That's it? Show some games? Anything Microsoft will show will be automatically scrutinized and compared to the games we saw at the PS4 unveil. The unveil of the next Xbox will be big news but let's stop acting like the whole world is going to stop for the announcement because honestly the only country where the media will jump all over it is America.
Ahh, yes, people can compare all they want to the games shown at the PS4 reveal, and what will people say if the next Xbox's games look just as impressive? Will everybody cry foul and say that this just isn't possible, that something must have been manipulated because the specs you're looking at led us to believe the console shouldn't be capable of what we're all seeing? Are you banking on Killzone somehow looking leaps and bounds better than anything the new Xbox will show? I sure as hope not, because, to start, that isn't even remotely close to what the PS4 is capable of, and I didn't find it nearly as impressive as some people on here did. It looked like a generic PS3 shooter on steroids and the fact that I've never been a fan of Killzone doesn't help much with the impression either. Besides thinking it looked generic, I can at least attest to the fact that there were quite a few things about it that looked pretty damn impressive, but I know the PS4 is capable of better. However, it doesn't just stop there. I'm also pretty certain that the new xbox can do better than that Killzone vid also.
I personally thought Watch Dogs looked more impressive and more like a proper next gen title. Drive Club looked pretty damn good, too, if there was any real footage in there anywhere. And might I add that some of the games we saw at the PS4 event are also next xbox games? Watch Dogs is also a next xbox title, as is Bungie's Destiny. In fact, the most impressive looking game of the entire event for me was Watch Dogs, a multi-platform title. Deep Down looked cool, but if we're being serious, none of that was real gameplay. This isn't my first rodeo as they say. I have zero doubt that Capcom's new engine will look amazing, as they were
clearly ahead of the next gen curve for Japanese developers from very early on with the 360 and PS3, and I expect that to continue with the new consoles. However, what they showed wasn't gameplay, it was a great looking trailer/tech demo. Lair made for a pretty killer trailer, too. We'll revisit that game when we actually see gameplay for it, which, again, I expect to be damn impressive looking. I sure as hell haven't forgotten what Capcom did on this current gen of consoles, or how amazing Resident Evil 5 looked when they first revealed it "for real" with actual gameplay footage. I don't think we have that for Deep Down yet, and I'll be on the lookout for the same crap with the Xbox reveal.
Simply put, it becomes much harder to rain on someone's parade when you've already revealed your console, even if (and we know they do) Sony has some surprises in store. When the next Xbox is revealed, it will soak up all the oxygen in the room. Everything about it, even stuff we may already know, will be fresh news because it will come with more context and supported with the greater weight of finally being official. We'll have gameplay videos, we'll see the new OS in action, we'll see what their features are. Microsoft will probably make some big announcements that we don't know about and they'll likely also announce some new IP while showing us what some of their most known first party studios are working on. Epic is likely to be there showing something on stage that is no doubt UE4 based, Crytek (although I don't like any of their games, personally) is likely to be showing whatever it is they may be working on, as they are still developing a title for Microsoft, I think. Either way, this entire forum is ready to explode when, whether for good reasons or bad reasons the moment the new xbox is shown. I'm not even among the people looking forward to a next gen Gears. But I think it's safe to say that If Epic were to show a Gears game on UE4, that it might look a bit impressive. Nothing Sony can do will change that the new xbox will be the most talked about thing when it's announced.
Turn the tables and have it be Microsoft who have already announced their console and Sony about to reveal theirs, and I would be telling you the exact same thing. You can't compete against a full blown console reveal unless you have your own console to reveal shortly after. Dropping anything less than a completely unexpected and totally bombshell style announcement, Sony will not win the attention game.
So, you list a bunch of ways the two consoles are identical, and then the one difference you mention makes Durango more challenging to program. Yet somehow this will not be to the PS4's advantage? That makes no sense! You have literally described the exact opposite situation from what you concluded.
It's not even that I disagree with the overall thrust of your post. But your eagerness to (mis)classify every fact as an unmitigated positive for Durango throws doubt on your argument, even where it's on better ground.
You seriously don't get it, do you? I pointed out all valid arguments that are in fact true. How in god's name could Durango be significantly more difficult to program for when it's going to already be easier to program for than the Xbox 360 based on all that I've listed? If it's going to be easier than the 360, then Microsoft has nothing to worry about. ESRAM is not some radical departure for developers that are already familiar with the 360's EDRAM. In fact, developers wanted more flexibility from that approach, so that's more or less something developers should be pleased by. The fact that there are such strong similarities between the PS4 and Durango will help cut down on development headaches for developers, and thus make what could have otherwise been significantly more time trying to wrangle with unique intricacies of two very different platforms, such as the case with the ps3 and 360, less of a problem on Durango and ps4. There will be plenty of time for developers to get proper optimization done on Durango because there are more similarities between these machines will ease development further, on top of the fact that Durango's architectural foundation is already a major boon for game development. The PS4 isn't the only system that made the move to a much more easy to develop for console... To even attempt to argue this point is a waste of time. Feel free to disagree, but I've already said what I need to.
What I see is people that seem so unsure about the PS4's power edge, which I believe it has, that they are almost looking to invent further reasons for why the PS4 will have an extra advantage. Development between Durango and PS4 will be NOTHING like 360 and PS3 in terms of dealing with two very different platforms. These platforms are crazy identical.
