I don't see how these new consoles are gonna last...

They cannot even do 1080p, no games are using tessellation, barely any use of AA and even struggling to reach 60fps. This is the first console release that has been so dated compared to the PC at the point of launch. I mean already the performance difference is night and day, even on mid ranged PC hardware of the same cost as an Xbox One.

Imagine in just 2 years time, the PC will wayyyyy ahead! So I dread to think that Sony/Microsoft are going to try and drag this generation out 5+ years, it just cannot happen, even Tablets by then will be more powerful.

The gap between the Wii U and the Xbox One at least is closer than the gap between that and the PC. It honestly makes me feel that Nintendo aren't so doomed after all, Nintendo just need good games and they wont look in the least bit dated compared.

I cannot wait to see the age of Mantle and whatever Nvidia has up their sleeve, the age of DX holding the PC back is over, BF4 already shows 60% increases over DX and a massive increase for lower end systems.

I really think that consoles are in a weaker position than thought and Steam Machines could actually be the future, a slow burn but the future. There is already a $500 machine that is more powerful than the consoles, with a dedicated Steam OS and the promise of increased efficiency, I could see people buying PCs instead of consoles. Already Steam has almost 80 million users....

And yet, none of those fancy PC exclusive features will allow me to play Halo or InFamous or the next Kirby game.

Seriously, there is room enough in the market for top of the line PC games and middle of the road console games. It doesn't have to be one or the other. I think the consoles will do fine over the next few years. They have already shown that there is an overwhelming desire for a new set of benchmarks that raise the ceiling of what can be done, developers and platform holders just need to get around to making the best use of the hardware. And, hopefully, they can keep doing PC versions and not let that market go stale like they did before the Steam revival.

I'll tell you this much, 5-7 years tops. They're doing well enough.

UIF, good to see you here again.

I wouldn't call the $500 Steam Machine better than the PS4. It has 896 shader cores, 56 texture units and 16 ROPs. PS4 on the other hand has 1152 shader cores, 72 texture units and 32 ROPs. It also has 2GB of VRAM with a 128 GBps bandwidth. PS4 has upto 6GB of VRAM available for games with a bandwidth of 176 GBps. Then you have a quadcore processor vs TWO quadcore processors in the PS4.

The only advantage it has is in the clockspeeds of both the CPU and GPU, but clockspeeds alone dont make that big of a difference.

Mantle API is indeed a fantastic development, but again PS4 already has this low level access to the GPU.

Nintendo is doomed because they are using last gen tech and devs are not going to port their third party games on this last gen console. Regardless of X1's specs, the GPU is still GCN and considered next gen.

I agree that it might be a short gen, but PCs have always been more powerful than consoles. PS3 was barely out for 10 months when Crysis came out and was considered too advanced for consoles.

Also, all PS4 games so far have been 1080p save for one, BF4 which was a launch game running at 900p and 60 fps.

Yea course they won't last its not like ps4 is the fastest selling console ever in the UK and both systems have sold more than the Xbox 360 and ps3 by this time lol good one lol

So I'm guessing it's all about graphics for you. That's pretty sad.

It's all about the games for me. And soon, there will be some amazing games for both. A game can run on 1080p and 60fps, if it has crap gameplay, I'm not going to play it.

This... and It's all about preference. I prefer my controller and Xbox community over my 1200 gaming computer sometimes.

In 2014, some people still don't know that you can plug a gamepad (among other control methods) to a PC?

Every game I own on PS4 is 1080p.

None of them are as effective as a mouse regardless.

I'll just be extra specific this time.

I prefer my Xbox 360 controller with my Xbox 360 over a mouse, game-pad, and other control methods on a PC most of the time.

the new consoles will last for the new generations. it's that simple. they don't know any better and won't have a clue they have been deceived.

I started with the pc, moved to the consoles and now will be returning to pc, since, from this point forward the console "advantage" is a con and gone.

though, I will be attaching my xbox 360 adapter and using the greatest controller available.

the m/k has the worst disconnect imaginable and is the most overrated device in the history of gaming.

Mate you took a wrong turn somewhere , this is not system wars where we pretend that PC is a master race and consoles are dying. even thou you can see PC sales declining year after year and consoles well, they sell pretty well.

So thanks for your contribution in games but please jump down to the kids in system wars. You will feel right at home there.

@Slannmage:

PS4 has games but as for Xbone I think most of the games available on Xbone will be available on PC.

People dwell on the specs but a new gen is mostly about new engines and their optimization and efficiency. Look how well 360 and ps3 performed for so long, it will be the same prob this gen. But it does seem like some new and exciting things are brewing in the pc space which may prove otherwise.

My PS4 and X1 boot up and play a lot faster than my formally super duper gaming PC ( GTX680, I5 cpu ). I can communicate with my friends a lot quicker and flip between games a lot faster with my consoles. Yes my PC still cranks out pretty graphics, but there has been very few exclusive PC games over the last few years that i want to play. I have much more fun with console exclusive games than just about anything i can think of that is exclusive to pc. I play a few multiplat games on my pc because they look better, but now that PS4 and X1 are out, i dont see any real advantage to buying any more games at all on PC. There are essentially zero PC exclusives coming that i want to play and the multiplats look fantastic on the consoles...so my PC is practically dead to me as a gaming machine now. I have a lot of last gen multiplatform games on my Steam account ....but i rarely play any of them now. I have not purchased a PC game in well over six months, and only a small handful before that. I buy more games for my Wii U and Vita than i do my PC.

PC gamers never learn. Console gamers don't care about graphics nearly as much as PC gamers do, and they care about their exclusive franchises.

From now until the end of time we'll continue to see these threads from PC enthusiasts wondering why console gamers wont switch over, and predicting the end of consoles.

@Slannmage: So what you only think a game console will survive if it has great graphics? You are the exact reason why developers are forced to make such shit games. Sure they look pretty but most of the last generation of games, relatively speaking, sucked. The number of games that totally took my break away last gen can be counted on one hand. That is pathetic. And all because developers are so pre-occupied with shit like graphics that make no difference at all that they neglect the important parts of games. Like story, characters, gameplay.

If what you were saying was even slightly true then PC would be the ONLY place people could play games. Yet they don't. I wouldn't touch PC at all if it wasn't for the prices on Steam.

If graphics were so important consoles wouldn't exist. Yet they do. They have currently sold nearly 10 million copies since November between the Xbox One and PS4 together. Most GAMES on PC barely reach 1 million in that time. Yet consoles can move $400-500 pieces of hardware.

People buy consoles for the games and not the hardware. They want to play on their couch and just plug and play. Also most games are sold on consoles, not pc's mate. Just look at GTA V.

PS3 and 360 were actually more behind when it came to specs. Hell even PS2 was weak as hell and it sold 150 million. There is no real depth to this statement

And why doesn't this apply to the other consoles? Games are what is going to makes these consoles great.

and that is good for who? Graphic whores? I don't care about graphics, i care about gameplay.

Steam Machines won't sell squat. Why do you think Valve isn't making it themselves? If they did, it would show that they are behind the product. If you want a steam Machine, why not buy a pc that's better and cheaper? And 360, Wii and PS3 have 260 combined... Your point being?

"peecee muster reys! Teh garfiks are bettre!1 FTW1!

Games? Wat are gaems?" °_o

I kinda agree with all ur thoughts here. This next gen of consoles doesn't seem to have much hardware that impresses. But they only have to do 1080p so i guess thats why they underpowered them all.

Still though, by the looks of things, your best off getting a PS4 if u are gonna do some console gaming. The xbox one so far has been proven weaker and full of problems.

And its funny you mention Tablets... some are almost as powerful as xbox 360s now... i imagine in a few more years (4-5 years) we'll see some 8 core tablets that can almost (not quite though) match these next gen consoles which is pretty funny.

But I don't think the fact they don't use much Directx11 effects means anything... i've enabled/disabled tessellation on my pc before and can't tell a difference unless i screenshot and compare it side by side. And when ur sitting 10+ feet away console gaming, you will notice even less. So that effect is just a gimmick for PC gamers to test out the power of their gpus... and has really no practical use for consoles.

But having nice antialiasing though is something i'm hoping will be used in next gen more to keep games crisp and smooth... i have so many crappy xbox360/ps3 games that really needed more AA.

Steam Machine all the bad about the PC and consoles and none of the good. A pure DD would be one of the worse things to happen to gamers.

There is something to say about the stander hardware that the consoles offer.

What you PC elitists fail to understand is the difference between consoles and PC's.

Consoles are simpler by design. People don't have to worry about their machine being out-of-date to play the newest games available to the platform, because the games are developed with the console in mind. Granted, that particular consoles hardware specs will be outdated within 6 months of launch, but guess what? Not everyone wants to buy a new video card or more memory every two years, and that's fine. Consoles exist specifically because of the simplistic nature of them.

PC's are obviously superior, no one is arguing that.. anyone who is can easily be ignored. But I hear the same tired predictions at the start of every new console cycle, that it won't last and the PC will dominate the market.. and then, the coming console cycle outlasts the previous cycle, every time, and only continues to expand and further the industry. But you PC elitists insist you're better due to an obviously superior piece of hardware, never minding the fact that people play games because they're fun, not to bask in virtual eye-candy.

Once more, PC's provide higher performance, fact. But consoles will never stop being successful.

ps4 can.... whats your point?

wot is wot

I believe the true potential of next gen consoles will be seen once developers start making games as per the console true potential. Its too early to discard or accept next gen consoles. PC will always remain strong as it can do hell lot more than just games but the consoles provide a experience of just plugin n play right from your couch. Thats the reason why xbox 360 n ps3 are still going strong n are expected to last for sometime now.

Exactly - I'll admit that I'm about 99% sure I'm going back to PC gaming because I'm tired of the lack of diversity on the consoles (nothing but FPS, sports, and race games), but the consoles aren't going anywhere. The reasons have already been said by others. For the most part, the entrance price to getting into a console is cheaper than a PC (I'm talking a new machine with everything needed to play, not just the case, not something pieced together from Craigslist or pieced together from someone else's parts bin, etc.). I've been looking for PC's over the last few weeks and I can't find any commercially available PC that has everything I need to be able to play games for under $500 (if someone knows of one, please send me the link). The few that I can find in that price range are very base units (with regards to the processor, memory, etc.) and are just the box and *maybe* a keyboard/mouse - no monitor, speakers, etc. I've looked on the various computer boards about "build your own budget PC for $300 (or whatever they are advertising it at)" and even those don't include keyboard, monitor, operating system, etc. - just the base hardware. Whereas you can hook a Sony or Microsoft box up to your TV and you're ready to go for a good five years or more.

The other thing that used to annoy me about PC gaming was the constant having to upgrade my computer every so often, constantly having to download/install patches for games that were released flawed and did not work out of the box, system crashes etc. While consoles do have some similar issues, I don't think they are anywhere near the level they are with PC's (not that it's stopping me from wanting to go back to them mind you). What I see happening is that PC gaming just becomes a fringe market (if it's not already) for the true hard core group because overall, PC sales have been declining thanks to tablets and smart phones. For the most part, any major title release (think Call of Duty, etc.) are available across the board for all systems, console and PC, so there really isn't one that's going to overshadow the other necessarily.