Earlier today I read an absolute pearl of an article from a writer at ‘The Sun’ by Derek Brown.
This is an actual media outlet that reports on actual news, but somehow this diamond in the rough found its way to the light of day.
Entitled “13 reasons why you should feel like a mug for buying an Xbox One” this captivating read had me scrambling to find more insightful, intellectually stimulating reads from this author.
So what I thought I would do to adequately express my feelings on these extremely valid 13 points about why all Xbox One owners should feel like mugs, is to list his 13 points and add my own replies to each.
Let’s get into it shall we?
(for a written version please see below the video)
So the number one reason why you should feel like a mug for buying an Xbox One is:
Sony has sold 22 million consoles, Microsoft has shifted 10 million Xbox Ones. Statistically, the chances are your mates are playing on the PS4.
EXL: Really? When? There are no concrete statistics that even suggest this figure could be accurate, so looks like we are in for an interesting ride for the next 12 points.
The Sun: 2. The DLC for Call Of Duty Black Ops III will now hit PS4 30 days before XBox One.
EXL: To begin with, let’s take into consideration that Call of Duty (not Call Of Duty Derek) exclusive rights for marketing was on the Xbox One (not XBox One Derek) for the past two installments in the franchise (not to mention how many years Xbox held those rights beforehand on the Xbox 360). Under your logic PlayStation 4 owners should have been walking around feeling like mugs for the past 2 years?
Now let’s look at the actual statement that you are making here – Xbox owners should feel like mugs because someone else gets to play DLC, that’s right DLC, not the entire game but just the DLC, 30 days earlier? Ok, if that is your number 2 point I can only see things going downhill from here.
The Sun: 3. More PS4 games display at 1080p resolution. On XBox One they are more likely to display at 720p.
EXL: Again, Derek please its Xbox not XBox. Moving past that though, I was under the impression that gamers played games to enjoy games? Are the kiddies still arguing about who has what resolution and framerate? In many cases games won’t look as good or play as fluently if developers just crank up settings so they can boast 1080p 60fps. There is no point in giving gamers a lesser experience for the sake of being able to put a sticker on your game that states this, unless of course all you are interested in is stating you have the greatest this and the greatest that, but sadly not being able to state at the same time that you are giving your gamers the best IN-GAME experience possible.
The Sun: 4. You’ll never play the digitally remastered version of The Last Of Us
EXL: Really? Wow but isn’t that game a PlayStation exclusive? Oh that’s right it is, guess that might be why Xbox Gamers won’t be playing it on the Xbox. I can totally see why that was such a huge advantage that it required being in the top 13 reasons that clearly thousands upon thousands of gamers should feel like mugs.
Guess what? You will never get to play Gears of War, Halo, the first Titanfall, Forza or more recently Rise of the Tomb Raider on PlayStation either, but I hardly see that as being valid.
The Sun: 5. You will never play Bloodborne on your console
EXL: Again, great detective work exhibited there. I add to my previous list:
- ReCore
- Scalebound
- Sunset Overdrive
- Ori and the Blind Forrest
- Quantum Break
- Fable Legends
- Crackdown
I think that will do for the moment.
The Sun 6. No Man’s Sky is looking pretty epic. Yep, it’s a PS4 console exclusive
EXL: Ok, see now you’re just starting to sound silly. You have just listed 3 PS exclusives as reasons that Xbox Gamers should feel like mugs for buying an Xbox One. Both consoles have exclusives so this is just a completely irrelevant argument. I mean surely, SURELY you have some valid points here to back up your claim that isn’t just listing the PlayStation exclusives?
The Sun 7. The Kinect is a massive load of pants
EXL: Umm have you actually used the Kinect? It is actually extremely intuitive, boasting motion and voice control, 1080p camera (you should like that part), processes 2 gigabits of data per second so it can accurately read the environment, 1:1 movement ratio with basically no lag, I could go on but I think you are starting to get the point.
The Sun 8. Then there’s the small matter of Uncharted 4
EXL: Oh this again? We are back to basing our agreement on exclusives again (*rolls eyes*). Further to my previous two lists I will add:
- Sea of Thieves
- 30 Rare games coming on the one disk Rare: Replay
- and Blues and Bullets.
The Sun 9. Did we mention Uncharted 4?
EXL: OMG are you being serious with me right now?
- Fighter Within
- Fruit Ninja
- Killer Instinct
- Lifeless Planet
- Nero
- and PHANTOM DUST!!
The Sun 10. There’s a better indie gaming scene on PS4
EXL: Ah huh, I don’t know if you have heard of this little thing called the ID@Xbox program but let’s save everyone here reading this a lot of time and you just go look that up on your own time.
The Sun 11. The PS4 is just a bit more stylish.
EXL: I can’t believe I even made it this far through this list. It’s more stylish?! What are we buying, handbags now? Come on dude.
The Sun 12. Morpheus is looking pretty damn cool and actually not a gimmick. Microsoft’s HoloLens looks a bit ‘meh’
EXL: Morpheus does have a lot of potential, but so does HoloLens, Oculus Rift and Valve VR, all of which Microsoft are working with to bring a variety of virtual reality experiences to Xbox One and Windows 10 gamers. None of this ‘eggs in one basket stuff’ a variety of technology all working towards creating the most realistic and immersive experience available.
The Sun 13. If and when The Last Guardian is ever released, it will be amazing…and only on PS4
EXL: So apparently we have come full circle again and have landed back at the ‘my console is better than your console because we have game X, Y and Z argument.
This is what leads me to what the entirety of this subject matter should be about. It doesn’t matter what console has what exclusive or which one looks prettier on your shelf, it’s about what games you prefer to play, which controller is easier for you to use and feels more comfortable, if you want a console that is designed specifically to just play games or is an entire entertainment system, if you primarily play single player games and graphics is all you care about or if you are more multiplayer focused.
At no point ever should anyone feel like a ’mug’ for making a choice that suits their individual gaming needs.
We are all unique and like to experience our gaming adventures in our own way, not in a way that someone else tells us we should.
So gamers go, play on your Xbox or your PlayStation or your PC, or Wii or even your Atari if you are smart enough to have held onto it because all that matters is you enjoy gaming, not what some random journalist tells you that you should be playing on.
Agree with my opinions? Then you should check out the latest instalment of the EXL Podcast:
