The new Xbox will be revealed today by MS. The event takes place around noon (central), and there will be plenty of streams online plus a TV stream by Spike IIRC. Timetable for events: Took that from NeoGAF, which also has some other useful info: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=559996 Lots of rumors about "always online," "no used games," "secret sauce," "subsidized console," etc. Should all be clear (or at least more clear) after today. E3 is not far off, so MS won't show EVERYTHING they have. But they should show quite a bit (including what the actual box looks like I imagine ). IIRC, they want to keep this event focused on the system (more or less), and then go more into games at E3. Should be some good stuff. Strong indications that we'll see next-gen versions of games like CoD, Battlefield 4, and FIFA (among others). Exciting times in the industry.
Is the 4K TVs coming out your idea of catching up? Four times the resolution of standard HDTVs. Affordable ones should start coming out soon.
You'll see 4K gaming supported by PCs much sooner than in games (PS4 and new Xbox will likely only see limited support, if any, of 4K gaming). There could still be specialized monitors that could beyond 4K by that time too...I guess (PC gamers can never get enough). Though I think graphics are much more than just resolution. 4K version of NBA 2K (running at 120 FPS even) wouldn't really impress me that much if the fingers/hands are still blocky, the textures are low-res, the hair is just plastered on, the crowd is full of clones, etc. These new consoles won't offer the best graphics (if games are ported correctly, you should easily be able to get the same game + higher res/better framerate on a PC), but they'll push the standards so that PC devs (well...devs in general) can push graphics in more ways than just higher resolution/better framerates/etc.
If this thing comes out around Christmas, I'll hold out on GTA V for the new console. Watch Dogs is another game I'm looking forward to.
Not that I disagree with your post (I think I feel the same way), but I admit, I wonder if there should be some concern that the 2 most exciting games that could be on your platform...are also on PS3/360. "Hey, go get a PS4/Nextbox and play GTA5! It is almost exactly like the PS3/360 version you're already playing...but...um...better!" Part of the appeal of a true "next-gen" game is it can do things that current-gen games can't. These transitional games are to be expected early on (that's what happened in 2005/2006), but hopefully these guys can also show some games that are just not possible on PS3/360. Certainly tons of advantages to playing these games on the new systems (including better OS/features), but could be an uphill battle (especially with games like GTA5 and Watch Dogs being released).
Yeah. I mean I want to have it so where if I buy a new game like GTA V, I don't want to switch playing between the 360 and the new Xbox whenever I feel like playing GTA V. I understand what you're saying about whether or not these games have an advantage on the new-gen consoles vs the old ones, but yeah I'd get it on those new consoles strictly for convenience of using the same console to play all my games.
Yeah, it certainly makes sense to do that, but MS/Sony just need to make sure people get excited about more than just playing slightly better looking PS3/360 games on their systems. In previous generations, you could get that added convenience by default...with just one version of the game! E.G., FFIX on PS2.
With MS, I think the hard judgement will come on the software moreso than hardware because of the advantage they already have over Sony in having a better online experience (and also requiring you to pay). I haven't read any rumors on the new Xbox controller, but what I'm hoping for is either a) a built in battery similar to PS3 controllers or b) if there isn't a built in battery that they make it more efficient so the batteries last longer. For 5 years I used to use my Xbox rechargeable batteries until they got messed up, and then I started using AA batteries. Even with the limited gaming I play today, they still run out fast.
I forgot where I read it, but I thought I saw something about MS improving their wireless tech to vastly improve battery life, so you might get your wish. There haven't been a lot of rumors on the controller AFAIK. I think most suggested it would be more or less the same, just with some minor tweaks.
~45 minutes away. NeoGAF thread with links to streams, blogs, other items: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=560438 I haven't been watching, but I think the Gametrailers pre-show stuff should be on now.
It looks like a VCR, but whatever. The controller looks pretty much the same, but if it aint broke don't fix it. I can't imagine improving on the 360 controller.
