Kotaku: The State of PS4 and Xbox One in 2018

[Papacheeks]

I think its because the service is so bad and need drastic improvements. The lag is still very bad when it comes to streaming.

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Not what I've heard about it, but I guess it also depends on where you are located, and if your near data centers. I used it like 4 years ago, when it was in it's infancy and it was alright.

Now that you can download games for PS4/PS2 it's probably pretty sweet. Don't know how the streaming has improved though so you could be right on it being shit still.

 

[Badcoo]

PS4 had a great year! But I do think Xbox is more forward thinking. What exclusives do we have confirmed for ps4 next year?

 

[Apathy]

The switch article is out

https://kotaku.com/the-state-of-the-nintendo-switch-in-2018-1831050124
Phantom Thief

 

[Braaier]

I love how you completely ignore the actual video game part of a video game console. Shows your original statement about MS having a huge turnaround from last year was fluff and you have nothing but sarcastic comments regarding someone who took the time to reply to your post and dared to put their experiences about the huge turnaround services you mentioned. Douchey replies about list wars instead of just admitting that MS didnt have a great year on the software front. And then finally downright insulting the user instead of just being a decent human being who is interested in dicussions about video games instead of being this weird guy who calls out people for being ignorant and then proceeds to insult them, laugh at them, and side steps everything that didnt fit your narrow point of view.

What a waste of time this was.

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Look at your first response. It was classic downplaying. Uhd is overrated, game pass is overrated, ea access is overrated, etc. And now you're crying foul? Your first post was an awful take. This is what has led us here.

 

[DMVfan123]

From the first page this thread has been filled to the brim with console wars
This thread is still open?

 

[Deleted member 36622]

I can agree on a lot of those points, especially for Xbox, but saying that indies releasing on the PS4 don't count cause you can play them, or they "feel" better, on Switch? Ergh. That rubs me the wrong way. I own 300 indies on the PS4 that I love; the system is just as good an indie machine as the Switch/PC.

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I'd say Switch's portability makes some of these simpler games designed for shorter sessions more compelling, but that doesn't mean you can't play indie games on other systems.

PC has been the home of indie games for so many years.

 

[Wrellie]

And you're comparing Vudu to UHD? Yikes! Vudu quality is much, much worse. Come on now!

And now you've brought out the list wars! Good job!

Overall I'll give you a B for spin.

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Vudu 4k looks great, even compared to UHD. It's not the same quality as UHD on 55"+ TVs, but it definitely looks really really good now. Their codecs are amazing. I say this as someone who has an Xbox One S and an Xbox One X for UHD.

 

[Cat Party]

From the first page this thread has been filled to the brim with console wars
This thread is still open?

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I honestly (but foolishly) thought that we were done with this shit as a community. I thought we were beyond accusing major, longstanding media sites of explciit bias. Oh well.

Both assessments are pretty accurate to me.

 

[TheGhost]

You think PS5 won't be back compatible because....? You're making some pretty wild assumptions.

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Where do I say that? Oh that's right I didn't.
I'm saying Sony is on cruise control and that obviously doesn't look good to journalist when Microsoft is doing exciting things (which also gives them stories to write about). I'm sure this won't be the last article like this as Microsofts reputation begins to recover (in regards to video games)

I think people got so use to negative press about Xbox One they are just not use to them getting positive press.

 

[Sonicfan059]

"Both sides" (especially when both are major players) is very popular in mainstream media..... That is normal, I don't think it is conspiracy. "Balanced" and "fair" are important. I totally expect when Sony is down people will give them a break now and then

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We're you even around during the PS3 era? Never one break from the media. I already gave my input on this though, the fact that they say VR support has been poor is laughable.

 

[henhowc]

Detroit wasn't a dud :P

 

[Braaier]

Vudu 4k looks great, even compared to UHD. It's not the same quality as UHD on 55"+ TVs, but it definitely looks really really good now. Their codecs are amazing. I say this as someone who has an Xbox One S and an Xbox One X for UHD.

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Yeah I know it looks good. I was just watching baby driver in 4k on vudu and it looks good. But watching that vs something on my LG oled at 4k isn't comparable. But vudu is fine for some. Hell, DVD is still fine for the vast majority

 

[AegonSnake]

Detroit wasn't a dud :P

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Tbh that's the part that upset me the most. Detroit is fucking incredible.

 

[Equanimity]

Tbh that's the part that upset me the most. Detroit is fucking incredible.

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A 2+ million selling good rated dud no less :p

 

[Domcorleone]

So you can't tell the difference? Okayyyy...because the difference is there. Maybe it's your TV, or your vision, or you are sitting further away from the tv, but saying Vudu is the same as UHD is laughable.

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Respond to their point regarding metacritic ratings

 

[Deleted member 19924]

-

 

[z1yin9c]

We're you even around during the PS3 era? Never one break from the media. I already gave my input on this though, the fact that they say VR support has been poor is laughable.

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Maybe they (media) were more fair then? And fair representation of media was why Playstation tried their best to get out the slump.
Or maybe PS3 was not as down as people are saying now.....
I am totally expecting people or perception of people are so hive minded now on internet, people will give Playstation a break if they are down.

 

[Manmademan]

PS4 had a great year! But I do think Xbox is more forward thinking. What exclusives do we have confirmed for ps4 next year?

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Days Gone
Last of Us 2 (possibly)
Dreams
Death Stranding (possibly)
Ghost of Tsushima
Shenmue III
MediEvil

 

[Windrunner]

PSVR is the most exciting thing in console gaming right now and Game Pass is revolutionising gaming services. Both Xbox and PlayStation are doing great but excelling at different things. Hopefully Microsoft don't sleep on VR and Sony take backwards compatibility seriously and don't treat PS Now as a dumping ground for old PS+ games next generation, that's really all I ask for.

 

[Braaier]

Days Gone
Last of Us 2 (possibly)
Dreams
Death Stranding (possibly)
Ghost of Tsushima
Shenmue III
MediEvil

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I don't think got was ever confirmed for 2019. It's probable but not 100% as far as I know

 

[Andrew Lucas]

Lmao at people getting mad due to one line calling Detroit a dud, like - it's no amazing game either. Just serviceable. That tweet about gamers only being proud of their purchases is truly something else, cause it's true, and this thread proves it.

 

[Raonak]

It's fucking bizarre that the writer is complaining about PSVR games being new IPs instead of established non-VR titles.

like what? Is this crazy town? The best VR games are designed for VR from the ground up.
I'd much rather have new IPs that can stand on their own rather than shoehorning in VR mechanics to an established IP.

Lmao at people getting mad due to one line calling Detroit a dud, like - it's no amazing game either. Just serviceable. That tweet about gamers only being proud of their purchases is truly something else, cause it's true, and this thread proves it.

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Detroit wasn't amazing or anything... but if that's a dud, then what does he think of the tepid reactions to Sea of Thieves or State of Decay2?

 

[BoxManLocke]

While all these games were good, or at least competent, they're also kind of samey. There's a lot of big maps you unlock by climbing towers, a lot of open worlds, and a lot of action adventures. If you don't like that kind of game, the PlayStation 4 may no longer be a console for you. While there were some interesting indies that released concurrently on the PS4 and PC, like The Swords of Ditto and Moonlighter, the response was less enthusiasm and more "when's it coming to Switch?" Swords of Ditto does not have a Switch version in the works. Moonlighter did end up on Switch. Having played both versions, it feels more at home on the Nintendo console.

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While I don't expect 100% positivity in articles like these (the crossplay part is obviously true), some basic knowledge would be nice.
The lame port-begging to complete the paragraph is just the icing on the cake that makes it look like a shitty forum post.

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

LOL, you pull out one example that is arguable. How about this: Nearly every game is demonstrably better on Xbox. Better?

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On X. Base players, the majority, do not.

 

[Windrunner]

It's fucking bizarre that the writer is complaining about PSVR games being new IPs instead of established non-VR titles.

like what? Is this crazy town? The best VR games are designed for VR from the ground up.
I'd much rather have new IPs that can stand on their own rather than shoehorning in VR mechanics to an established IP.

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Maybe the author just really wants Knack VR, in which case I understand. I mean who wouldn't want Knack VR?

But is the world ready for Knack VR? :thinking:

 

[Deleted member 36493]

all these cinematic action games and GOTY contenders are so samey........ Sony is so complacent.

better go play a shooter instead until things improve on the Sony front.

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Kratos is basically Peter Parker so yeah

 

[Bud_Brigman]

If they wanted a lot of views and comments, an article like this will certainly do the job.

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Ha! Perfect take.

 

[Liliana]

I honestly (but foolishly) thought that we were done with this shit as a community. I thought we were beyond accusing major, longstanding media sites of explciit bias. Oh well.

Both assessments are pretty accurate to me.

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Agreed, but nope, it's still rampant, especially from a certain vocal fanbase. Look at the VGA thread. When RDR2 started getting many awards at first it started to become a shitfest but once they won over Christopher Judge the thread exploded with pages of pure garbage hottakes, accusing Geoff and the VGAs of being paid off, bias against Sony franchises because of previous years winners over them, and even calling the show pure trash and announcing to everyone how they'd stopped watching. Pages and pages of this, in a row. I couldnt even fucking keep up with the news as I wasnt watching it live and only cared about new game announcements. Once GoW started winning awards the same exact people started posting the opposite, and once they won GoTY the same people just threw transparancy put the window and started acting like 10-year old GameFaqs posters.

Same people who shit and spread FUD on honest, hard working reviewers or websites because they didn't review an exclusive as well as X random unrelated game, because, you know, reviews aren't a person's opinions and different people have different opinions, right?

It's never gonna change and honestly, even though I absolutely love my hobby, I'm embarrassed to share it with these fellow "gamers."

 

[Riderz1337]

Agreed, but nope, it's still rampant, especially from a certain vocal fanbase. Look at the VGA thread. When RDR2 started getting many awards at first it started to become a shitfest but once they won over Christopher Judge the thread exploded with pages of pure garbage hottakes, accusing Geoff and the VGAs of being paid off, bias against Sony franchises because of previous years winners over them, and even calling the show pure trash and announcing to everyone how they'd stopped watching. Pages and pages of this, in a row. I couldnt even fucking keep up with the news as I wasnt watching it live and only cared about new game announcements. Once GoW started winning awards the same exact people started posting the opposite, and once they won GoTY the same people just threw transparancy put the window and started acting like 10-year old GameFaqs posters.

Same people who shit and spread FUD on honest, hard working reviewers or websites because they didn't review an exclusive as well as X random unrelated game, because, you know, reviews aren't a person's opinions and different people have different opinions, right?

It's never gonna change and honestly, even though I absolutely love my hobby, I'm embarrassed to share it with these fellow "gamers."

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I don't understand what's the point of starting it off so vague by saying a certain fanbase and then essentially saying which fan base it is. Just straight up say the Sony/PlayStation fanbase, it's not a naughty word.

It's almost as if Sony has the highest market share in the console industry and thus the highest fanbase on forums like this. Shocking, I know.

 

[Rowsdower]

I'd say Switch's portability makes some of these simpler games designed for shorter sessions more compelling, but that doesn't mean you can't play indie games on other systems.

PC has been the home of indie games for so many years.

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True, true. I guess it's just people seem to discount how many indies still launch on the PS4, which irks me. Probably cause Sony no longer market's them or makes them visible.

PC is the home of the indie, but I didn't get into PC gaming till recently, hence me mostly focusing on consoles.

 

[Raonak]

My Hot Take
Console war discussions are one of the few legitimately entertaining gaming discussions left.

 

[TheRulingRing]

Does it really, though? PlayStation probably has the biggest pool of players for each of these franchises, and they're all behemoths of their respective genres, so why try to fight them when you can create content that not many other publishers are creating and complement the big third-party titles?

I'm so glad ResetEra isn't in charge of these companies!

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If resetera was in charge then these companies definitely wouldn't be interested in creating multiplayer games.

And when you make a game like this you're not aiming to fight the big behemoths, you're fighting the first party/exclusive offerings of the other platforms.

Sony provides the most diverse experiences and even experimental ones out of all the major publishers. Why invest in an FPS which will have a very low probability to break up the COD, Battlefield, Destiny trio.

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You're not trying to break up or aiming to compete with that 3rd party trio. You're trying to provide your own 1st party multiplayer interpretation to counter the 1st party multiplayer games on the other platforms.

They distinguish themselves by providing big budget, high quality story driven single player games ;)

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This doesn't help distinguish the console for those who prefer multiplayer (clearly a significant number).

 

[Pyro]

Interesting read though I almost did a spit take when they threw in Shadow of the Colossus for the samey open world games. It's a remake and still largely the same game from 13 years ago (not that's a bad thing, it's my GOAT).

 

[lemonade]

the only real dud among these games was Quantic Games's Detroit: Become Humanin May, but at least that game looks beautiful.

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lol. This article is a dud.

 

[Crayon]

My Hot Take
Console war discussions are one of the few legitimately entertaining gaming discussions left.

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[Deleted member 42686]

I honestly don't think they considered Dragon Quest at all here since it was not exclusive.

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Take away DQ and explain to me why GoW, Detroid and SoC can feel "similar".

 

[Khrol]

My Hot Take
Console war discussions are one of the few legitimately entertaining gaming discussions left.

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To a point I agree. As long as someone can reign it in when needed it definitely spices things up. I prefer when people let their bias show a bit.

 

[Qudi]

2018 was the best year for ps4. From AAA, Indies to VR. And there is still more to come. Xbox besides FH4 had a mediocre year in terms of games. But backward compatibility, gamepass and in addition to the new studio acquisition makes them very interesting for the new generation.

 

[Omnistalgic]

as usual, whoever's on top gets extra criticism. This has been one of PS4's best years...Despite all this hype, there's literally a handful of games I actually want to play only on Xbox and IMO the real reward for consumers (unless you're already a fan) buying into Xbox doesn't start until Scarlett releases and if/when some of their WWS makes some hit exclusives.

IMO the value of PS4, and next Switch is far and above Xbox. I wouldn't even get one if not for my love of the controller, and even then I'm skipping Xbox completely this gen. I haven't felt like that since, well tail end of 360.

 

[InfinityDOK]

I am truly excited for next gen because it looks like we are going to get the best from everyone.

 

[Deleted member 1003]

I'm sorry, I like Kotaku (usually) but the article on PlayStation is just plain awful. The Xbox article is spot on but the PS is obviously written that since the PS is not portable as the Switch and doesn't have Game Pass, that the system is having a down year.

 

[Screen Looker]

Opinions cannot be wrong. They're opinions, not facts. An opinion may be *better supported*, but that doesn't invalidate any other opinion.

*Ideologies* can be wrong—because there's a scale of morality—but talking about how the year went for two game consoles holds no such sway.

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Your ideology on opinions can be wrong. :)

 

[Rat King]

Well that PS4 article sure is something.

 

[Anti]

Hahaha people are still fighting over this?
Yeah sure let's say Xbox year was better, according to the article and some other MS fans in this thread, the gap of sales between both consoles didn't shrink at all, in fact it grew more than in previous years yet people are arguing Sony is suffering and their year was terrible, come on...

 

[OneBadMutha]

Can't say I agree with the Sony assessment really. They put out good games this year and they're not really "samey" at all. Is it because there is a big emphasis on story in the big 4 that make them the same?

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I don't think he does a good job explaining it but it's not the first time someone has said something like this. I own a PlayStation specifically because story driven games are what they specialize in.

Sony's most popular, most hyped games tend to be cut from similar clothes. Narrative and character driven. Either linear or open world action adventures. Not much in the way of shooters, sandbox stuff, RPGs or multiplayer. They don't get too hardcore with game systems or strategy. Sure there are exceptions but we're talking high level.

It's not a bad thing. It's what gamers were missing this gen. It offsets the EA, Ubisofts and Activisions perfectly. I don't think it's an insult to say their games kind of build off each other and prioritize story and characters. Even the assets between Horizon ZD, God of War, Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima seem to have the same parents despite being in very different settings.

If a gamer is wearing out on open world story driven games, Sony's lineup would loose a lot of luster despite its quality. But then Microsoft's lineup on the 360 and Nintendo's lineups also appealed to soecific types of gamers.

 

[Screen Looker]

Even the assets between Horizon ZD, God of War, Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima seem to have the same parents despite being in very different settings.

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I... what? They're all humanoid faces. That's... it?

 

[TreeMePls]

Even the assets between Horizon ZD, God of War, Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima seem to have the same parents despite being in very different settings.

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What does this even mean

I... what? They're all humanoid faces. That's... it?

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Add it to the Sony first party meme. Story, trees, and now parents

 

[MegaMix]

I wonder if the PS4 and Xbox One going so strong means that the next gen consoles will be delayed another year than planned?

I will also be interested how Microsoft handles things next generation. They'll likely come out SWINGING.

 

[travisbickle]

I like people calling posts here fanboys when there's literally a line in the article stating third party indies "feel more at home on the Nintendo console" because reasons I guess?

 

[MegaMix]

Even the assets between Horizon ZD, God of War, Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima seem to have the same parents despite being in very different settings..

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I'm a Nintendo console guy and even I think this is ridiculous. These games could not possibly be more different from each other gameplay and design wise. The only connecting threads is that they are all single player and seem to mostly focus on the 18-35 year old male demographic. Not to mention this also ignores Spider-Man and the upcoming Death Strading.

If there is anything you can criticize Sony's first party efforts on, it's that their Japanese branch needs to get their shit together (insane considering it's almost always the other way around with these companies).

I like people calling posts here fanboys when there's literally a line in the article stating third party indies "feel more at home on the Nintendo console" because reasons I guess?

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Not that I agree with the statement, but I can see where it's coming from. The Switch is portable and is also the "fun" console. So a lot of indie games feel right at home with it.