During the SNES and Genesis days, I eventually had both systems in my house. During the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation era, I had both systems as well. Even during the PlayStation 2 era, I got the short-lived Dreamcast. But through that whole stretch of time, I never bought an Xbox or Xbox 360. I own almost every major gaming system, but Microsoft's consoles have never interested me, After the Xbox One reveal, I'm still not interested in the slightest.Why you ask? One simple word:
Games.
Microsoft's consoles are good systems for those who enjoy games with wholehearted focus on Xbox Live, and despite online gaming's requirement of a paid subscription, plenty of gamers favor the service over PlayStation Network's free offering. But as I wrote about before, it's not a surprise that the new Xbox is focusing on trying to be an online everyman. There's still some speculation over what PS4 and Xbox One will have and do, but it's hard to care about the answers we don't have yet. Taking history into account, alongside everything seen so far about the two competing systems, PS4 is looking like an instant buy, while Xbox One is going to be lower on the totem pole than the original "Xbox One."
Some people might read this opinion piece, and think, 'This site is called PlayStation Universe, so obviously this guy is going to hate Microsoft.' My choice isn't nearly that simple. You see, I play video games for the games, and the games I happen to love and spend my free time playing are RPGs and games with a narrative. Take away the cross-platform games like Dragon's Dogma and Mass Effect: how many noteworthy exclusive RPGs does Xbox 360 have? Maybe three or four? On PS3, there's a couple dozen. Japan is still the land of the RPG, and, with Sony Corporation being a Japanese company, that isn't going to stop anytime soon.
I won't look down upon Xbox One for what is being deemed a disaster conference by many in the media. Microsoft chose a new focus for its console and wants Xbox One to be everything a smartphone already is. To discount the impact of the system would be foolish, and while Sony might be salivating at the Xbox reveal's aftermath, they should not get complacent. Anything can happen from now until launch.
As for me, I don't play Call of Duty or Halo or Gears of War or Battlefield or any kind of FPS/TPS that the Xbox systems have emphasized over all other franchises. Unless they manage to snag Square Enix or even Bioware as an exclusive developer, I'll kindly thank them for the performance and go back to playing Persona 4 Golden while I wait for E3 2013 to show us the games--what really matters when it comes to new consoles.
Dane Smith is the Japan editor for PlayStation Universe. When not out on the streets of Nagoya wondering why no one is looking for a Yakuza-style showdown, he can be found cracking open the newest RPG to hit the shelves. You can follow him on Twitter or read some of his past musings.
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