Yes, we know they're rumours. But a lot of these rumours came from the same highly credible sources that got everything right about PS4, and on top of that we have had some confirmed design docs leaked and some good overviews about the tech in the system. So even if stuff isn't officially announced, we have many things that are almost assuredly true.
With that in mind:
Wii U took shit from gamers, it's a disaster. There is no real correlation between when gamers are right and when they're wrong: gamers just automatically gravitate to the system that has the best potential for games, which tends to be high-tech propositions that offer developers the greatest set of tools (high tech includes controllers, so don't freak out dudes). Wii U's pad was simply a road already traveled, being basically an extension of the DS two screen philosophy.
Kinect is an abomination of tech only good for two genres, and they're shit mini/party game compilations and dance games. That fad came and went and nobody gives a shit about Kinect anymore, except the few still desperately clinging to the hope that it'll bring some new ideas to the table since as of yet it has not even created one single new idea. So the fact that Durango will be focusing an entire system around such a disastrous piece of tech is already bad news, even from a mass market perspective, because as Wii U proves if you're going to gimmick route people want 'the next big thing', not roads already traveled. These circus parlor trick gimmicks only work insofar as they can hold the attention of the ADHD-addled masses.
And what did they have to sacrifice to get Kinect 2.0 in every system? Well according to leaked tech docs, a system that had to sacrifice some level of power and cede some considerable ground to PS4 in that regard. We have word from Indies and mid-tier devs that Microsoft hasn't even tried to reach out to them. The word about the Indie philosophy has not much improved over XBLA days. We have words about anti-consumer policies. Words about the type of online requirements. SOME of the rumours are going to be true, since so many of them are from credible sources.
The question I pose to any individual is which of these do you actually WANT to be true? Because unless you're one of the bizarre few who actually continue to go on defending what Kinect is and always has been, there isn't anything really positive about Durango. That's a huge contrast from the early and persistent rumours about PS4 from the same credible sources, which were hugely positive and remain positive.
I'm a realist, is all. 360 was my favorite system last gen until Microsoft went and fucked up a good thing to focus on Kinect. I only want the system that offers the best games, and the best potential for future games. Durango in its current hypothetical state based on rumours is nightmare fuel.
Yes, we have confirmed specs (from early 2012) and design documents, but those are the only concrete details we have regarding the system. All of the negative rumors (No used games, always online, Kinect has to be plugged in, etc) do not originate from those areas, they originate from elsewhere. And a website having reliable rumors regarding the Playstation 4 simply means that they have reliable rumors regarding the Sony brand. Sony and Microsoft are two completely different companies, so I fail to see the logic in a website having reliable Sony information being a confirmation that all or most of their Microsoft related rumors must be true by mere association. It's been confirmed that Microsoft has been increasingly tight lipped with their next console, allowing employees access to information relevant to what they're working on, and only giving
very few individuals knowledge of the platform as a whole.
And how does Nintendo's situation relate to Microsoft? The Wii cooled off long before the Wii U released. The Wii U was coming into the industry with a predecessor that was front and mid loaded, with a tail end that was worsening by the month. That's an indication of two things, either A) The market reached saturation or B) The market grew tired of the Wii as an alternative means of gaming. We'll never know if it was option B considering Nintendo took the Wii U in a completely different direction than its predecessor, a direction that is obviously not striking a chord with the user base. The Xbox 360 on the other hand is still selling extremely well, and has been for quite a while. Unlike Nintendo, with the Next Xbox, Microsoft is coming off of a hot selling console, and unlike Nintendo, Microsoft is staying the course with its next console from what we can tell. The situations couldn't be any more different, and it makes little sense to try and come to any type of a legitimate conclusion by comparing the two.
I've said it before, but in terms of Independent Developers, our information is currently restricted to two sources. A) Independent Developers who are working on a Sony platform and B) Independent Developers who are not working on the Next Xbox. This is due to the fact that those who
are currently developing for the platform, and do have something positive to say about the platform are under strict NDAs not to speak about the platform. If you're only sources of information are from those making Playstation 4 games and from those not making a Next Xbox game, then of course it's easy to create a narrative that's negative, the information available sort of forces you in that direction. The independent developing community is quite large, and we've only heard from a handful thus far. I'm sure Microsoft has its crop of independent developed games, just as Sony as theres.
And the most hardcore of the hardcore gamers haven't dictated the direction of the industry since the Playstation 1, and unless that changes, it's misguided to try and make any sort of a claim while embodying the mindset of that type of gamer.
