Xbox One

I did the PS4 a while back, so now its Microsoft’s Xbox One’s turn.

First off, yes the reveal conference was underwhelming and I spent most of it reading on my tablet and keeping up with twitter for the snark. A note on that: there was a lot less bile for Microsoft than Sony. Snark yes, bile no. Might have had to do with the fact it was 1 in the afternoon and not in the evening when most of the west was home.

I’ve been mulling whether or not to write anything on the Xbox One or the Xbone as I write on twitter because it saves characters, because most of has already been said and for the PS4 I just wanted to point out a factor most hadn’t picked up on. Before I continue, I want to set the stage. I have never been a fanboy for any single console or company. Every single generation I’ve jumped ship from side to the other. Genesis to N64 to PS2 and the first duplicate PS3, almost entirely due to backwards compatibility and free online. Because I could only take one console to college with me backwards campatibility was important for a large library of games I’d hadn’t gotten around to yet.

Having said that, Microsoft has not endeared me to their side. Neither has Nintendo, but that’s more of a sailed ship at this point. It has highlighted one important facet of the whole …fiasco (for lack of any other word coming to mind) of this console generation. I’m looking at my playing habits and my financial status at the moment. Any new console games I might play will either come from Redbox or my friend’s collection. I cannot afford the prices for games that I am frankly drifting away from. Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us would have blown my mind a few years ago, you know when they were announced, but now not so much. And the reality is, if I do next a next generation system it will be a few years from now. It isn’t going to be this fall.

Sony’s conference showed games and enough promise on their architecture that I could ignore the nagging in the back of my mind. The Xbox One conference couldn’t be bothered to do that much. In the last few months my play time has been wholly absorbed by Adventure games of the point and click variety. Gemini Rue, Cognition, Resonance. Or by mobile games. The subtle shift that even I’ve barely noticed is that I’ve already chose my next generation platform and I’m writing this post on it. My laptop is no longer super-duper amazing cutting edge, but it’s still amazing and will play the pants off of anything I want to.

So, yeah. The Xbox One hasn’t made me want to buy it, but it has made me not excited to get a PS4 either. I’ll be annoyed if the indie games like The Witness don’t migrate to the PC, same with any interesting console games that come up, but given the anti-consumerist bent all three companies are taking. It feels more like they’re being held hostage than being offered.