My contribution to this discussion is that a) there is some hyperbole going on in here and people claiming to know the facts, and b) I'm in no way a fan of this anti-consumer type approach Microsoft seems to be taking, but I'd say it's very short sighted to say "console A is the clear winner for good, nothing will change that". I'm taking the wait and see approach; I will not be buying either console at launch, and plan to see how things play out before making my decision.

I didn't mean the article, I thought it was well-balanced too. The fact is, it's hard to say how the DRM will play out. I believe there is no fee for first-party used games and it's up to the 3rd party publisher whether there is a fee or not. With the use of the cloud, it seems pretty inevitable that sharing games is going to be limited, and it seems like this is the direction everything is heading in.

I'm in the same boat as cgalligan. I had nothing against MS and was an happy XBOX owner for over 5 years. I lately switched to PS3 because of MLB The Show. I started browse around the PS3 and PS+ and what I found is that the free games are well worth the 50$ I pay for PS+.

So, having no preference or hatred against any of the two companies, I can't believe MS are going forward not only making a new console that put gaming to the same category as watching tv, talking on skype or renting movies on Netflix. On top of that, it's the list of obligations and restrictions that will come with the X1 that amaze me.

I don't know what happened with the people taking decisions at MS on the gaming side, but there's something I don't understand. Is there something I missed over the years and I'm out of it? Maybe. To me what MS is doing is simply making people know they are big enough to do what they want and if you're not happy with it, then...

To add fuel to the fire, Mr. Mattrick from MS simply said that if you're not equipped for the new gen, there's always the 360 as an option. At least, we now know what MS is thinking, before they come out saying that it was taken out of context and not the view of MS...etc.

I read the whole thing, as I always do. If you read my comment I said that it was one of the most bias articles that I read here, because I didn't read this in IGN, Gamespot or Gameinformer.
I felt it was bias because of the way it was written, not that you personally are bias. I don't know and I don't care. But, if for example we want to make a comparison with the prices, you should do it more objectively to not confuse the reader. Even if you say you had until september of Xbox Live, don't you think that you should have added $24.99 for the next three months? I am just saying.
The funniest thing is that we have more things in common that what you think. I had the Xbox and then Xbox 360 up until four months ago. I was tired of not having good games to play and I was feeling Microsoft was focusing too much on entertainment and not doing anything with games. I sold it, bought an Play Sation 3 bundled that included 4 games and 15 months of Play Station Plus. I have played in three months the Uncharted 1 and 2 (the latter a masterpiece), Heavy Rain, Journey and God of War 3, all of them incredible games, and with Plus I have in my Hard Drive more than 14 games for free, included Deus Ex, Uncharted 3, Infamous 2, Little Big Planet 2 and Cart, The Cave, etc. Honestly, what Play Station is giving for the subscription is not even close to what Microsoft offers. I totally recommend you the change. I don't regret it at all. And this Friday, The Last of Us!!
OH! I forgot something that nobody metions, Play 4 games are region free. I live in US but I am from Spain, so games that I buy I can send to my nephews. For me, it is clear what I am going to buy, although most of my friends are still using Xbox 360.
Sorry, for the long comment.

@ emelki1968 Also agree with what you said about the price comparison. At first, I thought that MS was giving the new buyers XBL until the end of 2014 (a 14 months gift, so around 70$ value). I understood after reading comments that it wasn't the case.

For the XBL and PS+, I guess anyone that tries both will come to the same conclusion. For the price, you get a lot more from Sony side. The + in the PS+ means something, while the Gold in XBL Gold, I'm still wondering.

i love when xbox fans try to compensate for the dif here. the ps4 starts 100 bucks cheaper. its real simple. trying to add in the camera as a cost is laughable. im glad it dont have one, i dont want a camera. i dont play games with "motion sensing" dont care a thing about them either.never have, never will . both systems require you to go out and buy a second controller. as for having 1 game to play when u get it, if you get the ps+ then ull get a BRAND NEW GAME (DRIVER CLUB) right then. Notice i said BRAND new. not some old games like xbox1 is giving out , assassins creed 2? really? hahaha ok great deal guys.Not to mention the fact , i dont want a system that tells me i HAVE to connect to net every 24 hours or my stuff wont work. That is only to spy on you. Brings you no real benefit, and if you dont do it, your stuff wont work? yeah what a great company id want to support. ps4 is hands down a real gaming system, not a tv component.

@FBeaule94.
I totally agree with the "+" and the "Gold". After seven years with my Xbox 360, I almost didn't get anything besides being able to talk with my friends while we were playing a game. With 4 months of Play Station 4 I got so many things. What I don't understand is why the media don't talk more about such a huge difference between both offers.

@emelki1968 I'll be pretty honest here. When I choose the 360, it was mostly because I liked the system more than the PS3. I took Gold because I wanted to play online to see what it was like. I spoke with many and what was said is that the 360 online servers we're more stable than the PS3 one and the for the price, you had more with the Gold service.

Then, when I discovered PS+, I was amazed that games we're that good and free for the price I paid. Yet, we'rent talking about paying 50$ and Sony gives you a free pass to download a game of your choice (would be simply amazing) but all in all, you have 12 games or so that are complete and you can play while paying for your membership.

To me, it's just like saying to your customers : "Thanks for paying for the service and accept those free games as showing of our gratitude for your confidence in us." With MS, I won't say they are saying get lost if your not happy, but you don't get anything more, no added value. Yes, the service is great and everything is going fine with XBL, but so does the PlayStation Online.

And like you, I'm just baffle by the fact there not mutch publicity made on PS+. I had it free with the console, but you can be sure that in 10 months, I'm going to renew membership.

@Profit89: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/11/p...s-third-party/ and http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-kinect-pr...-off-511759241 . Google next time friend.

The decision is final in my mind. Microsoft dropped the ball big time and will probably rush to try and fix it. But in my opinion it is too late. PS4 is directed at gamers and made for gamers. Xbox One is not. The price is an added bonus. Most real gamers do not even want that eye camera anyway. Which is why Microsoft will probably play it smart and release a model without their Kinect. Still not even in the end though.

Buying/Selling used games is a bigger detriment to the industry than piracy.


And people actually use gamefly?

I think this gen I'll go back to mostly PC gaming and svae the console for the odd exclusive here and there.

Are there really people who pay 60 for live? Card are on sale at amazon or rakuten for $35-$40 every other week

big companies and big business run everything. you don't think that eventually every console will be reducing and eliminating sharing and the resale of games. in my opinion the software and gaming creators would of paid Microsoft a nice little fee to have this implemented with the consideration of games being made specifically for xbox. although ps4 looks like the winner for now, eventually the game and software creators will favor the xbox due to prior agreements and the fact they can make more money, due to not worrying about second hand sales and friends sharing games. but thats just my opinion whether its true or not only time will tell...i never buy a console until months after release due to the fact that you cannot simply go on specs to see who the real winner is, and if you do you are ignorant and naive...different consoles react and operate differently and you cannot just go off a spec list.