Should I get an XBOX ONE to make my whole life Windows/Microsoft?

[Dallas Gaston]

I have a Desktop running Windows 8.1, I have a Surface 2 Pro and and Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows Phone.

I am on the market for a game console. I have always purchased PlayStation's since they first came out but since I have everything Windows right now, should I get an XBOX ONE to streamline all of my devices? Is there any benefit in that?

TBH, I am not an avid gamer. I will play some games but I don't think I will ever use a headset and play live. I will watch a lot of movies on it and Netflix. I like how you can connect your cable box to it. But I have also read that the PS4 is much better specks wise verses the XBOX ONE. Will those specks even matter if I am not an avid gamer? I haven't had a game console since PS2 but played with my friends PS3 so its been a while.

Any advise will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Coreldan]

There are some benefits already, but no doubt it gets better over time. PS4 exclusives didnt really interest me, so that made the decision for me much easier, but for me completing the ecosystem definitely played a part in the decision.

 

[Dallas Gaston]

Thanks for your response. What kind of benefits are there for you specifically for completing the ecosystem?

There are some benefits already, but no doubt it gets better over time. PS4 exclusives didnt really interest me, so that made the decision for me much easier, but for me completing the ecosystem definitely played a part in the decision.

 

[unstoppablekem]

The Xbox one is an excellent console, as is the ps4. If you aren't an avid gamer, who also likes entertainment, get the Xbox one. If you really care about specs, get the ps4. Also, check on the exclusive games you like on both systems, and see which one you want.

 

[taymur]

I have a ps3, I really would think an Xbox one would make a better overall experience, and that titanfall is one heck of a game.

 

[jasqid]

Having all the MS devices it just makes sense for the Xbox 1. You'll be happy. Smartglass is a great feature as is the tv integration and fast switching apps. The only thing holding me back from getting one is my wife. I will have one by the end of the year.

 

[nmercy]

For what you're looking for, the Xbox One would be the better option for you. It integrates really well into the Microsoft ecosystem that you're already using. For entertainment purposes, it works really well (so does PS3, Xbox 360, and I assume PS4). The only downside would be, if you're not an avid gamer, having to pay the Live fee just to use Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc...

If you're not in a rush, I would wait until E3 and see what they come up with or even until the Holiday sales as there will probably be some good bundles that might even beat the current Titanfall console deal.

 

[Coreldan]

There's smartglass, even if its for other OSes too, but if you get PS4, you dont get a WP compatible companion app. Then there's the PlayTo from Windows 8-devices which is cool. Then you have a Skydrive app on X1 which is nice if you want to fe. put a slideshow of uploaded pics rolling for guests or something (I do that occasionally cos we have bunch of photos of our 6 months old daugher).

Then in Store balance is shared so you can use same money to buy WP/Win 8/X1 apps/games.

Using the same account you use for every other device too. Some are GS hoarders and like this especially

Just a few that pops to mind. However even if it wasnt for the ecosystem, I'd still absolutely love my X1.

 

[michfan]

For a non-gamer, the biggest benefits would be services portability between Windows platforms. For example, Xbox Music purchases and play lists show up on the X1 Music app -- what makes this even cooler is that the X1 version has a lot of videos and will replace a song with the video if available (I love this feature!!!!). Same thing with Xbox Video, any purchased/rented content is available from X1. Your phone and tablet can be used as an X1 remote via Smartglass app. Since X1 controls your cable box, TV and receiver ... your tablet and phone then become universal media remotes. You can use your tablet and phone as a keyboard for browsing the web on X1. You can Skype video call over the Kinect included with X1 -- an update today allows you to snap Skype calls so you can relax on your couch and watch TV but your family will think you're really looking at them .

Hopefully you're getting the idea that there is a good amount of integration already. I suspect there is more to come as well. DirectX 12 announcement next week may reveal more. X1 has three OS', one of them Windows-based, so I'm also anticipating some degree of app portability in the future between Windows 8+ and X1. Halo Spartan Assault does this to a degree -- save game is portable across all platforms and if you already own it on phone or tablet you get a reduced fee for the console version ($5 vs. $15).

 

[Coreldan]

Before X1 was released MS did say that "if you are interested in making apps for Xbox One, you should start by making it for Windows 8 while you wait". That's paraphrased and doesn't quite catch the thing it implied, which was that it would most likely be portable over to X1 with very little effort. At least thats how I originally understood it

Ah yea, forgot to mention Skype that is really cool for me cos I have a small kid at home so my parents like to do video calls to see her. It's really nice to be just laid back at the couch and Kinect will zoom to me instead of trying to cram me and the baby in front of a laptop webcam that has the quality of a toaster.

 

[juanitoriv]

Dude, if your tv doesn't already support it, just get a Miracast/DLNA receiver/dongle, ?$60. You'll be able to push everything from your Surface Pro 2 to it wirelessly, including movies, music, games, etc. I'm not a gamer (I have a Sega Genesis and 2 PS1's) but I love me my shows. My older tower is functioning basically as a cable box right now as I stream EVERYTHING!!! I hooked up a RAM upgrade and set it up dual boot from XP to W7x32 & W8.1x64. I've been considering a game controller, but I like the touch on my Flex 10 for the games I DO play. So, basically I'm saying if you don't need/want the latest games, instead of adding, just expand. 8)

 

[Chandra84]

I am on the same boat as you. I am not an avid gamer - and I have the gamut of Microsoft devices. The arguement for X1, in my case at least, was rather simple -
1. I use Xbox music all the time. I love the fact that my playlists are accessible across my TV, Surface, and my 920 (and my wife's 5s).
2. I rent a lot of new movies through Xbox Video - which arent' on Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime. When my wife decides to take control of the TV, I can comfortably resume watching it from on of my other devices.
3. Finally, and most importantly - X1 and Windows 8 have shared operating system components. So it's going to be easier to port apps from Windows 8 to X1. And that was very compelling reason.

 

[Kage Maru]

I usually own multiple consoles every generation with one console being my "go to" or "main" system of choice. Last generation it was the 360 because of the number of co-op exclusives (Gears, Halo, and L4D) but also because most of the multi-platform titles ran/looked better on the 360. However this generation I chose the PS4 first and that will be my main console. The Dualshock controllers have always been uncomfortable for me, usually being too small and feeling cheap to hold. However that is no longer the issue with the DS4 which is actually very comfortable to hold IMO.

I'll get an Xbox one eventually but for me it always comes down to best bang for the buck and right now that's with the PS4. Most, if not all, of the multi-platform titles should look/run better on the PS4, the exclusives will surely be killer, and IMO Sony has done a better job at earning my money. Many of my friends, who also gamed on the 360, have done the same move because of these reasons. I was very against MS' policies last year and while I give them a lot of credit for the quick 180 (especially considering the size of the company) I still can't ignore the price to performance ratio. They want me to pay $100 for a peripheral that adds very little to the experience. I had a Kinect with the 360 and while it had its uses, the novelty is not worth the extra cost IMO. The Xbox should really be $400 with Kinect and $300 without, but they don't want to lose money per unit sold.

Luckily both systems will have great games, it just depends on what appeals to you right now if you want either system right now. I understand WP has OneDrive and Smartglass support, which both compliment the Xbox One, but these two apps alone aren't worth the $100 premium. Besides, wasn't there a rumor that the PSN companion app was headed to WP too? :wink:

 

[Jonny702]

I bought the Xbox One Day One edition and I'm sorely disappointed. I, like you am a Microsoft geek. I have a Nokia Lumia 920, a Surface 2, and HP Probook running Windows 8.1, My work computer is a Dell Latitude running Windows 8.1, I have an Xbox 360 and I work in IT with Microsoft technologies. Sometimes my coworkers even poke fun at my Microsoft Fanboyism. Out the gate the Xbox One didn't offer me anything special. I don't have cable TV and even if I did, the Xbox doesn't support much up here in Canada in that respect. On my 360 I spent a lot of time using that console: Half of which was gaming and the other half using either Netflix, or streaming video or music from my home media server (a 2TB hard drive connected to my home laptop with the video library shared).
Playing games was not fun at first. Support for parties wasn't great, the console didn't come with any games, and the sound (which I relied heavily on for my gaming experience using my $250 Astro gaming headset) was a terrible experience. Fortunately much of this has been fixed. I had to buy the chat adapter and go through the complicated process of configuring it to work with my equipment and the console update dealt with a lot of other things such as the addition of Dolby surround sound through the optical audio S/PDIF out and enabling party chat by default. By the time all of the issues were fixed that made the Xbox One an okay experience for gaming, deals had started and I could have got a console and Titanfall for the same price I paid.
My media experience from the console that aims to rule my living room, has not been great. Netflix works fine (so long as the Xbox Live service doesn't have a problem like yesterday evening where it did not recognize my gold membership), Although I will say, each release of the Netflix App to the Xbox consoles gets worse and worse in terms of features being removed or changed drastically, but that's Netflix's fault not Microsoft's) but the fact that I can't easily use a system video player to stream content from my media server to my xbox one seems like a massive oversight. It is in fact intentional I'm sure, as Microsoft would love for me to view my video content through Xbox Video. Unfortunately at the current Xbox Video price point, this is not something I'm prepared to do. Should the Xbox Video service ever offer a subscription service like Xbox music (which I also have) I will be all over it. I understand I could open videos on my surface, from my network share, then use the play to feature to play them to my Xbox, but that is a bit of a pain in the rear to me (first world problems)

Reader's Digest version: The Xbox One has great potential but was/is underwhelming at release. The Azure backend is amazing and powerful and there are plenty of really awesome games coming to the platform. The lack of support for areas outside the US for television as well as what was surely the intentional omission of a system video player that plays content from your network make it not much of a living room ruler for me, I still use my 360 for that. I would say go with the Xbox One, just not right now. Wait until the console is updated, the games are out and maybe even grab it at a deal.

 

[Corey]

I purchased an Xbox One today (the Titanfall edition). I've been very happy with it so far for reasons that aren't related to gaming. Honestly, with the exception of about an hour or two of Call of Duty: Ghosts (meh), I have been trying out most of the other non-gaming features.

I love the Xbox overlay on my cable. I honestly didn't even know about that feature, nor would it have sold me on it or deterred me from my purchase. However, after playing around with it, setting up my favorite channels, and learning the voice commands, I'm completely loving the feature. I have Comcast, and the guide for the UI on the cable box always annoys me. It looks like it was programmed to tie into a 386 copy of King's Quest. It looks terrible, is slow, and it annoys me when I have to use it. The Xbox Oneguide is nicely laid out, doesn't look like it belongs in the 80's, and works very well. I played around with the voice commands and the gestures and have really gotten the hang of it. I flipped around the channels and watched tv for about an hour without using the remote. The only thing I didn't think check was the On Demand features. I'm not sure if it'll work with On Demand, but if it did, it would almost be worth the purchase (for me at least) just to bypass the miserable cable box interface. My guess, though, is that it's not going to work with On Demand. I can live with that.

After setting up the XBone to control the cable box and my tv, I loaded up the Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu Plus apps. All work very well. The UI on all of them works well enough. There's nothing that really stands out as bad or good, they just work the way I like them to work. I have the Smart Glass app on my Surface as well as my Laptop and it works well as a media remote. I like the touch interface a little better than the controller for media. I'm looking forward to trying out some of the games and perhaps some of the movies that come with enhanced features that tie into the Smart Glass app. I also like having a secondary app pinned to the side of the screen that will run with other tasks. I had Netflix playing on the side while I played around with Call of Duty. It's a nice feature that I probably won't use as much, but it's nice to have.

I'm not going to slag the PS4. I have nothing bad to say about it. I'm sure it's a good console and most likely has a lot of the same features. I'll probably buy one when the first price cut comes along. I've had the Xbox 360 and the PS3 for a while now and I've just found Xbox live to be a better, more uniform service that was better integrated than the Playstation Network, and that played a big part in which one I would purchase first on the new generation consoles. I don't think you would be disappointed with either, but the integration with other Microsoft Products is a nice touch, as are the other features that seem to make this more of a multimedia system than a game console.

 

[bilzkh]

I bought the Xbox One Day One edition and I'm sorely disappointed. I, like you am a Microsoft geek. I have a Nokia Lumia 920, a Surface 2, and HP Probook running Windows 8.1, My work computer is a Dell Latitude running Windows 8.1, I have an Xbox 360 and I work in IT with Microsoft technologies. Sometimes my coworkers even poke fun at my Microsoft Fanboyism. Out the gate the Xbox One didn't offer me anything special. I don't have cable TV and even if I did, the Xbox doesn't support much up here in Canada in that respect. On my 360 I spent a lot of time using that console: Half of which was gaming and the other half using either Netflix, or streaming video or music from my home media server (a 2TB hard drive connected to my home laptop with the video library shared).
Playing games was not fun at first. Support for parties wasn't great, the console didn't come with any games, and the sound (which I relied heavily on for my gaming experience using my $250 Astro gaming headset) was a terrible experience. Fortunately much of this has been fixed. I had to buy the chat adapter and go through the complicated process of configuring it to work with my equipment and the console update dealt with a lot of other things such as the addition of Dolby surround sound through the optical audio S/PDIF out and enabling party chat by default. By the time all of the issues were fixed that made the Xbox One an okay experience for gaming, deals had started and I could have got a console and Titanfall for the same price I paid.
My media experience from the console that aims to rule my living room, has not been great. Netflix works fine (so long as the Xbox Live service doesn't have a problem like yesterday evening where it did not recognize my gold membership), Although I will say, each release of the Netflix App to the Xbox consoles gets worse and worse in terms of features being removed or changed drastically, but that's Netflix's fault not Microsoft's) but the fact that I can't easily use a system video player to stream content from my media server to my xbox one seems like a massive oversight. It is in fact intentional I'm sure, as Microsoft would love for me to view my video content through Xbox Video. Unfortunately at the current Xbox Video price point, this is not something I'm prepared to do. Should the Xbox Video service ever offer a subscription service like Xbox music (which I also have) I will be all over it. I understand I could open videos on my surface, from my network share, then use the play to feature to play them to my Xbox, but that is a bit of a pain in the rear to me (first world problems)

Reader's Digest version: The Xbox One has great potential but was/is underwhelming at release. The Azure backend is amazing and powerful and there are plenty of really awesome games coming to the platform. The lack of support for areas outside the US for television as well as what was surely the intentional omission of a system video player that plays content from your network make it not much of a living room ruler for me, I still use my 360 for that. I would say go with the Xbox One, just not right now. Wait until the console is updated, the games are out and maybe even grab it at a deal.

I don't have an Xbox One, but I want one really badly. From what I can see the great games for it are already out, namely Forza and Titanfall, both premium titles of wide critical acclaim and fairly good in what they offer to gamers. It sucks that Bell isn't offering OneGuide for Fibe yet, but it doesn't take away from using voice to call up television shows and movies on Netflix and Xbox Video, does it? We pay close to $100 a month for FibeTV, I wouldn't mind cutting that to basic (or entirely) and offloading favourite shows to Xbox Video via season passes, might end up saving more.

 

[KingRaven26]

Dallas - If you're willing to spend $400 on a PS4 then you probably are willing to spend $500 on a console that may fit the bill better. The Xbox One absolutely outshines the PS4 when you take into consideration what it can do today and what it will do "tomorrow". I had a Surface RT, Xbox One, Lumia 1020 and Windows 8.1 config all tied together but I recently ditched the RT because I want a newer-gen Surface. Here's what you can do for entertainment - the "Devices" option in the Charms bar (the nav bar on the left if you use touch or the "hot corners" with the mouse) can push audio and video to your Xbox One when they're on the same network. I tend to digitally acquire a lot of my media content instead of opting for Blu-Ray discs and CDs. So when I watch the latest episode of The Walking Dead or Castle, I simple fire it up on Xbox Video from my PC then use the Play To function to stream it to my Xbox One which is attached to my big-screen TV. It's AWESOME and requires next to no setup (an Xbox One should automatically identify itself on your home network so no pairing required). The XB1 also has Internet Explorer 11 built in and it works very well compared to the Xbox 360's IE browser. I typically use my Windows Phone with the Smartglass app to control IE and type into address bars. But if you aren't a fan of phone typing you can always connect a keyboard via the USB port to type things out. I've used Facebook, checked email, browsed Bing search results and more from it and I have yet to hit a roadblock. Pretty incredible for a "games console". I also love the video streaming apps available. Currently you can use Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Fox Now, FX Now, Crackle and more will be dropping onto the platform this year. If you own an Xbox Music pass, you get unlimited streaming and playlist setup on any of your Windows/Xbox-based platforms. If you buy a movie on Xbox Video you can also access it from your "My Collection" tab under Xbox Video (no need to stream it over the network or re-download it). You'll also be able to use external hard drives very soon to migrate games and other media content to and from the Xbox One. OneDrive access is very well done and is basically the same layout that you see on your Windows Phone or Windows 8.1 desktop/laptop interface.

The PlayStation 4 allegedly has more power than the XB1, but that's actually a myth based on the extensive research I did on the two hardware sets. A lot of people are making claims off of little or no research and understanding of the two platforms which is why PS4 gets the press' vote for "most powerful" when really it's a misunderstanding of what the Xbox One is capable of once developers learn how to use the hardware. They are setup differently with internals in some areas so it makes it hard to distinguish which one really runs better than the other. You aren't an avid gamer so this really makes no difference to you. They're basically the same consoles for horsepower but the software is what really sets these two boxes apart. Microsoft has teased a lot of stuff to come in the future, and I do mean a lot. They are making TV content exclusive to the Xbox platform (unless they intend to release it on Netflix or Hulu some day) and it begins with the Halo TV series produced by Steven Spielberg. Microsoft started up an entertainment group to develop and sign content to Xbox so there will be much more than just a Halo TV series. The Xbox also currently is DRM-free, so you shouldn't have any issues with licensing restrictions with your music and video files - Xbox One plays them as long as they're supported video formats.

Lastly, there's the Kinect angle. I was blown away by what it can do. It isn't 100% yet but with another update or two it will be very accurate and even more responsive than it already is. I don't care too much for gesture control in the living room but I love voice control. I walked into my apartment last night and immediately said "Xbox On" to play TitanFall with friends that were already online (I knew because I checked my Friends list from the Games app on Windows Phone). I put my stuff away real quick, walked to the kitchen (which lead my past my Xbox One again) and said "Xbox, go to TitanFall". It accepted the command and launched TitanFall while I grabbed myself some iced tea. I didn't stop to say the command or wave at the Kinect sensor to get its attention, it just heard me and launched the game. You can always say "Xbox, go to _____" and it will jump to that app. It's awesome and I hate the fact that my PC doesn't have one because I would start using this tech for my media devices at all times if I could. Maybe someday in the near future this will be a reality (there is a Kinect for Windows).

I say all of this to explain how I use it and what the Xbox One platform can do right now and what you can expect down the road. It's an excellent platform with greater potential than the PS4. Sony made a console to cater to gamers that want to watch Netflix. The problem is people are quickly abandoning extra devices in their homes to consolidate. That's why things like ROKU and Apple TV have gotten a little more popular. There are a few areas for Microsoft to improve on - mostly software optimization when switching between apps and games, but it's cool to be able to pop out of TitanFall for a second to launch IE and fact-check something a friend just said or find out when the first downloadable content for TitanFall is rumored to come out, all without exiting my game session. Once you expect these things from your console, you'll hate anything else because it will feel frustrating and fragmented. Once Microsoft work out a few kinks this system will blow the skirts of gamers and media enthusiasts way up. I've loved my Xbox One and have had it since the console's midnight launch here in the Seattle, WA area even though a couple bugs existed at first.

Hope this helps in some way!

 

[Reflexx]

The Kinect on my XBOX ONE broke. It just stopped working.

It made me realize just how much I use and depend on Kinect. Navigating or performing functions by voice doesn't seem like a big deal until you get used to it. Then when you dont have it anymore; doing things manually feels like a chore.

I have to send in my Kinect for warranty replacement. When I get the fixed version I'm going to be giddy and happy.

 

[Kage Maru]

The PlayStation 4 allegedly has more power than the XB1, but that's actually a myth based on the extensive research I did on the two hardware sets. A lot of people are making claims off of little or no research and understanding of the two platforms which is why PS4 gets the press' vote for "most powerful" when really it's a misunderstanding of what the Xbox One is capable of once developers learn how to use the hardware. They are setup differently with internals in some areas so it makes it hard to distinguish which one really runs better than the other. You aren't an avid gamer so this really makes no difference to you. They're basically the same consoles for horsepower but the software is what really sets these two boxes apart.

...

I say all of this to explain how I use it and what the Xbox One platform can do right now and what you can expect down the road. It's an excellent platform with greater potential than the PS4. Sony made a console to cater to gamers that want to watch Netflix. The problem is people are quickly abandoning extra devices in their homes to consolidate. That's why things like ROKU and Apple TV have gotten a little more popular.

I'm sorry but this is a load of bull. You sound like all of the Sony fans who were waiting for devs to learn the PS3 and unlock the special sauce deep within the system. MS made a "good enough" system, meaning it can handle new gen games with maybe a few cut backs and the masses will usually be none the wiser. Does this mean great looking games won't appear on the system? No, being weaker didn't stop the PS2 or GC from having great looking games, but great looking games doesn't indicate performance parity with the competition. That applied then with the ps2/GC vs Xbox and it applies now with the PS4 vs Xbox one. It's a huge lie to say otherwise.

It's also rather ignorant to claim either system is more future proof than the other. The "cloud" is not some silver bullet and is something many companies are investing in, not just MS.

The rest of your post sounds like a MS infomercial but I don't feel like addressing everything using this slow WPCentral app. I just hope anyone that reads your post here knows to do it with a grain of salt.

 

[AlwaysColtron]

*rang begin*

I'm in the same boat. I got a L928, Surface and 8.1 PC. I currently have a X360 but have owned a PS3 in the past. I'm a gamer but nothing to hardcore, more casual but do enjoy good entertainment features. The way I see it, I'm looking to the long tern. Especially with WP 8.1 coming out soon(ish). Who knows what features all the devices will share a month or year(s) from now!? I sure don't but the chances of my phones, tablet, PC and game console all being connect and working together increase crazy amounts with them all being in the MS family. The PS4 is a good system, but I say if you see yourself being a MS ****** or fangirl for the next few years then go with the Xbox One. If you are still unsure or might switch to an iPhone/iPad/Mac or Android device for anything then maybe it's not a huge deal which you get. I've always said stay with the games you like. Hope it helps.

*rant over*