Okay, I'll say this straight up. There is WAY too much news pouring through for me to be able to provide a comprehensive summary so please feel free to visit the Kotaku Australia links provided below for all the nitty gritty details.
What you will get is a very loose summary and some thoughts on what has occurred today.
You ready? *takes deep breath*
MICROSOFT
Well, lots of game demos, and a conspicuous lack of comments on those pesky restrictions that raised everyone's ire earlier in the week. There are a number of ongoing franchises making an appearance on the shiny new box but surprisingly few exclusives. Microsoft did say more Halo was coming and showed a pre-rendered cinematic so that's okay right... right?
In the very tiny bit of non-game news...
Microsoft points are gone. You now get to pay real money for purchases from Live. Odds are you will still have a wallet and only be able to add arbitrary amounts so there will be those fiddly leftover amounts that just sit there. To be fair, this is how the Playstation Network handles purchases as well so at least it'll be an even keel.
The device has been priced at US$499. The only Australian pricing I have seen at this point is $888 at Harvey Norman and $598 from JB Hi-Fi.... so that's clear.
Overall it really seemed that Microsoft found the part of their announcement they lost just before the big reveal a few weeks back. With only a few exclusives and fewer surprises it still seems that their focus is no longer on the most important part of this whole endeavour, the gamer. You know Microsoft, that person you want to pay money for your new console? You can't sell an Xbox One to someone who just wants it for TV since there are much cheaper and more effective devices out there now, so you really need to remember the GAMER.
Who's excited - Hackers are probably already champing at the bit to get their hands on Xbox One because whoever cracks the dial home protection will probably become the most famous hacker on the planet. Also people who just want every console and rabid Xbox fans.
Who's disappointed - Anybody who thinks that when they buy a game they actually own that game.
Silver lining - We are getting closer to that sweet spot between retailers trying to clear out stocks of the Xbox 360 and when the 360 officially becomes a retro console... Hey, that's a silver lining for me!
SONY
(EDIT:: I now know that Sony did mention the PS4 quite a bit before the reveal, but since that was what everyone was really waiting for I still say they were being a tease.)
Let's face it. There were only a couple of things Sony had to say to win over a fair number of people, and sure enough the announcements were made. The PS4 does not require you to be online and there will be no system restrictions for used games. I could end this here, but there is heaps more stuff. Before I move on Sony knows that this is a huge advantage so I encourage you to watch and enjoy this sweet video of Sony officially trolling Microsoft...
Enjoy that? I bet you didn't read the fine print that said "PS4 multiplayer online access requires PSN account & PS Plus subscription". Yep, that's right, Sony requires pay to play for online multiplayer. The ability to play multiplayer without having to pay for a subscription was always one of the major advantages I felt PS3 had over the Xbox 360 so this development is probably going to be the biggest turn off for Sony fans. Now I don't mind PS Plus, in fact I have a US subscription simply because it is less expensive and gets more content and better deals than the Australian version. I then access all that content through my Australian non-Plus PSN account. So essentially I would need to play all multiplayer through my US account or subscribe to Plus on both so I don't lose the content I already have from my US account!
I know, you're thinking "Well that won't matter. You'll lose all your content if you buy a PS4 anyway. Geez you're such a twit." To that I say, first up, don't be so insulting and, secondly, Sony has announced your PS Plus account will roll over to the PS4. So, who's the twit now?
But what about games? Well it was an exclusive games bonanza. A stack of titles were announced that no-one but PS4 owners will see, including the coup de gras of getting Bungie (the original developers of Halo) to create an exclusive game for Sony.
A particularly surprising announcement was the ability of indie developers to self publish titles on the PS store, and the fact that Sony will offer support for them during the development process. This is a great way to get innovative titles available for the PS4.
So how much will this excitingly angled black box set you back? It has been priced at US$399 and Sony has confirmed that, after Australia tax is applied, it will retail at $549 for us down under. I honestly thought the markup would be much worse.
No mention was made of stuff like Play TV or other ancillary services and applications. It's safe to assume Netflix and the like will still be available through the PS4.
So pretty much the PS4 announcement was all about gamers (and trolling Xbox One).
Who's excited - Gamers! And those hackers who have an interest in purely running homebrew since they will apparently have an avenue to develop PS4 stuff independently.
Who's disappointed - Those who do not want to pay extra to play online multiplayer. Microsoft.
Silver lining - Well it all seems pretty groovy so instead...
Dark cloud - Having to subscribe to PS Plus for online multiplayer.
THE WRAP UP
So who came out on top? It's safe to say that as of this moment Sony has the upper hand. I am sure there will be more announcements over the next few days but unless one of them is Microsoft saying "loljk" about the always online requirement and restrictions on used games then I don't see how they can claw back.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
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