Xbox One or PS4?

[PieFacE]

 

 

Patent suggests kinect could charge per person when watching a movie....

 

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2013/05/24/patent-suggest-kinect-could-charge-per-person-when-playing-a-movie/

That would just never happen. 

 

It will. The Kinect is already capable of identifying people (amongst other things the new one can do...) - it's not much of a leap to get it to recognise how may there are watching and then connect that to license limits.

 

The move in media is towards to monetising it at every turn - that is simply an extension to the idea. Microsoft already attempted to sell a more profitable (for them, and developers) future with this console at the consumers expense. That patent is them spotting another avenue and getting in early. It will happen. The gaming industry already considers every gamer that lends his mate his copy of the game a thief, you really think they and other industries are happy about getting 1 sale and letting in theory a whole family and their friends sit down to watch a movie or tv show or whatever?

 

It's a natural progression that digital media is headed towards. It's the kind of endgame to the path that stuff like in app purchases and free to play microtransactions are currently treading. Bleed every penny, control the product in favour of that goal of every last drop of money from it.

 

I can see what you're saying. But I just can't see them doing it. It would be an incredibly stupid move for them. Though, I guess they've been stupid before.

 

And FWIW... if they do do that it wouldn't concern me as I imagine this kind of system would only be in place for films you rent from the Xbox Store? To which I've never used or will ever use. 

Edited September 10, 2013 by PieFacE

[Risso]

I was just going to make all those points Risso. What if you're watching a film and your in-laws make an unwanted appearance, will it stop the film until they've left/paid up?

It simply won't happen, especially after all that has gone on with the launch

 

Quite.  Comparisons with a cinema aren't valid, as there they can control the number of actual people coming into their building, and charge accordingly.  It's also apparent that anybody going to the ticket office at a cinema is there to view a film.  With this nonsense, you'd have a system counting people in a room who could be doing anything.  They'd therefore have to find a way of a) getting round the privacy issue of their system counting how many people are in a room, and then sort out all the problems listed above.  It simply isn't workable on any level.  I'll quite often be sat in the lounge on my laptop while the kids are watching a Disney film, would I get charged for watching a film in that scenario? 

[limpid]

And FWIW... if they do do that it wouldn't concern me as I imagine this kind of system would only be in place for films you rent from the Xbox Store? To which I've never used or will ever use. 

There's no reason the content owners couldn't ask them to not play anything if it detects more than a number of people in the room. This could even apply to tv programmes. Whether they will or not - who knows? But the capability is built in.

[LondonLax]

I was just going to make all those points Risso. What if you're watching a film and your in-laws make an unwanted appearance, will it stop the film until they've left/paid up?

It simply won't happen, especially after all that has gone on with the launch

Quite. Comparisons with a cinema aren't valid, as there they can control the number of actual people coming into their building, and charge accordingly. It's also apparent that anybody going to the ticket office at a cinema is there to view a film. With this nonsense, you'd have a system counting people in a room who could be doing anything. They'd therefore have to find a way of a) getting round the privacy issue of their system counting how many people are in a room, and then sort out all the problems listed above. It simply isn't workable on any level. I'll quite often be sat in the lounge on my laptop while the kids are watching a Disney film, would I get charged for watching a film in that scenario?

And what is to stop you just turning the camera around to face the wall?

[samjp26]

 

 

I was just going to make all those points Risso. What if you're watching a film and your in-laws make an unwanted appearance, will it stop the film until they've left/paid up?

It simply won't happen, especially after all that has gone on with the launch

Quite. Comparisons with a cinema aren't valid, as there they can control the number of actual people coming into their building, and charge accordingly. It's also apparent that anybody going to the ticket office at a cinema is there to view a film. With this nonsense, you'd have a system counting people in a room who could be doing anything. They'd therefore have to find a way of a) getting round the privacy issue of their system counting how many people are in a room, and then sort out all the problems listed above. It simply isn't workable on any level. I'll quite often be sat in the lounge on my laptop while the kids are watching a Disney film, would I get charged for watching a film in that scenario?

And what is to stop you just turning the camera around to face the wall?

 

 

Or just putting some tape across the lens 

[Daveburnside]

 

 

 

I was just going to make all those points Risso. What if you're watching a film and your in-laws make an unwanted appearance, will it stop the film until they've left/paid up?

It simply won't happen, especially after all that has gone on with the launch

Quite. Comparisons with a cinema aren't valid, as there they can control the number of actual people coming into their building, and charge accordingly. It's also apparent that anybody going to the ticket office at a cinema is there to view a film. With this nonsense, you'd have a system counting people in a room who could be doing anything. They'd therefore have to find a way of a) getting round the privacy issue of their system counting how many people are in a room, and then sort out all the problems listed above. It simply isn't workable on any level. I'll quite often be sat in the lounge on my laptop while the kids are watching a Disney film, would I get charged for watching a film in that scenario?

And what is to stop you just turning the camera around to face the wall?

 

 

Or just putting some tape across the lens 

 

 

Or just not buying one in the first place!?

[PieFacE]

 

 

 

 

I was just going to make all those points Risso. What if you're watching a film and your in-laws make an unwanted appearance, will it stop the film until they've left/paid up?

It simply won't happen, especially after all that has gone on with the launch

Quite. Comparisons with a cinema aren't valid, as there they can control the number of actual people coming into their building, and charge accordingly. It's also apparent that anybody going to the ticket office at a cinema is there to view a film. With this nonsense, you'd have a system counting people in a room who could be doing anything. They'd therefore have to find a way of a) getting round the privacy issue of their system counting how many people are in a room, and then sort out all the problems listed above. It simply isn't workable on any level. I'll quite often be sat in the lounge on my laptop while the kids are watching a Disney film, would I get charged for watching a film in that scenario?

And what is to stop you just turning the camera around to face the wall?

 

 

Or just putting some tape across the lens 

 

 

Or just not buying one in the first place!?

 

Or just not plug it in? Big deal about nothing IMO. It just will not happen. 

Edited September 11, 2013 by PieFacE

[hogso]

So some details emerged this week that seem to suggest that it's the consoles OS that are causing issues for devs - in that, all the other stuff the console has going on at the same time is taking up resources to a point that it's having an effect on how well the game can run. There are suggestions that this is why COD: Ghosts, for example is running at 720p on XBONE. I wish I could remember where I read it, but I can't, so can't quote or link it.

 

What I can do instead is paste in an extract from a recent interview GC did with the executive producer for COD Ghosts. What develops at the end, which is what I'll quote below, may prove to be very telling indeed...

 

GC: So, just finally, I have to ask: why does the PlayStation 4 version look so much better than the Xbox One? Is the resolution really the only difference?

MR: [laughs] Yep, it’s the only difference. The TVs are different on some of them, but… they both have their different rendering engines but they’re as close as possible. It really comes down to resolution. Xbox is upscaled 720, it’s outputting at 1080p but it’s upscaled from 720. Whereas PlayStation 4 is native 1080p. So that’s really the only graphical difference. But it is enough. Some people here are saying they don’t really notice a difference…

 

GC: Was that the guy with the white stick?

MR: [laugh] But yeah, the PS4 looks really good.

 

GC: Is the PC version still better?

MR: There’s actually some features that we’ve added to the PC that are definitively not on any other generation. We worked with Nvidia a lot with this, but we have a different form of anti-aliasing that’s really new and advanced – that isn’t on current or next gen. We have a fur shader on the dog and on the wolves, they actually have a moving fur shader that works really well, for PC. And the third one, which I think is one of the coolest ones, is we’re using Nvidia’s APEX Turbulence tech to have smoke that actually wisps and waves and moves out of the way of objects.

 

GC: So is that something the new consoles can’t do or you just didn’t have time to implement it?

MR: No, it’s… well, you can do almost anything, almost. Tessellation can’t be done on current gen for the most part, because it’s a DirectX 11 feature, but we could still do it but you’d get a frame rate of 2. So that really becomes the reason we do everything: the reason the Xbox One is 720, the reason the PlayStation 4 is 1080 is we’re trying to make the game look as good as it possible can and making sure we maintain our 60 frames per second.

We maintain the latency and the speed and the things that people actually care about. Even if they won’t admit it, the thing that makes Call Of Duty popular is how it feels, because of those priorities.

 

GC: So the obvious assumption from all this is that the PlayStation 4 is definitely more powerful than the Xbox One, is that true?

MR: [acting very embarrassed] I can’t answer that.

 

GC: You can’t answer it on a technical level or because you’re being diplomatic?

MR: Can’t answer that.

 

GC: You can’t say whether you’re avoiding the question for diplomatic reasons?

MR: [embarrassed] I just can’t say anything…

[Even the attending PR guy is looking embarrassed by this point]

PR guy: It’s very hard for us to be…

 

GC: Are the console manufacturers leaning on you to avoid these sort of questions?

MR: [unsure - speaking to PR guy] I don’t know if that…

MR: [even more embarrassed to us] Yeah, there’s things that we… We sign NDAs with the first parties [i.e. Microsoft and Sony - GC] and there are things that we’re not allowed to talk about.

 

GC: So when John Carmack and Shinji Mikami say the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are almost identical, is that something you could agree with?

MR: Hmm… I would say that’s a bit inaccurate but I wouldn’t be able to tell you any detail of why that’s inaccurate.

 

GC: For diplomatic reasons?

MR: Yes.

 

GC: Okay, that’s fine. I think we can all read between those lines. But that’s absurd, how can they not except any journalist, any reasonable journalist, not to ask that question? It’s what everyone wants to know.

MR: [still feeling very awkward] The key thing is we try to focus people away from that sort of thing and try to focus them on the fact that the game is fun no matter what platform it’s on.

 

Source

 

Incidentally, they gave it an 8/10, docking points the first half of the campaign being very formulaic, with no significant changes to multiplayer, but applauding some of the later campaign moments, and the quality of the new maps.

[PieFacE]

haha, I wish they could just say what they want to say. It's the worst kept secret that the PS4 is a better gaming console. I guess Activision and Microsoft have some kind of partnership deal don't they?

[Kwan]

They want to make games for both consoles so it's not in their best interest to trash one or the other.

[kurtsimonw]

What exclusives are there?

 

I know some who raved about the last gen exclusives, but Forza, GT, Halo and Uncharted games I didn't enjoy at all. My brothers gf has left her PS3 here so I'll finally get to play Last of Us which I hold a lot of promise for. But the only real exclusives I would say I enjoyed an awful lot last gen were MGS (which isn't exclusive anymore is it?) and Gears of War (which I've heard nothing about or XBO).

 

Titanfall looks a mess, though the Roman one, I forget it's name, looks cool. Is there anything else?

[Chindie]

The launch exclusives aren't that much to shout home about, IMO. You've missed Killzone there, which is an acquired taste, Killer Instinct which might be alright, Dead Rising, and Crimson Dragon.

I can't say any of them would set my pulse racing. Ryse looks pretty but also completely vapid.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Chindie

[villa4europe]

there seems to be a push on exclusive content, PS4 gets AC4 stuff whilst xbone get CoD and I think BF content

 

the roman one is called ryse and I like the look of it too, however im almost convinced it'll be another lair / heavenly sword

 

the other PS4 exclusive is knack which is a platformer and getting bad reviews

 

personally seeing as its a game I wanted lego marvel has been pushed back for xbone with no confirmed release date whereas it will be available at launch for PS4

[hogso]

Yeah the Knack reviews are pretty turd, little surprise though, it looked shite from the very first we saw of it

[P3te]

Yeah the Knack reviews are pretty turd, little surprise though, it looked shite from the very first we saw of it

Knack is a very, very fun game. i can't help but feel the guys reviewing it were expecting something different. It's Ratchet & Clank without Ratchet & Clank. If you like R&C you'll love Knack, if you don't, you won't. Really as simple as that

[Kwan]

Knack is a kids game. There's only three buttons you use. While the difficult increases do present a challenge, it's very much something you play co op with your kids or something like that. The problem is this ratings system.

A 5/10 is an average game. That's what it is. Nothing special. Just a game that kids play and is easy and you can play with others.

But anything below an 8 is treated like the worst game ever. It's a dumb scale.

[villarule123]

Knack has PS+ written all over it. 

 

I actually think it looks quite fun, but I wouldn't spend money on it.

[villa4europe]

PS+ vs games with gold it is then!

 

will be interesting because id say MS line up of "free" games so far on the 360 has been laughable (AC on 360 vs AC3 on PS3 for example)

[villa4europe]

and is it just me that finds it quite strange that everything is online is PS4 because of the yank land launch but on tv its 1/2 xbone adverts per break

 

would have thought sony would be advertising by now

[nobler]

I think Microsoft's cock-ups saved millions in Sony advertisement.