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Is the console "power struggle" really gonna make a big difference commercially?

Cidd said:
I'm just saying if word gets around that the console is more powerful and it actually shows in games, that would lead many to pick it up and being $100 cheaper also helps.
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In context of this thread, you're incorrectly adding price in to your argument. I agree price will make a difference for Sony, but the PS4's power advantage won't make much of an impact. We're talking about 900p vs 1080p type of differences.
 
Its another notch in Sony's belt when it comes to public perception, so yes it will matter combined with other factors. Saw a Sony interview with Fox the other day and it was mentioned that PS4 was/will be the most powerful console on the market. The casual viewer will respond to that when it comes to holiday shopping.
 
Bgamer90 said:
I personally think Xbox Live, controller preference, and achievements meant more to most than graphics when it came to choosing the 360 to play multiplatform games.
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Controller preference is just that, preference. Given that both the PS3 and Xbox 360 sold roughly the same, and the PS1 and PS2 sold a combined 200 million+ units, I doubt most people have an issue with the controller.

People migrated to the Xbox 360 because it had the games, the price, and the year headstart. MS played their cards perfectly.
 
Cidd said:
Keep telling yourself that, word spread fast,
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Yeah, a couple of years ago I would say that it doesn't really matter and that other factors would have more of an impact (price, marketing, exclusives, suggestions from family/friends), but it is so easy to look up stuff now, I can imagine it being more of a discussion point, but I don't have a good sense of how much it will end up actually effecting purchase choices. For comparison sake it is interesting to think about the Edge vs Time article and which markets are more likely to read which (I'm not commenting on the content of either of those, I've stayed out of those threads for a reason, more of the public perception).

Personally I'm getting both with the XB1 connected to my main TV and the PS4 connected to a more dedicated gaming area.
 
No, the combination of it being:

50% less powerful
and
Having a forced Kinect bundle
and
$100.00 more expensive

Will make a big difference. People are right, it's not just about graphics. And believe me when I tell you, we the message board people are the ones discussing it online. However, we also talk to friends who don't use GAF etc..and words and facts spread.

MS DUN GOOFED. No other way to put it.
 
It will matter to a degree. There are power users not found on GAF who want the best experience. I don't believe this market is very large, though. The 100 dollar price difference is what sets the PS4 apart right now.

PopcornMegaphone said:
In context of this thread, you're incorrectly adding price in to your argument. I agree price will make a difference for Sony, but the PS4's power advantage won't make much of an impact. We're talking about 900p vs 1080p type of differences.
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Plus a significant frame rate advantage you omitted.
 
Canis lupus said:
PS4 being 100 usd/eur cheaper will make the big difference.
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This its cheaper and has better spec's its also launching in more countrys but it comes down to the games i just hope Microsoft pull there finger out regaurding all the recent Driver issues that have come to light because we all know the difference driver can make to the preformance of a computer
 
Bgamer90 said:
Okay? It was still a popular reason why people chose multiplatform games on the Xbox over the PS3 -- especially shooters.
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Is there actually any evidence of this outside of my friends all say, or people on forums said so? I've always heard this argument but never seen any actual source for it. Shooters sold better on Xbox 360 because shooters are targeted at the American audience where the Xbox 360 dominated. I doubt controllers had much to do with that.
 
For another reference, the Gamecube was more powerful than the PS2 AND $100 cheaper at launch (though it did come out a year later).

In terms of games, I actually think the PS4 and Xbox One are gonna eventually end up with almost all the same games. There's gonna be more multiplatform stuff going on next-gen than we have today.

In my opinion the biggest difference is gonna be between the services of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Choosing your next console is gonna be more like choosing your cable provider -- two competing services that offer most of the same content.
 
The "power struggle" of next-gen visuals is an insignificant factor in my opinion. I don't think Xbox fans are going to weep over the difference in graphical fidelity.
 
RedSwirl said:
Is the PS4's GPU being 50% more powerful than that of the Xbox One really gonna affect sales that much? Is it that big a deal?

I guess it is for videophile console gamers (which approaches the whole PC argument that I'll not get into here), but by and large I just don't think it's gonna have an affect on sales between the two platforms. At most we'll see something like the difference between PS2 and the original Xbox, and even then multiplatform games virtually always sold more copies on PS2, and the PS2 vastly outsold the Xbox. The overwhelming majority of console gamers just don't give a shit about FLOPS, or else we'd see a lot more PC gamers and a lot fewer console gamers.

I'm not saying this as a slight against Sony or Sony fanboys either. I'm just saying that if the PS4 does end up outselling the Xbox One and games end up selling more copies on PS4, it won't be because of performance differences. What could hurt Microsoft more are things like marketing, poor messaging, price, or how people perceive Xbox Live against PlayStation Plus.
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If the games are good, people will buy them. I bought the good Nintendo Wii games. They looked absolutely terrible compared to the ps3 and xbox but they were still fun and I enjoyed playing them. I've been playing monster hunter on the wii u and it's not the best looking game but still a ton of fun.

Graphics aren't everything and if there are good exclusives for the xbox then people will buy them. It doesn't matter if it looks worse than the ps4 if the games art style is great and the game is good.
 
Ask yourself what kind of people would even know about the power differences? The core.

Who do regular gamers ask about what system to buy or what games to purchase? The core.

I've said it before, but the early launch and adopters are really going to set the stage for the console war. The first people to buy either system will entice their friends and families to buy the same.

Anecdotal, but I'm a teacher at a local HS, and although I deal with special needs kids, during lunch duty I constantly hear about console-war stuff and a vast majority of them know about the power difference.
 
RedSwirl said:
I guess it is for videophile console gamers (which approaches the whole PC argument that I'll not get into here), but by and large I just don't think it's gonna have an affect on sales between the two platforms.
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You'd think so, right? You'd think that only forum geeks like us would make a big deal out of this. However, for some reason, Microsoft is concerned enough to spend a lot of time speaking on the issue. Two Microsoft PR guys made accounts here to talk about it. And I think pre-order numbers are reflecting that more people are interested in this than we'd think.
 
Yes, to some extent...and more than ever. Most people will research / read about / google the consoles, and pretty much everything comes up PS4.


information is more readily available than ever, perhaps I should say more unavoidable than ever.
 
Power does not make a difference. -> see Xbox

Price does not make a difference. -> see Ouya

Early launch does not make a difference. -> see WiiU

Good games do not make a difference. -> see Dreamcast

Isn't it obvious how pointless this is? Of course single advantages are not important when the rest is not as good. But a combination of all these things can make a difference. And the PS4 has many more advantages besides power like a low price, good games and a launch date in 2013. So yes, power will be a factor in people's decisions to buy a console. But not the only one.
 
I'd think that unless the visual/graphical differences for the systems end up being dramatically different, the price will probably be the biggest factor commercially. Even without knowing which is more powerful, it's simple to just look at the two price tags and pick the cheaper one.

That and how hard Microsoft pushes it's media/Kinect features. I don't think that's enough to close to $100 gap, but it might pick up some people...?
 
For Microsoft this gen has to be about keeping the Xbox community. That's their biggest asset. If a certain portion of that breaks away and in turn influences their friends to switch, it'll matter greatly. Console power is just one factor that might make people switch. Price certainly is another one.
 
It's the price, stupid. Stupid.

They'll see that $100 less price tag, see the almost same game titles adorning it, and then get talked by smelly Gaffers stating that PS4 has 50% more powahhh than Xbone.

But yeah, it starts with the price first. Then games then power. Stupid.
 
For more informed buyers it does make a difference considering the PS4 is $100 cheaper. For the general consumer it's not going to be much of a factor but considering this is an enthusiast forum it's going to be a big issue here.
 
I think power differences only matter commercially when certain game concepts just can't be done on one system versus the other, or would require incredibly drastic downgrades like trying to do Skyrim on a Wii or something. That's why the Wii U's lack of power is a big deal for 3rd parties, but the Xbox One's probably isn't.

If the power differences only manifest themselves as resolution adjustments, extra optional effects like anti-aliasing, etc., then I don't think that kind of power really matters from a commercial standpoint.

I'm sure it can be a small factor for certain folks, and that's totally valid, but I think it'd be super low on the list of priorities for the general consumer. As much as people hate it, Kinect (for better or worse) is far more of a differentiator than 5-10 extra FPS or a difference in resolution on one platform vs. the other. If the Xbox One wasn't getting certain 3rd party games due to its lack of power, that would be a big deal.
 
Isn't this the 1st time ever where the cheaper console has been the most powerful and has full 3rd party support?

I still think the price will be the biggest factor though.
 
It will matter, only because it's hardcore gamers, not casual, that buy these expensive consoles at launch, and thus shape the climate of the future casual and softcore crowd. Hardcore gamers do care about hardware differences, but more than that, price. And the PS4 wins on both fronts.

That's why in that poll recently, hardware performance advantages were one of the most popular choices for why people were picking a PS4 over an Xbox One. That is also likely why Microsoft has been scrambling to downplay the differences of late.
 
Is the console "power struggle" really gonna make a big difference commercially?
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Even the ordinary "Joe Average" is buying some game mags, or is reading some gaming related stuff on Facebook (friends) or bigger news sites. This + the 100$ price difference + the bad MS news in the last couple of months are big.
 
Freshmaker said:
It'll chip away via word of mouth. Better ports get noticed.
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Word of mouth will matter some, but the wider the word spreads, the less the people hearing it will actually care.

Think about the gamer population as a series of concentric circles. We're the smallest circle in the center, and we care the most about differences in performance, be they subtle or significant. Then as you move out to larger circles, representing greater numbers of people who play games but are less obsessed than we are, you'll find more and more people who don't consider spec wars to be important relative to the specific games they want to play. If these consoles actually reach mass market numbers on par with previous generations, the vast majority of players won't be that concerned with power differences.

In the event that the differences are truly huge, and maybe some X1 ports are actually "bad" versions like PS3 Bayonetta or some other extreme example, then lots of people outside of the core circle will care and it might substantially affect sales down the road.

I don't see that happening, though, and I think the differences will be negligible in terms of how they are perceived by most people.
 
RedSwirl said:
Is it that big a deal?
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Doesn't seem like it from my "anectdotal evidence" experience. Just today two of my close "casual gamer" colleagues at work was talking about which console system to buy, and at no time did they mention the difference in power.

The only arguments I hear was 1. What their friends had, which was PS3, thus PS4 was the one to get. I think this is the way most powerful argument I always here my friends and co-workers mention.
2. Exclusives (both of them actually thought some of the 360 games was better, so gaming wise they was leaning towards Xbox One). They also mentioned launch date, but the conclusion was "it's just a month or two". Neither did price matter.

But the final conclusion was that they was going to end up buying a PS4. And perhaps a Xbox One later, but unsure if they cared enough to buy two consoles.

Of course I couldn't contain myself at the end and told them to not buy either of the consoles but to buy a proper more powerful gaming-PC instead, LOL.
 
Cidd said:
Keep telling yourself that, word spread fast,
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yeah, PS2 being terribly underpowered sure did influence the sales big time

Anyway, if the PS4 will have better sales for whatever reason, I'm sure many so-called "analysts" will cite the power as one of the top factors.
 
Yes!! It mattered this gen that multi-plats looked & performed better on the Xbox 360. Why wouldn't it matter next-gen when the PS4 will also have a cheaper price?
 
The way I see it price will be the biggest difference, but power will help.

I dismiss the claims that most people won't know if only do to the fact that in my experience everyone has the "tech" guy who they ask for advice. So yeah like in the past they will know. What is different this time is that the most powerful console is also cheaper and is coming out first or within a few weeks.
 
Hiltz said:
The "power struggle" of next-gen visuals is an insignificant factor in my opinion. I don't think Xbox fans are going to weep over the difference in graphical fidelity.
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Xbox fans won't weep, but the behavior of the undecided consumer is uncertain. Being immersed in GAF I have literally no idea what an undecided consumer looks like, but they probably exist in significant numbers.
 
RedSwirl said:
In my opinion the biggest difference is gonna be between the services of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Choosing your next console is gonna be more like choosing your cable provider -- two competing services that offer most of the same content.
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My god... I hope you're wrong. If they're anything like a cable provider, my experiences will be universally terrible and I'll give up gaming. (Until they come out with an "alla carte online tv" equivalent of gaming of course, which is to say, I'd just have to relent and spend the rest of my days on a PC.)
 
RedSwirl said:
...At most we'll see something like the difference between PS2 and the original Xbox, and even then multiplatform games virtually always sold more copies on PS2, and the PS2 vastly outsold the Xbox.
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Oh come on that's not a point !

The xbox was not on any map at the time, at best it was that american console and the PS was a giant wiping the floor with past industry leaders, Sega and Nintendo.

But now the playinfield is even. This gen Sony had the power advantage, apparent in their exclusive titles and MS had the multiplat and the price advantage. With the upcoming gen, Sony has the holy triad; power, evident in both exclusives and mutliplats and the price.
 
The actual power won't matter for the software (which is what people actually buy consoles for). But price will matter, and the perception that you're getting more power for less cost should buy some mindshare.
 
It definitely puts the console in more positive light which is always good for business.

I doubt PS4 would be anywhere revered if it was rocking two Ricoh 5A22 processors.

Sony gets to brag third party support is better on them while being cheaper. Every other gaming company would dream to be in that position.
 
Gemüsepizza;81690545 said:
Power does not make a difference. -> see Xbox
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Seriously, why on earth are so many people repeating this "point" when the xbox -at the time- was a completely new brand trying to break in a market that was already saturated with 3 big competitors ?

RedSwirl said:
For another reference, the Gamecube was more powerful than the PS2 AND $100 cheaper at launch (though it did come out a year later)
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Again, the playing field was NOT even like it is now with the PS3 and the 360. PSone kicked serious ass and gave the PS2 a clear advantage.
 
Why do people keep bringing up consoles that launched years apart as if it proves anything? You have two consoles here launching within a week of each other. We've already seen cold hard proof of how fast news can spread from the informed to the mainstream. All it takes is one person telling their friends that Call of Duty looks/runs better on whatever console and the damage is done. If people want to bring up the fact that 360 trounced PS3 in the US then they also have to accept the fact that being the console your friend had was a major part of it early on.
 
Price is the biggest differentiator at first.

But if almost every single platform games runs noticeably better on the PS4 people will take notice and it will have a big influence in the long run.

Multiplats and Live are what made the 360 the success that it is today, and PSN Plus is already an excellent deal.
 
DigitalDevilSummoner said:
Seriously, why on earth are so many people repeating this "point" when the xbox -at the time- was a completely new brand trying to break in a market that was already saturated with 3 big competitors ?



Again, the playing field was NOT even like it is now with the PS3 and the 360. PSone kicked serious ass and gave the PS2 a clear advantage.
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Not only that but the Gamecube and Xbox launched a year later and with significantly less third party support.
 
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