How do you decide on which console to get?

I don't want a console war discussion, i just really would want to know if people have any preferences when getting a new console. Is it the price, games, specs, apps, etc. Anything that in particular that stands out?

I find that the optimal formula is (Number of games I care about)/price, while taking into account the possible future titles.

I would weigh the pros and cons, price games etc. but it has always come out to be a playstation of some  sort, so I just stick with that now. Usually dont pick one up until around year 2 though.

I end up picking up another console down the line, but that is usually when it is ridiculously cheap and its only for a few games

Whichever one has the best racing games and then price.

Pretty much the games. Though the only console I have bought myself was the 360. Long after the release and during a special sale (I grabbed it for a little over 100 bucks) I live with my brother and he bought the rest of the consoles we play.

But yeah, if I have to buy it, the price will affect when, but I will try to find a way to get it sometime if it has good games.

For me, it's mainly three things:

• How many of my friends have the console
• The number of exclusives that interest me
• The price

Im getting ps4 at launch and x1 eventually so basically I can't decide, so why not have best of both worlds.

Also since I was small my brother always bought ps1 and ps2 for me so I grew up playing it and got accustomed to the sony brand. Pretty much why Im getting ps4 day 1.

The games are what matter to me. PS4 for Killzone, Gran turismo 7 etc. X1 for Forza 5, etc. If forza 5 was on ps4, I pretty much wouldn't buy x1 unless it drops in price drastically.

Im getting ps4 at launch and x1 eventually so basically I can't decide, so why not have best of both worlds.

Also since I was small my brother always bought ps1 and ps2 for me so I grew up playing it and got accustomed to the sony brand. Pretty much why Im getting ps4 day 1.

The games are what matter to me. PS4 for Killzone, Gran turismo 7 etc. X1 for Forza 5, etc. If forza 5 was on ps4, I pretty much wouldn't buy x1 unless it drops in price drastically.

marcheegsr

I don't want a console war discussion, i just really would want to know if people have any preferences when getting a new console. Is it the price, games, specs, apps, etc. Anything that in particular that stands out?

The_Last_Ride

Among other things, I factor the following traits of consoles when making a purchase:

-Brand (Great factor because that determines what games will be on the console)

-Aesthetics (How will it look in my room with the rest of my things?)

-Hardware (Blu-Ray/DVD Drive, CPU, Gamepad, RAM, GPU, HDD space, etc)

-Software (User Interface, Game library)

-Price

The Big Three

-POWER

-PRICE

-GAMES

So as of right now you should get a PS4. Xbox one later when its cheaper, not worth $500.

In the past I wasn't really in a position to choose, my family bought the console for me.  So the NES and Genesis were bought by my dad, then my dad literally found a PS1 so that was my console for the generation. 

I bought a PS2 with my own money before I knew what an Xbox was, when the Xbox released I also bought that with my own money.  Then the 360 came out and I bought it first because it was the first next gen console and I really enjoyed my original Xbox, knowing I would buy the PS3 down the road, which I did and loved.

Now on the eve of a new console launch, I've decided to only buy the PS4 and skip the Bone.  Price is a small factor but paying more for less seems ridiculous.  However I decided not to buy an Xbone well before the price was announced based on the luke warm support the 360 received for more than the last half of its life (exclusives), in contrast to the dozens of PS3 games that were continously pumped out.  Most being incredibly high quality to boot.  So thats how I chose my console. 

I decide based on two main factors:

1.) Price

2.) Must have 10 games (can't be remakes/remasters) that are out or going to come out on the platform for sure that I want.

It's the exclusives. I don't see how it could be any other option. I honestly don't understand how people can quibble over price. $100-$200 for a 7+ year investment is nothing.

The one that offers me the best complement to my PC - which is why I usually forego the Microsoft and Sony consoles for the Nintendo one, even if the latter usually has less quality-titles (when counting multi-platforms - otherwise, Nintendo has plenty of exclusives).

I was pretty much set on PS4 before I knew anything about either console having stuck with primarily playing the PS3 this gen. That said, the price point definitely kept my choice firm.SoNin360

I find that the optimal formula is (Number of games I care about)/price, while taking into account the possible future titles.

ReddestSkies

Mostly comes down to the games.  Secondary to that is probably price.  Though the pricing issue is becoming a bit more prominent as more and more games go multi-platform.  There are some things that turn me off on a console.  I absolutely love my 360, but I most likely won't pick up an Xbox One until there is a significant price drop.  That's mainly because I feel the integrated Kinect boosts the price up quite a bit and I have absolutely no interest in Kinect. But once that price is down (or if they end up deciding on a Kinect-free edition), I will happily pick one up.

I got my 360 for Oblivion and PS3 when God of War III came out.

I'm buying the Xbox One for the games and controller.

Several things:

Price. Not for me, necessarily, but because a high priced system has never attained market leadership. Being reasonably priced increases the likelihood more people will buy a system (assuming it's competitive), which means it will get better support. With the coming generation, it's the first time that the more powerful system has also cost less, so this was an easy decision to make.

Exclusives. The third-party exclusive is a dying breed. Games cost too much these days and third parties have to hedge their bets across as many platforms as they can. So if a company has a wide stable of exclusive first-party developers that make games geared towards people like myself that like games, that is a huge leg up. There has been a giant disparity between first party output between the two high def systems this generation, and I expect the gap to widen in the Playstation's favor in coming years due to a more focused approach on gaming. 

Vision for the future. For me, looking at the conferences, the ads, and the interviews, it's been easy to see which company is focused on games. It's also been easy to see which company's focus for the future agreed with my own. I buy my GAME consoles to play GAMES. I don't care about Facebook or fantasy football -- I can do that shit in real life with real friends when I want to. I play games to escape reality, not be reminded of it. Also, with regard to games, some of the stuff tried by *ahem* let's say Company A, I found offensive, aggressive, and potentially damaging to the industry, and I don't believe that company has changed its stance in those areas, only delayed them. So this was a VERY easy decision to reach.

Controller. I love the 360 controller, and the Xbone controller looks even better. I also became not so fond of the Dual Shock 3, as I have large hands and it seemed made for smaller paws. Luckily, that seems remedied with the new Dual Shock. The triggers are said to be much improved and designed with the help of FPS designers (still would have preferred offset sticks, though). I hear some complaining about the click triggers on the new Xbone controller, citing that they liked those on the 360 better. I don't like that the lightbar stays on with the PS4 controller either (why waste my batteries for something I'm not using?) Overall, this is an extremely competitive category, but I have to give it to Sony for revising an aging design and the fact that they aren't focusing on inferior control methods like motion controls as part of their control strategy. It has been well documented already by several sources that there are serious doubts about Kinect 2's prowess as a controller, and for that alone, I would give it to Sony in the controls department.

Value. Value is the indivdual's perceived benefit weighed against the cost, compared against a competing alternative. PSN has now gone paywall, but I never minded paying for Live. When I cancelled in 2010, I had been a nine year member. Since both companies charge, I looked at what that money buys, and PSN+ delivers more free content that I cared about. Plus, Sony has been actively courting indies, which I felt was the last stronghold for the 360 as the generation droned on. I love indie games, and if there are more of them on PSN, I will be very happy indeed. 

Overall, while there is some competition in a couple areas, the decision of which system to buy in a coming generation was never easier for me, and that's saying a lot, because the PS2 was a no-brainer. I think there is very little one option is offering, and a lot that the other is.

The big reasons:

• Games/first party. Twice now Sony have provided better first party support than MS, that's unlikely to change. Though MS have improved a lot.
• PS+ (EU). One of the best things to come out of the 7th gen. I don't really have to buy games anymore. MS could bring GWG to the Xbone but until then the online subscription battle is mightily one sided.
• Value; the Bone is weaker and more expensive due to extra stuff I don't care about (Kinect). I'll take PS+ over all the Bone's extra stuff and pay less to get a ton more.

Other reasons:

• Price. Ties into what I said above really. Xbone is more expensive than the PS3 at launch (UK).
• Vita Remote Play on all PS4 games.
• More powerful/graphics. PS4 will have "better" or, at least, equal multiplats. The first for a Sony console.

This post sounds like Sony PR, I know, but they're nailing it on all fronts this time. I didn't talk about the Wii U because it's the Wii U.

Well, I look at a lot of things. For example, the reason why I bought the original Xbox was because I live in Sonyland and PlayStations are easily available to me thanks to friends and relatives. So if I wanted to check out the Xbox, I had to buy it myself. There were games that I was interested in so I took a gamble and it payed off. I thought that the system had a healthy number of games that really resonated with me (for a console).

I bought the Xbox 360 following similar reasoning. Everyone in my vicinity was buying a PS3 (so I knew I would get to check out any games I was interested in - however, it turned out there weren't many) and the 360 offered more games I was interested in. I was both pleased and slightly disappointed with the 360. It offered me a handful of good games, but nothing that really blew me away.

As for the upcoming generation, neither company appeals to me right now. Microsoft is focusing on control methods that are driving up the price, but more importantly, simply don't interest me. On the other hand, I'm really not a fan of Sony's staple of boring-ass studios and games. I haven't built a PC in 5 years, so that's easily a priority for me right now.

The main factor for me is past performance--the history. I look at the prior hardware's fared in regards to value, software support (through entirety of lifecycle), reliability, and versatility.

I wait and then i check the exclusives out. If they don't interest me, or there's no upcoming title that interests me, i pass.

The games. Wii U's got the games I'm interested in, and no pay to play online, which is a big turn-off.

I don't want a console war discussion, i just really would want to know if people have any preferences when getting a new console. Is it the price, games, specs, apps, etc. Anything that in particular that stands out?

The_Last_Ride

It's simple for me. Multiplats I usually play on the PC. The deciding factor for which console to buy depended on the exclusives I liked. I loved the Uncharted games. So, it was PS3 for me. I didn't care much for console specs. 

The reason I'm getting a PS4 is because I trust the brand and I like the Sony exclusive games/developers. hrt_rulz01

It's performance and games available. I'm content with what the PS4 has over the XboxOne and that's why I'm getting one.

Games and games alone. More specifically I go with Square-Enix and Naughtydog. So PS4 has FFXIV: ARR and Naughtydog games. Sucker punch is getting up there in rank as well but not yet a determining factor for me.

[QUOTE="hrt_rulz01"]The reason I'm getting a PS4 is because I trust the brand and I like the Sony exclusive games/developers. CleanB

nintendo has always been the console of choice but since ps2 era ive owned all three major consoles so really theres no decision unless two release around the same time at which point i just get what i didnt get at launch for my bday which in this case and last gen its the playstation

As I always did... games.

Would any of you guys buy a console based on apps?The_Last_Ride

I would be more likely to avoid one based on apps. I already have an iPad and an iPhone, neither of which gets any attention when I am in the vicinity of a game console. I am in this for the games for the most part. 

Games and price are my preferences. But primarily games/exclusives. I want something good to play first. I'll be buying a PS4 later down the road, when hopefully there will have been a price cut of some sort and a larger game library. There's just no way I'm going to forget the BS that MS initially pulled, so no XB1 for me even though I will miss Forza pretty bad. 

[QUOTE="The_Last_Ride"]Would any of you guys buy a console based on apps?Shame-usBlackley

I would be more likely to avoid one based on apps. I already have an iPad and an iPhone, neither of which gets any attention when I am in the vicinity of a game console. I am in this for the games for the most part. 

It's very simple for me - I buy all consoles.

Each and every console has something that I cannot experience elsewhere.  In order to not miss out on any gaming experiences, it is absolutely necessary for me to own each and every console.

The upcoming generation will be no different.  I already have Wii U, and I have both PS4 and XBO Day One Edition pre-ordered and paid-off, ready to go upon their release. 

That's not to say I value each console as much as another.  I definitely have my go to console, but I still play them all.  If I was forced to choose only one it would be a pretty easy decision which one it would be.