MetalGuardian
Banned
GAF, my brother (/sister on occasion, probably), my trusted confidant, and my one-stop-shop for gaming advice since 2008... I come to you with an interesting situation I find myself in.
I received a Super Nintendo for Christmas in 1994, and have been gaming ever since. Nintendo was enough to fill my gaming needs until last gen, when it became clear that being a Wii-only owner was excluding me from at least 70% (if not a helluva lot more) of the best the industry was offering. Through the strong endorsements of most of my real life friends, I went with the Xbox 360. And I loved/still do love it (despite hating Microsoft for being a greedy asshole of a company, due to the combination of XLive Gold and me having have had to pay for three 360's due to two red rings.) At this point though, most of Microsoft's first party exclusives are franchises I could live without. Gears, Forza, and Halo are all well-made titles, but after the excessive milking they all went through I feel like I'm ready to FINALLY experience some games that are exclusively Sony's.
But that mindset has just formed recently, after reviewing the leaks from both systems. I was originally completely content to carry my XBL account over to Durango and stay a Microsoft customer, because despite how much the company has screwed me (and you) over, I've still had many quality gaming experiences with the 360. With this no second hand game proposition however, I am firmly out of Microsoft's territory. I mainly play single player games, and many SP titles this gen can be conquered in a weekend. Because of that, at least 60% of the 360 titles I've completed have been rentals, and it would be an incredibly unwise move for me, financially, to invest in Nextbox if rentals are truly to become a thing of the past.
But all I've known for the past 18 years is every Nintendo home-console, plus the 360. I'll save my thoughts on the Wii U for a time later on down the road, but suffice it to say that it definitely won't be the system to suit my needs this-gen until it has at least two or three years of strong first-party support behind it. I threw caution to the wind last gen when I bought a 360 with no previous experience with an Xbox, and it paid off. I'm hoping jumping into the PS4 might do the same.
So, I ask you all... how have Sony systems traditionally compared vs. Microsoft or Nintendo offerings? Does Sony offer an experience that will feel distinctive to me compared to what I got from Microsoft, in the same way the Wii was a MASSIVELY different experience than what I got from the 360 (I doubt it, because both Sony and Microsoft get very similar genres and the same AAA multiplat games)? Is anyone else that was on the 360 train last gen thinking of jumping ship to the PS4 based on the current rumors and speculation?
There is such a huge pull for me to stay with what is familiar... I love the 360 controller, the interface of the machine (despite all of the bullshit ads), the 3rd party offerings that have left me with some of the best experiences in my entire gaming career, and achievements (which for some reason seem better than trophies, though that may not have any empirical weight behind it.) Yet I feel like Orbis may be a better machine for me (in almost every sense) than the Durango, and coupled with the fact that I may be able to both stream PS3 games, and play PS1 and 2 games on PS+, it feels like it might be the much wiser investment.
Obviously I will be watching the conference on the 20th with great intent, but despite what ends up being shown, dropping a substantial amount of money on a company I've had zero experience with before seems like a risky proposition.
I look forward to all of the Kaz gifs that will end up selling me on Orbis in this thread!
I received a Super Nintendo for Christmas in 1994, and have been gaming ever since. Nintendo was enough to fill my gaming needs until last gen, when it became clear that being a Wii-only owner was excluding me from at least 70% (if not a helluva lot more) of the best the industry was offering. Through the strong endorsements of most of my real life friends, I went with the Xbox 360. And I loved/still do love it (despite hating Microsoft for being a greedy asshole of a company, due to the combination of XLive Gold and me having have had to pay for three 360's due to two red rings.) At this point though, most of Microsoft's first party exclusives are franchises I could live without. Gears, Forza, and Halo are all well-made titles, but after the excessive milking they all went through I feel like I'm ready to FINALLY experience some games that are exclusively Sony's.
But that mindset has just formed recently, after reviewing the leaks from both systems. I was originally completely content to carry my XBL account over to Durango and stay a Microsoft customer, because despite how much the company has screwed me (and you) over, I've still had many quality gaming experiences with the 360. With this no second hand game proposition however, I am firmly out of Microsoft's territory. I mainly play single player games, and many SP titles this gen can be conquered in a weekend. Because of that, at least 60% of the 360 titles I've completed have been rentals, and it would be an incredibly unwise move for me, financially, to invest in Nextbox if rentals are truly to become a thing of the past.
But all I've known for the past 18 years is every Nintendo home-console, plus the 360. I'll save my thoughts on the Wii U for a time later on down the road, but suffice it to say that it definitely won't be the system to suit my needs this-gen until it has at least two or three years of strong first-party support behind it. I threw caution to the wind last gen when I bought a 360 with no previous experience with an Xbox, and it paid off. I'm hoping jumping into the PS4 might do the same.
So, I ask you all... how have Sony systems traditionally compared vs. Microsoft or Nintendo offerings? Does Sony offer an experience that will feel distinctive to me compared to what I got from Microsoft, in the same way the Wii was a MASSIVELY different experience than what I got from the 360 (I doubt it, because both Sony and Microsoft get very similar genres and the same AAA multiplat games)? Is anyone else that was on the 360 train last gen thinking of jumping ship to the PS4 based on the current rumors and speculation?
There is such a huge pull for me to stay with what is familiar... I love the 360 controller, the interface of the machine (despite all of the bullshit ads), the 3rd party offerings that have left me with some of the best experiences in my entire gaming career, and achievements (which for some reason seem better than trophies, though that may not have any empirical weight behind it.) Yet I feel like Orbis may be a better machine for me (in almost every sense) than the Durango, and coupled with the fact that I may be able to both stream PS3 games, and play PS1 and 2 games on PS+, it feels like it might be the much wiser investment.
Obviously I will be watching the conference on the 20th with great intent, but despite what ends up being shown, dropping a substantial amount of money on a company I've had zero experience with before seems like a risky proposition.
I look forward to all of the Kaz gifs that will end up selling me on Orbis in this thread!