Are you impressed by the PS5 or the XSX so far?

[carlsson]

Anyway, after a huge customer outcry in social media, to the extent that whoever handles the Xbox Sweden account on Instagram had to delete their post about the upcoming launch because it attracted so many negative comments, it seems things mostly have settled. Perhaps not all of Microsoft's resellers will be allocated systems on launch day, but at least the ones that complained the loudest. The local manager at Microsoft apologized for how they handled the situation and the complete lack of information to resellers, silenzio stampa as they say in Italy. Hopefully they learned a thing or two, though apparently Microsoft had the same approach last time when the Xbox One was released through a handful exclusive resellers for the first period of time and only after one year when most of the demand had been settled, all other existing resellers were let in on the market. It makes me wonder how much they really need resellers these days, if they could just have online shopping through Microsoft Store and like they apparently planned to do, pinpoint a few of the biggest electronics warehouses to carry their system and all other resellers, including those specialized in video games could just stand by and watch. Perhaps the Xbox series is not so much about the games?

[Leeroy ST]

2 hours ago, carlsson said:

Hopefully they learned a thing or two, though apparently Microsoft had the same approach last time when the Xbox One was released through a handful exclusive resellers for the first period of time and only after one year when most of the demand had been settled, all other existing resellers were let in on the market. It makes me wonder how much they really need resellers these days, if they could just have online shopping through Microsoft Store and like they apparently planned to do, pinpoint a few of the biggest electronics warehouses to carry their system and all other resellers, including those specialized in video games could just stand by and watch. Perhaps the Xbox series is not so much about the games?

To be fair, the Xbox One plans were hampered by the original "kinect requirement" and the launch of only 13 countries to allow staff to have Kinect recognize languages of other countries, which was dropped but the 13 country launch still had to go on since it was after going gold. Which likely impacted resellers.

 

However, seeing that they are still having this issue is concerning. 

[carlsson]

I'm not speaking about overlooked resellers in distant countries where the systems were not launched in the first place. What I'm referring to is that big chains A, B and online seller C get day 1 deliveries of Microsoft consoles, while medium chains D, E and smaller, independent video game resellers F get to wait for their turn in the food chain, whether that is one month or one year. To the big chains A and B, the Xbox is only yet one more product next to all the TV sets, refrigerators, vacuums, laptops and smartphones they already sell. To the smaller chains D and E, the Xbox would be a more profiled product and to independent seller F that is the core of their business but they don't turnover as many millions of dollars as the warehouses do.

 

What happened here was that F had sent several mails and made many phone calls to Microsoft Sweden, but got no info whatsoever about the Xbox launch, not even a reply "you're not invited". Then they saw an Instagram post that the system would be available through Microsoft Store and the resellers A, B, C. Period. After being a loyal reseller for 20 years, F thought it was enough and posted a reply which they brought as a screenshot to all their customers and followers, who were asking if, when and how many Xbox consoles they would be able to sell. After all their followers attacked Microsoft, apparently a change in policy was made. Perhaps not for medium chains D and E which just sucked up that they weren't part of Microsoft's plans this time as well, but at least F now gets to sell both the PS5 and the XSX (in small volumes) at launch day.

 

For that matter, when it came to Sony it never was any question that they would be part of the launch, only the launch price because for some reason Sony now sets their reseller prices in Euro instead of local currency so the exact price can't be decided until the launch day. Not that it matters much because prebookings have secured that all consoles will be sold until long into next year, no matter what the price is at respective reseller. No gamer would want to cancel their booking and take a chance at a different reseller in order to save $10.

[Leeroy ST]

23 hours ago, carlsson said:

I'm not speaking about overlooked resellers in distant countries where the systems were not launched in the first place. What I'm referring to is that big chains A, B and online seller C get day 1 deliveries of Microsoft consoles, while medium chains D, E and smaller, independent video game resellers F get to wait for their turn in the food chain, whether that is one month or one year. To the big chains A and B, the Xbox is only yet one more product next to all the TV sets, refrigerators, vacuums, laptops and smartphones they already sell. To the smaller chains D and E, the Xbox would be a more profiled product and to independent seller F that is the core of their business but they don't turnover as many millions of dollars as the warehouses do.

 

What happened here was that F had sent several mails and made many phone calls to Microsoft Sweden, but got no info whatsoever about the Xbox launch, not even a reply "you're not invited". Then they saw an Instagram post that the system would be available through Microsoft Store and the resellers A, B, C. Period. After being a loyal reseller for 20 years, F thought it was enough and posted a reply which they brought as a screenshot to all their customers and followers, who were asking if, when and how many Xbox consoles they would be able to sell. After all their followers attacked Microsoft, apparently a change in policy was made. Perhaps not for medium chains D and E which just sucked up that they weren't part of Microsoft's plans this time as well, but at least F now gets to sell both the PS5 and the XSX (in small volumes) at launch day.

 

For that matter, when it came to Sony it never was any question that they would be part of the launch, only the launch price because for some reason Sony now sets their reseller prices in Euro instead of local currency so the exact price can't be decided until the launch day. Not that it matters much because prebookings have secured that all consoles will be sold until long into next year, no matter what the price is at respective reseller. No gamer would want to cancel their booking and take a chance at a different reseller in order to save $10.

No, I agree what you're saying for now, I was just saying for the Xbox One specifically it may have been due to their changed plans the same situation happened. Not currently.

 

But this is something Microsoft does need to address regardless.

[IntelliMission]

It looks like Sony is still ahead in buyers intention in the US, even after the price drop bomb.

[IntelliMission]

It appears the world is not impressed by the Xbox Series X/S. This is what's happening in their biggest market:

 

72% of US next-gen pre-order customers chose PS5

Edited October 8, 2020 by IntelliMission

[Leeroy ST]

The launch lineup for both are very bad. We don't even really have a headlining poor game but great graphics title like KZSF or RYSE son of Rome.

 

It seems that cross-gen upgraded games, BC, and a few third party titles that don't take full advantage of the hardware are going to be the games available for the first few months. Not sure I want to drop $500+ on systems where I am not getting the 4K/60fps and dynamic lightening and other improved effects until next year, or only getting them piecemeal.

 

 

 

[Leeroy ST]

On 10/8/2020 at 8:09 AM, IntelliMission said:

It appears the world is not impressed by the Xbox Series X/S. This is what's happening in their biggest market:

 

72% of US next-gen pre-order customers chose PS5

Eh, remember they had polls even more lopsided against Xbox in 2013 yet it wasn't far off the PS4 numbers at all. 

[+Atari_Warlord]

I'm not in a hurry to upgrade this generation as I don't have a 4k display yet.  I'll be skipping the launch this time around.  The last time I did that was the PS1.

[+adamchevy]

I'm not in a hurry to upgrade this generation as I don't have a 4k display yet.  I'll be skipping the launch this time around.  The last time I did that was the PS1.

Same boat. I still enjoy my Panasonic plasma 1080p TV. It looks really nice with a PS4 Pro. I’m sure it will look great with a PS5 in a few years.

[zzip]

22 hours ago, Atari_Warlord said:

I'm not in a hurry to upgrade this generation as I don't have a 4k display yet.  I'll be skipping the launch this time around.  The last time I did that was the PS1.

I was an early PS4 adaptor, only to have games like Knack, Lego Marvel and Need For Speed for the first few months.

 

But if I get a PS5, I'll have an enhanced Bloodborne with extra levels,  enhanced power for VR, all the Pro enhanched games I never played and Demons Souls on the way.   Probably won't get it day one,  but maybe I'll pick one up early next year.   It will also give me an excuse to finally go 4K

[CaptainCanadian]

PS5 released too early.  The VR selection on the PSVR currently sucks. I have a VIVE and the game selection is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better and cheaper too... not to mention that Dolphin VR works on the Vive. The problem with Sony is that they cut off all the good apps for PSVR that were released early on. Coupled with the fact that current sony dev teams are creatively bankrupt.

 

Hard pass from me until they come up with a 'Subnautica' for the PSVR.

[zzip]

On 10/16/2020 at 11:15 PM, CaptainCanadian said:

PS5 released too early.  The VR selection on the PSVR currently sucks. I have a VIVE and the game selection is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better and cheaper too... not to mention that Dolphin VR works on the Vive. The problem with Sony is that they cut off all the good apps for PSVR that were released early on. Coupled with the fact that current sony dev teams are creatively bankrupt.

 

Hard pass from me until they come up with a 'Subnautica' for the PSVR.

And the Vive costs more than two times what the PSVR cost, so it had better be better!    I don't play VR enough to dump that much money into it, and PSVR has been fine for the most part.   And now it has Dreams so I can easily create my own VR content.

[CaptainCanadian]

The guy who built XWAUpgrade VR fork, did it all in PSVR and theres a way to play it too. He's very friendly, so I'm sure if you ask him, he'll tell you everything. I've played it on the Vive and it's wicked, not to mention free.

[Shawn]

On 10/12/2020 at 12:22 PM, Leeroy ST said:

Eh, remember they had polls even more lopsided against Xbox in 2013 yet it wasn't far off the PS4 numbers at all. 

 

That is a joke right? The Playstation has absolutely destroyed the Xbox in sales from start to finish this generation and is about to do the same for the next generation.

[+adamchevy]

 
That is a joke right? The Playstation has absolutely destroyed the Xbox in sales from start to finish this generation and is about to do the same for the next generation.

If you listen to some of the interviews with Phil Spencer he makes it sound like Microsoft is happy to just be along for the ride. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are close buddies that don’t really compete. They are interested in cross platform co-operation and putting each others exclusives on all platforms.

What a load of BULL!

[Shawn]

1 hour ago, adamchevy said:

 

If you listen to some of the interviews with Phil Spencer he makes it sound like Microsoft is happy to just be along for the ride. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are close buddies that don’t really compete. They are interested in cross platform co-operation and putting each others exclusives on all platforms.

What a load of BULL!
 

 

 

Nintendo and Microsoft might be interested in cross platform co-operation so they can even hold a candle to Sony. This already happened with Fortnite. A game all the kiddies loved to death. The code is there to allow cross play with other systems but Sony just never allowed it, Or they didn't previously at least. I'm not up to date on that stuff cause I couldn't care less about online multiplayer. I only hear what my kids tell me and whatever I might see advertised\reported about games I want to buy or I have bought for single player use.  

[IntelliMission]

Halo Infinite Loses Its Second Director in Two Years: Halo Infinite loses its second Director in two years, with Chris Lee announcing he is stepping back from the highly anticipated game.

[+adamchevy]

Halo Infinite Loses Its Second Director in Two Years: Halo Infinite loses its second Director in two years, with Chris Lee announcing he is stepping back from the highly anticipated game.

 

Proves that money isn’t everything I guess. Must be a tough project. Probably heavily micromanaged by Microsoft’s Big Bosses.

[+adamchevy]

I’ve watched a lot of the recent videos on YouTube about the PS5 and Xbox Series X. So far I’m a bit tired of the Tech Spec comparison and boot time videos. 2600vsSeriesXvsPS5 boot time would actually be a fun watch if it was done by Mark at Classic game room as a spoof on all of these lame view seeking clickbait you tubers.

If I was to pick one to purchase at this point I would pick the Series X. The backwards compatibility is truly impressive, and as more of a retro gamer I identify with wanting to play some older games.

[IntelliMission]

It looks like what Nintendo predicted back in 2006 (graphics don't matter anymore, people don't see the difference any longer...) did not happen 14 years ago BUT will very likely happen around 2027 (when PS6 and Xbox Series Z Turbo are launched).

 

Why? I just saw a video with a PS4 vs PS5 comparison of NBA 2K1. The PS4 version looks like a video game, but the PS5 version looks pretty much like the real thing.

 

It will be really interesting to see how Sony and Microsoft sell the new generation consoles in 2027. Just like 2D pretty much reached its peek a few years ago, 3D is slowly approaching it and the differences will not go much beyond real time lighting effects (Ray Tracing) and details like that.

 

There will be a point where the human eye can't tell the difference even if you add more colors, polygons, audio channels, frames per second or pixels to the overall resolution, that's for sure. And then, the only things to be improved will be the AI and the lighting (it looks like the processing needed to create realistic lighting and 100% ray tracing in real time is very expensive and it won't reach the home console market until 10-15 years).

Edited October 29, 2020 by IntelliMission

[zzip]

4 hours ago, IntelliMission said:

but the PS5 version looks pretty much like the real thing

not quite.   The people in the crowd still look like videogame characters

[+adamchevy]

not quite.   The people in the crowd still look like videogame characters

Your Mom looks like a Video game character. Foul Ball!

[IntelliMission]

The Spanish Youtube channel ElAnalistaDeBits has created two impressive Demon's Souls PS3 vs PS5 comparison (1, 2). The Polish channel Cycu1 already created a similar, yet less detailed, comparison more than a month ago that has the advantage of having original audio of the games instead of some melancholic music.

 

Cool as it is, I feel the jumps from NES to SNES, SNES to PS1 or PS1 to PS2 were similar to this in only one generation.

 

As I said, these kind of videos will become harder and harder to create as we approach 2030 and a potetial PS6 (if the "end of the consoles" hasn't finally happened by then! Or perhaps Sony and Microsoft do a Windows 10 and say "this will be our final one").

Edited October 30, 2020 by IntelliMission

[+adamchevy]

I don’t think it will ever be the final one as long as people keep buying them.