With E3 over and months to go yet until the Fall releases of the next-gen consoles, there’s not much to say about them for now. Except one thing. Microsoft apparently didn’t like the negative feedback regarding DRM and used game sales and have changed their plans accordingly. This has resulted in a few other changes as well. According to Xbox Live Vice President Marc Whitten, “There’s a few things we won’t be able to deliver as a result of this change. One of the things we were very excited about was ‘wherever we go my games are always with me.’ Now, of course your physical games won’t show up that way. The games you bought digitally will. You’ll have to bring your discs with you to have your games with you.” Abandoning the region locking doesn’t seem to come with any caveats. You can import your console if needed, then import games from somewhere else entirely and it will all work together. Of course, there are some hurdles to making a change this late in the game. The console may not release until November, but they hardware is already being built with the “old” plans in place. That means you should expect a day one firmware patch to remove the “always online” requirement, among other things.

Despite the policy change, do not expect a price change for the Xbox One. Microsoft has confirmed they are standing firm with the $499 price tag and mandatory Kinect. Marc Whitten has verified that the Kinect will be considered part of the architecture for Kinect. Which I have to applaud, even if I don’t care for the device. If you want creators to make content for it, you have to insure that it has enough market saturation to make it worth their while.

Microsoft’s reversal on their DRM policy raises another question: What about EA’s Online Pass fees? EA announced, about a month ago, that they were ending the Online Pass strategy, purportedly because Microsoft’s essential ban on used games would make them unnecessary. Thankfully, despite Microsoft’s 180, EA is sticking with their decision to end the fees. EA’s Director of Corporate Communications, John Reseburg, said Wednesday that “none of our new EA titles will include online pass, and we are removing it from existing games as well.” Yay!

Speaking of next-gen, wondering when you can collect on that PS4 preorder? For the EU it looks to be November 13, 2013. Zombietron predicts US release is within a week in either direction of that date. I think he’s right, but I’m predicting November 12th specifically. Check back here for a confirmation as soon as we have it.

The Xbox One release date has seemingly also been revealed by a retailer, this time Amazon. They’ve got it listed for release on November 27, 2013 – roughly two weeks after Sony’s PS4. It’s also notable that this would be the day after Thanksgiving. Could that mean we’ll see even more loonyness on Black Friday if it gets an early sale price? The early expectation is that only preordered systems will be available on day one, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a few retailers held some units back just to get more people into their store on the biggest shopping day of the year.

But not everyone is making the jump to next-gen on launch day. Eidos Montreal recognizes that and has confirmed that the next-gen Thief will also see a release on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2014. The “little brother” version will have no differences in core gampeplay, but it will obviously have a drop in visual presentation.

Another of the great X-Men lineup has been announced for High Moon’s Deadpool. The power leeching southern belle Rogue is the latest reveal for the game, scheduled for release next week (June 25). I’m not sure if this is a totally new look or if it’s based on a costume from the comics, but I like it.

Perhaps the next reversal Microsoft will need to make is in regards to self-publishing. We’ve already heard from a few developers that they won’t be bringing their content to XBLA on XBOne because they don’t want to Microsoft or a third party publishing the game. Add Phil Fish to that list. Fez II is not coming to Xbox One. Fish is known for being very outspoken and this circumstance is feeling his verbal wrath: “Microsoft have made it painfully clear they don’t want my ilk on their platform. I can’t even self-publish there.” But his frustration with Microsoft clearly does not extend to Sony, who’s platform is looking to be much more indie-friendly. Fish says “PS4 seems to be doing everything right. It’s too early to tell how everything is going to unfold, but their heart definitely seems to be in the right place. Which is a weird thing to say when talking about giant monolithic corporation, but there’s a handful of people working at Sony today who are really trying to do some good.”

Let’s not be too hard on Microsoft though. They did promise to provide two free games per month for Xbox Gold members. Those deals will start July 1st and 16th, keeping the same dates each month through the end of the year. Assassin’s Creed II (amazing game) and Halo 3 will start the parade. Like Sony’s PlayStation Plus program, the easy complaint is that these are older games that most hardcore players have already completed. But, they’re free. Unlike PS+, those two free games are yours to keep even if you let your Gold membership lapse. No word yet on what other games will be included through out the year, or what their plans are for 2014 and Xbox One early adopters.

That’s all for this week. Definitely a little heavy on the XBOne, but what can you do. At least it’s mostly good news.

Shown originally by 4 Play Gamers on Facebook a European retailer has displayed a release date for the Playstation 4. If this is correct we can probably assume that the United States release will fall about 1 week before or after. I’d love to see it go global on same day. We can then see the original DRM FREE system hit early in November.

UPDATE: Confirmed! The Xbox One will only require an internet connection on set up. Virtually everything else surrounding the DRM has been removed. Including regional restrictions. Go here for more information.

UPDATE: Xbox has added an update to the top of their Xbox One FAQ, seen below. Other news sites are reporting from their sources that Microsoft will make an announcement in the next few hours.

It would appear the Xbox One will become the Xbox 180 due to a rumor that holds a lot of weight. Patrick Klepek wrote an article on Giant Bomb earlier today saying just this. His sources informed him Microsoft was going to move away from the controversial DRM announced at E3. This DRM has given the company a lot of bad press.

From Giant Bomb’s article, here is a break down of what these possible changes mean:

• No more always online requirement
• The console no longer has to check in every 24 hours
• All game discs will work on Xbox One as they do on Xbox 360
• An Internet connection is only required when initially setting up the console
• All downloaded games will function the same when online or offline
• No additional restrictions on trading games or loaning discs
• Region locks have been dropped

According to his sources we should receive an official announcement from Microsoft very soon, possibly today. Microsoft was definitely beat up over this during E3. Sony taking advantage of this to get as much good P.R. as possible.

What do you think about these possible changes? Does this influence which console you will be buying this fall?

It should be no surprise that this week is a little slow on gaming news. After all, anything worth mentioning should have come up at E3 last week. But, there are a few stragglers and interesting side notes, so let’s go:

David Goldfarb, game director for Payday 2, has expressed some of his thoughts on next-gen consoles. His attitude may surprise you.

“Next-gen to me is not about selling your graphics and not about connectivity in the living room and it’s not about allowing me to socially network with people at all.

“I don’t give a shit about any of those things actually.

“[It’s] people giving me compelling new mechanics. “I’m tired of shooting people, like, allow me to have other actions to interacting with things.

“That to me would actually mean the next generation, it could also be control mechanisms or input. Maybe that’s going to be in the new Kinect, maybe it will be some other new haptic feedback thing, maybe it’ll be VR stuff you know with [Oculus] Rift – which is really cool.”

Payday 2 is a shooter, so it’s a little odd that he mentions being sick of shooting things. His game is a different kind of shooter though. Bank heists require both planning and co-operation. I can’t help but think this should lead us to a game, or series of games, based on the Parker novels by Donald Westlake (aka Richard Stark). Payday is touching some of the concepts, but Parker isn’t about shooting people. He has no reservations about doing it if it gets the job done but guns make noise and noise usually attracts the kind of attention that can make a job go sour. I’d like to see a game where someone pitches the job, Parker helps to plan it, decides how many pros are needed (balancing the aid of additional men versus splitting the take), and then executes the plan. Naturally things will go wrong and you can smartly adapt or watch the whole job devolve. Partners could go rogue, third parties could get involved, money can go missing, etc. Someone let me know when that game is on the way.

It’s been a rough couple of days for IO Interactive, as Square Enix has laid off approximately half the staff. As usual, this is the result of a restructure and refocus of the organization’s priorities. The studio has canceled all projects except the next Hitman game, as that franchise will now be their sole intent. What this means for the future of their other titles (Kane & Lynch, Mini Ninjas, etc.) is unclear for now. Lay offs are never good news, but Square Enix promises they are looking to relocate staff to other studios where appropriate and are working with other companies for outplacement. As always, good luck to the employees and families affected.

On the flip side, CD Projekt Red is opening a new studio in Krakow, Poland. Most well known for The Witcher series, the new developer’s new studio will be working on one of two new IPs planned. According to managing director Adam Badowski, “aside from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077, the studio aims to develop two smaller (approximately 20h of gameplay) premium quality titles.” The Krakow studio will have about 20 people and will be working on one of those games.

Unfortunately for Microsoft and XBox One, the end of E3 has not seen the end of their public relations debacle. I’ve already made my feelings about the competing consoles clear, as has Arse-bot. Further drawbacks to Microsoft’s system continue to appear.

For instance, two much anticipated downloadable titles for the 360 are wanted for the next-gen system, but apparently won’t get to it. DayZ (the Arma 2 mod from Dean Hall) and Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty (an HD remake of Abe’s Odyssee) can’t come to One because Microsoft will not allow self-publishing. In the current rules, developers are required to make a publishing deal with either Microsoft Game Studios or a third party, but cannot publish thier games themselves. Lorne Lanning, Oddworld developer and former Microsoft employee, is clearly very frustrated: “Who’s in touch with their audience? And who seems out of touch with their audience? All we know is we’ve tried to get our games on their platform and we can’t do it – and I even helped them release the box.” Asked about publishing on PS4 and XBOne, Dean Hall said “Sony lets you self-publish and they don’t make you pay for updates.” On the other hand, “Microsoft requires you to have a publisher. They have no digital distribution strategy and they require you to pay $10,000, or whatever it is, for updates.”

Other news has come about the PlayStation 4 as well, not all of it positive. It was glossed over in the E3 presentation but has since been confirmed that PS+ will be required for online play. According to Fergal Gara (SCE UK) this decision was made to help lower the cost of the new console. They’re also looking to increase performance and reliability. Also mentioned but not clarified was that “a version” of DriveClub would be free to Plus subscribers at the console’s launch. It has since become clear that Plus subscribers won’t be getting a full retail copy of the game at no charge. It will be limited, though the details of the limitations have not been clarified.

But don’t feel bad if you don’t want to spring for the Plus subscription. Free services aren’t as bad as you might expect. The multiplayer function of retail games will be limited, but free-to-play online games can be Plus or not, depending on the publisher. Many will still be available without the subscription (e.g. Blacklight: Retribution, Warframe, DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2). The auto-update service currently exclusive to Plus will be available to all on the PS4. The sharing services also fall outside of Plus, so they’ll be free to everyone as well.

One good piece of news about next-gen has also arisen. Microsoft has confirmed that first-party published titles will not a see a price increase from the $60 level currently set on XBox 360. Third party published games are free to set a different price, as is currently the case, though I wouldn’t expect it to differ wildly. Specific confirmation hasn’t come from Sony regarding prices, but several launch games are already available for preorder and are being advertised at $60 as well. The question on everyone’s mind now is whether digital versions will be any cheaper. Considering digital copies don’t need physical media printed, don’t include packaging, shipping, employee handling, etc. they really should cost less. The used game controversy could be slightly appeased by dropping $5-10 off the retail price when you download the game instead.

If you’ve played a shooter this show is for you, every frustration I’ve had with any FPS is rolled into this show.

Via Evil Avatar

In the seemingly endless P.R. nightmare for the Xbox One, Evil Avatar has released information that adds to growing concern within the industry. In a tweet reply to a customer Xbox Support confirmed that if your account is banned via Microsoft you also forfeit license’s tied to that account. The terms of the ban weren’t discussed so I suppose it could be any level of things, would this be as simple as being banned for flagrant Xbox Live behavior? Or is this more tied towards the ban hammer being dropped on modders? Either way this seems a bit obscene, you were modding so everything you paid for is gone. Sorry you are too belligerent on line, we’re taking your games, buy them again if you like. I wonder when Microsoft will make this console thing easy on themselves?

Kickstarter is one of my favorite things: It can be a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but it can also be a one-stop shop for looking at the future. Think of it as Tomorrowland, but on your laptop.

I’ve backed a lot of miniature companies on Kickstarter, two motion pictures, and a number of comic books. But I never thought I would have the air sucked out of me as fast as it was when I watched the demo for the Omni, a Virtual Reality harness that allows you to run and interact with your games. I’ve spent the last hour watching game play with the Omni, and you can bet if I get one I will never, EVER stop playing Skyrim. EVER. Check out this game-play from Half Life 2 (watch the lower right-hand side of the screen):

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjGMJ-rX4HY

The Kickstarter campaign for the Omni has a little over a month to go, and has already hit it’s goal six times over. For less than $400, you can get on board with one of the first rigs to see the light of day. Hook one of these babies up with the Occulus Rift helmet, and you might well disappear from the real world altogether, just like Tom Hanks in Mazes and Monsters.

But not as lame.

Check out the Omni Kickstarter page here!

Launched this morning, Zombietron is going to knock out some game play and talk about his thoughts. He must love you because PS3 doesn’t support HDMI streaming with his capture card, and we’re still knocking this out! Prepare for the Big Shiny Podcast tonight!!!

Watch live video from bigshinyrobot on TwitchTV

The annual mayhem has wrapped up and it’s been a big year. The top story was the big reveals for the XBoxOne and PlayStation 4, but there’s plenty of news about games as well.

Telltale finally confirmed The Walking Dead: 400 Days. It’s not the new season. This will be a single episode as an add-on for the first season. This meshes with what Gary Whitta said about the next thing we see from the series not actually being season two. The episode will apparently feature five characters’ (Vince, Bonnie, Russell, Shel and Wyatt) stories in the single episode. Run time, release date, and cost are still unannounced. You can bet there are plenty of fans chomping at the bit for this release. Last year’s The Walking Dead took may by surprise, even topping some game of the year lists.

If you caught Sony’s E3 press event you’ll recall seeing a tech demo of a Quantic Dream’s The Dark Sorceror. You can find it on your favorite internet video sites now. I’m not convinced that demo actually has anything to do with the game, but the graphic capability is impressive nonetheless. Yet, according to David Cage, that doesn’t even come close to taxing what the PS4 is capable of doing. According to Cage, “On PS4 everything looks great because the machine offers power that was totally inaccessible up until now. We can feel that we are closing in little by little on the kind of graphic quality we find in CG films. The PS4 engine used for The Dark Sorcerer is only in its first iteration and most of the features scheduled for the final version of the engine haven’t yet been implemented. This demo is only a first test that is well below the visual quality we hope to achieve in our next game.” This is not unusual, as console launch releases tend to be slightly prettier versions of games that are also releasing on the prior generation. It’s not usually until the second wave of games (I’m thinking Q2 2014 at the earliest) that we’ll see what the next gen is truly capable of showing.

After disappointing everyone with the announcement that the next Deus Ex is a mobile title, Eidos and Square Enix have announced that the director’s cut of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is coming to XBox 360 and PS3. This cut was originally planned as an exclusive for the WiiU, but that console is once again getting the shaft. The new cut will include two DLC add-ons, Tong’s Rescue and Missing Link, as well as a myriad of other fixes and tweaks. The off-kilter boss battles have also been balanced. The planned content for the WiiU’s screen controller will use tablets (and probably Vita) on these versions. No release date has been announced and we also do not yet have clarification on whether existing owners of the game will have to buy this new version (probably) or if they will just receive a title update (doubtful).

Mirror’s Edge 2 will apparently only be Mirror’s Edge, according to EA. The new adventures of FPS Parkouring Faith will have the same name as her first adventure apparently. Not sure if they’re doing as a reboot (a la Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry) or if EA just wants a cleaner logo. The first game has become a cult classic, not necessarily selling a ton of copies but building some die hard fans. It may be they just don’t want to scare away customers who think it won’t make sense if they didn’t play the first game. It’s also going to be open world, which has its pros and cons. Make of that what you will.

Microsoft has released some clarification about their impending switch from Microsoft Points to real money transactions. If you have questions, you should probably check their official FAQ. Generally speaking though, you’ll still be able to use existing point cards “through 2014 and for a limited time thereafter.” Existing points will flip to real money when the conversion happens, though they haven’t clarified the exchange rate. Adding new points after the switch will automatically convert them to your local currency. You’ll still be able to switch regions, but if you added points as US dollars they won’t switch to EU euros when you change regions. The switch is happening in Fall 2013, likely coinciding with the XBoxOne’s release.

Ubisoft has confirmed that Rainbow 6 Patriots is now being developed as a next-gen game. No word yet on when it will release, but it may be getting a name change in the process.

I’m not sure how I feel about a steampunk Zod, but he’s coming to Injustice: Gods Among Us whether I like it or not. This DLC character will be coming in July, though a smart marketing person would have released it next week, considering he’s the villain in Man of Steel, in theaters today.

Microsoft decided to address some of complaints and concerns about their XBoxOne in the days following Monday’s press conference. I’m of two minds on this. Addressing the complaints specifically legitimizes them, which I don’t think Microsoft should necessarily do. On the other hand, they’re standing behind their decisions, which shows a strength they need. Suddenly dropping their price by $100 to compete with Sony would be a very weak move. Regarding the price, vice-president Phil Harrison “couldn’t be happier.” Harrison says “It’s a unique architecture, with Kinect and the power of the cloud. What we showed… was the most incredible games line-up in any first few months of a platform launch, many of which are exclusive and all of which have advantages being on Xbox One. That’s what’s really going to drive value.” Which is probably true. Then again, they’ve also gotten a bit snarky about the DRM issue. Don Mattrick told Geoff Keighley that they “have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity, it’s called Xbox 360.” While it is true in the short term, it’s not exactly the best way to pimp your new product. Frankly, the whole issue is probably a little over blown. Many gamers, myself included, are pretty negative on the One right now. There are some legitimate concerns, but three years from now the sales numbers are going to be totally fine and the console will likely be a huge success. Most of us won’t even remember complaining about used game problems or online connectivity.

As a side note to the connection requirement with XBoxOne, those outside of the initial 21 countries seeing its release needn’t bother importing one. Due to region restrictions on the console, you won’t actually be able to make that important daily connection to XBox’s servers if you’re outside a country where active sales are underway. More widespread global release is planned for 2014, but if you’re outside this initial 21, you’re just going to have to wait. The countries planned for initial release are:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Russia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States

That wraps up this crazy week. Have fun this weekend and try to digest all of the excitement coming soon to our favorite hobby.

With both Microsoft and Sony’s next generation consoles getting a proper reveal this week at E3, it’s time we take a look at what’s been shown, what’s been promised, parse out the rumors, and see how the two line up. In full disclosure, I switched from Nintendo to Sony when the first PlayStation was released and have since owned two PS2s, two PSPs, two PS3s, and one Vita. I have never owned a Microsoft console. I still own an NES, SNES, and RetroDuo, but I rarely played my N64 so I sold it; I haven’t owned a Nintendo console since that N64. So it’s clear I’m a Sony fanboy, but I like to think I’m rational enough to be reasonably neutral. Just because I don’t play a 360 doesn’t mean I’m a whining internet fan that automatically hates it. So here goes:

The hardware:

Optical Drive – Both new consoles will feature a blu-ray drive for physical media. Sony gets legacy points for having already done this, but we can’t count that for the next generation. Score? Tie
CPU – x86-64 AMD ‘Jaguar’ 8 cores vs. 8 Core Microsoft custom CPU Unless you’re a hardcore techno-geek, these are basically the same thing. Score? Tie
RAM – GDDR5 8GB vs. 8GB DDR3 I’m not well-versed in the subtleties of the difference between the two. From what I can make out, the PS4’s GDDR5 is more efficient, despite having the same processing power. In some miracle of technology I also don’t understand, Microsoft says theirs doesn’t need to be that efficient because some of the processing will be done remotely on their servers. I feel like one should have an edge here, but it’s so slight I’m going with Score? Tie
HDD – Both have a built-in 500GB hard drive. Sony has confirmed their hard drive is DIY upgradeable. I have no confirmation from Microsoft on their ability to upgrade but we won’t penalize them for it yet. Score? Tie
GPU – I won’t delve deeply into this because exact technical specifications aren’t available and I wouldn’t understand them if they were. According to reports, Microsoft’s GPU is capable of 768 compute units, while Sony’s will perform 1,152 units. I’ll give Sony the point here, but I doubt the average person will be able to see much difference in-game. It’s also important to note that the extra computing only matters if developers use it. Score? Sony
Hardware Score? +1 Sony

The Peripherals:

Controller – Both controllers have been slightly revamped but should be familiar enough to legacy players. Sony has added a touch pad device, similar to the one on the back of the Vita. It also has a light on the back to apparently help you identify your controller and possibly work with their new Eye. We’ll have to see how those work out. The DualShock 4, like the DualShock 3, has a built-in battery that can be charged from your system (including when your PS4 is in the new standby mode) with a USB cable. The One’s controller, like the 360’s, has a removable battery pack that can also be charged via USB. Score? Tie
Motion Controls – Microsoft’s Kinect 2 will come bundled with all consoles. Sony’s new Eye will cost $60 and may still require other Move controllers, though rumors have it that PS4 will use your existing PS3 Move wands. The Kinect will also be vital to controlling the system’s non-gaming functions (like telling it to turn on or off, load Netflix, etc.). I have my own trepidation about a camera and microphone that must be constantly monitoring for the phrase “XBox On.” The hi-def on Kinect 2 is also a little terrifying. My own paranoia aside, Microsoft gets the nod here for awesome tech and bundling the device. Score? Microsoft
Second Screen – As a new concept, this is tough to judge. By making it a standardized part of their console, I’d say Nintendo scores this round, except I’m not including them in this side by side. Certainly Microsoft should get the edge here because SmartGlass will be available on most phones and tablets – items you likely already have. Sony has promised a similar functionality for phones and tablets, but it may be limited to certain brands and probably won’t be available at launch. PS4 does have second screen functionality with the Vita, but that’s a whole new device at $200+ if you don’t already own one. Then again, you’ll actually be able to play your PS4 games directly on your Vita, not just adding a map screen or item management. Yes it’s a tie, but I’m giving a point to both. Microsoft gets a +1 for accessibility; Sony gets a +1 for awesomeness. If phone and tablet promises from Sony live up, they’ll definitely take this round. Score? Sony and Microsoft
Peripheral Score? +1 Microsoft

The Games:

Exclusives – Most of the major AAA titles (Call of Duty, Battlefield, Assassins’ Creed, Destiny, The Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy) are coming to both systems. This category really comes down to your favorite franchises and exclusives. Sony is hyping they have exclusive content. But what is it? An extra hour of Assassins’ Creed IV, a Batman ’66 costume for Arkham Origins, and the like. It’s cool stuff, but nothing to decide your console for you. Sony has announced exclusive titles like inFamous Second Son, DriveClub, The Order, and more. Microsoft has Halo. While that only caters to one kind of fan, Halo is a juggernaut that can’t be denied. They’ve also stated they will have 15 exclusives in the first year, eight of which are new IPs. Score? Tie
Indie Games – It’s a safe bet both consoles will have their share of independently developed games. The XBox 360’s early years premiered games like Braid and Limbo, but they’ve since made indie titles difficult to find on XBLA and don’t seem to promote them well. Sony’s recent history with independent developers is much stronger, and they’re clearly influencing many decisions for the next generation. Indie titles were a big part of the E3 presentation and they’re also forming a strong focus in the early months of PS+ for PS4. I’m forecasting a bit, but I have to give Sony the edge. Score? Sony
Backwards Compatibility – Neither console will have built in capability for running older titles. Which always seems to be a sore spot at release time, but quickly becomes a feature that’s rarely used. On Microsoft’s behalf, they’re releasing a slimmed down and cheaper 360 so you can fire up your older titles at a reasonable price. Sony has plans to introduce Gaikai in “early 2014” for PS3, PS4, and Vita. With Gaikai you’ll be able to stream and play any title from the entire PlayStation legacy library – all titles from three consoles and two handhelds! Details are still to come on Gaikai (price, functionality, etc.) but it definitely takes the point if it lives up to expectation. Score? Sony
Games Score? +2 Sony

Cost:

Console Price – Sony’s console is $399, while Microsoft’s is $499. In fairness, the XBoxOne comes with the Kinect 2. Adding the camera to your PS4 is an extra $60. Still, that’s $460 versus $500. Cheaper, and you don’t have to buy equipment you may not want. Score? Sony
Online Use – This is a much easier comparison now that Microsoft is losing their point system and charging actual money. Both consoles will require you to subscribe to their premium service if you want to play online. Sony’s PS+ is $50 for an annual membership and gets you their instant game collection with a promise of at least one new game per month. Plus members traditionally get better prices on paid content as well and its benefits will run across PS3, PS4, and Vita. Microsoft hasn’t detailed any changes, so let’s assume it will stay its present course. A one year membership runs $60. As announced at E3, Gold members will now be getting two free games a month. A similar (though not equal) price, similar content, and each company ripping off an idea from the other? Score? Tie
Cost Score? +1 Sony

Miscellaneous:
Sharing – Both consoles will have a sharing functionality. Microsoft will work with Twitch, which is a far more popular service than the Ustream Sony is using. Both consoles will make it easy to share your achievements with Facebook, Twitter, and whatever new thing we come decide to use to deliberately erase our own privacy. The features seem fairly equivalent to me, but I’ll give it to Microsoft for Twitch. I’m mostly just being a good sport, because they’re about to get a drubbing. Score? Microsoft
Used Games – Microsoft has taken steps to limit the used game market for XBoxOne. You can give a game to a friend, but they have to be on your friends list for at least 30 days and it only be given once. You can sell used games to “authorized retailers” but there’s little to no clarification on how this will work. Microsoft will not charge any fees for a used game to be converted to a new user, but they will leave the publisher with an open option to do exactly that. Rentals have not been clarified at all. Meanwhile, Sony has made it clear that loaning a game to a friend is as easy as handing them the disc. They have announced no plans for changing the used game market, either through retailers like GameStop or independent sales via eBay or Craigslist. Rentals will also be just as easy, giving GameFly members a huge sigh of relief. Score? Sony
DRM – The early rumors of “always online” aren’t true, but if you want to play on an XBoxOne you’ll still need reliable access to internet. Your console will need to “check in” with the mothership at least once every 24 hours to insure all of your games are legal and eligible to be played by you or on your console. Even offline single player games will not function without this periodic check in. Sony has no such requirement. For many gamers this is not an actual obstacle, but they aren’t happy with it anyway. Recent PC games with restrictive DRM have made playing legal copies, in a legal manner, difficult or even impossible at times. Those without reliable internet shouldn’t even consider the Microsoft console. Score? Sony
Miscellaneous Score? +2 Sony

There you have it. Sony 6, Microsoft 1. Is this a completely non-biased comparison? No. But it’s hard to fault a hardware advantage, price advantage, and a more open platform for gamers and independent developers. Are DRM and used games neutral categories? No, they’re definitely skewed. But they are incredibly salient and important topics. Has Sony said or done anything with PS4 to create a comparable level of concern? No. If you’re in love with your controller and longtime franchises, you don’t want to lose your achievement cred, you like Kinect, you have good internet, and you always buy your games new then maybe that extra $100 is worth it. That sure seems like a lot of “if”s when you’re looking to drop that amount of money.

I’m sure some of you disagree with these evaluations. Go ahead, blast me in the comments. Better yet, provide me with some alternate analysis. Why is Microsoft’s hardware better? Why is the DRM thing cool? To be perfectly honest, I’d like to view Xbox One in a better light than it’s shown itself so far. I believe the competition in the current generation has been a benefit for gamers. The last thing I want to see is a one-sided console generation.