I am planning for this to be my last generation of video game consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, etc). What could make me change my mind?
At this point i'm not even remotely interested in the PS4. Overkill stats in isolation mean nothing to me. It just suggests a higher launch price point. i'm getting kind of old to view everything through a game matrix. If I did go next gen, I would need to cut way back from what I spent this generation. So what are some of the things i'm looking for?
1) Price: my "drop dead" price point is $299.99 (and i'd need about a terabyte HDD for that). Really, I would not want to go much over $249.99
2) DVR/Cable box functionality: I currently reside in a place where the downstairs cannot be wired for coaxial (at least the Comcast people won't do it). A wireless cable box/DVR would be really beneficial to me (in my current situation). So, I would like to have a wireless solution (whether it be through the cable provider, or just using broadband bandwidth to get signals). To me, this functionality would add about $10/month of value to me (assuming that this isn't stuck behind a pay wall, which it would be).
I figure that Xbox Live will be about $7-8 a month in the next generation (I don't think they want the 12 month card to be over $100), so the excess value added would be at about $2-3. Say the console would be used this way for 3 years (hopefully no red ring next generation). That would be an approximate value of $72-108
3) Quicker load times: I would like if games don't take nearly as long to load. Load times suck. The less load time the better.
4) Windows 8/RT compatibility (and common currency/point system): this is one area where things could get interesting (with real cross-platform games/apps). It would be nice if I could play a game on my Surface RT and pick up and play on my HDTV (via Xbox Next). I see this as the next generation of XBLA. My next PC will likely be Windows 8 (not a bad OS, as far as i'm concerned).
5) Backwards Compatibility: ok, so it is highly doubtful that this one will happen. It would be a nice carrot (being how much I spent on XBLA games this generation). This is not a deal breaker.
6) Full Downloadable Games at decreased prices: this probably won't happen (as console companies are reticent to compete with retail), or at least episodic downloads. If you could download a game day one for $39.99 instead of buying it at retail, I would consider it. Breaking games up into parts (and selling them as such) is an interesting concept too.
7) Gamerscore carryover. I would want my "meaningless stats" to carryover into the next generation. I've got one account at 54K and the other at about 41K.
Other stuff that may be mentioned elsewhere:
* Always Online: this is not possible yet. You cannot ensure that a console will always be connected. I can see a console needing to "phone home" every-so-often, but you cannot have a situation where basic core (game playing) functionality ceases while not connected. Streaming services obviously need always connected status, but playing games does not.
I do not see that as happening, though it does at times with a few Windows RT apps (Samurai vs Zombies Defense, most notably). Stupid Comcast router Wi-Fi instability.
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