More Xbox One vs PS4
So, as this is getting a lot of attention on the internet I have consequently done far more reading into next gen consoles than I do on a typical day. And the more I thought about it, the more I laughed.
Basically, choose a "killer" feature on your favourite platform which the competitor doesn't (including performance related "features"), and you will have identified something that will be either completely ignored or implemented in a gimmicky fashion in most games. And the reason is a fairly simple one; most titles are cross-platform and platform specific features and the bane of cross-platform titles.
Game developers are out to make money and most make that money by making the games as widely available as possible. If key components of your game rely on functionality you either can't reasonably expect on each platform or simply isn't available on each platform you simply ignore that functionality. Or, you write small (mostly irrelevant) chunks of your game dedicated to making use of platform specific features (which people will later complain about). Going too deep on a platform specific feature will take a game which shouldn't require a rewrite simply to port the game and turn it into one that does.
And this is a perfect segue back into the perform topic. This is probably the first time between these two rivals that this has been the case that the same argument can also be made regarding performance; both devices are running the exact same architecture. Which means no need (and really no means) for platform specific optimizations in the compiler, so they both compile to the exact same instruction sets. Sure, if the rendering engine supports it you could supply different graphics profiles, or different sets of resources. But I question how many companies will invest that effort where they don't need to any longer. Valuable resources can be shifted to producing games with greater depth, functionality, etc.... When different console had different architectures you had to have separate ports of virtually every library anyway, so it made sense in the past, even if it meant sacrificing development time in other areas. Not any more.
And there is a similar story behind the DRM debate. Yes, Microsoft gave developers what they are asking for, allowing them to charge for traded games. But since this is a "feature" that only the Xbox One incorporates, bet on most studios not taking advantage of it. Consistency and deliverability are key to a successful game launch. Even exclusive titles will likely follow suit for the most part.
The only remaining item is the daily sync up for the internet. I agree with most... if you still have the physical copy of a disc, the 24 hour sync shouldn't be necessary to use the game. I know this isn't a strong argument... but lets face... you're reading my blog so you probably have an internet connection and a wireless router. If you care this much about games, you probably own a console. And it is probably connected to the aforementioned router. And it probably accesses the internet every time you turn on your console and intermittently thereafter. It truly amounts to a minor nuisance, and nuisance of principal and not a functional one. I need oxygen to breathe. But since it is readily available I don't condemn my maker for imposing this "restriction" upon me.
[update]
In light of the news of Microsoft rescinding the DRM, region locking and "always-on" internet features of the Xbox One, I thought I would share this article. If you search around, you'll probably find your most reliable sources agree with the sentiments in the article I posted whereas the more mainstream blogs and user comments are filled with the opposite. I've seen far more than one person who was more outraged by having Microsoft change their mind on this than on the original announcement. The whiners have stunted progress. The idiots proclaim a victory for consumers. The reality is much the opposite.
Microsoft was right in the first place. Sony should have followed suit. Sony's strategy, however was underhanded. People don't like change, Sony saw this and used it against their rival, likely in an attempt to try and regain the #1 console position.
I'm still reasonably convinced that engineers at Sony are still in the process of stripping out the very same functionality they damned Microsoft for. Remember, Sony avoided and refused to comment on DRM and always-on internet connection. When you know no change is what people want (despite how stupid that may be), and you haven't changed anything on that front then there is absolutely no value in remaining tight lipped about it. In fact, everyone mocked the original PS4 unveiling for how terribly long and uninformative it was. There would actually have been a lot of value for Sony to reinforce this from day 1. So my bets are on someone over at Sony cackling maniacally over this stealth change of plan.
So, frankly, you should all be pissed off at Sony. And yourselves (if you were amongst the complainers). For all of the reasons in the article I just referenced. Thanks to those parties you now actually have an inferior game sharing mechanism. Game prices will stay as disgustingly high as they are or potentially get more expensive. And buying a game on disc is going to make your life hell because now you need the damn disc in the system to play it. I do tend to by physical games, and though I only switch games once in a while, this is still the most frustrating element of every gaming system today... and now also of everyone tomorrow and for many more tomorrows to come.
I'm not really that mad, or rather, not mad about this specifically. I am mad that our society fosters such ignorance and stupidity. I have always believed, and this belief is reinforced by these events, that while individual people are not in general stupid, groups of people are almost always indescribably stupid. And a wave of sheer ignorance and stupidity is to blame for this outcome.
For those who still don't get it. The Xbox One as originally advertised brought some fundamental changes to the gaming landscape. It was truly a next gen platform. The PS4 as advertised is just a faster PS3 with a facelift. It offers no significant net benefit to users. Sony, through unbelievably successful marketing, has forced Microsoft to strip out much of what made the Xbox One a truly next gen console. With a bit of sleight of hand Sony has halted progress in console gaming. The only thing I will fault Microsoft for is not officially releasing a statement to the same effect as the supposedly leaked document from one of their engineers to try and save face on their new features and for having removed the functionality.
[/update]
Basically, choose a "killer" feature on your favourite platform which the competitor doesn't (including performance related "features"), and you will have identified something that will be either completely ignored or implemented in a gimmicky fashion in most games. And the reason is a fairly simple one; most titles are cross-platform and platform specific features and the bane of cross-platform titles.
Game developers are out to make money and most make that money by making the games as widely available as possible. If key components of your game rely on functionality you either can't reasonably expect on each platform or simply isn't available on each platform you simply ignore that functionality. Or, you write small (mostly irrelevant) chunks of your game dedicated to making use of platform specific features (which people will later complain about). Going too deep on a platform specific feature will take a game which shouldn't require a rewrite simply to port the game and turn it into one that does.
And this is a perfect segue back into the perform topic. This is probably the first time between these two rivals that this has been the case that the same argument can also be made regarding performance; both devices are running the exact same architecture. Which means no need (and really no means) for platform specific optimizations in the compiler, so they both compile to the exact same instruction sets. Sure, if the rendering engine supports it you could supply different graphics profiles, or different sets of resources. But I question how many companies will invest that effort where they don't need to any longer. Valuable resources can be shifted to producing games with greater depth, functionality, etc.... When different console had different architectures you had to have separate ports of virtually every library anyway, so it made sense in the past, even if it meant sacrificing development time in other areas. Not any more.
And there is a similar story behind the DRM debate. Yes, Microsoft gave developers what they are asking for, allowing them to charge for traded games. But since this is a "feature" that only the Xbox One incorporates, bet on most studios not taking advantage of it. Consistency and deliverability are key to a successful game launch. Even exclusive titles will likely follow suit for the most part.
The only remaining item is the daily sync up for the internet. I agree with most... if you still have the physical copy of a disc, the 24 hour sync shouldn't be necessary to use the game. I know this isn't a strong argument... but lets face... you're reading my blog so you probably have an internet connection and a wireless router. If you care this much about games, you probably own a console. And it is probably connected to the aforementioned router. And it probably accesses the internet every time you turn on your console and intermittently thereafter. It truly amounts to a minor nuisance, and nuisance of principal and not a functional one. I need oxygen to breathe. But since it is readily available I don't condemn my maker for imposing this "restriction" upon me.
[update]
In light of the news of Microsoft rescinding the DRM, region locking and "always-on" internet features of the Xbox One, I thought I would share this article. If you search around, you'll probably find your most reliable sources agree with the sentiments in the article I posted whereas the more mainstream blogs and user comments are filled with the opposite. I've seen far more than one person who was more outraged by having Microsoft change their mind on this than on the original announcement. The whiners have stunted progress. The idiots proclaim a victory for consumers. The reality is much the opposite.
Microsoft was right in the first place. Sony should have followed suit. Sony's strategy, however was underhanded. People don't like change, Sony saw this and used it against their rival, likely in an attempt to try and regain the #1 console position.
I'm still reasonably convinced that engineers at Sony are still in the process of stripping out the very same functionality they damned Microsoft for. Remember, Sony avoided and refused to comment on DRM and always-on internet connection. When you know no change is what people want (despite how stupid that may be), and you haven't changed anything on that front then there is absolutely no value in remaining tight lipped about it. In fact, everyone mocked the original PS4 unveiling for how terribly long and uninformative it was. There would actually have been a lot of value for Sony to reinforce this from day 1. So my bets are on someone over at Sony cackling maniacally over this stealth change of plan.
So, frankly, you should all be pissed off at Sony. And yourselves (if you were amongst the complainers). For all of the reasons in the article I just referenced. Thanks to those parties you now actually have an inferior game sharing mechanism. Game prices will stay as disgustingly high as they are or potentially get more expensive. And buying a game on disc is going to make your life hell because now you need the damn disc in the system to play it. I do tend to by physical games, and though I only switch games once in a while, this is still the most frustrating element of every gaming system today... and now also of everyone tomorrow and for many more tomorrows to come.
I'm not really that mad, or rather, not mad about this specifically. I am mad that our society fosters such ignorance and stupidity. I have always believed, and this belief is reinforced by these events, that while individual people are not in general stupid, groups of people are almost always indescribably stupid. And a wave of sheer ignorance and stupidity is to blame for this outcome.
For those who still don't get it. The Xbox One as originally advertised brought some fundamental changes to the gaming landscape. It was truly a next gen platform. The PS4 as advertised is just a faster PS3 with a facelift. It offers no significant net benefit to users. Sony, through unbelievably successful marketing, has forced Microsoft to strip out much of what made the Xbox One a truly next gen console. With a bit of sleight of hand Sony has halted progress in console gaming. The only thing I will fault Microsoft for is not officially releasing a statement to the same effect as the supposedly leaked document from one of their engineers to try and save face on their new features and for having removed the functionality.
[/update]
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