Business Approach Comparison Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox

[Arwin]

I am not counting Microsoft out. If the Xbox One can function with full WinRT App support, including the use of Office etc, but having everything from games to Apps, TV and services well integrated, it genuinely has a shot at becoming an important livingroom box. But it will take a while and some tweaking. Get the current streaming apps out of the Gold paywall, to start with. All asynchronous multiplayer ditto.

From everything they've shown so far, they definitely have potential. The Sony UI and media features seen so far have been very ... Modest. It could still become the main device for the livingroom, even in my household. They are far from out for the count. The biggest risk they have is that they don't do anything well enough to take over from specialist devices, and it's a real threat. But they have it within the company to pull it off. Start, however, with getting better spokespersons. Outlaw words like consumers, focus groups, experience, etc for anything that will be consumed and experienced by those represented by said focus groups.

 

[patsu]

Perhaps apple will release iWall, until then I think TVs are fairly safe.

Talking about potential future products isn't useful. The current products don't have that function built in. You could be waiting a long time.

The TV watching habit declines the most for young adults and teens, but the pace is gradual. Older folks stay about the same.

And just to confirm, whether the TV is safe or not, you can use the tablets as remote.

I am not counting Microsoft out. If the Xbox One can function with full WinRT App support, including the use of Office etc, but having everything from games to Apps, TV and services well integrated, it genuinely has a shot at becoming an important livingroom box. But it will take a while and some tweaking. Get the current streaming apps out of the Gold paywall, to start with. All asynchronous multiplayer ditto.

From everything they've shown so far, they definitely have potential. The Sony UI and media features seen so far have been very ... Modest. It could still become the main device for the livingroom, even in my household. They are far from out for the count. The biggest risk they have is that they don't do anything well enough to take over from specialist devices, and it's a real threat. But they have it within the company to pull it off. Start, however, with getting better spokespersons. Outlaw words like consumers, focus groups, experience, etc for anything that will be consumed and experienced by those represented by said focus groups.

Yes for families that play games. If they are not keen in gaming at all, there are many cheap or free options. And more specialized options will arrive on the scene. Intel, Samsung and friends are working on their own motion controller.

Google Now won't stop at voice search.

 

[wco81]

It seems in some ways, the Xbone is intended to counter the "second screen" trend of people having their smart phones and iPads by their side when watching TV.

I recall hearing about a survey that showed peak iPad usage around prime time and late at night and early in the morning, meaning people were using it while watching TV, before going to bed and when they wake up in the morning.

So Xbone has all the fancy split screen effects, so that you can bring up fantasy football stats while watching NFL games on the split screen, rather than bring up the stats on your mobile device.

It's as if they're trying to wrestle eyeballs away from mobile devices, which makes sense, because most of the mobile devices in use are made by their competitors. If MS mobile devices had much greater market share, I think the Xbone would have been conceived differently.

 

[patsu]

Yes. The main challenge is MS trying to court 2 audiences at the same time. It's harder to do now than in 2006.

There are powerful opponents on both fronts.

The consumers have more choices, and know what they don't want.


Would be interesting to see how Sony treat PSEye this fall.

 

[McHuj]

It seems in some ways, the Xbone is intended to counter the "second screen" trend of people having their smart phones and iPads by their side when watching TV.

Imo, that just won't work. We treat the TV as the communal screen. When I need to look at my email, webpage, etc while watching TV, I don't want to disrupt my wife's viewing, nor do I want her to disrupt my viewing. I think people like having their own personal device for the stuff MS wants to do on screen in addition to TV.

 

[eastmen]

Yes. The main challenge is MS trying to court 2 audiences at the same time. It's harder to do now than in 2006.

There are powerful opponents on both fronts.

The consumers have more choices, and know what they don't want.


Would be interesting to see how Sony treat PSEye this fall.

they just took it out back and shot it by charging $60 for it and not packing it in.

So I don't think sony will treat it well in the fall

 

[Bagel seed]

It seems in some ways, the Xbone is intended to counter the "second screen" trend of people having their smart phones and iPads by their side when watching TV.

Sounds about right. In every future vision video MS has made there's always some massive TV that's hanging around for you to interact with.

 

[blakjedi]

It seems in some ways, the Xbone is intended to counter the "second screen" trend of people having their smart phones and iPads by their side when watching TV.

I recall hearing about a survey that showed peak iPad usage around prime time and late at night and early in the morning, meaning people were using it while watching TV, before going to bed and when they wake up in the morning.

So Xbone has all the fancy split screen effects, so that you can bring up fantasy football stats while watching NFL games on the split screen, rather than bring up the stats on your mobile device.

It's as if they're trying to wrestle eyeballs away from mobile devices, which makes sense, because most of the mobile devices in use are made by their competitors. If MS mobile devices had much greater market share, I think the Xbone would have been conceived differently.

Except MS has the first multiple mobile device second screen app in Smartglass which is central to their XB 1 strategy. They are trying to embrace all platforms around an MS defined usage paradigm.

 

[warb]

They can also buy a PS4 for NetFlix and rent BR games and videos.

Or buy an AppleTV, Roku box.

Or a SmartTV.

Or just watch TV on iPad.

EDIT: Look at Apple, they know watching TV is a low value proposition because the new TVs will come built-in with NetFlix and other video services.

The next step would be cheap Kinect like controllers, not as flexible as Kinect, only recognize a few gestures for TV surfing, selling for cheap or built in.

Or they could buy a PC to play with the prettiest graphics and watch Netflix, or anything else you can think of.

MS are trying to tie it all together with a swift and simple UI. Enough power to run next-gen games, but the main draw if it takes off, will be the integration of everything TV, with Kinect and voice.

"Xbox on, play episode 16 of whatever series", "Skype whatshername", "bing/search whatever" and so on, all on the main screen and sound system without needing to pick up another device. XBL will apparently get the whole family access to your shared games library from anywhere, which might be a big deal.

 

[blakjedi]

The shared games library not only with family but also friends is a HUGE DEAL. Im surprised MS didnt make more of it...

 

[patsu]

they just took it out back and shot it by charging $60 for it and not packing it in.

So I don't think sony will treat it well in the fall

Possible. If they plan to focus on the core gamers, they may spend more time on what's important to these people first... like online gaming, game price, etc. The others may come later.

That said, I would expect a few loose cannons like Media Molecule and the indies to explore new ideas. That's SCE's appeal.

 

[patsu]

The shared games library not only with family but also friends is a HUGE DEAL. Im surprised MS didnt make more of it...

It is because today, people can already share physical discs, and register your PSN account on your friends' devices to play your games there.

EDIT:
I fully expect Steve Balmer to come back with Thor's hammer though. Sony HQ is probably stacking sandbags and barricading their offices as we speak.

 

[ERP]

The shared games library not only with family but also friends is a HUGE DEAL. Im surprised MS didnt make more of it...

They've done a horrible job messaging what you can and can't do.
It's still unclear because of some of the wording in the release.
I would bet the majority of it is described internally in use cases, and they should have just published a couple of those. But I'll also bet that the issue is that any release like this has to be run through legal and MS' legal department is a pain in the ass, and IME extremely slow.

 

[warb]

It is because today, people can already share physical discs, and register your PSN account on your friends' devices to play your games there.

EDIT:
I fully expect Steve Balmer to come back with Thor's Hammer though. Sony HQ is probably stacking sandbags and barricading their offices as we speak.

But it seems up to 10 "family" will have access to your entire shared library at any time, from any system.

I wonder if that works for the same game at the same time, no need to buy two games for system link co-op.

 

[patsu]

But it seems up to 10 "family" will have access to your entire shared library at any time, from any system.

I wonder if if that works for the same game at the same time, no need to buy two games for system link co-op.

You can play your discs (rented, borrowed, stolen or bought) on any compatible console. There is no limit.

You can register your PSN account on up to 3 or 5 PS3s. Anyone can play on those devices.


In the MP3 days, Apple's FairPlay DRM works because copying MP3 is illegal. Consumers were getting prosecuted. They came up with a convenient DRM system to pull the music studios and the people together. People can get their music legally and effortlessly.

Here, people are buying games legally (and cheaply for some). But the DRM barges in to restrict their freedom and sense of ownership. That's why the backlash.

 

[warb]

If I can play my games on my console, and at the same time my brother in another city has access to all of them, even the one I just bought, that's something you can't do with discs.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Here, people are buying games legally (and cheaply for some). But the DRM barges in to restrict their freedom and sense of ownership. That's why the backlash.

Only because the status quo was much different from the start and allowed for a lot of abuse.

 

[Tap In]

If I can play my games on my console, and at the same time my brother in another city has access to all of them, even the one I just bought, that's something you can't do with discs.

Plus with Xbox you will be able to switch between games (as demo yesterday, playing one game while matchmaking in another and then seamlessly switch to the other game)

this disc-less operation and voice control is imperative to the experience of the future.

PS4 is still chanined to discs with no voice camera operation...it is hanging onto the old school gaming market while MS is also brining killer gaming experiences with arguably stronger partnetships and is more of a Game/Living room box


for those differences the $100 less seems fair, Sony has diverged into being the hardcore, game sharing, disc chained, controller based UI while Xbox positions itself uniquely


these are not the same devices, they will play the same games and will look very similar to each other to most peoples eye but that's where the comparison ends.

Now it's up to MS to differentiate that to the masses

I will recommend the PS4 to my step son as he is that market (teenager , disc sharer, does not own the living room space, may not be always connected, cheaper) while I will buy my Box for the more advanced experiences and I have the extra $100 for machine and can afford to pay for all the games I play

 

[Rangers]

Plus with Xbox you will be able to switch between games (as demo yesterday, playing one game while matchmaking in another and then seamlessly switch to the other game)

this disc-less operation and voice control is imperative to the experience of the future.

PS4 is still chanined to discs with no voice camera operation...it is hanging onto the old school gaming market while MS is also brining killer gaming experiences with arguably stronger partnetships and is more of a Game/Living room box


for those differences the $100 less seems fair, Sony has diverged into being the hardcore, game sharing, disc chained, controller based UI while Xbox positions itself uniquely


these are not the same devices, they will play the same games and will look very similar to each other to most peoples eye but that's where the comparison ends.

Now it's up to MS to differentiate that to the masses

I will recommend the PS4 to my step son (teenager as he is that market, disc sharer, does not own the living room space, may not be always connected, cheaper) while I will buy my Box for the more advanced experiences and I have the extra $100 for machine and can afford to pay for all the games I play

i agree, IF the power differences between the consoles ends up fairly superfluous in practice over time.

Xbone comes with a camera, which alone is going to allow a lot of things PS4 wont have out of the box. Combine that with the TV control and stuff, I think many casuals will indeed perceive Xbone as the more premium option.

still, 399 would have been a massive difference in perception for xb1. especially since it's apparently the less powerful option.

 

[Nesh]

Plus with Xbox you will be able to switch between games (as demo yesterday, playing one game while matchmaking in another and then seamlessly switch to the other game)

this disc-less operation and voice control is imperative to the experience of the future.

PS4 is still chanined to discs with no voice camera operation...it is hanging onto the old school gaming market while MS is also brining killer gaming experiences with arguably stronger partnetships and is more of a Game/Living room box


for those differences the $100 less seems fair, let Sony has diverged into being the hardcore, game sharing, disc chained, controller based UI while Xbox positions itself uniquely


these are not the same devices, they will play the same games and will look very similar to each other to most peoples eye but that's where the comparison ends.

Now it's up to MS to differentiate that to the masses

I will recommend the PS4 to my step son (teenager as he is that market, disc sharer, does not own the living room space, may not be always connected, cheaper) while I will buy my Box for the more advanced experiences and I have the extra $100 for machine and can afford to pay for all the games I play

I like those conveniences but they come at a serious cost that people do not realize yet.
If thats how they want to implement those conveniences I am against it, until they find a solution that does not require sacrifices and no I dont accept "no" as an answer. There is only the lack of will and interest to find a different solution because they want more control. We are consumers and we want products that empower us instead of giving us "carrots on a stick" to sweeten a deal which under different conditions we would have never accepted