Article: Which Console Should I Buy?

[VideoGameCritic]

Let me know what you think about my latest article!

http://videogamecritic.com/extras/info/advice_2015.htm

[scotland]

I think its too limited and does not fit well with your opinions and style. Its light on substance, and being too nice.

Its more "Which of the Three Main Stream Modern Console Should I Choose Among in 2015". In the second paragraph you say those in the market for a current generation system have these three basic options - and that is what the title of the article should be. Considering you are the Video Game Critic and the breadth of what you review, there should be a paragraph that mentions gaming is far more than choosing between these three beds at the three bears house. None may be just right, but don't give up, because there are so many other houses of gaming goodness out there, from digging into the past with a Flashback or Retron or true classic console, to portables, to mobile, to PCs, and so on. You don't have to choose from the three basic options at all.

I also did not see price mentioned. As you say with games, sometimes you get what you pay for. Is that true of the consoles?

I think you are overly generous to the WiiU. I don't think the WiiU is geared to the 'old fashioned style of multiplayer' at all, as if it were, it would not have one and only one gamepad but come with dual pro controllers. Dual identical controllers would be much more old fashioned and preferable. I have kids, and I do not think the WiiU is the 'ideal system' for family oriented entertainment; I would not even call it 'recommended', far less than 'ideal'. I think there are lots of family oriented alternatives on the other two consoles, such as Skylanders or the many Lego games. Also, while the XboxOne and the PS4 seem to be in their sweet spots, with years of good games expected, the WiiU is already seen as an older console on the wane.

You also finish up with 'all three systems provide a satisfying selection of quality titles'. That seems far too indecisive for you. You are the Video Game Critic. Since when have you been shy giving an opinion? If you are this type of person, pick this, or if you are this type, pick that. I don't think you have done system reviews for these yet, but how about *letter grades* for each console as you do with games?

You have written about the lack of a real incentive to upgrade. What is the real killer app for each console? Is there even one killer app true exclusive per system? You wrote its the games that matter most, so what are quality titles for each console? Maybe a top 10 list of games that matter most per console?

Maybe your guidance could be that, for a person who has not upgraded yet, that sticking to the last generation is the way to go in September 2015?

[Rookie1]

Id like a PS4, but I really cant justify buying one. MKX looks great, but I have a feeling I will play it a handful of times and it will just sit on my shelf collecting dust. Arkham Knight peaked my interest, but appears to be a bust. I really want to play that Star Wars Battlefront, but im not a fan of online multiplayer, and since there is no offline single player campaign I have no real reason to buy it. Metal Gear 5 is on my "must have" list, but its ported to the PS3 (which I have) so I suppose I could just get that version instead (though I need to read some reviews comparing the two). And with no backwards compatibility for my PS3 games or PS Store downloads, whats the point?

As for the WiiU, the new Star Fox looks really good, but I will wait for reviews on that one. Mario Maker looks great, but I fear the novelty would wear thin. That new Zelda looked great, but it seems to be in development hell and has a Dec. 31 2016 release?! The rest of the titles dont do anything for me.

My one and only venture with Xbox has turned me off of that system forever. Bought a 360 several years ago as it was on sale and cheaper than a PS3 at the time. Plugged it in and tried to watch netflix, only to be told I needed to pay for an xbox live subscription to use it. Then I tried to play a game but couldnt save because the system had no internal memory. Promptly packed it up and exchanged it for a PS3 and have never looked back.

[Sonicx9]

Good Article, but the one thing that you should add in the article that happens to be one of my biggest gripes of the PS4/Xbox One/and or the Wii U respectively is the complete lack of appealing exclusive in mind games as many of the major/semi-major games on the PS4/Xbox One and or the Wii U respectively have many of their games down ported to the PS3/Xbox 360/PS Vita/3DS, if applied, here are the many examples of this include Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain/Ground Zeroes, Alien: Isolation, Destiny, Super Smash Bros. 2014, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Grim Fandango Remastered, Senran Kagura: Estival Versus, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Titanfall, Guilty Gear Xrd. LittleBigPlanet 3, Hyrule Warriors, MLB The Show 14/15, Dragon Quest Heroes 1 and 2, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Watch Dogs, The Evil Within, Sniper Elite 3/Ultimate Edition, Battlefield 4/Hardline and Call of Duty Ghosts/Advanced Warfare/Black Ops 3, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The first Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare game, Persona 5, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, Far Cry 4, Mighty No. 9, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Gal Gun Double Peace, Strider 2014, Child of light, Transformers Devastation, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions/Evolved, The Legend of Korra game from Platinum Games, Goat Simulator, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, Contrast, Resogun, Rodea the Sky Soldier, NES Remix 1 and 2 via Ultimate NES Remix, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, Citizens of Earth, Ys 8, Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender DX, 1001 Spikes, Wolfenstein: The New Order ,etc.

I think it would be a good idea for The Video Game Critic in the article to mentioned that if you are a gamer/consumer that want exclusive in mind games for the PS4/Xbox One/Wii U, then the systems are not for you, as you can technically get 95% precent of the major/semi-major games on the PS3/Xbox 360/PS Vita/3DS, and most are the full games from either the PS4/Xbox One/and/or the Wii U, and are not that far behind in quality, it is not like in the previous console generations where handheld ports/previous Gen console ports from next gen in mind games being much farther behind in quality at that time period.

And you critic are not the only one that is critical about the lack of appealing exclusive in mind games for the PS4/Xbox One/and or the Wii U respectively, Rich of ReviewTechUSA is also critical about the lack of appealing exclusive in mind games for the PS4/Xbox One/and or the Wii U respectively as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlfOymeSkGw

[Breaker]

I agree with scotland. This article was a good start, but I think you backed off at the end and should have given a much stronger opinion on each, as well as listed the top titles for each system.

[eneuman96]

In terms of both quality and quantity, the Wii U wins in the exclusives department, and the PS4 appears to be the most technologically capable. I'd say it's a choice between Wii U for unique games you can't play anywhere else or the PS4 for AAA games.

[Greisha]

I would have included a short list of console exclusives for each console, but pretty good article!!

[Rev]

I agree with Scotland. I wish you would have gone farther in your comparisons and really showed some strong opinions in which console you think is the best.

[VideoGameCritic]

I put that article together really quick - wrote it in one night. I was kind of a last minute thing and I had a busy week. So yeah, it's a little shallow. I purposely omitted pricing for systems and games because that is in constant flux.

I like the idea of listing the top games for each system (especially exclusives).
Maybe you guys can hash out the top 5 for each and I can go back and include it?

Thanks!
VGC

[ptdebate]

I actually like this article's stance because I think it's accurate. All three consoles do offer quality entertainment and value for the money. As someone who does own all three consoles, I can agree with the statement that they're all worth owning. It's no longer true that they lack compelling exclusives.

I have to disagree, however, with the statement in the article that the Wii U doesn't experience the same software-related issues as the other two consoles. The Wii U gets system updates constantly. The only difference is that they seem to take much, much longer to download. And because the Wii U's multitasking is so limited, you can't do other things on the console (like play a game in offline mode or watch Netflix) while the update is downloading. One mitigating factor for the Wii U is that new game releases almost always include the system update on disk, meaning that you don't necessarily have to download them if you prefer to keep your console online. You do, however, still have to update your console if you want to play the latest games. From unboxing my neice's Wii U to actually playing Mario Kart it took about 45 minutes--and that was updating from disc, not the internet (we chose not to connect it to prevent my nieces from having open access to online content). I remember my PS4 and Xbox One taking a lot less time to set up.

Also, I have one minor quibble with the statement that all three consoles offer 1080p entertainment. Xbox One and Wii U games vary rarely achieve a 1080p framebuffer. The rendering resolution of most Wii U games is 720p, whereas the Xbox One is a mixed bag of 720p, 900p, and occasionally 1080p (see Digital Foundry's analyses). Out of the three, only the PS4 consistently renders games in 1080p.

With that being said, here are my top 5 lists:

Wii U:
1. Super Mario 3D World
2. Super Mario Maker
3. Bayonetta 2
4. Mario Kart 8
5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

PS4:
1. Bloodborne
2. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (also on PS3, but this is the definitive console edition)
3. Until Dawn
4. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
5. MLB 15: The Show

Honorable mention to PT, which isn't technically a game but one of my favorite game-like experiences of all time.

Xbox One:
1. Killer Instinct. COMBO BREAKERRRRRRRRRR!!!
2. Ori and the Blind Forest
3. Forza 5
4. Titanfall
5. Halo: MCC (despite the online issues, phenomenal, endlessly replayable collection of single-player campaigns in a sleek package)