RF Generation Message Board

http://news.xbox.com/2013/05/qa

I just signed on to post about this but you beat me to it.

This of course is wonderful news but the cheaper price point and more robust (at the moment) on-line subscription service (PS+ vs XBL Gold) will probably keep me on the list for a PS4. 

Now this is interesting, but notice there is still the more details later part. If MS got the message and dumps DRM I'll certainly consider it, as I currently like Xbox 360 more than PS3.

Here's to hoping that someone there has a brain.

...*cough* All digital content on Xbox Live Marketplace has DRM *cough*...

Looks like no DRM, impressive. http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/update

That's a good decision on their part.

I threw on an Amazon pre-order for it based on this. I can always cancel if they do something screwy again.

This makes my pre-order sting significantly less now :D

I bet it also makes you happier to be in the used games business!

Actually having less Microsoft stuff in my store would have also been nice. Kind of bittersweet now ;)

I don't want to start an argument over which is better, I'm just curious as to your thoughts on why you prefer PS+ to XBLG.  As a (currently) non PS+ subscriber, I'd love to hear about what I'm missing (besides game giveaways).

I'm also curious as to why you think PS+ is more rubust than XBL, excluding the giveaways.

For me it is 100% about the games. What more do you need? The excitement of anticipating what is coming out each week is awesome, and the sheer amount of awesome stuff that has come out just since I subscribed earlier in the year has more than justified the subscription fee.

Sometimes it isn't just a cool game like XCOM where I said "Oh cool! I wanted to play that!"

Something like Gods Eater Burst will pop up and I say "What the hell is that?" and start playing it and it is awesome. Nothing like taking a chance on a game for "free."

I haven't even taken advantage of their discounts either but they've recently had things like The Walking Dead season pass for five bucks for members.

Also there's all kinds of other free stuff like icons and themes if you're into that kind of stuff.

Obviously I'm a Playstation guy and PS+ cheerleader. See here: http://www.rfgeneration.com/forum/index.php?topic=12011.0

I just really think this one hell of a service and I look forward to using on PS4. They already announced Drive Club will be free on day one. I'm hoping PS+ will be a great way to subsidize playing games on the new console and if the content available on PS3 for plus subscribers is any indication, it's going to be great.

...and Microsoft does the discounts, icons, and themes, and they're planning on matching PS+ in the giveaways moving forward. We also asked "besides game giveaways"? ;)

I'm with you. That's why I said it's all about the giveaways. So to answer the question precisely, nothing besides the specific giveaways distinguishes PS+ from XBLGold. But the quality and quantity of said giveaways is far, far superior on PS+.

I know Microsoft is trying to catch up. The first two games they're going to do not counting Fable III are Halo 3 and Assassin's Creed II. Come on.

Crawl before you walk, right?  It makes sense for new owners of the console to get two of the best games on the platform, but even for everyone else, a free digital copy is cool.  Now you don't have to throw the disc in to play.

^EDIT That arrow was supposed to point to the post before Bils /EDIT

Seriously.
They are giving away games that a bazillion people already own. Hell 2 out of the 3 have been system bundles on more than one occasion if memory serves.

I'll throw my Halo 3 disc in if I ever want to play it again (not likely). Give me MGS Rising Revengeance or Lollipop Chainsaw or some other game that is not quite a new release any more, but not a golden oldie either.

Also fwiw I have been a Gold subscriber for like six years and I don't have shit to show for it except playing multiplayer online, which I was doing for free on PS3 the whole time. How soon we forget that.

You do make good points.  However I would like to say that I never felt like online on PS3 was equal to online on XBL.  To me, Live FELT like a premium experience and PSN FELT like a free experience. 

I'm thrilled than Sony is finally charging for the online experience so that they can INVEST in an experience that feels premium because it is.   They have done a fantastic job giving PSN+ value with the content they give away and I hope that MS can follow their lead in finding new ways to make the service a better value.

I've had exactly one month of each service over the life of the consoles so I'm not exactly an expert, but I'm gonna side with Grayghost. I had to pay for Xbox live when I wanted to play King of Fighters XIII online to practice for a tournament and other than that couple weeks I played a lot of KoFXIII online I don't have anything to show for it. Oh and I could finally use my netflix subscription on my Xbox :/

When the Playstation network got hacked and and we got a free month I got to play Sonic 2 and Street of Rage with trophy support for free (which was actually kind of cool). When it ended I still have my free downloads for Infamous and Dead Nation.

As far as my short experience with both services I'd say I got a hell of a lot more value out of my month of PS+ than I did with Xbox Live.

I thought that ended in December?

Yeah, the promo runs from now until December.  I think they are trying to gauge how effective it is but it sure would be nice if it became permanent.

In any event, this thread got hijacked.

The main point is that Microsoft, albeit under immense public pressure, is going in the right direction, and for that we all win :)

yup

I think the fact that they have collapsed under pressure is an excellent sign.

It shows that they do actually give a damn about consumers (or more specifically consumer confidence and thus dollar dollar bills y'all)

It's good that they are bring seen to back pedal (even if it is not a 100% back pedal).  Given just how many people who will watch with interest as well as react violently to anything they perceive as "wrong", I really don't think they have a choice.  They could have continued on their original "suck it down" path, expecting people to fall into line like good little sheep and throwing down $500+ within the first few months of launch.  Of course they could have also likely expected those same people to blast them into the bedrock with negative comments on every message board, blog, and news site they have an account with for their arrogance, much as what happened to Sony following the announcement and release of the PS3, and Sony was only able to recover from that because of the "street cred" they gained during the last few generations (plus a few really great decisions made during the last half of the PS3s life).

I think we can look forward to some more "MS back pedalling" during the next few years, as well as (hopefully) some great PS+ copycat services to add.

It may sound a little silly, but one of the reasons I have enjoyed the 360 so much comes down to the controller. Now that the systems are on relatively equal footing again, I'll probably head down the MS path again due to the same.

It doesn't sound silly. I actually prefer the 360 controller as well, and I've heard from many people in real life who agree with you as far as choosing their console based on that. Controller preference just isn't that kind of deal breaker for me.

Right there with you, brother.  My two biggest gripes about the PS2/PS3 controller is that it was too loose and had to much of a dead zone (playing Mercenaries on the PS2 then the Xbox was a real eye-opener).  That explanation always got me pitying looks from gamer friends.

I've heard that the PS4 controller is pretty darn good, though according to the Giant Bomb guys the sticks are still too loose.  Still, I am very intrigued and eager to get my hands on one.  Hopefully we see some USB cords and Plug-N-Pray connectivity on both systems again...

Not silly at all. I grab each and every multiplatform game in the PS2 era on my Gamecube because it had what I considered the best controller of that gen. I personally like the Dualshock miles more than the 360 controller though so....... your wrong :)

i prefer the dualshock over the 360 controller too, i thought 360 felt too stiff in the joystick. and i don't like the bumper buttons, though the triggers are nice.

I'm not following this duel between the upcoming consoles, but I will say that hearing Sony announce what they did I was happy and impressed. It seems as though many, many other people were too. Pre-orders for the PS4 exceeded expectations from what I understand and now Microsoft has to do something to stay in the game. It's just too bad they had to basically say "remember all that stuff we said about DRM and always online? Well, we take it. Sorry. :("

Microsoft must have lost a ton of brand loyalty when they made their initial announcement for them to flip-flop like this.

EDIT

My two cents on the controller fiasco. The Xbox 360 feels more ergonomic in the hands, but the button layout is what I dislike. The sticks also throw me off. The Dualshock, on the other hand (no pun intended), feels smaller, but more conducive to muscle memory for button pressing.

I say the winner is the Dualschock and I'm looking forward to beefier, bulkier Dualshock 4.

http://www.dorkly.com/article/52521/don-mattricks-first-draft-of-the-xbox-one-update-announcement

Not only is that very funny, but it's the best explanation of Microsoft's original policies that I have seen so far :) 

I think its funny that they're backpedaling now.

It will help get some sales, but the people on the fence around launch or the holidays are going to look at the prices and probably still go PS4.

This is great news.  At least Microsoft has shown that they aren't completely run by idiots on an executive level.  I still think Mattrick is a douche, though.

This still doesn't make them look good, it just makes them look like not the worst thing ever.

I'm with Slowman. This shows Microsoft has poor integrity. I really feel that they had the potential to prove us wrong that DRM, always online, etc is not as bad as we think.

Even though there's still time for the people to choose who they want to support, what's done is done and Microsoft botched their first impression.

DRM - HATE HATE HATE
They removed the DRM - HATE HATE HATE

At least the stance is a solid one.

I don't know if that was directed at me, but I never hated on MS before or now. I'm just a believer that first impressions are important and you only have one chance at them.

Eh not really at you.
You were actually much more in MS court than i was before the change to the DRM.

I think them changing policy should only bolster consumer confidence.
Gives the impression that they actually care about their consumers. Which is really a load of crap. The just want to ensure sales don't completely dry up.

Remember PS3 was supposed to have no used market and games were supposed to be 90$s at retail ;)
So much for first impressions.

I understand.  I wasn't trying to blast Microsoft or promote Sony.  I prefer Sony consoles personally but I have no illusions about it either; both of these companies are in the business of making money for their shareholders.  They both went with the decision that they believed would lead to that end and it just happened that it blew up in MS's face.  Going into this, odds were 50/50 that the PS4 would have the very same restrictions and in fact, Sony even filed a patent for it.  They were just smart enough not to implement it.

i see the point about integrity, but i agree with izret, there are a lot of people complaining just for the sake of complaining. there was reason before, but now they removed the drm and made it closer to what people want, and what does everyone do? call microsoft greedy for reacting to the internet rage and trying to save their launch. you can't please anyone.

MS will be able to live it down, it will just take time, that's all.  It took a while for Sony to get themselves out of the hole they dug after the PS3 announcement, but they did and look at them now.  MS will do the same, they will just have to eat some crow first.

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