that you could be playing a game and take Skype call and surf the internet and pause the game or play the game and go back and forth between three multitasking options instantly without having to be dumped to the main menu (dashboard) and then have to load a new app.

That's a huge difference, and it's a huge difference in the gaming experience. So yes, it's one of those little things that "gamers" don't give a F about until they actually try to use the system and find out that it's a whole lot nicer to be able work with the One that it is with the PS4.

Yes, they did SHOW us what the future of gaming will be and if you've used your console since the reveal, I can't believe that you haven't sat there and been pissed off about not being able to do those things now because I sure as hell have.

I dont drink coffee. I am naturally energetic

You assume too much about me and think I am talking from a gamers viewpoint. Well I am not. This is my perspective as a consumer. A consumer who actually enjoys the all in one concept.
At first you said you are excited because it has more options. Surprisingly we saw many of these options on older hardware. I didnt see new options (except the cable TV staff as I said earlier).
Then its the "oh you can jump from one app to another" seamlessly.
We can already jump from one app to another and go back where we left it on smartphones and tablets. No need to exit and load an app. Once an app its open its already running in the background or forground unless you want to switch it off.

I was expecting the next gen of consoles to run multiple tasks simultaneously since its the standard today......well...perhaps not you.

And no I wasnt pissed because its old hardware and they were good devices in their generation for those that did not want to deal with HTPCs. Unless you suggest I have to be pissed about XBone and PS4 because XBtwo and PS5 will do stuff that my XBone and PS4 cant do too

Your whole excitement seems like its based only on the idea that "Sony might not show multitasking"
If Sony doesnt do multitasking like the next smartphone it will be a reason to be disappointed about Sony because it would be idiotic. This is not a reason to be excited about XBone but it could be a reason to prefer it.

Perhaps if the PS4 was super crap and XBone was just crap it would have been another reason to be pretty excited about. Not.

Until Sony shows how the PS4 works I see nothing on the XBone that makes me go "WOW". The PS4 could also end up being a disappointment

About the future of gaming I didnt see anything yet. Sorry

 

[XpiderMX]

I guess "multi-tasking" is not an issue for any current and future console, Wii U can do multintasking. What I really like from the One reveal was it looks very smooth, and I need to see the PS4 multitasking implementation, Wii U is slow.

 

[wco81]

Multitasking is great but it's not free is it?

It's the reason for the size of the OS memory footprint?

 

[MrFox]

We have not yet seen the PS4 OS.

Are we sure that Xbox One does not have an ARM cpu?

Well, we've seen some interfaces, the ones for sharing and communications in-game, we know the main OS is BSD, so great multitasking and small footprint is a given with enough memory (it's at least 1GB which is more than enough, some say up to 3GB). We know the whole OS design was planned from the ground up for immediacy and multitasking. We also know they have reserved a display plane for the OS, so it can overlay over the game. I'm not seeing anything to suggest it's not at least on par in terms of responsiveness.

Good point about the ARM core possibility, I don't know but is there any indication there's one? There was a rumor that it would have an ARM core for security, maybe it can do the same thing as the PS4 south bridge?

 

[XpiderMX]

Well, we've seen some interfaces, the ones for sharing and communications in-game, we know the main OS is BSD, so great multitasking and small footprint is a given with enough memory (it's at least 1GB which is more than enough, some say up to 3GB). We know the whole OS design was planned from the ground up for immediacy and multitasking. We also know they have reserved a display plane for the OS, so it can overlay over the game. I'm not seeing anything to suggest it's not at least on par in terms of responsiveness.

Well, that's the point, I like how OS works, smooth, I don't like a slow OS.

Good point about the ARM core possibility, I don't know but is there any indication there's one? There was a rumor that it would have an ARM core for security, maybe it can do the same thing as the PS4 south bridge?

Is not context switching an issue with multiples CPU arquitectures (x86/ARM)?

 

[RobertR1]

I find it interesting what a short term outlook people have on a platform esp when the current generation clearly demonstrated how much a platform can evolve with software and services.

Looking at what the 360 offered in 2005 vs today is night n day. Look at the simple offering of Xbox Live in 2005 and compare that to what the platform offers today. Who would have thought that people are using their console for more entertainment and less gaming? I dare anyone to find a post in 2005 that would predict such.

The point is that software and services will continue to be the drivers for next generation. I fully expect the XB1 in 2013 to be vastly different from the platform we'll have in 2018. The hardware will remain the same but our experience will be greatly diferent.

It's for that vision MS is going to bank on distributed computing (cloud). It's also why they are reserving 3GB for the OS. They don't want to get caught out with a resource constraint on the end point side. The host side (servers) can be upgraded but it's the client (XB1) that will remain static throughout the generation.

My expectation for the XB1 is not about what it can deliver in Nov 2013 but what it'll do for me in 2014, 15, 16 and 17...

On the same note, I can clearly state that in a direct end point battle, the PS4 will have more raw power. However, I have NO faith in Sony's ability to execute on the software and services side so they're not in play.

Seeing how much I game these days, a pure gaming experience is of minimal appeal to me and if I really wanted a top notch graphical experience, I'd just buy a Titan/780gtx and shit all over both consoles. That option is always available.

 

[dagamer]

I guess "multi-tasking" is not an issue for any current and future console, Wii U can do multintasking. What I really like from the One reveal was it looks very smooth, and I need to see the PS4 multitasking implementation, Wii U is slow.

The Wii U has task switching, not multi-tasking.