Xbox vs. PS4: Ars readers react to liveblog madness

Xbox vs. PS4: Ars readers react to liveblog madness:

Although it seems like ages ago now, Monday was a big, big day. Five major companies decided to hold important press conferences on the same day (four in LA before E3 began, and Apple at WWDC in San Francisco), so Ars hosted five liveblogs so that our readers could stay up to date in real time. It was fun to go back through the comments and see how readers reacted as each company made its announcements. Let's start with the first news we heard on Monday: the details of Microsoft's brand new Xbox One.

Show your hand

Microsoft got the day started with its presentation. When the release data and pricing were announced, Nate Anderson gave us the raw details in Xbox One costs $499—and is available this November. It was something of a surprise to us that Microsoft announced the pricing details at this event—the announcement could have been made closer to the holiday season without raising any eyebrows. Microsoft also decided to kill off its "Microsoft Points" system and replace it with a real-money system.
At this point, Ars staff and the commenters alike knew that this was Sony's game to win or lose, but none of us had the slightest clue how it would turn out. "It's now virtually certain that the PS4 will also come in at $499 (the rumored price for the PS4)," rtechie wrote. "The games [Microsoft] announced were pretty good but a little sparse on how many would be launch titles. Assuming that most of them are, Xbox One is likely to have a very good launch. Assuming retailers aren't scared off. If you were GameStop, would you carry the Xbox One knowing you'll only make $5 off the sale and that it kills used games?"

Read 13 remaining paragraphs | Comments


DIGITAL JUICE