These are basically random thoughts spurred by the points the article makes as opposed to direct statements about the content of the article...<p>Microsoft always intended to use games as a stepping stone to becoming a broader entertainment play. They were talking about this publicly as far back as the Xbox 1 (the former Xbox 1, now known as the Xbox 1 that isn't the Xbox One) in the 2001 time frame.<p>I'm fine with that strategy and even encourage it, but as a gamer I'm distraught with other decisions they <i>seem</i> to have made (it is impossible to tell what decisions they've actually made from rumors or misreporting because they are failing on the PR/messaging for specifics of the Xbox One on a spectacularly epic scale currently).<p>In the long run, the Xbox 360 is kind of the odd duck of the Xbox line in terms of hardware architecture considering the old Xbox 1 was x86 based and basically a closed PC, just like the new Xbox One. Of course, the 360 happened to occur over the time period that Live proved that a full online experience for a console should be considered an essential component. (I just wish they'd stop raising the cost of Live while also increasing the amounts of ads it throws at you (without raising the value to suit), and stop charging for things that are free elsewhere (eg. Netflix, etc), and start using some of the mountains of money they earn from Live to provide dedicated gaming servers, etc).<p>The Wii U is actually a pretty nice device. I have one. I'll buy pretty much any system Nintendo puts out just to play their first party games, at least until they're forced to go the route that Sega did. But anyway, the remote touchscreen gamepad "second screen" thing is pretty cool I love using it for Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Instant. Being able to redirect the video play to the gamepad device's screen when the TV is otherwise in use is really nice, and it really makes things like searching a breeze compared to using a more traditional remote. Yes, you can achieve the same basic sorts of things with other consoles plus an external device like a tablet via things like SmartGlass, but with the Wii U it Just Works without having to dick around with anything.
You know what else is younger than the Xbox 360? 7 year olds, a huge part of the incoming audience for this console generation which will probably last another 10 years, so until they're nearly adults.<p>Today's 7 year olds grew up in a world where Xbox, Playstation, Wii, Facebook, Android and iPad are a normal part of their universe. There's nothing novel or special about them. If this generation of consoles finds its audience with this age group like the Super NES did for me when I was growing up, the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U will be much-loved despite their strategies, flaws, cloud computing, DRM or achievements. They will just be loved if they have good games.<p>We're all cynics who can look back and compare now to then, exclaiming how Facebook and Apple have stolen the market. But for 7 year olds, the world is the world, and they're only getting started. I envy them for the ability to be naive about this stuff. :-)
> <i>the Xbox One’s heavily pushed smart-TV integration features seem to be designed for an imaginary world in which people browse the web on their TVs instead of the (non-Microsoft) smartphone in their pocket.</i><p>This overlooks a use-case that is common in my home: browsing the web with others in the room. It happens all the time in my living room that there are multiple people present and we want to look up something online, or share something with the group. Yes, we could pass around or huddle in front of a tablet or phone, but using the HTPC is the best shared-experience solution.<p>It's for reasons like this that I'm (so far) heavily leaning towards the Xbox One as my preferred choice as my nextgen console. If it's as fluid of an experience as they led us to believe during the unveiling (which is a big if), the Xbox One will become the #1 used device in my home. It will be the best way to view content in my living room, without having to hunt for remotes or wireless keyboards or switching inputs. And yes, it will also play triple-a video games. Sign me up.
Gotta love how he casually slips Tumblr and Instapaper in the list. Tumblr, I can understand, but Instapaper's influence outside of the technorati is highly overestimated by the technorati.
<i>> And the Xbox One’s heavily pushed smart-TV integration features seem to be designed for an imaginary world in which people browse the web on their TVs instead of the (non-Microsoft) smartphone in their pocket.</i><p>This really jumped out at me as a silly statement to make.<p>Isn't the general idea of innovation that you imagine what people might want or need and then you build it? Why is it misguided for Microsoft to be trying something new that they think people will like?<p>My experience with browsing the web on a Smart TV is that opening the browser was a hassle, the interface was awkward to use (buggy on-screen keyboard), it was extremely slow, seemed to give me mobile versions of sites and - for some reason - was unable to stream content smoothly. If I had to guess as to why people don't browse the web on their TVs, it would be because the technology sucks. Mobile phones had browsers for years before the mobile web really took off. TVs could be the same. A few use cases that I can think of from my immediate family:<p>* Streaming web content while doing something else. Watching online guitar lessons while playing along, for instance.<p>* Watching TV while using another application. Tweeting while you watch chat shows, Skyping with friends while you watch a movie, creating animated .gifs on the fly and posting them to Tumblr.<p>* Browsing in a group. Huddling around a screen and/or passing a device from person to person is sub-optimal.<p>* Quick, voice-initiated browsing or searching. Currently performed using phones/tablets, this could easily spread to televisions if the technology existed. Pause your movie, open a browser, find a restaurant that delivers and order food without going hunting for your phone.
<i>I see problems with all three approaches. The Wii U depends mostly on casual gamers, but the best casual gaming device for most people is the iPad Mini.</i><p>Never underestimate the power of Pokemon though. That alone can potentially change the tides.
"And the Xbox One’s heavily pushed smart-TV integration features seem to be designed for an imaginary world in which people browse the web on their TVs instead of the (non-Microsoft) smartphone in their pocket. "<p>I don't think I've read a more accurate summery of the Xbox One than the above quote.
Well said. The guys at Nintendo didn't realize that the WiiU will just cater to the KIDs who are mainly playing the dozens of iPad games.<p>The Wii was truly innovative. Everyone want it and to play it. Adults enjoyed it, they played with their kids. I remember my co-workers raving about them playing bowling with the family every night.<p>I see that not in the WiiU.
That list at the beginning of the article really is an eye opener.<p>That said, I don't agree with his take on consoles. Though I'm a little unimpressed with the Wii U, "almost changed nothing" is an exaggeration. HD Video, tablet controller, improved online functionality, etc. are all big to most gamers.<p>Also "the best casual gaming device for most people is the iPad Mini" may be true, but that's not in my mind what the Wii was good at. Wii was one of the best party-game consoles ever made (IMO only beat by the N64, however PS1/2 and XBox were great as well). Online gaming is more convenient for hardcore gamers, but if you just wanna have a few drinks and some pizza in a buddy's basement, nothing rivals Mario Kart or Smash Bros.<p>I'm a die hard PC gamer, but as soon as Smash Bros. drops for Wii U I'll be buying one. Halo is the only other exclusive title I can think of that has this kind of notoriety.
> <i>I expect the PS4 and Xbox One to both sell well. But I can’t confidently predict that either will outsell its predecessor.</i><p>PS2 is the best-selling video game console to date <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_conso...</a>
How long can Sony bleed money from their electronics division?<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/business/global/sonys-bread-and-butter-its-not-electronics.html?pagewanted=all" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/business/global/sonys-brea...</a>