*exits lurk mode*

Hello guys, this is my first thread. I have been lurking this website since 2006 because I like getting insight into the industry. I have never felt compelled to make a thread on this site until recently. The amount of Xbox One bashing on here has simply been unbearable – it’s more than Vita bashing, Wii U bashing, EA bashing, and Final Fantasy XIII bashing combined. It would be acceptable if this bashing has merits, but it doesn’t, for reasons I will list below. Let this thread serve as an attempt to restore the balance and educate some of the members of this site.

1. Xbox One will have an advantage with casual gamers.

Nintendo showed us that the motion-controlled casual market is huge. Unfortunately, Nintendo appears to have lost that market. Who will pick it up between Sony and Microsoft? Well, I think it’s quite obvious that Sony is simply no competition with casual gamers when competing with Microsoft. Microsoft’s Kinect was a monster as one of the best selling console peripherals of all time selling over 20 million units (and it’s probably under-tracked) dwarfing the Playstation  Move. With the Xbone, it’s going to come back revitalized and improved with superior accuracy, power, and developer support from Microsoft. Not to mention the fact that it’s going to be bundled with every console. All of these facts are inevitably going to lead to casual domination by the beast that is Microsoft. Expect Kinect to be an even bigger hardware-moving device this fall.

2. Xbox One will have an advantage attracting and converting non-gamers.

Microsoft has made it quite clear that they want to attract non-gamers to their console and convert them to gamers. Looking at their nongaming features, it’s clear that Microsoft isn’t messing around either. TV, Movies, Apps, Cable, Music, NFL, Sports etc will all be intelligently integrated into the Xbox One. Casual gamers and non-gamers alike are going to flock to the Xbone with much more frequency than the PS4. This audience advantage will be extremely impactful to the success of the console overall. Expect a large portion of these gamers to be enticed by the seductive gaming features of the Xbone and become gamers themselves.

3. Xbox One will have an advantage with traditional gamers.

People seem to think that the PS4 will attract more traditional gamers simply because Sony is probably going to release more first-party games. This simply is not true. The average gamer knows little-to-nothing about first-party games and predominantly buys 3^rd Party games. Microsoft will aggressively attract 3^rd party developers to make exclusive content for Xbone’s version of multiplatform games, just like with the 360 (see CoD and FiFa exclusive deals). Also, looking at the hardware and software sales on the 360 versus the PS3, it doesn’t appear that Sony’s large advantage in quantity proved to be that impactful. Microsoft’s output of Halo, Forza, Fable, and Gears was apparently enough to keep their gamers satisfied. I expect Microsoft to improve this strategy even further with even more great first-party games (see 15 exclusives at launch). With superior 3^rd party games and a higher focus on quality over quantity, expect the traditional gamer to choose Microsoft nine times out of ten.

4. Sony’s only audience advantage will be with the cheap gamer.

Let’s be honest: who really cares about DRM and no used games? Everyone I know has a very reliable internet connection; and I would assume that the overwhelming majority of gamers will have access to the internet at least once a day. Same with used games: the overwhelming majority of gamers buy their games new – this has been verified in a study. The fact of the matter is that anyone who has no internet or buys used games a lot is in the minority. I would say that most of these people are poor and/or cheap. Why should Microsoft care about these people? They’re in it for the cash, not love. So sure…Sony, you can have this group of people. It makes sense though: a poor company attracts poor consumers.

5. Sony is focusing too much on the PS3.

What was the biggest problem with the PS3’s launch? …The lack of games and lack of big developers at launch. Has Sony learned their lesson? Nope. Polphony Digital, Naughty Dog, and Sony Santa Monica (Sony’s only consistently big developers) have each either just finished making a PS3 game or are in the process of making a PS3 game. There’s simply no way for them to have a game ready at the PS4’s launch. So what games are going to be there for launch? …Some new IPs and a Killzone and Infamous sequel. Great job Sony… *sarcastic slow clap*. You’ve managed to place the health of your console on unproven new IPs and two franchises currently in decline; while delegating all of your big studios to the PS3. This action and Sony’s behavior with the Vita has shown that they have learned nothing from their earlier failures. Expect the PS4 to pay the price for Sony’s incompetence.

Conclusion: The Xbox One will dominate the Playstation 4

Sad, but true.

Discuss

*enters lurk mode*

I'm impressed, you completely hidden any chance of figuring out who you are.

Luckily for the PS4 it has the rest of the world to sell to.

Great leader is messing with our minds, hide from the power of ioi!

This is what happen when you post to much bullshit, your profile commit suicide

Hilarious, but interesting. I just don't think the mass market they're aiming for care much for any kind of "Live TV" device priced $400-$500. That alone kills it for that audience.

ultimate lurker?

A thread with no one to respond to? Guess this will be my only response then.

"The average gamer knows little-to-nothing about first-party games and predominantly buys 3rd Party games."

Ohh.. This is why Nintendo needs to go third party. They hide behind some sort of invisible wall by associating themselves with the "first party" moniker.

The Xbox One will dominate the PS4?

Cool, I like DRM now.