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The Return of Ricard: PS4 or Xbox One? Neither.

wii-u-vs-xbox-vs-ps4

You guys asked for him, and he has responded. Ricard Julianti is finally back with another interesting, amazing, and thoughtful opinion article. If you only have time to do one thing today, make sure it’s to read this article. 

It has finally happened, all three of the next-gen systems have been released. After all the hype, posturing, doom and policy changes, the cards are on the table. By now most gamers have decided which console or consoles they will choose for this upcoming generation. Whether they have already purchased a console, or plan to do so in the future, there is likely very little Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo could do to sway opinions entirely. Most will be waiting until staple franchises and exclusives appear before they jump in. Uncharted, God of War, Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros., Halo, Quantum Break…these are the heavy hitters that will draw people in. Other than the fact I already own a Wii U, I will not be buying into one of the other 2 consoles anytime soon, if ever.

Back in 2005, I owned a Gamecube, Game Boy Advance and a PC capable of playing Doom 3, Fable: The Lost Chapters, Black and White 2 on low-mid settings and not much else. I tried playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but it would frequently cause my computer to crash even at low settings in windowed mode. It didn’t stop me from creating my first Elder Scrolls character and spending far too much time exploring the world. However, the poor performance what initially drove me to want an Xbox 360 (that and the return of Perfect Dark). In the summer of 2006 just before I went off to college, I purchased the 360 and my time as a console-only gamer had begun.

Here we are 7 years later, and I am making a different choice. This generation, and for the foreseeable future, I am sticking with PC, Wii U and the 3DS. “But what about Uncharted/Halo/GranTurismo/Killzone/Forza/Gears of War?!” you may ask. I have spent an entire generation with the “must-have” exclusives of the Playstation and the Xbox and to be perfectly honest, they bore me.

I couldn’t force myself to finish the first Uncharted, Halo has started to wear on me, I was over both GoW franchises after playing the second entry and I’ve never been really big on racing sims. I’m not saying that those games are bad or that the console they are on is bad, they simply don’t appeal to me and there is nothing wrong with that. None of the new exclusives shown so far interest me, and if what we’ve been shown is anything to go by, there won’t be any groundbreaking games anytime soon. Essentially the same games I have played with a different skin slapped on top and a few minor gameplay differences.

I had the Gamecube and was perfectly happy with everything available. I didn’t care that the PS2 had a plethora of games or that the Xbox had Halo and Xbox Live. The Wii U could very well end up just like the Gamecube when it is all said and done. Low sales, not as much variety in the way of third party support (especially now that studios have been closed or bought out), but the classics will be there. When Nintendo releases a console, you KNOW that Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Smash Bros and so on will make an appearance. These are games I grew up with, and want to experience every new idea put forward. I don’t have that kind of tie to the exclusives of the other two systems and third party games will be there to pass the time between Nintendo releases.

Games that don’t appear on the Wii U, I will gladly purchase on PC (if they interest me). Since most of the games I played on the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 were from third parties and also available on PC, I will most surely get my gaming fix there.

Is the closed system environment of the consoles capable of more than a similarly specced PC? Sure.  That advantage is also to their detriment however. The new systems are capable of more, but that potential will probably never be fully realized as dedicated gaming PC’s already outclass both systems handily in terms of power. As the console games get prettier and more technically proficient, so do PC games.

Battlefield 3 is an excellent example of what happens when PC’s are miles ahead in terms of processing power. The Frostbite 2 engine was created with high-end PC’s in mind and so when it came time to port the game to consoles, it took a staggering hit. Frostbite 3 is essentially a more optimized version of FB2 that was built to run on the X1 and PS4. Since it was still based around the FB2 code, they were able to port the engine to X360 and PS3, but the hit it took was even greater than before. As the years go by, this will happen again and again until new consoles are released, and the cycle begins anew.

Now, you won’t hear any of that “PC Master Race” garbage coming from me. That’s not what this is about. This is about the new consoles generally underwhelming in terms of variety while ultimately delivering the same content that was available last gen. I will be playing Watch Dogs on Wii U unless Ubisoft royally screws it up, I don’t care that it will look and run better on the PC I have purchased, the PC doesn’t have the Gamepad. Something that simple alters the entire outlook on a game for me. If a third party game comes to the Wii U and uses the Gamepad even just to display a map, inventory and some context buttons…that is enough to warrant a purchase if I’m interested in the game.

Will Kinect offer that type of unique experience? Maybe some day, but until it does I am not interested in it or the Xbox One in the slightest. Ever since the original Kinect was announced, all I have wanted was for an RPG developer such as Bethesda or Bioware to use the camera to scan your face and render it using in-game assets. That’s the kind of innovation Kinect has the potential to provide.

The PS4 seems to be all about power and sharing. I don’t have many friends that are gamers, so sharing my gaming exploits with people who don’t care doesn’t interest me. They don’t need their news feeds exploding with game videos or pictures. I’m not going to purchase a Vita just to be able to do something similar to what the Wii U can do either. The Blu-Ray player in the PS3 is what ultimately drove me to want one, and since I already have one; that essentially just leaves power and Sony exclusives to draw me in. As I stated above, the exclusives don’t interest me that much and if I am going to buy something for the power I might as well go all out.

I’ve said for years that if I got a gaming PC, I would want it to basically smoke everything and be able to do so for quite a while. Now that we know the theoretical maximum power of the new consoles and what it means for games going forward, it is quite easy to pick and choose PC parts that perform better. The GPU I have chosen has more theoretical computing power than the PS4 and X1 combined, and with AMD’s Mantle API, developers will be able to get closer to console-type development on PC’s than ever before. The PC I went with will be able to run everything already out and likely everything coming out in the near future, at maximum settings at 1080p and get 60+fps, and if games in the future give me enough trouble to drop settings down to medium and only get ~30fps a new GPU or maybe even some more RAM is all that would be needed.

At VGX we will get some new looks at games coming out in the next year, and only one thing is for certain; no matter what platform you game on, it’s going to be a great time. From Titanfall to The Division, Halo to The Order 1886, The Legend of Zelda to Quantum Break and so on, gaming has never looked better. Down the road if a game shows up that completely blows me away and is exclusive to one of the two newest consoles, I might bite. Until then, PC+Wii U+ 3DS it is.

 

 

PE’s Take: 

The industry is pissing me off so much right now, I might just follow in Ricard’s footsteps. Of course I’ll be getting a Steambox next year. More exciting stuff coming from Playeressence in the future. 

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  • joe

    Wii U and steambox for me to

  • Suportedcofe

    I'm gonna stick with Wii u and 3ds for most of if not the entire generation. For me it always comes down to the games and most that don't come to Nintendo platforms either suck or simply don't interest me.

  • Englishbob69

    Well am all set for this gen I got my Wii u and 3ds for my Nintend goodies and a ps4 and vita for anything eles

    • RicardJulianti

      Do you currently have a PS4 and a Vita…or are you still waiting to find a PS4? Just curious on how well the remote play stuff works.

      Also, the DS4. I've considered buying one to use as a PC gamepad just to see how it is. Some games just play better with normal controls as opposed to mouse and keyboard. Arkham City for instance….that would just be weird with the digital set up. But yeah…

  • little-island gamer

    nintendo only for me i dont do cough computrr gaming and pc isnt next gen its miles behind

    even with 8 top spec gpus combined i cannot control a whole football team in real time like with a wii remote i cannot core motion play a core game

    i cannot dual screen game like gamepad , no amount of cores and cards can substitute the gamepad and the wii remote plus simple logic

    computer gaming is poor performance for $$$££££ in fact very poor and configerations ,poor open controller optermization doesnt float my bout

    mouse is a obsolete joke vs wii remote / plus

    lol pushing a mouse around a mat…..lol poor analog performance on a open configed controller set up ,,,lol at installs and set ups

    i wont be pc gaming at all i use my pc to COMPUTE WITH not NEXT GEN GAME WITH

    its wiiu and 3DS for me only and ps4 and xbone are pc's lol at even suggesting there not

    • RicardJulianti

      I respect your choice to go Nintendo-only….but I'm getting real sick and tired of all the inane bullshit you spew on the site..

      You went and poked the bear.

      If PC is "miles behind" as you so put it….why can you have a bluetooth receiver and use Wii remotes? With that setup, you can play literally any Wii game…including FIFA/Madden where you can control a whole football team. You can even use the Wii remote on Battlefield 4 if you wanted, it's just a simple matter of setting up the control scheme. Can PS4/X1/WiiU use input methods from competitors at will? No.

      People dual screen game on PC ALL THE TIME….it used to be confined to people using more than one graphics card, but AMD released Eyefinity which allowed people to use multiple monitors from one GPU. If they connect it to a touchscreen monitor they could easily have the second display show things like a map or a web browser, or a screenshot folder or whatever they wanted really. Granted it's not as elegant as the Gamepad, but it is possible.

      Poor performance/price ratio? What? For just under twice as much as the PS4, you can build a PC that will outperform it for years to come. You could probably even spend less and have the same games run better still. I don't even know what you are trying to say with the "configerations ,poor open controller optermization" thing. You can use literally any controller you want….and customize just about everything about the PC.

      Wii Motion + is excellent, but it is still only the next best thing compared to a mouse when you look at accuracy. Even cheap optical mice provide pixel perfect accuracy, while WM+ is subject to error simply based on the fact that you cannot keep your hand perfectly still, or even remotely close enough to it in order to move the cursor across the screen pixel by pixel. You give a seasoned M&K veteran a cheap optical mouse, and the best WM+ user a Wiimote and have them compete for accuracy and the mouse will win every time. Why is that? Because a mouse uses digital input, not analog. There aren't varying degrees with which the mouse moves, it is either there, or it is in the next pixel. Developers can attribute analog-esque controls to it, but the fact remains that it is a digital setup.

      "Lol at installs and set ups" ? You do realize the Wii U uses both of those…right?

      That's fine that you will be using your computer to do normal work related stuff with, not every PC has to be a gaming PC…but mine is, and it can do that in addition to normal PC functions. And of COURSE PC isn't "next gen"….that term is essentially meaningless as it is….PC's are constantly evolving, there aren't generations of them like there are with consoles.

      PS4 and X1 are attempting to be PC's, but they aren't. You can't do normal computing stuff with them, they aren't an open system that you can replace a part when it breaks down. There is far more to being a PC than using the same architecture, and neither of the two newest consoles with all of their bells and whistles meet any of those criteria. They are consoles, full stop.

      And please, if you insist on being the absolute worst example of a Nintendo-only gamer….learn to spell and use proper grammar. It's not that hard.

      • ryuken13

        Man you just gave a monkey a rubik's cube Ricard. Like the monkey, zero comprehension for the wisdom you tried to give.. Simply another troll to be banned in the future..

  • Kage

    Slightly off-topic, but I was just looking at the EB Games site (Australia).

    Xbox One + FIFA '14 = $600
    PS4 = $550
    Wii U Premium + New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi. U + Rayman Legends = $430

    Now, if you were looking to buy a next-gen console for Christmas - which would YOU choose?

  • https://miiverse.nintendo.net/users/PaPierre PaPierre

    I'm a big SimCity guy, up until they ruined it with Societies and that new online-required Societies-esq SimCity…needless to say I'll be doing waaaaaaaay more handheld and home console gaming.

    That and board and card games, those are fun too! Oh, and dominos! Man, now I wanna play Kerplunk.

    • Homard

      I love board games, especially abstracts, but I just can't get a group together to play Mahjong! My life's endless battle, it seems.

  • MortyF1

    Awesome read. I have a 3DS and will soon actually get a new PC. So as a coincidence, we both will be having the same combo. 3DS, Wii U and PC 😀

    I'm always happy to see Richard pull out another article :) Keep up the good job.

  • eirik watz

    my choice is always one of the new consoles and all of last gen with pc

  • Kage

    Cool read, Ricard.

    I too, will be sticking with Nintendo & PC.

    …Well, that WAS the plan. However, I've just recently been hired to do game reviews for my local paper, so I may have to pick-up a PS4 and an Xbox One at some point. D'oh!

    Oh well. Most games that are coming to Sony and Microsoft's systems will be multi-format, so I'll be able to play most of 'em on my PC… Which I guess just proves Ricard's point!

    Nintendo knows that - in order to survive and stay relevant - it needs to provide experiences that cannot be found anywhere else. It has been doing this for the last 124 years; and it will continue to do so (much to the chagrin of the Western gaming world).

    Hell, I still have a tonne of games I still need to play for Wii & PS3…

  • Fluffy Bunny Bob

    Great article, written with respect for all gamers, and one that it seems a lot of us can easily identify with and relate to on a number of points.

    I waited a year or so before picking up my 3DS and now carry it everywhere (36 Streetpass hits on Monday lol). I waited a year before getting my Wii U and pick it up everyday, to play, log-in to Miiverse or even simply for web-browsing (it’s kind of replaced my Android tablet too). So these have become my main gaming platforms for the forseeable future.

    I also still have my older consoles (Wii, 360 & PS2) and a diverse selection of games to play on them (Wii, Gamecube, 360, original XBox, PS2 and yes, even some special PS1 games) for those moments when I want to play something a little different or retro.

    I started being a gamer in the 1970s. I still remember the excitement of playing Pong for the first time at a friends house, or testing out all 147 modes (I think) of Space Invaders on the Atari VCS (2600). I still get a thrill from older games, so while all this modern graphical power is very impressive, I’ll always be drawn to play games that give me that special buzz to wanna play again, sometimes for decades after release.

    The fun and thrill of wonderful gameplay experiences is what connects us all, no matter what platform(s) we choose to enjoy them on. It makes me wonder if the discussions should be more focussed on the games, rather than the systems. But I suppose human nature will always generate rivalries and adversarial opinions where multiple protaganists are striving for the same goal.

    Apologies for rambling on, I couldn’t sleep lol

  • Shannon Kyanzaki

    Awesome article, I'll be PC+WiiU+3DS this generation as well…KH3 and FFXV will sell me a PS4, but not until 2015, 2016 sometime…

    • JTurner82

      I won't be getting a PS4 at all. And if KH3 and FFXV come to WiiU, then there will be no reason for me to. If not, well, I'll just borrow one from a friend and play those two.

  • Steven

    Awesome read, Ricard.

  • Atomic_Toaster

    Yeah, I'm starting to consider the Steambox too. I'm tired of all the bull in the industry! I dunno yet.

  • Fluffy Bunny Bob

    Great article, written with respect for all gamers, and one that it seems a lot of us can easily identify with and relate to on a number of points.

    I waited a year or so before picking up my 3DS and now carry it everywhere (36 Streetpass hits on Monday lol). I waited a year before getting my Wii U and pick it up everyday, to play, log-in to Miiverse or simply for web-browsing (it’s kind of replaced my Android tablet). So these have become my main gaming platforms for the forseeable future as there are few gaming experiences that aren’t already covered or that wont be by the end of next year.

    I also still have my older consoles (360 & PS2) and a great selection of games, for those moments when I want to play something a little different. Being a gamer from the 1970s (I still remember the excitement of playing Pong for the first time at a friends house, testing out all 147 modes of Spav

    • Fluffy Bunny Bob

      Oooops, sorry, must have posted this halfway through writing it lol … my full response is further down.

  • miichie

    Well for me, i have already have the Wii U+PC+3DS. And soon to buy PS3. And nice article btw, keep it up Sir Ricard!

  • thatguymage

    Great read! I’m gonna get a ps4 sometime down the road, but for now the Wii U is great. People may think of the gamepad as a gimmick, but it’s so much more than that.

  • Liquid-Sun

    This was a great read!
    It seems like we all are going pro-Wii U and Steambox in the 8th gen.

  • DylanWins

    Man, I wish I could write amazing articles like you do, Ricard. Great stuff!

  • ei8bit

    Great read! ^_^

  • Kevin

    This was a great article and I completely agree, since I'm going to be sticking with the Wii U and 3DS for this generation. There are countless games whether Indie, major 3rd party, or 1st party games that are coming out for the Wii U and 3DS from now and in the forseeable future. :) Nintendo's first party offerings never disappoint in my opinion, the Indie games on the Wii U and 3DS look extremely enticing compared to other third party developers that don't put much effort into making their games look and play good whether on the Wii U or the 3DS, and any major third party support that comes to the Wii U and 3DS between now and in the future is a nice bonus. Like anyone else here in the Playeressence community, as long as games are well crafted, polished, and a great deal of effort is put into them to make the gameplay shine; then I will definitely support those developers such as Shin'en, Platinum Games, and so on, that continue to provide great gameplay experiences for the Wii U and 3DS.

  • timg57867

    Nintendo + PC is pretty much what I plan on doing too. Gives me the access to the most types of experiences with the least money. Also spares me a lot of monetization and shady DRM.

  • Gnatagator

    This was an awesome article. I’m glad some people still have respect for the Wii U. I’m so sick of these Sony and Microsoft fanboys. I don’t have a problem with either companies, but those fanboys… ugh…

    • DePapier

      I think the trolling is the main thing that pisses me off about Sony and Microsoft, and the fact that they support and encourage it is the reason why I sincerely want the both of their gaming divisions to go out of business.

  • Matthew Wesley

    Well, I guess I'm going Wii U and steambox this gen….

  • donzaloog

    I just wish the gaming community would spend more time playing their games instead of trolling each other. The gaming community can really make you hate gaming if you let them get to you.

    • DePapier

      That is the truth.

    • EuroMIX

      This post is NeoGAF in a nutshell, maybe even other gaming sites/forums too. Everyone seems more caught up in the childish e-peen contest and mud-slinging that I'm not even sure if they even play games any more.

  • NGX159

    Great Article Ricard, and might I add that PS3 and 360 still has PLENTY of life left as those consoles were designed to last up to 10 years. Over 50% of third party titles on PS4/Xbone are also coming to PS3/360, it's definitely a longer cross generation than the conversion of gen 6 to gen 7. Hence why I believe people who got one of the Twins to get a game that's already on a previous console that they still own are dumb. I'm looking at you CoD Ghosts and the EA junk.

    PC, Wii U, 3DS for me too, and to a lesser extent PS3. As much as I want a PS4 for Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV, I can go to a friend's house to play those and Xenoblade 2 is gonna mop the floor with Square Enix's butt.

    • RicardJulianti

      There's a possibility that FFXIV will come to PC too considering the game was originally shown running on PC and whatever Nomura said about DX11 . At this point It's hard to remember considering it was twisted a bunch of times before the actual translation came through.

  • skmassive

    Great read! I feel the same way.

  • Homard

    When it comes to the non-PS4/X1 team, count me in.

    In addition to my 3DS and Wii U, I'll also have a VITA. Most of Falcom's new titles for this generation will likely be exclusively there, and where Falcom goes, I go.

    Even if Nintendo and Falcom take their sweeeeeet time developing games, I still have TONS of import SFC, PCE, and PS2 games that I need to get to anyway.

  • Nintendo Power

    Nice! I'm going Steambox myself next year… Great article Ricard.

  • Adarazz

    It took you 14 paragraphs to say, "I like Nintendo exclusives better!"

    • titangamecube

      Adarazz, go away. You're a terrible troll.

    • timg57867

      And do you know what it takes less than a sentence to say?

      GET LOST!

      PS: Francis, I don't know what you're doing with that report system, but we need it up and running again STAT…

    • RicardJulianti

      And your point is…..?

      This has mostly to do with PC anyway….and it's only 13 paragraphs…

    • Furious Francis

      Adarazz, stop coming to my site.

    • cmb

      Go back to mynintendonews you dumb troll

      • Liquid-Sun

        How are these trolls finding this site? :-(

        • revolution5268

          Better question is where is the report button?

    • revolution5268

      Go away you Australian prick.

    • ryuken13

      Wow you try writing an article… Obviously it would be hard since I think you have issues with reading comprehension, making witing an impossibility.. I read that he liked the PC and Wii U consoles and stated why.. He also wrote why other consoles were not for him. There is only thing Ricard is guilty of that all douchebag trolls like you cannot stand: an opinion not aligned with yours..

      Instead of a simple Troll sentence why don't you try posting something of SUBSTANCE??
      If you can't or won't simply STFU.

    • Marsega

      What´s your problem, you stupid troll?

  • cmb

    This is what i will be doing too! Nitnedo + PC!

  • titangamecube

    He's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack and just kicked ass this article.

  • *NormalGamer*

    Great article.

    I, too, will be WiiU+3DS+PC, as well. All that’s needed for me is for great games to be released on these platforms to play with a lot of craft and effort put into them. ^_^