The Console Upgrade Thread.

[H-Man]

Not everyone has all the money necessary to buy every video game console all at once, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't know what's really better for my preferences relative to the actual releases.

So I made this thread where anyone can pose the same question: what's the next video game console I should buy? Applies to handhelds and normals alike, as well as 'should I update my PC' questions.

Here's my current situation: I have a Nintendo Wii from 2008, which I use for gaming and my family uses for Netflix purposes [since the TV doesn't Netflix]. Unfortunately, I've basically exhausted the list of Wii games I want to buy, so now I'm considering upgrading to something else [keeping the Wii, but replacing it as the active console]. I have to select something between the PS4, the XBONE and the Wü.

The best I can say of the Wü is that it'd mean more games I share with my real life friends, as well as more Mario games which I like a lot, but the negative side is that it's got higher costs overall due to import taxes [unless I crack it, but I don't want to]. On the other hand, both the PS4 and the XBONE have Final Fantasy XV, which I want [even if it were the sole game for it ever].

What can you guys tell me about those?

 

[Antimatter]

I'd hold off on the Wii U, as the Nintendo NX is probably hitting soon, and we don't know if it has any BC functionality.

Between the Xbox and ps4, i'd go ps4, as there really isn't much of anything the xbox does better then it, while the ps4 has the advantage in game performance and library (IMHO). If you have any VR interest, it's also got that coming sometime this year.

 

[~NGD OMEGA~]

Yeah, WiiU is basically not ideal at this point since we don't necessarily know whether or not NX will be able to play those games at this point, so at least waiting till that announcement hits is probably your best bet for now. It would actually be a good idea if you wanted to replace your Wii, as the WiiU does play Wii Games, but as you say you want to put it off to the side even if you have no further games for it (Which can only mean you played FFCC:CB otherwise you've wasted your time as that's the only motion control game worth a damn ), at the very least hold off on making any decisions on the WiiU for now.

As for the PS4 vs. Xbone debate, depends what you're looking for. Given the only thing on your must have list appears to be FFXV however, PS4 might be your best bet. It's the thing that has the most games of that type coming to it, stuff like the new Valkyria Chronicles as well as the HD port of the first one, A New Star Ocean, KH2.8 and KH3 (Though the later is multiplat last I heard), Gravity Rush One and Two, New Neir, and indeed Persona. So if you want your weird Japanese sort of RPG games, PS4 is by far the way to go.

That being said take the above with a grain of salt, Exclusive announcements are finicky as hell and may change later where 3rd parties are concerned. About the only thing I can say for sure won't come out for another console would be the Gravity Rush games, as those were made directly by Sony.

Now if you're more into your sorta shooty shooty nonsense, Xbone might be your better bet with the old Gears/Halo combo, and it's got stuff like Quantum Break and Crackdown coming too I guess. Hard to say if you're into that sorta thing though since you didn't give us much to go on here. Really depends on which has more stuff you'd be into since there's no real big differences between the two, baring the PS4 being slightly more powerful.

Well I guess admittedly there's the VR stuff coming, but even assuming that takes off, it'll be a while before it's going to be either costly or worth it frankly speaking.

 

[Contrabardus]

Definitely hold off on Wii U until more info on NX is available. It's a great system and already has some great games, but it's unknown how long support for it will last in the future. I wouldn't invest in it as a new system right now unless you really want to play particular games on it that aren't available elsewhere and are okay with not expecting much from it in the future.

Xbox 1 is crap. Unless you have a huge exclusive games boner, but even that is kind of fading with many of it's exclusives being released on PC. You're literally better off just building a PC for the same money, you'll end up with a better system and will be able to play 99.9% of the same games at better settings with the same controller for the vast majority of them. You can even set it up to run on the same screen you would have used for an Xbox 1 and end up with better looking games that mostly run better.

The Xbox 1 is really just a low end gaming PC with excessive DRM, limited memory, and overpriced online, the thing even runs on Windows 10. Unless you're super psyched to play one of it's few exclusives that will probably eventually be released on PC anyway right now, it's a complete waste of money and actually the more expensive option over just getting a comparable PC. Even if you just match the specs of the console, you're still saving money on overall cost because of cheaper games, free online, and better functionality.

PS4 on the other hand has a lot of stuff you won't be able to play elsewhere, and somewhat decent hardware specs on top of that. If someone is looking to get a console right now, the PS4 is probably the best option. It has the best hardware of the console generation, and arguably the best future for games out of the lot of them. Plus you've got things like PSVR coming in the near future.

Still better off with a PC than any console unless you're super into first party games that won't be available elsewhere, but out of the consoles PS4 is the best option currently, and I don't see any good reason that might change.

 

[Watashiwa]

Do you want a set top console or would you be happy with a handheld? Because I absolutely LOVE my 3DS. It has a massive roster of top-notch games in Nintendo franchises and it's one of the best RPG machines ever. If hunting action is your thing, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the most accessible, biggest and best game in the genre ever. Interested in tactics games? Not only are there two (or four depending on how you count) Fire Emblems available, there's Ghost Recon 3DS which was made by the creator of the original X-Com. Kid Icarus Uprising is another secret gem, with the best voice acting I've ever heard in a game ever. Ace Combat is on the system as well, it's a port of the PS2 game despite the Assault Horizon moniker.

I mentioned RPGs but the 3DS is an Atlus machine. Etrian Odyssey is (3)DS exclusive and is the best ever use of the second screen as you draw your own map there. Devil Survivor and DeSu 2 are both great games if dating your army isn't your thing but mythology is. Oh, and there's SMT 4 and the recently released SMT 4 Final, though we're still waiting on a Western announcement for that.

Oh, and Mario. Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Mario and Luigi RPGs, Luigi's Mansion 2, and probably a half dozen more that I forget about. And Zelda! Ocarina and Majora are both on the system, alongside Star Fox 64, and Smash 4. And the Snorlax in the room: Pokemon. Gen 1 just got a re-release.

I actually like my Wii U, it's been great for Wii games, Bayonetta 2, and Smash. But where I'd suggest waiting to jump on a Wii U, I recommend the 3DS unreservedly. It DOES have weaknesses; namely a lack of major third party software, most of the quirky smaller titles miss it, and the fact that it's likely to be replaced by next year. But the 3DS library is still stronger than the current generation of systems and the 3DS being compatible with the DS means your backlog will keep you going for a decade at least.

 

[Contrabardus]

Do you want a set top console or would you be happy with a handheld? Because I absolutely LOVE my 3DS. It has a massive roster of top-notch games in Nintendo franchises and it's one of the best RPG machines ever. If hunting action is your thing, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the most accessible, biggest and best game in the genre ever. Interested in tactics games? Not only are there two (or four depending on how you count) Fire Emblems available, there's Ghost Recon 3DS which was made by the creator of the original X-Com. Kid Icarus Uprising is another secret gem, with the best voice acting I've ever heard in a game ever. Ace Combat is on the system as well, it's a port of the PS2 game despite the Assault Horizon moniker.

I mentioned RPGs but the 3DS is an Atlus machine. Etrian Odyssey is (3)DS exclusive and is the best ever use of the second screen as you draw your own map there. Devil Survivor and DeSu 2 are both great games if dating your army isn't your thing but mythology is. Oh, and there's SMT 4 and the recently released SMT 4 Final, though we're still waiting on a Western announcement for that.

Oh, and Mario. Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Mario and Luigi RPGs, Luigi's Mansion 2, and probably a half dozen more that I forget about. And Zelda! Ocarina and Majora are both on the system, alongside Star Fox 64, and Smash 4. And the Snorlax in the room: Pokemon. Gen 1 just got a re-release.

I actually like my Wii U, it's been great for Wii games, Bayonetta 2, and Smash. But where I'd suggest waiting to jump on a Wii U, I recommend the 3DS unreservedly. It DOES have weaknesses; namely a lack of major third party software, most of the quirky smaller titles miss it, and the fact that it's likely to be replaced by next year. But the 3DS library is still stronger than the current generation of systems and the 3DS being compatible with the DS means your backlog will keep you going for a decade at least.

I agree with pretty much everything here.

I also love my Wii U a lot and it has some really great games, but it also has an uncertain future. That's my only reservation about recommending it over even the PS4.

PS4 has a lot of great titles and the best hardware out of all the console systems, but Nintendo tends to have more stuff that you can't play elsewhere than either of the other systems outside of PC. A lot of it is crap, but when Nintendo is good, it's really good and the Wii U is a much better game system than it often gets credit for touchpad and all.

3DS is probably the most bang for your buck as far as games go though. It has tons of decent titles that can be picked up cheap.

 

[PCHeintz72]

I just for nostalgia reasons about 3 weeks ago bought a little metal rolling rack system and the following:
- AtGames Sega Genesis Classic with 80 Built in games and a slot
- AtGames ColecoVision Flasback with 61 Built in games
- AtGames Intellivision Flasback with 60 Built in games
- Retro-Bit Retro Duo NES/SNES with 2 slots
- A Super Game Boy Adapter cartridge
- A GameBoy Advance Adapter cartridge
- A 8 port manual RCA switch box

Merged it with some old consoles my borother had sitting, which was
- AtGames Atari Flasback 4 with 74 Built in games
- Sony Playstation II
- Nintendo 64

Not on the cart, but connected to the entertainment unit is a PS3 and a WII...

Why... mostly nostalgia since I grew up on some of them. The systems could be had for pretty ridiculously cheap pricing. But also did it for my 4 1/2 year old Nephew. That gives access to some 12-13 game platforms from one entertainment center. And he brought all the games for those systems he had cartridges and discs for out of storage.

 

[H-Man]

I want a top set console because I ALREADY have a 3DS. And PSV. But neither of those play Netflix on TV, which is what the family likes to do when I'm not playing.

Thanks for the advice so far, anyway. I'll have to wait until we know more about the NX anyway before being able to afford one of these, so...

 

[Altered Nova]

If you are set on a console then the PS4 was definitely the winner of this generation. Better hardware, more exclusive titles, region free, sold by a company that didn't try to be a massive douchenozzle about used games and always online DRM, etc. Also all my friends have one, so it's definitely at the top of my wishlist.

The Wii U is also really good even though Nintendo really fucked up the launch of the thing. But if you own a Wii then you already know what to expect from that console. Lots of great first party games and a new weird gameplay gimmick. It's more of the same with better graphics.

About the only thing the going for the Xbox One is the backwards compatibility with 360 games, but I'm pretty sure that Microsoft is gonna fuck that up considering their track record (they literally just gave up with Original Xbox BC on the 360 when they were half done, and many of the games are very buggy). So far the list is pretty small and it seems they are just using the disc as a key to download the digital download version of the game, so the catch is that any game that didn't have a digital version on the 360 will probably never be playable on the Xbone. Which personally killed my interest in that feature. If I ever do get an Xbox One it will only be for Rock Band 4 (because I have a ton of DLC on the 360 version of RB3 and most of it is forward compatible with the Xbone version of RB4).

 

[Watashiwa]

Then, between the set top boxes that are actually out I'd probably go with a PS4, unless you really like Halo. You're stuck paying for online though; not sure if Netflix is free.

 

[mgsaintz]

Netflix is not free and my recommendation would be with the PS4, a better game library and all around better machine than an xb1.

 

[PCHeintz72]

Hmmm... my brother uses his PS3 for CrunchyRoll, and his Wii for Netflix. He notes that the PS3 interface for Netflix is IMO horrible, thus why he refuses to use it on the PS3.

That said, he prefers the PS3 to the Wii for games.

 

[Contrabardus]

Netflix is not free and my recommendation would be with the PS4, a better game library and all around better machine than an xb1.

It has been since some point in 2014. No paywalls for streaming services on any of the consoles, including the Xbox 1. Outside of service subscriptions, streaming video is free assuming there's an app for whatever service it is. XBL isn't blocking them without a Gold account anymore.

Netflix and Hulu are available on all of them, but I believe the Crunchyroll app isn't available on all platforms. I know the PS3/PS4 has one, but I don't think the Wii U does, and I'm not sure about the Xbox 1.

So, regardless of which system you pick, you're good as far as web streaming goes so long as there's an app for it. I just use my PC and I have Steamlink for my living room TV, so I don't bother with console streaming anymore.

 

[H-Man]

It's not free in that you have to pay for an account, last I learned. At least over here.

But we have one so it's okay.

 

[Rising Dragon]

Last I heard, I had to pay for an account just to access it, too.

 

[Contrabardus]

Nobody said streaming video services are free. Just that there's no paywall on the console side to use a streaming account anymore even with Xbox 1/Xbox 360. Microsoft did away with that a couple of years ago.

Netflix is not free and my recommendation would be with the PS4, a better game library and all around better machine than an xb1.

...Outside of service subscriptions, streaming video is free assuming there's an app for whatever service it is. XBL isn't blocking them without a Gold account anymore...

Not sure if you can use the free versions of Hulu or Crunchyroll on a console or not. It's been a very long time since I've used a console for video streaming and even then I've always had a premium account for the better video quality.

 

[PCHeintz72]

I know for the PS3 version of Crunchyroll, my brother had to have a pay account with a login.

I also know for the Wii my brother said he needed a paid Netflix account as well.

I generally stick to the free or near free ones myself (CrunchyRoll, HuluFree, Crackle, RabbitTV, etc), but I do not watch much live TV or movies....