And So It Begins! The Console War!

We're finally in the thick of it!  Fresh off the announcement of the Mircosoft XBOX ONE, and prior to that the reveal of the Sony Playstation 4, we brace for the oncoming storm.

So far I have to say that each company did a great job at their respective events, both choosing different focus for their platforms.  While Sony concentrated on video games, the folks at Microsoft showcased their consoles ability to function as an interactive television and multimedia device. 

Many people critiqued Sony for not showing the actual PS4 hardware (save for the controller and the new Playstation Eye camera), but that could be because they haven't chosen the aesthetic look just yet.

Sony Playstation 4 Controller

Microsoft's reveal has been met with just as much critique for not showing more games for what is primarily a gaming console. 

Microsoft XBOX ONE
(Top - Kinect 2.0, Middle - XBOX ONE System, Bottom - XBOX ONE Controller)

Both consoles have their similarities as we've found out.  Both will feature the ability to share video clips via a "sharing" function which basically DVRs your gaming sessions (the length of time is not known at this point) and with the push of a button you can bring up a video editor to edit and publish a video.  It is not specifically known at this time what video services these will upload to but I think the popular ones would be a safe bet.

Another similarity that these consoles share is an online service.  PSN and XBOX LIVE are nothing new, but both companies boast a new, more robust online experience.  It is not known at this time if Sony plans to charge a price for the ability to play online multiplayer like Microsoft does.

Both will utilize the cloud.  Much like what the Steam service has been doing for quite some time now, your XBOX ONE and PS4 will upload your save games to the cloud whenever you exit a game.  This means no more toting USB drives or memory cards to your friends houses when you want to game together on the same couch.  Same holds true for your online profile (PSN Account or XBOX LIVE Gamertag).  You will just sign in with your recovery criteria and you will have access to your profile and save games and content.  Both systems will also use the power of the cloud to keep your system and games up to date so they are always ready to play.

There seems to be some controversy in a couple of key areas with both of the consoles.  Mainly, will they require an Internet connection to work, will they support used games, and will they be backwards compatible with the current gen games?  The answers so far look like this;

Sony PS4:

• Online Required - NO
• Support Used Games - YES
• Backwards Compatible - NO (but you may be able to play PS1, PS2, and PS3 games soon)

Microsoft XBOX ONE:

• Online Required - YES
• Support Used Games - YES
• Backwards Compatible - NO (there is talk of a possibility for this though)

Lets take a moment to explore the backward compatibility of each system.  You cannot put a PS3 or XBOX 360 game disc in either system respectively and play the game.  The 2 companies each have their own ideas for how to make this feature a reality though. 

Sony has bought the cloud streaming service Gaikai and plans to eventually have their entire back catalog of games up to stream to the PS4 and Vita.  This would work much like the ONLIVE service if anyone is familiar with that.  If you aren't, the service will basically allow you to play a game that is resident on the Sony servers and streams to your device, meaning that the Vita will be able to play PS4 games even though the hardware doesn't support the game. 

Microsoft is rumored to have an "XBOX 360 MINI" in the works which by itself will be a small XBOX 360 with no disc drive that is geared more towards digital game purchases.  There is speculation that you will be able to plug this into the XBOX ONE and then when you put a 360 game into the XBOX ONE, it will transfer it to the mini and let you play it on the XBOX ONE by proxy.  If the price point on the XBOX 360 MINI is flexible enough for 360 owners to trade in their current 360 and not have to pay much after the trade to acquire one, this may be a viable option for backwards compatibility.

Or you could just keep your old system. 

Moving on, the PS4 seems to be geared more towards gamers at this time, while the XBOX ONE is moving to appeal to a broader demographic.  Microsoft showed off the ability to watch a basketball game on ESPN and track your fantasy team stats in real time during the game.  That may be very appealing to sports fans.  Sony though favors putting forward a console made for gamers.  Sony will be supporting Indie Developers while Microsoft says they are not planning to support Indie titles.  That isn't to say that the Indie Games section of XBOX LIVE is going away, more likely you will have to submit your game and go though a rigid process to get it on the market.  More info will follow as it develops.

Right now the cats are not fully out of the bag.  With E3 right around the corner there is sure to be more info to come.  Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for continued coverage as it comes in!  Thanks for reading!