Discussion
It's a useless paperweight without the games, but that's not a new concept.
MS need to pull their finger out and start getting some decent stuff out, because endless iterations of Forza, Halo and Gears do not a compelling ownership experience make (unless you're 14).
I predict it will sell pretty well to the hardcore crowd, there will be plenty of fanboy console wars stuff every time a multi-platform game is released and compared by Digital Foundry (whoda thunk a console with 40% more GPU power is faster?), but generally the landscape will remain unchanged.
I'm remain unconvinced that 4K is the big thing in console gaming. Most people haven't got a 4K TV, and PC gaming where resolution and multi-monitor gaming is important is a totally different kind of gaming environment.
MS need to pull their finger out and start getting some decent stuff out, because endless iterations of Forza, Halo and Gears do not a compelling ownership experience make (unless you're 14).
I predict it will sell pretty well to the hardcore crowd, there will be plenty of fanboy console wars stuff every time a multi-platform game is released and compared by Digital Foundry (whoda thunk a console with 40% more GPU power is faster?), but generally the landscape will remain unchanged.
I'm remain unconvinced that 4K is the big thing in console gaming. Most people haven't got a 4K TV, and PC gaming where resolution and multi-monitor gaming is important is a totally different kind of gaming environment.
The thing is that 4k screens are now almost standard on new sets from about £450 upwards. There isn't massive broadcast TV support because so much bandwidth is required and internet streaming requires a decent internet connection (and no data caps) .. so gaming is the perfect 'application' to use the extra pixels. Plus there's a UHD BD in there too, so access to super high quality Film/TV boxset discs.
MS seem to be going down the path of basically allowing you to run your existing software in 4k at higher framerates from the off, whereas Sony went for 'no enhancement on existing software, only new software coded to support the Pro' when they launched their beefed up PS4 Pro. They have changed that a little now, allowing a potential boost for speed on older games but it's all far from integrated.
I think MS have the right idea on this, make the whole range seamless in terms of peripherals and software with lower and higher end consoles available at different pricepoints, so you can run your software better if you pay for the high performance model.
Also, MS doing all the right things with backwards compatibility. You will shortly be able to run software from both previous XBoxes unlike the PS4 which doesn't support any backwards compatibilty at all, other than via the PS Now streaming service or 'remasters' of older games.
The only fly in the ointment is the price. £449 is good value for what you get but it's a lot for a games console. That hurt the PS3 at release.
MS seem to be going down the path of basically allowing you to run your existing software in 4k at higher framerates from the off, whereas Sony went for 'no enhancement on existing software, only new software coded to support the Pro' when they launched their beefed up PS4 Pro. They have changed that a little now, allowing a potential boost for speed on older games but it's all far from integrated.
I think MS have the right idea on this, make the whole range seamless in terms of peripherals and software with lower and higher end consoles available at different pricepoints, so you can run your software better if you pay for the high performance model.
Also, MS doing all the right things with backwards compatibility. You will shortly be able to run software from both previous XBoxes unlike the PS4 which doesn't support any backwards compatibilty at all, other than via the PS Now streaming service or 'remasters' of older games.
The only fly in the ointment is the price. £449 is good value for what you get but it's a lot for a games console. That hurt the PS3 at release.
Lucas Ayde said:
The thing is that 4k screens are now almost standard on new sets from about £450 upwards. There isn't massive broadcast TV support because so much bandwidth is required and internet streaming requires a decent internet connection (and no data caps) .. so gaming is the perfect 'application' to use the extra pixels. Plus there's a UHD BD in there too, so access to super high quality Film/TV boxset discs.
^^^ This I bought my 4K UHD TV for my PS4 Pro and actually I am enjoying the 4K Streams from YouTube and I believe even some Amazon Prime TV Series. I don't watch much normal TV and find now HD TV looks really bad compared to 4K streamed stuff.Scott Hanselman on twitter said:-
$800 phone, everyone buys. $499 4K prosumer game console and blu ray, folks balk about price:-
https://twitter.com/shanselman/status/874171658608...
Exactly - everyone buys the latest iPhone/Android phone but do you really get much of an upgrade for the price?
SwissJonese said:
Scott Hanselman on twitter said:-
$800 phone, everyone buys. $499 4K prosumer game console and blu ray, folks balk about price:-
https://twitter.com/shanselman/status/874171658608...
That sweet tweet falls down somewhat when you consider that hardly anyone - certainly not a meaningful statistic - drops $800 on phones, almost all of them will be under monthly contract.$800 phone, everyone buys. $499 4K prosumer game console and blu ray, folks balk about price:-
https://twitter.com/shanselman/status/874171658608...
People are inherently short-sighted with finance. Won't think twice about £800-£1000 for a phone, because its "only" £40 a month. Same with car finance and lease/PCP.
Get an XBox1X for only £20 month! I wonder how many they'd sell?
It's the old Simpsons sketch, where Homer says he can't afford $300/month. But $10/day? "Easy!"
MattyB_ said:
People are inherently short-sighted with finance. Won't think twice about £800-£1000 for a phone, because its "only" £40 a month. Same with car finance and lease/PCP.
Get an XBox1X for only £20 month! I wonder how many they'd sell?
It's the old Simpsons sketch, where Homer says he can't afford $300/month. But $10/day? "Easy!"
Same with borrowing money in order to pay silly money for houses .... I can easily afford to pay 6x my salary as the monthly payments are currently only £xyz on my 2 year fix! (At near zero interest rates with hardly any of the capital being repaid in that 2 years)Get an XBox1X for only £20 month! I wonder how many they'd sell?
It's the old Simpsons sketch, where Homer says he can't afford $300/month. But $10/day? "Easy!"
I do think that £449 could well crimp the prospects of mass sales ... the PS3 demonstrates that a high price really discourages consumer adoption of the product, it wasn't until they started slashing the price (as well as the capabilities) that it took off.
Lucas Ayde said:
I do think that £449 could well crimp the prospects of mass sales ... the PS3 demonstrates that a high price really discourages consumer adoption of the product, it wasn't until they started slashing the price (as well as the capabilities) that it took off.
I think that might be why they are advertising it with the Xbox One S which is half the price. If most of the games will play on both consoles then if you want the 4k version of the game you will stump up for the X. A bit like the PS4 Pro vs Slim but with a bigger price differenceIrrotational said:
In all seriousness they could consider a monthly subscription for the hardware, Xbox live and Xbox game pass...if they could price it right they'd do gangbusters...
The SaaS model actually would work for consoles given that people are already acclimatised to paying for Xbox Live/PS+ anyway. Roll the hardware into it and Sony and MS could even charge more for it I'd wager, for the reasons given above (most people can't see the wood for the trees when it comes to finance).
Ok it's not analogous to the phone model, but it compares to car financing where you're expecting to trade up to the next model within <3 years.
Well here we are nearly 2 months from Microsoft's initial announcement and still no preorders ..... This has to be a mistake.... Everyone who is interested in the machine and has been since 'Scorpio' announced ready to throw there money at them....
I've gone from die hard ready to purchase and checking every day to almost forgetting about the thing.
I'm starting to think that if Microsoft are good at one thing it's how to p### people off ..... You would have thought after the Xbox One debacle they would be falling over them selves to make sure future customers have nothing to moan about ....
I've gone from die hard ready to purchase and checking every day to almost forgetting about the thing.
I'm starting to think that if Microsoft are good at one thing it's how to p### people off ..... You would have thought after the Xbox One debacle they would be falling over them selves to make sure future customers have nothing to moan about ....
It'd be a day one purchase for me if there was some software to back it up. PS4 Pro wasn't quite the jump in performance we were hoping for, but it did have Horizon Zero Dawn to really sell the 4K / HDR upgrade. The One X desperately needs one exclusive - that isn't Halo, Gears or Forza - to showcase how potent it is.
Yep it is odd especially from the likes of Amazon not being able to pre-order.
Lots of news from games developers saying it is super easy to code for and Microsoft have provided a great dev platform. Plus it has loads of power for easy progress to up a current dev game to true 4K and 60fps.
Lots of news from games developers saying it is super easy to code for and Microsoft have provided a great dev platform. Plus it has loads of power for easy progress to up a current dev game to true 4K and 60fps.
Pre-order cancelled.
Obvs Microsoft will be weeping themselves to sleep but in the absence of any new IP/real enhancements on Xbox/ANYTHING of note, I don't see the point. I really thought there'd be something revealed by now- an ace kept back to really drive up pre-orders before launch. Can't see that happening.
Completely open to purchasing if and when something (new) worth playing comes along so I wish it well. Shame.
Obvs Microsoft will be weeping themselves to sleep but in the absence of any new IP/real enhancements on Xbox/ANYTHING of note, I don't see the point. I really thought there'd be something revealed by now- an ace kept back to really drive up pre-orders before launch. Can't see that happening.
Completely open to purchasing if and when something (new) worth playing comes along so I wish it well. Shame.
I'm not bothering this time round either ... It's just not a worthwhile upgrade. I understand that 4K is very nice, but like all new consoles, that 'wow' factor in terms of graphics soon becomes 'normal/expected' after a few hours of gameplay. In all honesty, I'm quite happy with FM/FH graphics. I also haven't bought a game in ages, as there doesn't appear to be much in the pipeline that's exciting ... except for perhaps RDR2. I'll be pre-ordering FM7, knowing full well it's the same game as FM6.
I think I'll wait for the next-gen consoles to be released before I purchase something else. I'll probably have a 4K television by then too!
I think I'll wait for the next-gen consoles to be released before I purchase something else. I'll probably have a 4K television by then too!
Flat-out said:
Pre-order cancelled.
Obvs Microsoft will be weeping themselves to sleep but in the absence of any new IP/real enhancements on Xbox/ANYTHING of note, I don't see the point. I really thought there'd be something revealed by now- an ace kept back to really drive up pre-orders before launch. Can't see that happening.
Completely open to purchasing if and when something (new) worth playing comes along so I wish it well. Shame.
Obvs Microsoft will be weeping themselves to sleep but in the absence of any new IP/real enhancements on Xbox/ANYTHING of note, I don't see the point. I really thought there'd be something revealed by now- an ace kept back to really drive up pre-orders before launch. Can't see that happening.
Completely open to purchasing if and when something (new) worth playing comes along so I wish it well. Shame.
Mmmmm.. Where did you preorder ? My main gripe is that I've not been able to preorder yet.
Good spot, Sir 
I should have said "the 'notify me' facility at shopto.net, which I've got in place, that ordinarily leads to an email with link to pre-order as soon as it is available" has been cancelled.
I'll keep an eye on this thread. Hope to read really positive things and if so, it'll be an Xmas present to myself.
I should have said "the 'notify me' facility at shopto.net, which I've got in place, that ordinarily leads to an email with link to pre-order as soon as it is available" has been cancelled.
I'll keep an eye on this thread. Hope to read really positive things and if so, it'll be an Xmas present to myself.
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