It’s that time now where I’m being increasingly asked which new console I’m going to get (ignoring the two slightly more likely options of either getting neither or both of course). I mean, really? What’s the odds of me just getting one if I decide I want in on this console generation?
The answer is that I pre-ordered both in a no cash up front kind of way so I could get one if I wanted and am fully prepared to cancel either or both if somebody doesn’t start saying something to excite me soon.
I have an easy enough set of requirements that put consoles onto the plus side of the decision:
- A controller that I don’t hate. This is the reason why my PS3s never became my console of choice. Points to MS and Sony here so far it seems, but of course I need a hands on with them to be sure.
- Unprotected game video footage for recording. Points to MS here for announcing it, while Sony need to make a statement one way or the other although the PS3 sets a bad precedent due to its locked down HDMI. Before anybody says anything, no the inbuilt video capture is useless for what I want due to recording lengths on both platforms.
- Fast times from switching on to playing games. No lengthy patches, no lengthy installs, just playing games. Provisional points to both sides as they are saying the right kind of things. Again, seeing the results is the only way to know for sure. It’s also going to need to not throw up an error message and lengthy recovery task every time you boot from having pulled the power cord out to shut the damn thing up (looking at you PS3)
- A good range of exclusive games. I think Sony may nudge it here, but not by much. Either way the number of games that I’ll not be playing on PC instead is rather small in the first six months or more.
- Good media remote. One of these consoles would replace a PS3 as a blu-ray player so it needs to have a nice remote. On the previous generation the 360 had an awful one that could be replaced with a universal remote and the PS3 had a great one that couldn’t due to lack of IR (some limited HDMI based control works for some TVs as well, which is cool). Neither companies have announced their replacements as far as I can tell, but MS certainly support IR remotes. I’m going to predict that the company who is also a TV manufacturer will probably come out on top again.
- Proper independent game support on the console. Sony have already said no, their self-publishing isn’t what I’m after. MS are announcing their support at Gamescon, so maybe they will have what I want, which is something like their Indie Arcade on 360. If it supports Unity then frankly they’ve got a sale. I’m not hopeful.
The real test is how much use a new console would get in the first few months, and with the way things are I think that’s going to be quite limited unless it’s your primary games platform. Buying both is probably unwise at this time, as is buying a console if you already have a good PC. Will that stop me though? I’m not sure yet.
