So you’re saying you would shrink your game screen, pull up the twitter screen, read it on your Xbox, then pull up your phone to type a reply if needed? Come on, man. It’s a neat little feature to pull up side screens while you’re playing, but it really does have very little practical use other than being able to say “Oooo, look what my shiny new console can do!” – Existing devices do it all better. This is not exciting.

The fact is, they unveiled their new games console by showing off TV and an alt-tab feature with almost no practical use – unless, as you say, you’re only interested in reading Twitter and Facebook updates, and never post anything yourself. Why anyone would consider that a system-selling feature is beyond me.

You’re right – this clearly doesn’t appeal to me. American TV shows as a primary feature isn’t what I buy gaming consoles for. Hardly surprising that the reaction from gamers has been almost unanimous negativity, is it? The only thing I see people getting excited about is this alt-tab feature, like you are. And I’m convinced you’re only excited about it because you bought into the on-stage hype and the fake applause. Think about it for half a minute and you realize your smart phone already does all of it, better.

“Also why would it be faster to pick up your phone and launch the twitter app, then saying “Xbox Twitter” and having it bring it up on the side panel?”

Because smart phones launch apps instantly. Mine has it all integrated – it beeps, I read the message, and I then type a response if needed. I will always prefer to type responses and handle web searches with a touch screen keypad than with a controller’s text input system. In the time it takes to type a 6 letter word through the Xbox or Playstation controller, I can finish up 140 characters with a keypad.

Yes, a system telling me that a TV show is starting is a nice little feature. But that’s not a system seller – it’s a tiny little quality of life feature. If I wanted a cable box, I’d probably just buy a cable box over a $400 Xbox that does nothing a cable box can’t in relation to TV. If I wanted a console, I’d look at the games that they have available. That’s where Microsoft dropped the ball – they completely forgot who put their Xbox where it is today. They made an absolutely terrible first impression for their core user base. Fingers crossed they can make up for it at E3, because at this rate Sony has the next-gen in the bag.

Integrated TV guides make sense, because they interact with the TV. For example, I can’t tell my TV listings magazine to record a specific show or notify me when Game of Thrones is about to begin. So yay! Xbox One has a TV Guide! That works exactly the same way as the one you already have… Oh. And that’s assuming you watch and own cable TV (which I don’t).

So what does Xbox One bring to the table that’s brand new? The ability to switch to Facebook and Twitter apps in seconds? Yay? I can do that easier on the smart phone and tablet I have by my side. Doing that with my console is something I would try once or twice for the novelty factor, before going back to simply pausing my game and picking up my phone whenever I get a Facebook/Twitter notification – because it’s faster and easier.

I can’t WAIT for Microsoft to show off the games and announce pricing, because that’s when we can really judge which console is worth the purchase here. What baffles me is how people are going ape**** over what Microsoft showcased on Tuesday – because it’s either something your existing devices already do, or it’s something you’ll never really use once the shiny-new-device novelty wears off. All they’ve managed to do is place the functionality of a tv guide and the ability to alt-tab into a console – great, I guess, but what are they smoking to think that’s their biggest system-selling feature?

The problem I have with that, is that I will never use it. I have a smart phone by my side 24/7 that is fully integrated with Facebook and Twitter, and a tablet that can easily pull up a GameFAQ or anything else I need. Why would I swap those things around on one screen, when I can keep the game running on my TV screen and use a smartphone/tablet screen for everything else?

It sounds fantastic, until you realize… I’m probably never going to use this functionality. I’m not bashing the Xbox One though, just mocking it for making a big deal out of something more or less useless, and something that’s been possible on not just computers (alt-tab) but even phones for years. I’m looking forward to seeing what they show at E3 – what they should have shown Tuesday night.

So I can watch my TV shows running on CryEngine 3 now? Cool.

A lot of PC gamers today were console gamers five years ago. I’ve played every core MGS game, and no longer have a console since I switched to PC gaming several years ago. I would love to play this game on my PC!

Because Sonic is a perfect fit for Nintendo’s target audience.

Sounds awesome. Great talent behind the game, a great premise, and exclusive to next gen means they don’t need to restrict AI and world design for current gen platforms. I’m all over this!

“A whole new way to experience MOBA gameplay”

It’s too early to be sure, but they might be doing exactly what you want them to do – new gameplay and map ideas. It’s also far too early to assume they’re using yet another static 3 lane map.

Hopefully this team is looking to create new maps and game modes for the genre. It’s going to be hit and miss, but if it works it will be a big step forward.

I love it. It makes each character feel different (so you’ll naturally gravitate to those that best suit your playstyle), and it means team work is all about the synergy of your team’s characters and abilities, and working out how to exploit the weaknesses in the opposition’s lineup. It’s what leads to each game feeling unique and requiring different strategies – whereas every character playing similarly for balance reasons would lead to repetitive gameplay.

It’s certainly interesting that Activision forecast lower sales for this year’s CoD game. If it does once again break sales records, I will be imagining your scenario playing out at their head office to a T =D

Source, for those interested: http://mp1st.com/2013/02/07/next-call-of-duty-announced-for-2013-activision-expects-sales-to-be-down-from-black-ops-2/

I imagine 3 million plus might be a nice incentive to pursue sequels. Especially with an IP as well known as Tomb Raider. It certainly doesn’t look good for Sleeping Dogs though.

I’m guessing I’m not the only one who played GW2 for a couple of months at launch and then hasn’t touched it since?

I’m not sure why. It was a great game. I think I’m just waiting for a really good reason to dive back in. Fingers crossed an expansion will be the reason I’ve been looking for. So little time, and so many games vying for it…

Much better! Might be worth posting in the Atelier art thread in the future too: http://www.polygon.com/forums/off-topic/2013/5/9/4315066/polygon-atelier-community-art-thread-may-2013

I’ve genuinely been asking for this for years. Well – the ability to plug my PS3/360 controller into a car, and drive with the controller instead of the wheel, pedals, and gear stick.

I also find it’s embarrassing for the medium. When a character’s defining physical traits are her over sized breasts, I find myself face palming and asking “Really? REALLY!?”

It’s the reason I loved Tomb Raider so much this year. Lara’s defining traits originally were her attitude, and her breasts. As sequels were driven out the door, that shifted almost entirely to just her breasts. With the reboot, it became all about her driven survival instincts, and her anatomy was finally worked into a more believable and respectable design. She was still an incredibly sexy and attractive character, but for all the right reasons this time around.

Hey, nice work. Love the shading. How long did you spend on this?

I played around with Photo Manipulation recently. It’s really fun – took some stock model photos from deviantart and let loose. I much prefer illustrative work though, so I don’t think I’ll be looking into any advanced techniques for this art style. Nice change of pace though =)