The Xbox One Might Let Sony's PS4 Win By Default
6/07/2013 @ 9:09AM Paul Tassi, Contributor
Last night, Microsoft MSFT +2.06% dumped a pile of information into our laps about some of the more controversial specifics of the Xbox One. We heard confirmation about its practices for always on, used game resale, and game ownership in general. Some of the highlights:
- Your Xbox must check in via the internet once every 24 hours, if not, you won’t be able to play games
- It is up to publishers whether or not you can resell your games or gift them to friends
- Discs have nothing to do with ownership, and are only use for installation purposes. Games are simply licensed now
As I read through this list and the expected internet outrage that followed, I had to wonder what Sony Sony must be making of all this.
There are two options for Sony and the Playstation 4. They can march arm in arm with Microsoft backwards in time with practices that actually make gaming less accessible and fun, or reject all of it and possibly win the next console war before it’s even started.
Sony has been eerily silent about all of these issues to date, at least in any official capacity. Yes, in interviews they’ve given us supposed comforts like “no, the PS4 doesn’t need to be always on,” or “yes, the PS4 plays used games.” But both of those things don’t mean what they used to. You might also say given this new information that the Xbox One isn’t ALWAYS on, but it does have to be connected to the internet once a day. Microsoft will say even people with unstable internet can manage that, right? You could say the Xbox One DOES play used games, but “used games” does not mean what it once did because of everything simply being licensed now. So what’s Sony talking about here? I’m not convinced we can say for sure yet.
The truth is we don’t know the full scope of Sony’s plans, despite what they’ve said in interviews so far. The definition of always on and used games have changed so drastically, a sentence or two about either isn’t enough of an explanation. I don’t think we can officially rule out that Sony could have similar policies to Microsoft, in some form or another, but we can hope that isn’t the case.
Sony needs to be learning from what’s happening with the Xbox One right now. The console, as it exists, simply has more cons than pros at this point, something that is almost unfathomable for a new system. It used to be a lot more simple. This is a new video game console. It will play better looking versions of all your favorite games, and give you some cool new ones too. Buy it.
And people did.
But what if all the new features actually became reasons not to buy a new console instead? Yes, it still promises better games, but there are a ton of caveats attached now. In order to access these games, you must put up with a laundry list of restrictions like the ones listed above. Something that’s supposed to be a benefit, the Kinect, is now being seen as an almost Orwellian listening device that much be attached to the console at all times.
So really, what are the selling points for the Xbox One at this point? There are its TV tuning abilities via Kinect control, but as cool as those were in the reveal demo, when you really sat down and thought about it, are you wasting that much time pressing the “input” button on your remote control? Is this solving a problem that actually exists? I don’t believe so.
So what we’re really left with is games, and we haven’t seen many so far. Microsoft’s two big staple franchises are Halo and Gears of War, and I would argue those are the only two that could actually sell systems on their own. The rest of its top titles are shared with Sony, even Call of Duty, though Microsoft seemed to forget that when they made it the grand finale of their Xbox One announcement. They couldn’t even keep Bungie around, and that studio’s next blockbuster, Destiny, is being showcased at the PS4 event during E3.
All of this leaves Sony in a very unique position. If they simply stick with the tenets of the video game industry that have been the norm for years, offline play, used game selling/buying and physical game ownership, they could see a large amount of Microsoft loyalists flood to the PS4 simply because they want a console that can play games easily and without restriction. They’d only have to sacrifice a handful of exclusives to do so. Sony could even promote digital distribution for those who like the convenience, so long as they kept physical discs as an option when it comes to game ownership.
I own both a PS3 and an Xbox 360, and have been called a fanboy of both brands at one time or another. But given the current state of things, the Playstation 4 appears to be shaping up to be the better gaming machine. Sony’s exclusives are more numerous and generally of higher quality than Microsoft’s. Sony touted their technical specs in their reveal while Microsoft masked theirs with mumbo jumbo, implying Sony may have the more powerful machine.
Rather, Microsoft’s ace in the hole was supposed to be that the Xbox One was a glorious “entertainment box.” A revolutionary device that everyone would want to have in their living room. But so far, we haven’t seen it do anything that a combination of a cable box and a PS4 can’t do, other than adding gesture and voice control. Perhaps there are more aspects to it we haven’t seen, but being able to switch inputs by talking to your TV or seeing your fantasy sports stats onscreen is not enough to declare an entertainment revolution.
When it’s all said and done, if Sony rejects the sorts of policies that Microsoft officially put forth last night, they might win the console war, at least in the near future. I have a hard time believing that many people will buy an Xbox One over a PS4 simply to play Halo and Gears of War, or for Kinect’s TV tie-in abilities. And even those advantages might be dramatically outweighed by the internet connection and game ownership policies that so many have claimed to despise.
I don’t know if Sony will seize on this opportunity. It might be too late, and the system has simply been designed to work similar to the way the Xbox One does. In that case, if the two systems end up having more or less the same policies, then it’s just going to be a free-for-all where consumers have two pretty similar choices in front of them, sort of like this past generation. Only this time, consumers will lose as both major companies have colluded in order to eliminate true game ownership or the ability to play offline. Should that happen, maybe Nintendo Nintendo might finally see some wind in the Wii U’s sales, provided it’s released any worthwhile games by then. Perhaps we haven’t given Nintendo enough credit for staying true to the traditional practices of old.
At this point, the Xbox One seems to be fumbling so badly from a PR perspective, it almost seems like Sony would be remiss to not seize on the opportunity. Microsoft’s steps forward appear as backward movement to many, and Sony could win by simply standing still and watching its biggest competitor sink under its own weight. Or they may tie their fortunes together, and it will be the consumers who drown in higher prices and obtrusive restrictions.
Both companies are staying mum until E3 now. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
