I’ve always been a multiple platform owner. Gaming is my hobby – the one thing I feel truly justified spending my money on – so I’ve never felt guilty about wanting to experience it as fully as possible. The original XBox sat side by side with the PS2. The XBox 360 eventually shared my affections with the PS3. Only Nintendo disappeared for some time after the N64 – my gaming tastes had moved on, though I still found myself pulling out the older Nintendo systems for a little nostalgia kick from time to time.
When the “new gen” systems were announced – and, yes, I’m including Wii U in that mix – my reactions were pretty varied.
The Wii U seemed rushed from the beginning. Everything about the system seemed to prompt one big question – “why?” Why the gamepad? Why no HD graphics? Why the need to be first out of the gate? Why did 3rd party developers seem to be avoiding it like the plague? It seemed uninspired in every aspect except one, and it was the one that Nintendo always delivers in – the games. But that wasn’t enough to move me…at first.
Then came the E3 of 2013, an event few gamers will ever forget. The official reveal of the XBox One in its always online, kinect required, no backwards compatibility, zero to minimal sharing of games, $499 original form. And then, mere hours later, the reveal of the no need to be connected, share as much as you like, $399 PS4. Only the biggest of Microsoft fanboys would describe it as anything but a PR knockout, and the initial sales numbers certainly confirmed it.
Personally, I was frustrated by what I heard from Microsoft. I didn’t want to be forced to pay for Kinect. The focus on multimedia and television seemed like they were talking past me to a totally different crowd. I like lending my games to my friends and, very occasionally, buying a preowned game. Always online wasn’t a major issue for me, but the “deal with it” tone Microsoft adopted about it was off-putting, especially in the face of those who weren’t as fortunately and reliably connected. And there was something immediately disingenuous about the insistence that all of this was necessary, that the XBox One simply couldn’t exist in any other form (something that has since been shown to be utterly false). There were great ideas too, of course, and seemingly buried underneath all of the corporate narrative was a pretty great piece of hardware. It wasn’t so much the tech as it was all of the things surrounding it.
Meanwhile, Sony knocked it out of the park for me. None of these problems, must-play exclusives and $100 less? Yes, please! I preordered within the month and resigned myself, regrettably, to just being a Sony gamer from now on. Sure, I’d still follow what the other guys were doing, and I’d still have my 360, but little by little I’d be pushed to one corner of the room. And, honestly, considering how much I love my PS4, I’m sure I could have been very happy doing so. C‘est la vie, right?
Fast forward two years and, as of this week, I am the proud owner of all three consoles. So what changed?
For the Wii U, at least part of the answer was “children”. The more my kids wanted to play games, the more I wanted them to experience the world of Nintendo in all of its colorful, family-friendly, imaginative charm. On this level, the Wii U definitely does not disappoint. It’s awfully hard to find a better slate of games than “Mario Kart 8”, “Super Mario 3D World”, “Super Smash Bros.”, “Wind Waker”…I could go on. There are even some nice surprises on the system like “Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker” and “Splatoon” and one of the best action games I’ve played in some time in “Bayonetta 2” (yeah…that one’s all mine). The Wii U has its issues, for sure. It’s confined to the Gamepad, an odd choice of main controller especially when there’s no option to buy a second one. It pales in comparison to the PS4 and XBox One in terms of raw power, making it awfully hard to justify its price by comparison, something Nintendo stubbornly refuses to change. And you better love Nintendo games because after those? Well, there’s not too much. Still, it’s an ideal second system especially for families partially because it’s so different, and to not own one is to miss out on some truly special gaming experiences.
For the XBox One, the story is at once more complicated and more simple. I always wanted a new XBox, just not particularly the version that was rolled out. I’ve always loved their exclusives, but none were imminent. For all the fanboy back-and-forth, the truth is that there was little to distinguish between the One and the PS4 for the first year or two of their lives, certainly not enough to justify a $500 dollar purchase. And, frankly, I had no more room. New-gen might be here, but I wasn’t about to send my last-gen loves out to pasture so easily. So I made my choice and lived with it.
Then this happened:
They ditched the Kinect and lowered the price.
The supposedly “necessary” always-online architecture disappeared.
Sharing became as clear as handing your friend a disc.
The price came down again until it was cheaper than the PS4.
The focus shifted squarely to games, and exclusives like “Halo”, “Gears”, and “Quantum Break” grew nearer.
And then backward compatibility became a thing.
Suddenly, all of the barriers were gone. All the cons to the One were gone, leaving only some significant pros. I could kiss my 360 goodbye on the promise that I would see my old games again someday soon on my fresh new system. And no longer would I have to sigh wistfully and miss out on great games. I could have them all.
I’ve said it before on the blog: Phil Spencer deserves massive credit. Even more than he’s already received. Sure, he was there when the original vision was being rolled out and probably he felt fine about it. I truly don’t fault anyone at Microsoft for trying to do something different. But Spencer has shown a degree of adaptability and consumer-friendliness that was woefully absent at the beginning. He listens to gamers and speaks their language. As the XBox One slowly turns the ship around, it’s resoundingly clear whose steady hand is on the wheel.
So, here I sit with all three systems, still frankly surprised that it happened as soon as it did. Does anyone need all three consoles? Of course not. It’s an embarrassment of riches – I’m very clear on that. There are lots of good reasons to just pick one and stick with it.
But fanboy ideology is not one of them.
The Wii U is a failure? Only in terms of sales. Not in terms of great Nintendo games.
The PS4 has no games? Tell that to my backlog. And I wouldn’t trade Bloodborne for pretty much anything else I played this year.
The PS4 as mere “indie-station”? If you want to miss out on games like “Firewatch” and “What Became of Edith Finch” and “No Man’s Sky” and “Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture”, go ahead, but I don’t understand you. And there’s a reason that XBox is now focusing on games like “Cuphead” and “Tacoma” and the ID@XBox program.
The XBox One is an inferior piece of hardware? Why? Because of a few “p’s” of resolution on a handful of multiplatform games, differences that the average gamer can’t even notice at full-speed? And have you seen the trailers for “Halo 5” and “Rise of the Tomb Raider”?
It’s so easy for gamers to plant their console flag and vigorously defend their territory like they’re playing “Call of Duty”. I get it…to a point. Preference is one thing. Blind obedience – especially to multi-billion dollar corporations – is just absurd and only truly hurts one person: the gamer.
All three consoles are doing amazing things. Those things may not appeal to all gamers equally. But competition is good. The resurgence of the XBox is the best thing to happen to Sony fans since the launch of the PS4 because it will force them to continue to step their game up. Nintendo may like to see themselves as the maverick in the field, but if you think they aren’t rethinking some strategies while they build the “NX”, you’re crazy.
As I finish this, I’m looking at all of those black boxes on my entertainment system. You know what? They look pretty good there. Almost like they belong together. Maybe it’s time to acknowledge that, for gamers, they actually do belong together, that the console wars are best fought by guys in suits who get paid a lot more money than we do, and that the only problem with three great systems on the market is not having enough time and money to play them all. My wallet may shrink, my backlog expand, but my gaming happiness is pretty much just right.
Old-School Kid Stuff 