Forbes on PS4 vs. Xbox One and brand loyalty.

Plainview

I am a sinner.
Sep 11, 2013
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I had planned on writing an article just like this one when Anderson suggested this for me to read. This covers all of the bases I could have thought of. While innocent console war banter is fun and enjoyable, it's the vile and offensive nature that the discussions can turn into detract from the experience of the launching of two next gen consoles. To read the full story click here. It's a good read and I suggest it to all. Can't we all just get along?

PS4 vs. Xbox One: Avoiding Another Decade Of Brand Loyalty Madness

This article, like many, many others written this year, has “versus” in title when talking about the upcoming contest between Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4. Both are indeed in competition for the hearts, minds and most importantly, dollars of the average consumer, and it’s going to be an intense sales battle this holiday season and well into the future.

But there’s another implication to “versus.” It’s the idea that the PS4 and Xbox One are two rival camps that need die hard gaming fans to sign up as footsoldiers in a war raged on internet forums and comment threads.

This has happened for years already between the last two systems, the Xbox 360 and PS3, and it’s an exhausting thought to imagine it starting all over again, which has already happened well ahead of release. Perhaps it’s far too much to hope for to believe that this sort of meaningless conflict is preventable, but I at least want to try and lay out a road map to understanding why these two sides don’t need to fight.

Competition is Good

Alright, Sony/Microsoft devotees. Let’s start with a simple premise. What if you won? What if you got your wish and say, the Xbox One was killed by Microsoft and Sony’s PS4 reigned supreme as the only formidable console in town (discussion on the Wii U later).

What would that do?

Sony, having no real competition in the space, would get complacent. With no viable alternative for gamers to turn to, they wouldn’t feel the pressure to innovate with future hardware and software upgrades, nor to ever lower the price significantly. Since its “exclusive” games aren’t competing against much of anything at all, there would be no real need to push the envelope as literally the only game in town. The same would be true if Microsoft had come out on top instead.

I’m not sure how much deeper I have to dive into one of the fundamental tenets of capitalism to get this point across. Competition is generally great for the consumer, forcing companies to continually improve their offerings and cut their prices. The PS4 needs the Xbox One and vice versa, or else innovation in the industry could stagnate. For whatever reason, you may think you want everyone to convert to your console of choice and bankrupt the other side, but trust me, you really don’t.

You Are Fighting for a Corporation

I’m also not sure how these two camps formed, or why. What exactly are you getting for being Microsoft or Sony’s eternally loyal advocate? You’ve given them money for their hardware and software, you do whatever you can to promote their brand and tarnish the reputation of their competition, but for what?

It’s important to remember that both Microsoft and Sony are mammoth, multi-billion dollar corporations who are delighted to have you fighting valiantly on their behalf while they’re not required to do a thing for you in return. In this console war, neither side is “the little guy.” Even other 3rd party combatants like Nintendo and Valve are still giant companies.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with brand loyalty. Explaining to others why you think a product is worthwhile because of the good experience you’ve had with it is normal human behavior. So is attempting to relay why another might not be a good buy because of a negative experience you’ve had with it. But the vitriol, idiocy and the combination of the two is where the Sony vs. Microsoft console wars (and many other matchups like COD vs. BF, hardcore vs. casual and so on) start to look incredibly silly to both insiders and outsiders.

This is not a real war. No console is worth being so violently for or against that it causes you to spew hatred to anyone that can read your text on the internet, or so that it allows you to completely lose your grasp on the English language as you attempt to make arguments. It’s a little bit scary to witness how massive corporations have managed to turn average consumers into unaware conscripts, promoting their brand blindly while slinging mud at their competition for nothing in return. This isn’t to say any of these companies are evil, nor that it’s wrong to like them, but they are corporations, not nations who need proud patriots, sports teams that need raucous cheering, or friends who need you to have their backs. If you see them that way it’s…confusing, to say the least.​
 

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The brand loyalty is hilarious at times. It's obviously just fine to be a fan but the constant debates amount to nothing in the end. Especially last gen when 360 and PS3 was side by side while Nintendo was the big guy on campus. Things are already changing with Nintendo not capturing the imagination of the world like they did last time. However, I feel like sales will ultimately be even all over again though because both camps offer great content in their machines.
 
The article should be "XB vs. PS4: the throes of brand loyalty madness" it's already past the point of aversion...
 
It was a good read and (hopefully)mirrors what most of us think. Even with the heated debates here and there
 
The funny thing about this round of console wars is that each side seems to want to convince the other of how badly their console is performing, when the truth is, neither is super impressive at this point.

It seems like it is last call at the bar, and all that is left is two ugly girls, and two sides are trying to convince the other that their choice is best.
 
If I had the money and time I would have both. Unfortunately that is not the case so I have to pick the one with the games that I want to play with my friends the most. So far the XB1 is in the lead due to Titanfall so far...
 
The funny thing about this round of console wars is that each side seems to want to convince the other of how badly their console is performing, when the truth is, neither is super impressive at this point.

It seems like it is last call at the bar, and all that is left is two ugly girls, and two sides are trying to convince the other that their choice is best.
So true, I have said similar in another thread. It is like a Civic and Scion owner arguing about who has the better sports car while their buddy who has a Vette sits there giggling at how silly they sound
 
I suppose there are many more comparisons that can be made (I see it more like being a fan of a sports team), but I think the underlying point is being missed: it's human nature to compare oneself (and one's choices) to others. All the comparisons being given underscore the same point....it's the same concept repeated over and over, in different forms. Car vs car, team vs. team, console vs. console, etc. I read a study once that graded happiness in humans, and it found that even people living in the slums of India considered themselves happy if they felt they were doing better than their neighbor. As long as it's 'better' or 'right', the thing, idea, or whatever is being compared doesn't really matter.

A lot of people have died in the course of history simply trying to prove they are 'right' about something. I don't know enough psychology to go into it further, but it's all the same basic idea to me.

It's just more obvious these days because more people have a voice online.
 
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I really think most fanboys are just kids browsing the worldwide web. Brand loyalty kills progress. What I hate is that video game forums can attract too much of the wrong kind of posters to have friendly video game discussions with. I found that non-video game forums can be great for video game discussion for that reason. However, the mods here seem to be well on point and unbiased. I hate some sites like psu or gaf because of the incredible imbalance and favoritism toward the Playstation brand. I'm a big Playstation fan, but even I have a limit to the madness I can take.
 
Actually a damn good article. To me it says....NeoGAF you are a pathetic bunch of folks who really need to get a life bad.

Well.....a lot of people on there, not everyone. :)
 
I'm glad Plainview posted this on the front page. I would like to see more stories like this, rather than ones that feed the fanboy fervor. I wish we could take a step back from the console wars and re-focus on what brought us into this hobby and TXB in the first place, which I assume is a love of games and a desire to share that enjoyment with other people.

There are a lot of really good things happening in gaming right now, but I'm finding it hard to enjoy them, or the discussion, because of how much negativity and bickering there is. From my perspective, most of the discussions devolve into the same circular arguments, the same people making the same points, the soldiers lining up in predictable ways, saying predictable things, trying to score points against the "opposition" in some imaginary war. One side attacks and one side defends. The next day, the sides switch. Obsession with trivial advantages, taking any opportunity to sling sh1t in the other direction, continual fighting over the same territory ... and just, in general, everything becoming a big pissing contest.

I don't want to be a part of a community like that. It's no fun. I'm hoping we can step back from the lunacy that infects the rest of the internet and focus a bit more on what unites rather than divides us, and on the good, exciting, fun stuff that is happening in the gaming world, rather than continually turning everything into a contest and an argument.

I'm not naive enough to expect us all to be one big happy, family. But I am hoping that articles like this will help remind us to step back from the console war BS and try to raise the dialog up a notch.
 
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I don't expect one article to do much. I'm hoping for more of these types of articles over time, which might eventually help to set a different tone, a more "unified" tone so to speak.

If not -- if the community wants to engage in the same sort of console warrioring that happens everywhere else -- then that's their choice. Not much I can do about that except just not visit as often.
 
I encountered fanboy angst year one of the Xbox, and was totally bewildered by it. Understand, I didn't read game magazines, nor did I frequent game websites--indeed, I was barely aware of their existence. Console online play in my neck-of-the-woods was an esoteric concept no one I knew indulged in. All I was wont to do was buy consoles and games and take them home and play them in that lost serenity that offline single-player was. Yet, while I ran like the wind whilst my laughter echoed under cerulean skies, a darks storm was building up on the horizon, and a virtual tempest was about ensue. My Xbox console purchase at Electronic Boutique, was looked upon askance by the very employees of the establishment. Queries about games were answered tersely or greeted with noncommittal shrugs. The underlying hostility was shocking and bewildering. In my mind my purchase was no more significant than that of buying an extra television. I already had the PlayStation 1&2 and the N64, So what was the big deal? Students at the university where I serviced equipment were, for the most part, just as bewildered by my purchase, as I by their antipathy. There was a healthy rivalry(I suppose) between Sony and Nintendo--or was it so innocent? Is THAT where this sort of fanboyism began, or did it start with the advent of the Xbox?
 
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You have a way with words, Hammerclaw, even though the way is an odd one. :)

Fanboyism bewilders me, too. I think I have a talent for being detached. It's always been relatively easy for me to walk away from jobs, cities, opinions, and even relationships. So, I'm not the kind of person who's going to get real invested in a videogame system. I switched from being an Xbox owner to a PS owner without any trouble at all. It's just a different choice. I don't get the "loyalty" that some people feel to their videogame system. I'm just not built that way.
 
You have a way with words, Hammerclaw, even though the way is an odd one. :)

Fanboyism bewilders me, too. I think I have a talent for being detached. It's always been relatively easy for me to walk away from jobs, cities, opinions, and even relationships. So, I'm not the kind of person who's going to get real invested in a videogame system. I switched from being an Xbox owner to a PS owner without any trouble at all. It's just a different choice. I don't get the "loyalty" that some people feel to their videogame system. I'm just not built that way.
*LOL*If you are bemused by the text in parentheses, it's borrowed from the opening of the game ChronoCross on the PlayStation, one of my favorite games of the late '90s, second only to Ocarina of Time.
 
You have a way with words, Hammerclaw, even though the way is an odd one. :)

Fanboyism bewilders me, too. I think I have a talent for being detached. It's always been relatively easy for me to walk away from jobs, cities, opinions, and even relationships. So, I'm not the kind of person who's going to get real invested in a videogame system. I switched from being an Xbox owner to a PS owner without any trouble at all. It's just a different choice. I don't get the "loyalty" that some people feel to their videogame system. I'm just not built that way.
I'll be honest with you dude...I'm getting both systems but I favor the xbox one(everybody knows) I like to debate/argue so I like the tickle fight threads. I never call names but I have taken a little to far a couple of times. The fanboys I dislike are the ones that intentionally troll the other consoles threads and what not everytime there is bad news or what not. I make it a point to try and not post "bad" news for the ps4 or to rant in a ps4 thread about things that will obvously turn to a fight. I actually try and post good things when it comes to the ps4 as I hope it is everything and a donut. Right now it feels like the xbox is the underdog again so you just naturally want to defend it.But that is about as far as it goes.
 
I miss the old voice-chatrooms on the original Xbox where we'd gather to set up a game or just talk, in an intimate and realtime setting, just Xbox gamers, excited about the new tech and new games. The only time we talked PlayStation, then, was to use the chatroom for voicechat in an online PlayStation game that didn't support it, or support it well. *LOL*
 
But I am hoping that articles like this will help remind us to step back from the console war BS and try to raise the dialog up a notch.

My notch is 17% higher than yours! :crazy::banana:
 
Very good article. Honestly, if you like games (which I assume everyone here does), and have enough time/money, there's no reason why you should not eventually get both consoles.

Both have their advantages and both have some great first-party games, that nobody should miss.

This past generation, PS3 fanboys missed out on fantastic games like Halo, Mass Effect (1), Gears of War, and Witcher 2 (assuming no PC).

While 360 fanboys missed out on fantastic games like The Last of Us, Uncharted, Killzone (I really enjoyed the series), etc.

If you don't have the time/money, you should get the console that's best for you, but on the other hand, understand that both consoles are great in their own way and there's no reason to belittle other people for their preferences or try and defend/attack multi-billion dollar corporations in an effort to re-assure yourself that you made the right choice/investment.
 
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All this nonsense has really just turned me off from reading a lot of stuff on the internet over the past month or two. It's sickening and it gives me a headache.
 
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All this nonsense has really just turned me off from reading a lot of stuff on the internet over the past month or two. It's sickening and it gives me a headache.

Same. It's hard to ignore everything, because it's console launch season and I'm interested, but what I really feel like doing is just not reading anything for about a month, then checking in after all the dust has settled. All the bickering just annoys me.