The Xbox One - Part 8

[Iceman]

I think they need to revaluate what their goal is. Is it a perk? Or is it something that is supposed to make you actually want to buy a console.

A perk is releasing old games for free, or indie games.

If they want it to seriously be a reason to buy a console, they need to release relatively new AAA games.

Right now it's very mixed.

I don't have hard data, but I get the sense that the average gamer doesn't buy more than a dozen games a year at full price.

I'm sure the average gamer doesn't buy many more than 12 (1 a month) and they probably buy just the most mainstream biggest titles like CoD, Madden/Fifa, Halo/Uncharted, GTA etc. I bought a game on average nearly every 2 days for 3 years lol but now that I don't have time, catching up on those and getting freebies from GWG means I'm very unlikely to buy anything that's not must have. Even must-haves can wait unless I have a co-op group ready to play or it has MP/co-op that will be best near launch.

I think GWG is just a counter to free games on PSN whic itself still doesn't make sense to me. Unless the guys who allow their games to be given away on there see a sudden big boost to DLC sales or something. I can tell them they are basically losing out on selling all their games to me as I eventually buy pretty much everything but under this system there's no need. It's bloody annoying when I've bought games ages ago and still not opened them by the time they become free!

 

[X Knight]

Never found the issue with losing access to games if you no longer subscribe. Who has an Xbox One.. That is a legit gamer.. Who won't plan on keeping Live?

well, to be fair, not all gamers are into multi player. some gamers are more casual or they prefer the single player experience. for those gamers, it may not always make sense to keep Live.

but I don't think that makes them any less "legit" than the players who do keep Live.

 

[X Knight]

I think they need to revaluate what their goal is. Is it a perk? Or is it something that is supposed to make you actually want to buy a console.

A perk is releasing old games for free, or indie games.

If they want it to seriously be a reason to buy a console, they need to release relatively new AAA games.

Right now it's very mixed.

I don't have hard data, but I get the sense that the average gamer doesn't buy more than a dozen games a year at full price.

I view things like GwG and PS+ as perks. not major reasons to buy the consoles.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Your situation is rather unusual though.

I do actually think it could be a great service. But they need to take it seriously. You can't hand out indie shovelware, or five year old games. Well, maybe if they are classics. But so far, it's been a rather underwhelming selection for the Xbox One. Granted, again, they have a limited library, so, perhaps this isn't indicative of what they have planned.

However, I feel that there is a lot of potential here. Now, they can make the latest hot title free. I get that. But, they can certainly use games from the same year. And if Destiny is any indication of the future, which I am afraid it is, then it's not a bad deal for the game companies either.

If a million Xbox One users download Destiny for free, they will be a lot more likely to buy those overpriced expansion packs.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I view things like GwG and PS+ as perks. not major reasons to buy the consoles.

See, I think that's a problem. And that needs to change. At least from a business perspective.

They are wasting what could be a huge feature.

And now that every ****ing game has DLC, it's really not a bad deal for the game developers either.

After your game has lost steam in sales, it could actually be a very good way to get more people to buy your content.

 

[X Knight]

isn't the selection of PS+ offerings on the PS4 kind of limited, too?

 

[Thundercrack85]

Yep. But again, I am not too surprised by that, given that the new generation just started. However, I see no serious changes. And this November and December are very important for the Xbox One.

What I would find interesting is if they gave free PS3 games free for the PS4 through PS Now (one or two a month). That would really give them an edge over Microsoft.

For example, imagine come February 2015 (or whatever month), PS Plus subscribers can get Stick of Truth and Borderlands 2 for the PS4.

Meanwhile Microsoft is fumbling with indie shovelware.

 

[X Knight]

well, if one console started offering more quality, AAA titles for free through their service, then that could be a factor in getting people to choose one over the other.

 

[Thundercrack85]

If Nintendo had any business sense they would be all over this.

 

[Iceman]

Your situation is rather unusual though.

I do actually think it could be a great service. But they need to take it seriously. You can't hand out indie shovelware, or five year old games. Well, maybe if they are classics. But so far, it's been a rather underwhelming selection for the Xbox One. Granted, again, they have a limited library, so, perhaps this isn't indicative of what they have planned.

However, I feel that there is a lot of potential here. Now, they can make the latest hot title free. I get that. But, they can certainly use games from the same year. And if Destiny is any indication of the future, which I am afraid it is, then it's not a bad deal for the game companies either.

If a million Xbox One users download Destiny for free, they will be a lot more likely to buy those overpriced expansion packs.

If that's to me then yeah I agree my situation is far from the norm.

I also think a lot of people, if they think there's a chance of getting Destiny for free within a year will react to reviews or complaints by their friends and not buy the game till then. 1m X1 users who download it for free might have paid $5 for it and I don't know what proportion of people who download for free go on to get DLC. If it's high that at least it would partially explain why comapnies are fine with their games being given away.

 

[Iceman]

well, if one console started offering more quality, AAA titles for free through their service, then that could be a factor in getting people to choose one over the other.

I don't get it. Between the console makers and games companies combined (both who often struggle with profit margins on their products and actually making money long term) someone will be unnecessarily losing out on revenue, expecially if both of them do it and no competitive advantage is gained.

 

[Thundercrack85]

You do have to remember though that it's not really free. It's a paid service.

Games lose 60% of their value in 8 months.

So in 9 months, the companies don't have much to lose by making it available via the service.

 

[Iceman]

You do have to remember though that it's not really free. It's a paid service.

Games lose 60% of their value in 8 months.

So in 9 months, the companies don't have much to lose by making it available via the service.

XBL was free and popular for years though without this service. GWG is effectively free now for anyone who had an ongoing subscription. Guess it's different for those who would join for a few months at a time and then let it lapse and might be tempted to join continuously because of it. I always used to buy games that were old and they were much cheaper than full price but it still adds up to a lot. Cool if it works out for the game companies and to me it will save a lot of cash for when I can get back into full time gaming.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

well, if one console started offering more quality, AAA titles for free through their service, then that could be a factor in getting people to choose one over the other.

It's not completely up to MS and Sony. The games publisher has to agree to their game being sold for free.

 

[X Knight]

so, is it safe to use your external drive as your "primary" drive to store and run the games on?

would frequent and/or extended gaming sessions wear down the external drive prematurely?

and, would running the games off of the external drive actually save on the wear and tear of the internal hdd?

so you'd actually extend the life of your internal, nonreplaceable hdd by storing and running the games off of the external drive?

 

[Thundercrack85]

I've had hard drives that lasted me for 8 years, so unless Microsoft put a piece of crap in there, I think it should be fine.

External hard drives can be more temperamental.

 

[X Knight]

I've had hard drives that lasted me for 8 years, so unless Microsoft put a piece of crap in there, I think it should be fine.

External hard drives can be more temperamental.

ah. thanks.

but the plus side is that external drives can be more easily replaced.......lol.

I guess I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of waiting for a 1TB model or getting the 500GB model at a great deal ( like the $350 deal if true ) and then using the money I save there to get an external 2TB drive. and then make the external drive the "main" drive of the console.

if I do the latter, then I'd essentially be getting double the storage space available ( 2TB vs 1TB ) and I'd be able to get the console before the BF/Xmas deals on games.

iow.....I'd actually be getting more "bang for my buck" with the 500GB + 2TB external combo vs just getting a 1TB console.

I'd just be running the games off of the external drive and I've never actually done that with a game console. so I didn't know how safe/reliable that would be long term to the external drive.

I suppose I could also just transfer the few games/apps that I currently use to the internal drive and keep everything else on the external one.

so the internal drive would act as "short term" storage while the external acts as more "long term" storage.

 

[Travesty]

I had to break down and buy a new TV, cause my old one crapped out on me after 8 years, and good lord, both my 360 and X1 look drastically different on it. I'm playing The Evil Within, and it's a night and day difference in quality. I also played a few races in MK8 on my Wii U, and it just looks fantastic.

I guess it's good, since these November games are about to come out.

 

[Havok83]

so, is it safe to use your external drive as your "primary" drive to store and run the games on?

would frequent and/or extended gaming sessions wear down the external drive prematurely?

and, would running the games off of the external drive actually save on the wear and tear of the internal hdd?

so you'd actually extend the life of your internal, nonreplaceable hdd by storing and running the games off of the external drive?

No. If you are going to get an external, I would use it to store games you aren't frequently using

 

[X Knight]

No. If you are going to get an external, I would use it to store games you aren't frequently using

why because it would wear down the external drive by constantly running games off of it?

 

[Thundercrack85]

External hard drives are in my experience less reliable, but barring my luck, you should be alright for the immediate future. Though I did buy Seagate drives, so that may be why.

Plus, unlike internal drives, they're easily replaceable, and most come with a generous warranty. It's only an issue if you're storing something vital on there.

With external I'd be more worried about speed than anything, though I have only heard about that from PC gamers (not a PC gamer).

It shouldn't affect the life of the drive though. They're designed to be used like a standard drive.

 

[Thundercrack85]

This is rather odd. Apparently some outlets are reporting games being faster if they are run off an external drive.

Oh. It's because the internal drive sucks. Okay.

Go, Microsoft.

 

[X Knight]

External hard drives are in my experience less reliable, but barring my luck, you should be alright for the immediate future. Though I did buy Seagate drives, so that may be why.

Plus, unlike internal drives, they're easily replaceable, and most come with a generous warranty. It's only an issue if you're storing something vital on there.

With external I'd be more worried about speed than anything, though I have only heard about that from PC gamers (not a PC gamer).

It shouldn't affect the life of the drive though. They're designed to be used like a standard drive.

ah thanks.

so I think I should be good if I get a 2TB external drive with the 500gb model. I'll bypass the 500gb "limit" by using the 2TB as the primary storage and either running games directly off of that or keeping my most frequently used or current games/apps on the internal drive.

unless MS comes out in the next few weeks and announces a standard 1TB model in time for the holidays, I'm going to eye that $350 deal that Kmart supposedly has and try to get Best Buy to match it ( if they don't already offer that deal themselves ).

at that $350 price, based on my calculations, after trading in my PS3 + my other gift cards, I should be able to get the X1 for about..........[BLACKOUT]$5[/BLACKOUT]. don't think you can really complain at that price.

so the money I save there can go towards the external drive and games, which I'll wait till BF to see if there are bargains on those.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Personally I would get a really good 1 TB drive.

I think Best Buy will have a pretty good deal of their own. No one wants to get out done by freaking Kmart.

 

[Iceman]

I had to break down and buy a new TV, cause my old one crapped out on me after 8 years, and good lord, both my 360 and X1 look drastically different on it. I'm playing The Evil Within, and it's a night and day difference in quality. I also played a few races in MK8 on my Wii U, and it just looks fantastic.

I guess it's good, since these November games are about to come out.

Yeah, congrats.

As a home cinema enthusiast, in any setup what you see/hear will reflect the weakest link of your hardware/software combo.