[xxLindsAffec]

But.... but.. but the thread. The thread is about them. The article. I thought we were all on the same page.

[Poetic Vice]

Which at that point you're getting lower graphical performance and game performance of a PS4, at $50 more than the cost of one.


The point of the consoles is a static design in which is optimized for gaming with the hardware. There are advantages to a PC, but it comes with a price. There are advantages to a console, but it comes at a cost. PC gamers and console gamers do thing differently for their own purposes. Doesn't matter if you're a casual gamer or a hardcoe gamer, you'll have your preference. As a hardcoe gamer, my choice was console primarily for the last several years and PC was 2nd. I just did not want to keep investing in a platform to keep on par with other people who gain an advantage by having the more powerful system (i'm speaking in terms of competitive gaming). That's a benefit of the static platform, that everybody is on the same playing field (except for the screen, but that is neglible, because I've played on a 13" standard non-flat screen and would whoop people who played on nice big HD setups).

On another thread, I saw discussions on how you can build a rig for the price of the next gen to run Skyrim beautifully. Ok then. Build one at the price of the current gens to run it on par with that console, a little bit more difficult to do and a lot more time invested.

The next gens can matchup with an above average PC at the moment, at that is nice for the next gens. Won't always be that way, but the performance you'll get out of the hardware though will last bit longer than comparable hardware on a PC because it's optimized for the games unless you get a truly dedicated PC gamer who does the same, which they are some but not as many as one would think (though the population here on this site would make you think otherwise. always remember, we're a vocal minority).

[Joanne Crump]

That's true, I suppose I hadn't thought of that (could've sworn that was an emote once)

[ONLY ME!!!!]

Microsoft cops may break down my door for this.

XBox 360 premium price at release Nov 2005...$399

XBox 360 Elite price at release Apr 2007...$479

Your $180 dollar price is in the shadow of the XBox 1 release, not representative of what they cost when they were 'state of the art'.

My son's cheap laptop may or may not compete with an XBox 1 (remains to be seen), but it was at the time price competitive with a 360 and far more capable.

Just did a very quick look around...laptop with a high mid range onboard graphics card and a decent CPU that would probably run fairly well against the new consoles-four hundred bucks. And everything a PC gamer like me would say against a laptop (can't upgrade, breaks down, blah blah blah) is just as true of consoles as it is of laptops. And the laptop has HDMI output you can feed to your TV if you really want to go head to head with the consoles right there in the living room.

EDIT: when I say 'go head to head' I'm talking about the single player game experience, not attacking your friends in on line games...for that the 'equalization of hardware' in consoles is their biggest selling point IMO.

[Helen Quill]

Except that skyrim has been out since the end of 2011, not 2007, and skyrim is what we are talking about here, or at least that's what you were using as a comparison. And when skyrim came out, the figures I quoted are what the console cost. Of course if you buy the more expensive 250gb version, go ahead and add $40, but that extra isn't necessary to play skyrim and, as I say, you will not be able to buy a laptop that can play skyrim at the same detail as the xbox at the price you can buy an xbox for.

The price for xbox 360 hasn't changed for 2 years - xbox 1 hasn't had an impact on price. Yet.

[Jeff Turner]

Of course, but all hardware is pretty much always outdated as soon as it comes out. Even if someone goes out and buys the most powerful consumer PC components on the market, hardware developers are already working on more powerful technology that will replace it in less than 12 months.

[Grace Francis]

Doesn't change that the XBox 1 is five hundred bucks...and you can get a four hundred dollar laptop that might well be just as good. Buying either one and testing it out isn't on my agenda, but the benchmark sites put the laptop in a range not all that far below mine...which will run rings around a 360 while crunching numbers in the background. Again, I'm not planning any tests against an XBox 1 but I'd be really surprised if it was all that strong. Once again risking the MIcrosoft cops, but I think anyone looking at buying the new consoles should take a serious look at comparably priced laptops and run some tests first.

[Nathan Hunter]

If you had told me that I would be running "Skyrim" on the Xbox 360 when "Oblivion" had come out I would have told you that you were being silly.

However not only did the XBox 360 run "Skyrim" on the exact same machine that ran "Oblivion" without the need to buy any hardware upgrades it runs it brilliantly. The game looks breathtaking, especially on a huge HD Samsung telly.

I almost feel sorry for PC gamers who are unable to enjoy games because they read somewhere on the internet that more powerful specs are possible with this MOD or that MOD and they can't actually play because in some cases I believe they imagine flaws in the game that simply aren't there.

As for the XBox ONE and the PS 4 bridging the gap I would say that unless you're working with a Purpose Built gaming rig the XBox 360 and PS 3 bridged that gap last gen.

Sure higher specs are possible but like MODs themselves, just because you can do something doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Az

[kirsty joanne hines]

Please post the $400 laptop that is comparable to the PS4. I would love to buy it. My current laptop was bought in 2010 for more than that, and it isn't meant for gaming with its videocard (bought it for its ability to process engineering design simulations in Solid Works)

EDIT: If it doesn't have a good online experience, its not worth even considering imo. I understand the draw of single player games, I play lots of them. Though I enjoy competition just as much.

(Just btw, this is always a flaw in the PC dominance argument when you encompass everything.... tweak this parameter in price, change the gaming situation, only do this or that, etc. These changes make the original points usually invalid)

[Marlo Stanfield]

Meh.. English is not my native language so my posts can be confusing, I usually try my best to write correctly but when I'm tired I start to speak/write my own version of the English language.

[Kirsty Wood]

I'm not big on 'PC dominance', just suggesting the 'consoles are the less expensive option' theory bears some investigation. And as someone who watched the 'my rig is better so I win' approach to on-line gaming before consoles were involved I'm actually a firm believer in consoles for that...level playing field. If that's part of the intent for the system a console is the better choice.

As to finding a laptop, I just googled 'laptop $500' and skimmed a bit. When I saw a likely candidate I looked up its video card on videocardbenchmark.net and compared it to my current card and my last previous card. Took two tries to find one that looked like a good prospect. Before I bought anything like that I would take one or more of my most demanding games, install it, and see how it ran.

[roxanna matoorah]

Ok that's the price of the xbox though. Ps4 is $400 and on paper the better hardware. That's all I'm saying.

[Laura Hicks]

Well, you're paying for the Kinect, aren't you? Comparing the price of xbox and ps4 seems redundant.

[Georgia Fullalove]

Do you get a Kinect with a laptop?

You're derailing the point of the post though, please don't do that. It's not about the cost of one console vs. another. It's the cost of a console vs. said laptop. Tim used a $500 benchmark when the PS4 cost $400. Though let's take your example anyways. The XB1 costs $500, but you get a Kinect...you don't get a Kinect with the laptop (don't need it either really) and if you wanted one, it'll probably cost $100.

So no, it's not redundant by any means. If you want the PS Eye or whatever, you can spend the extra $100. I'm not really interesting in the the body motion stuff, but I am intrigued by the PlayStation Move where you do an actual gun attachment. I tried it out a couple times and if used properly can give some advantages (with a couple disadvantages) to using a controller during FPS.

[KIng James]

You're right, the laptop doesn't come with a Kinect. So presumably you will subtract $100 from the $500 laptop. So now, Tim, you have to find a laptop for only $400 that matches the xbox 1 or the PS4. Good luck.

[Alan Cutler]

One thing I can say about all this is that the comments in that article are hilarious. xD

[Laurenn Doylee]

Oddly enough when I googled 'laptop $500' the one I ended up finding that seemed like it might do the job was actually only $400...and it was only the second one that I speced the video card for.

Am I claiming that I 'know for a fact' it would run games as well as a console? Nope.

If I were considering buying one of the new consoles do I think it would be worth looking into? Absolutely, and I'd probably look further than the second one I ran across in a cursory search.

Since I'm not considering buying a console I'm not likely to do more than the cursory search I already did, and I'm definitely not going to do the 'legwork' I mentioned earlier. To repeat, if I were actively interested I would take a couple of my most demanding games, load them and run them to see how well the machine could handle them. Otherwise you're just betting $400 dollars on an interpretation of specs.

If that showed me that the current consoles are really that strong than I'd just buy one of those...knowing that in all probability repeating the laptop search in as little as six months to a year could yield much different results.

My only intended point was that if you are considering buying a gaming console to hook to your TV there is merit in considering a laptop instead.

Something else to consider since we're talking about hooking things to a TV is that the number of otherwise working laptops in the world with busted displays is huge (since generally replacing the display costs as much as a new and better laptop), and probably a lot of them that would make great game consoles could be had for next to nothing.

[Daniel Brown]

http://m.ign.com/articles/2013/12/09/studio-must-delay-multiplatform-game-to-get-xbox-one-release

This could be a huge problem.

[Rachel Eloise Getoutofmyface]

Awwww, MAN!

And I was so looking forward to Android Assault Cactus!

[Kim Kay]

This is pretty big news moving forward. What if they mandate this with bigger titles? Timed multiplat exclusives on say The Witcher 3 would be gut wrenching.

[X(S.a.R.a.H)X]

Dem IGN commentz are always Popcorn worthy.

[..xX Vin Xx..]

Assuming this is true, I'd just say 'That's cool, we just won't release on the One then.'. It'd great to see titles like Fallout or TES do that just to get One users to see how ridiculous M$ acts.

[patricia kris]

CD Projekt RED will never do exclusives, timed exclusives or charge you for DLC's ever the only thing they will charge you for is Expansion Packs which are bigger than the main video game itself or about the same size as the main video game they said that will never do stuff like this like other video game publisher companies and video game development companies are doing right now in this video game industry. It is even in their logo that they are rebels. So don't fear CD Projekt RED.

[Becky Palmer]

Weird how they require "First Day Parity" but then demand and get Exclusive Release Rights for a month or two on DLCs.......

[Lakyn Ellery]

Simple negotiating from strength to increase that strength.

If Sony didn't get themselves consistently clobbered in the marketplace that strength wouldn't be there and maybe someone with a title like Fallout 4 could stand up to them, but this is what happens when one distributor controls too much market share.

So if this is a real concern, advocate strongly for PS4 with every console buyer you know. Be able to explain in detail the superiority of its hardware. Know off the top of your head every game that defies good business practices and make supporting PS4 a priority, and be able to spout enthusiastically about what great games they are. Spread lies and innuendo about XBox One along with any and all negative truths you can find. That last one may present a moral dilemma, but if you are sufficiently concerned...