I'm caught in a trap, I can't walk out

Rewards Points app on Xbox One

As you may have read in my previous post, I am leaning towards the PlayStation 5 as my choice for the 9th generation of gaming consoles. I am inclined to go the Sony route as, put quite simply, they have better games. 

But as I mull over my decision, it is becoming obvious that Microsoft won't let me go without a fight. After almost 20 years of Xbox ownership, our destinies have become so entwined that the thought of leaving is filling me with anxiety. So what is so powerful about the Xbox experience that means I feel this compulsion to stay? Well, like so many things in life there is no "one big reason" but rather a multitude of little ones. 

Take Reward Points for example. I earn points when I search on Bing using my phone, when I visit their webpage and take part in inane quizzes or when I use Edge as my browser. I can also earn points by opening the Rewards app on my Xbox One and completing certain tasks such as watching a game trailer or browsing store contents. 50 points are available every day simply for gaining an achievement. 

"So what?" I hear you say. Well it is easy to convert these points into cold hard (digital) cash and buy more stuff. For instance the recent DLC for The Outer Worlds cost me nothing as I bought it using money earned through reward points. Rewards Points work as they require little effort and I often earn them though actions I would perform anyway. Consequently this feels like a win/win scenario to me.

Adding to your gamerscore is addictive stuff

The integration of the Windows and Xbox Live experience is also a benefit of Xbox ownership. This is not only because I can play my Xbox One via my PC (something the PlayStation 4 can also do) but because the soon to be retired Windows Console Companion is a really convenient way to manage and interact with Xbox Live. Admittedly the new Xbox app is not as good and relentlessly tries to shove Game Pass in your face, but there isn't a Sony equivalent. I also use both the Xbox and PlayStation smartphone apps and find the Xbox version superior in terms of functionality.

Another factor that has given me reason to pause when making my decision is that all of my friends and relatives who game do so on Xbox. In fact, I don't even know anyone who owns a PlayStation and my friends list on the PlayStation network is currently empty. If I were to move exclusively to using a PlayStation 5 I would have to build a new friends network for multiplayer games from scratch. 

Another way Microsoft have me on the hook is the fact that my Xbox games library is largely compatible with my current system. Some original Xbox games along with the majority of 360 games are playable on the Xbox One. All will be compatible with the Series X/S. If I put anything but the right disc into my PlayStation 4 it spits it out with distain. Sure I can pay Sony a subscription to allow online backward comparability, but that won't help me play my 150+ old Xbox games I have sitting on a shelf.

As I have mentioned before Xbox Live gamerscore and achievements provide a major tie to the Xbox brand. I don't claim to have the highest gamerscore in the world, but my achievements are a reflection of my experiences over the last thirteen years of gaming. I still buy third party titles for the Xbox to build my gamerscore as the equivalent PlayStation trophy system doesn't have any significance for me. This attitude may simply reflect the fact that I haven't earned many trophies or that I haven't owned a compatible PlayStation for very long. If I were to use a PlayStation more my view may change and my priority could shift. But giving up on a profile built over many years is not an easy thing to do and I am very reluctant relinquish it. The loyalty trap Microsoft sprung in 2007 when I elected to buy an Xbox 360 and not a PlayStation 3 has certainly worked.

Console Wars

The dawn of 9th generation of gaming consoles seems like a good time to start an infrequent blog about video games. I still have not made up my mind about buying a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S, but I thought some reflection here might help me make my choice.

No doubt I will chronicle my 'gaming life' at a later date, but suffice to say I have owned and played on a good variety of consoles and systems over the years. I don't hold a particular allegiance in the 'console wars' and I remain relatively open minded. Going forwards the only option I discount with absolute certainty is the idea of a gaming PC (but my prejudice against PC gaming will have to wait for another post). When making a monumental decision such as PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S, I think it is sensible to start by looking back.

Full disclosure requires me to state that I have owned an Xbox One since, well, day one in 2014 (it is a Day One edition). In fact, I own two Xbox Ones and have only recently acquired a PlayStation 4. When I compare these two consoles, I can’t help but draw parallels between them and their 6^th gen antecedents the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. Like the original Xbox the Xbox One is huge, clunky and just looks odd (both of mine are the first-generation consoles). Both PlayStations seem to be compact, functional, and robust. Okay, so comparing a PS4 slim to an original Xbox One is like comparing apples and oranges, but there is still something superior about the PlayStation form factor and build quality across the range and both generations.

Conversely, Microsoft have a better controller. The Xbox controller sits in the hand perfectly and the positioning of the thumb sticks feel better to me somehow. Equally the non-descript ‘options’ and ‘share’ buttons on the DualShock 4 controller are difficult to locate and fiddly when compared to the menu buttons on the Xbox controller.  The PlayStation triggers have a very shallow draw making precision control much more difficult and the touch pad is a white elephant. The main deficiency in the Xbox controller is the reliance on AA batteries which, as well as being inconvenient, add considerably to the weight. The Xbox design lab allows users to design their own controller from what is claimed to be over a billion different colour combinations is also a great service that kicks the sorry selection of controllers Sony offer into touch.

The we move onto VR. I have never tried VR but I know my PlayStation 4 can support it. The Xbox has no VR capability but the more brazen Xbox One owner might point to the capabilities of the Kinect system...as long as they are prepared to be laughed out of the room. 

But boxes and wires aside, what are the relative merits of the PS4 and the Xbox One? Well the operating systems are very different. The Xbox UI is easy to navigate, familiar (at least to Windows users) and feature rich. When I’m using the Orbis operating system, its not always clear where information or settings are located, and it doesn’t feel as intuitive. That said the PlayStation performance is rock solid where the Xbox crashes more than a blindfolded drunk driver. I have lost count of the number of times I have been forced to reinstall the Xbox operating system and the Xbox once killed my external hard drive and forced me to reformat and reinstall all 1TB worth of games (oh that was a happy day). When downloading and installing games the Xbox displays a progress bar that seemingly represents a random value and when complete you have no idea what it has installed or what version. When the PlayStation 4 starts installing an update or game it tells you exactly what is happening and what it is downloading; I would even suggest it installs slightly quicker than the Xbox.

One aspect of gaming I have always enjoyed is achievements. Sometimes they take zero effort, sometimes they happen by accident and sometimes you have to work really really hard for them (I'm looking at you "Benevolent Leader" in Fallout 4). However, Sony didn't steal the idea from the Xbox until 2008 and I was already wed to the 360 by then. This is one reason I play third party titles on the Xbox One and not the PS4; PlayStation trophies are an adjunct, a 'nice to have', but they aren't as important as Xbox achievements.

Most of my favorite games are developed by third party publishers and are therefore system agnostic. Fallout 4, The Outer Worlds, Rage 2, Boderlands 3, COD etc. are available for both systems and behave in much the same way. Where things do get interesting is with first party IP. If we compare the latest iterations of the premium racing games on both consoles (Forza Motorsport 7 on Xbox and Gran Turismo Sport on PlayStation) we might begin to separate them slightly. 

Both of these games feel like home to me. I played the original Gran Turismo on the first PlayStation and more especially the third incarnation on the PlayStation 2. I also enjoyed all the Forza series, with the exception of 5 which was a launch title for the Xbox One and was a massive disappointment. But Gran Turismo is the OG. The sounds, menus and race names all stir up nostalgia for the millennium and those PS2 days, but it somehow remains contemporary. There is no doubt that the graphics and general feel of Gran Turismo out perform Forza 7. Yet Forza can boast a broader canvas with more cars, tracks and options. Gran Turismo plays the perfectly appointed portrait to the sprawling impressionistic canvas of Forza. A draw then.

First party franchises that fed the popularity of the Xbox 360 such as Halo and Gears of War are shadows of their former selves on 8th gen systems. The Forza Horizon series remains the only Xbox exclusive that a PlayStation owner might look at with any envy. On the other side of the fence Sony have published exclusive titles such as Uncharted, The Last of Us and Ghost of Tsushima that continue to build on the PlayStation legacy and offer new experiences. Microsoft continue to swallow up developers but they don't seem to be able to create the new 'killer app' or even improve on their exclusive IP in the way Sony do.

And first party support is crucial to my PS5 or Xbox Series X/S decision. As far as I can see the Xbox Series X/S has no real launch titles to speak of - just a series of 'optimised' games that are also available for the One. The demise of Halo Infinite was the death knell for the launch of the Series X/S and despite being less powerful, the PlayStation 5 looks like it will make more headway simply because it has some good games to play. That's not to say that the Series X is doomed, look at the the PlayStation 3. When it launched it was a bit of a damp squib and we Xbox 360 users felt pretty smug. Then came the 360's red ring of death and a slew of great exclusive titles for the PlayStation 3 and the tide began to turn. When Blu-ray won the format war in 2008, Xbox 360 owners no longer felt quite so superior and Microsoft resorted to the Kinect (and we know how that turned out). So let's not right off the Series X just yet.

When the PlayStation 3 launched it looked a bit ridiculous next to a sleek white Xbox 360. In fact, all versions of the PlayStation 3 look terrible. You might be thinking, "I don't buy a console to look at it." And whilst aesthetics should not be our first priority, you do end up spending a lot of time looking at a console when it is established in your room. And here is where we can discount an Xbox Series S from my thinking. It looks terrible. The PS5 and Series X are about the same.

So where does all of this blathering and conjecture lead us? Am I a PlayStation fanboy or am I so in love with my gamerscore that I can never leave the Xbox teat? Well the truth is that I have been so blinded by indecision that I missed the initial pre-order for both systems. I have email alerts registered with several retailers and will no doubt buy the first one that releases stock. 

I'm just hoping Sony call first.