What would be your basis in purchasing a new console: Hardware or available software?

[lindbergh]

In another thread, the are some who have stated that graphics play a little role in decision making when it comes to purchasing games. Then what would influence your decision more? Will it be the capabilities of the hardware or will it be the available games for the console?

 

[ozadin]

I would have to say both for this, these two aspects are the core when it comes to consoles. You have the PS4 and the Xbox One that has improved their specs by a lot. Xbox One went even further, and overclocked their GPU by I believe 53 mHZ which is a pretty decent upgrade. 512MB to 8GB RAM is a huge improvement for the Xbox One, and 256MB to 8GB RAM is big for the PS4 as well. Both GPU's and CPU's has increased significantly, and this guarantees that the consoles will run games at decent, and playable speeds. Without decent specs, consoles would be non-functional, and wouldn't be able to run Minesweeper.

On the other hand, if there are no games, then what's the point of buying the console? Some people decide whether or not to buy a console just because of their library. The better games there are available for the specific console, they will most likely buy it. Right now, I'm sort of leaning towards the Xbox One because of their wide selection of games and exclusives. Their library of games is a bit better when it comes to me, and their specs are fairly similar to the PS4.

 

[RockSauron]

Well, obviously I buy consoles to play games...

 

[RaggaJungle]

I also say both. The hardware is pretty much fixed so it's not a huge deciding factor. The components for each generation of console are quite similar anyway - i.e Xbox One and PS4. I think the games are important to be both great to play and also aesthetically modern and up to date. I also happen to think that the PS4 will have a better range of games than the Xbox One so that helps me decide for PS4 too

 

[BlackSolaris]

70% software and 30% hardware, i do want a good battery life and durability.
But yeah, if a console doesn't have that thing, you know, games, to support it, then what are you suppose to do with it? Skype calls and internet browsing?

 

[Clark Wayne]

I'd have to say for me it mostly comes down to the software available for the system. I'm sure as anyone can see, this is the major issue with the current state of the Wii U. It's not that the console is terrible, it's just that the reason it is selling terribly is because there aren't that many games available for it. The hardware of a console can be the best in the world, but if the games for it are bad or non existent then what's the point?

 

[Medza]

I think the software is more important. If you look at the Wii U, the hardware is inferior to the other 8th gen consoles, but it is not bad . It is certainly a good console in its own regard, but what it is lacking is good software. There's an old saying that good software sells hardware and I think that it's very much true. With really good games you can sell even seemingly inferior hardware. Just look at the N64, it was very much limited in comparison to the PlayStation because of its ROM cartridges, but still it had some amazing games and it was very popular.

 

[AvalonX]

I am a gamer so I have to buy new consoles. If you are talking about choosing since if I recall correctly I do not remember the last time the big 2 launched so close together well its the launch games. This year is also weird because they have so many of the same titles. That said, I can't choose so I got both.

 

[LuckyPupil]

The hardware capabilities are pretty similar but at the same time are different. Playstation has a very promising PSPlus lineup and has less restrictions. These are things I considered. The software is very important though. Titanfall is a Microsoft exclusive and Dead Rising 3 is as well. Playstation on the other hand doesn't have anything I'm really too interested in. It's a close debate for me.

 

[Mudgee]

Software is king.

 

[Pandsu]

It's definitely software for the most part.
I do care about graphics, especially when, on top of impressive technology, the art style is great and makes good use of the available resources and I care even more about other hardware dependent things like physics and whatnot but in the end it all comes down to the software.
If the only games the next-gen systems offer that interest me were also available for current-gen systems or my PC with lowered settings (since it's a few years old now) and the Wii U were to offer some pretty fucking great games I would always go with the Wii U instead of a (true) next-gen console, no matter how much better they look or even how much better the physics and destructibility are. But if the games are interesting then technological advancements sure are a huge bonus. And certain things, especially when it comes to physics, number of units, map size and such could probably only be done with better hardware, so one thing brings the other.

 

[fantanoice]

To be honest, hardware power has never really been a factor for me when purchasing a console. I have my gaming PC if I am *that* desperate for running a powerhouse but I do trust the developers to optimise their games for the platforms they release them on, and for the most part they do (or use engines that do it for them already). However, I do like extra multimedia stuff like DVD/Bluray players, so that always helps.

The games on the other hand, yes, they are a massive factor. I'm forever going to follow Nintendo first party games like some sort of baby duck waddling behind their mother, and if a console has enough exclusives to entice me then I'll find a way to buy/play it (like PS3/Vita). So I guess for me, the selling factor is the games (and a little bit of brand loyalty because, well, Nintendo).

 

[Viridian]

Available software is definitely my preference. Like fantanoice above said; I've got a lovely, powerful gaming computer if I'm up for a round of Crysis on ultra or Skyrim with some mods, but when I'm kicking back with a few pals, nothing beats a few controllers and fun games with a little ingenuity and heart behind them.

But I'm also of the opinion that console exclusives are bad for the medium as a whole. As the comedian and critic Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw put it (paraphrased), "A painting does not exist to support canvas", and indeed, console exclusivity is a case of artwork supporting media.