Last generation I only had an Xbox 360. The prior generation I sold my PlayStation 2 and eventually got an OG Xbox. Online gaming was where I wanted to be. Still do. The OG Xbox represented everything I wanted from a console. The graphics were awesome and the promise of what Xbox Live would be was the ultimate draw. With Microsoft delivering on every front with the OG Xbox, it was natural that I would move on to the Xbox 360.
The Xbox 360 continued, and dramatically built upon, everything I loved about the OG Xbox. The graphics were outstanding, and, most importantly, Xbox Live was making strides in online gaming that nobody else could touch. Sony was too far behind in online gaming for me to consider a PlayStation 3. The only consideration I had for getting a PlayStation 3 was because of the Blu-ray player. With the outrageous cost of it, I passed. They were just always lagging behind in the areas I considered important for my gaming experiences.
Xbox Live continued to mature and Sony was left in scramble and catch-up mode. While Sony did make strides in regards to online gaming, I was fully entrenched in Xbox Live and the Xbox Live ecosystem to even give a PlayStation 3 a second look. There was nothing I could see that the PlayStation 3 offered that made me want it. I already had a Blu-ray player. The exclusives were interesting but not enough to make me drop some coin. The graphics were below, or just on par, with the Xbox 360. I saw no reason, at any point, to get a PlayStation 3.
Now, that brings us to the current gen. Being an Xbox consumer for about 14 years, an Xbox One was going to be the console I bought this generation instead of a PlayStation 4. Neither console was cheap, and, getting both, at launch, was not an option. Thus, Xbox was my chosen platform once again. Even with Microsoft’s major fumbling of the Xbox One reveal, and console direction choices, I was sticking with them. After all, they hadn’t steered me wrong in the past.
Being someone who loves graphics, I am a graphics whore but can’t bring myself to get a PC just for gaming, and I don’t want to play against keyboard and mouse players in FPS’s, I will get one but that’s for another piece, it always sucked to see PlayStation games overwhelmingly get better versions of multiplatform games. I had known that the PlayStation 4 would have the graphics performance advantage, but, time after time, seeing the PlayStation 4 come with the better graphics, I was getting frustrated in my purchase. I wanted the prettiness.
PlayStation Network is now pretty close to being on par with what Xbox Live offers. With that now being the case, and the PlayStation 4 having the graphics edge, I began to regret owing an Xbox One somewhat. Well, more that I didn’t own both consoles. I wanted those better graphics dammit! I convinced myself that it was all about the games and not the graphics. It is, but, better performance, and graphics, do make a gaming experience better with all other things being equal. While the difference in performance in some games was similar between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the games I really wanted to play seemed to always have an advantage on the PlayStation 4 in some way.
The PlayStation 4 was still at the price of not being an easy decision to get another gaming console. I don’t have a lot of time to game. How could I justify getting another console? Well, there was one monumental moment, monumental in my book, which made my decision for me. That was when Street Fighter V became console exclusive to the PlayStation 4. That is what pushed me to make a decision to get a PlayStation 4... Eventually. Yes, one single game made the decision for me. Now, it was waiting for the right price/time.
The price drop to $299 for the PlayStation 4 Star Wars bundle was a sweet deal. While it was a sweet deal, I had already been playing Star Wars: Battlefront on the Xbox One and had absolutely no desire to level up on another console. If I could transfer saves from one console to another it would have been a no-brainer. You can’t, so, I continued to hold off. The Uncharted bundle didn’t interest me because I really didn’t want a remake as my first game experience on the PlayStation 4. With no bundle in sight, at the price I was willing to pay, I was fine holding off again. That is, until I took a look at eBay.
The prices for a PlayStation 4 on eBay were still reflecting the standard price of $349.99. There were no deals to be had. I didn’t understand how they were still selling? I looked for a bundled console on eBay and found one with a couple games I wanted. So, bought it. That’s right, this Xbox “fanboy” is now the proud owner of a PlayStation 4. For the first time since the original PlayStation era, I’m a dual console owner. It’s been a very long time as a single console owner.
Over the next few weeks I’ll, be doing a series of reviews about my experiences with the PlayStation 4 and how it compares to my experiences on the Xbox One. I’ll discuss the OS differences, the hardware differences, the controller differences, as well as performance differences. I know people love those. It will be interesting for me personally because I’ve been on the outside looking in with regards to comparing systems for more than 15 years. All comparisons I made between consoles for more than a decade are from word of mouth, reading articles, watching videos, or, using small playtime sessions with another console. I think it’s time to do it, first hand, in my own living room.
The Xbox 360 continued, and dramatically built upon, everything I loved about the OG Xbox. The graphics were outstanding, and, most importantly, Xbox Live was making strides in online gaming that nobody else could touch. Sony was too far behind in online gaming for me to consider a PlayStation 3. The only consideration I had for getting a PlayStation 3 was because of the Blu-ray player. With the outrageous cost of it, I passed. They were just always lagging behind in the areas I considered important for my gaming experiences.
Xbox Live continued to mature and Sony was left in scramble and catch-up mode. While Sony did make strides in regards to online gaming, I was fully entrenched in Xbox Live and the Xbox Live ecosystem to even give a PlayStation 3 a second look. There was nothing I could see that the PlayStation 3 offered that made me want it. I already had a Blu-ray player. The exclusives were interesting but not enough to make me drop some coin. The graphics were below, or just on par, with the Xbox 360. I saw no reason, at any point, to get a PlayStation 3.
Now, that brings us to the current gen. Being an Xbox consumer for about 14 years, an Xbox One was going to be the console I bought this generation instead of a PlayStation 4. Neither console was cheap, and, getting both, at launch, was not an option. Thus, Xbox was my chosen platform once again. Even with Microsoft’s major fumbling of the Xbox One reveal, and console direction choices, I was sticking with them. After all, they hadn’t steered me wrong in the past.
Being someone who loves graphics, I am a graphics whore but can’t bring myself to get a PC just for gaming, and I don’t want to play against keyboard and mouse players in FPS’s, I will get one but that’s for another piece, it always sucked to see PlayStation games overwhelmingly get better versions of multiplatform games. I had known that the PlayStation 4 would have the graphics performance advantage, but, time after time, seeing the PlayStation 4 come with the better graphics, I was getting frustrated in my purchase. I wanted the prettiness.
PlayStation Network is now pretty close to being on par with what Xbox Live offers. With that now being the case, and the PlayStation 4 having the graphics edge, I began to regret owing an Xbox One somewhat. Well, more that I didn’t own both consoles. I wanted those better graphics dammit! I convinced myself that it was all about the games and not the graphics. It is, but, better performance, and graphics, do make a gaming experience better with all other things being equal. While the difference in performance in some games was similar between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the games I really wanted to play seemed to always have an advantage on the PlayStation 4 in some way.
The PlayStation 4 was still at the price of not being an easy decision to get another gaming console. I don’t have a lot of time to game. How could I justify getting another console? Well, there was one monumental moment, monumental in my book, which made my decision for me. That was when Street Fighter V became console exclusive to the PlayStation 4. That is what pushed me to make a decision to get a PlayStation 4... Eventually. Yes, one single game made the decision for me. Now, it was waiting for the right price/time.
The price drop to $299 for the PlayStation 4 Star Wars bundle was a sweet deal. While it was a sweet deal, I had already been playing Star Wars: Battlefront on the Xbox One and had absolutely no desire to level up on another console. If I could transfer saves from one console to another it would have been a no-brainer. You can’t, so, I continued to hold off. The Uncharted bundle didn’t interest me because I really didn’t want a remake as my first game experience on the PlayStation 4. With no bundle in sight, at the price I was willing to pay, I was fine holding off again. That is, until I took a look at eBay.
The prices for a PlayStation 4 on eBay were still reflecting the standard price of $349.99. There were no deals to be had. I didn’t understand how they were still selling? I looked for a bundled console on eBay and found one with a couple games I wanted. So, bought it. That’s right, this Xbox “fanboy” is now the proud owner of a PlayStation 4. For the first time since the original PlayStation era, I’m a dual console owner. It’s been a very long time as a single console owner.
Over the next few weeks I’ll, be doing a series of reviews about my experiences with the PlayStation 4 and how it compares to my experiences on the Xbox One. I’ll discuss the OS differences, the hardware differences, the controller differences, as well as performance differences. I know people love those. It will be interesting for me personally because I’ve been on the outside looking in with regards to comparing systems for more than 15 years. All comparisons I made between consoles for more than a decade are from word of mouth, reading articles, watching videos, or, using small playtime sessions with another console. I think it’s time to do it, first hand, in my own living room.
