I'm getting one for christmas and from all the research/reading, it's made out to be that the xbox one is doomed, and it will become the "secondary" console of this generation. I know that it can't really do 1080p consistently, and is far behind the ps4 in sales. Should I worry about owning one of these things?

Nah, it will just be the more niche of the two consoles. There's going to be a bunch of worthwhile exclusives for the thing and if you are into Platinum Games like I am then Scalebound is a huge selling point.

It's certainly not doomed though, just like the PS3 wasn't doomed last generation.

Nah, there's nothing to worry about. Yes, the PS4 is the more powerful system, and while most multiplatform games do either look or preform better on it the difference is very slight. The biggest deciding factor in which console is better for you is where your friends play and which exclusives you're more interested in. 90% of all games will be multiplatform and will perform nearly identical on the XB1 as they do on a PS4. Unless all your gaming friends only have a PS4 or you're a huge Uncharted or Persona fan and can't stand Gears/Forza/Halo/etc. then you have nothing to worry about.

It came down to exclusives for me and I personally think Sony has the better team of first party developers with more entertaining games. The only exclusive I really like that Microsoft owns is Halo

It's mainly about the games really. I like to say that if you dig the exclusive first party properties on the Xbox One and don't require the Japanese titles already piling up on the PS4 release schedule (even ones that I go "wtf they're so going to lose money on localizing that" at) there's no need to worry.

I do understand the worries with how Microsoft put all their cards on the table at every E3 and Sony just keep delivering, worries may rise at CES in just under a month again.

It's far to early to rule out the Xbox one or call it doomed. People said that about the WiiU most of last year and it rocked this year! So next year is probably going to be awesome for Microsoft. They're going to see they're short comings, buckle down and put out some good bloody games!

If you have a specific reason for really wanting it for christmas(aka friends all have it or w/e) then it shouldn't matter, if not if I were you I would be thinking if I care enough about it for that to be a big xmas gift rather than something else.

I don't know that we have any hard numbers yet, but it sounds like the Xbox One has been selling well this holiday season.

I think the Xbox One will be fine for the foreseeable future. Obviously, I can't imagine it being the lead platform for much of anything this gen and it'll still lack a lot of support from most Japanese devs, but I wouldn't say it's in trouble. They have exclusives, major 3rd party support, indies (I think?), most if not all of the apps you'll need, etc. I mean, until you start seeing headlines like "Xbox Ones literally catching fire while trying to run latest AAA games," I don't think there;s much reason to worry.

Both consoles are outpacing their previous iterations pretty significantly, so it's not like it's in any trouble in that regard. It might be the second place consoles for sales, but that's usually a pretty good thing for the consumer anyway. You might as well have your company fighting for you rather than the company that gets to coast.

Its just the second year duder .... dont worry (even if I hate the damn Microsoft guys and bullcrap they tried to pull off) , theres still much time for both consoles to get better stuff and excluives begins to hit the market (and I mean real exclusives like Halo etc.)

@corevi: The PS3 outsold the Xbox 360

It will be fine. I don't think it will surpass the PS4 in total sales, but it will do well enough on its own for third parties to publish games on it.

To be honest, the Wii U makes a better "secondary" console since it has more exclusives worth playing and very little third party support that you'd play on either PS4 or Xbox One.

Even if it is the "secondary console' this generation that doesn't mean it won't be a great system. I don't even own one and I think it will have a good generation with how it is going so far. PS3 was easily the secondary console of last gen and it still has a stellar line up of games.

@mattthadude: I don't think it's doomed, you just might have a different experience. So far the PS4 plays games well but it does everything else so poorly. I'm always surprised by how much flack the XB1 dashboard gets, but I never hear anyone mention how bad the XMB on the PS4 is at times. Currently there are actually a few more games I'm excited about on the XB1 than the PS4.

@humanity: I don't think the new XMB is perfect, but I personally think it is better than the Xbox One UI. That might be a reason it gets more flack, since the only thing I'd complain about the XMB is that the library should be stickied to the beginning of that list.

By the end of this generation there's every chance the Xbox one will outsell the PS4.

No knock-out blows have been landed by anybody yet.

The XBox One is selling just fine. It's not the highest seller, but not being the highest seller doesn't mean it's not a success.

It'll be fine. People need to relax.

@sergio: it takes forever to receive messages - this is my biggest complaint. Everything to do with the PSN loads in very slow

The Xbox is selling just fine and the graphical differences are nothing compared to, say, the original Xbox and PS2. More games than ever are multiplatform and while you will definitely miss out of a little more indie stuff by going green Xbox has plenty of exclusives too.

I have an Xbox One and a PS4 and play the Xbox One more. So far it has the better exclusives of this generation (At least in big budget stuff) and the multiplatform differences tend to be minor. If you're obsessed with resolution and frame rate then you might be better off with a PS4, but what you really want is a PC. Meanwhile the Xbox One has Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive. They're both great, and great-looking, exclusive games. And it has good versions of all the big multi-plat stuff as well. So if your concern is "will I own the secondary console of this generation" then maybe you should be worried, but that's an odd thing to worry about if you're buying a console rather than investing in stock. If your concern is "Will I be able to have fun with this console or will it be like the Atari Jaguar of its generation?" you have nothing to worry about.

No
: )

It might be worth asking yourself whether you're willing to put up with the graphical differences between an XBone and a high end PC, but the differences between the XBone and a PS4 are nothing to write home about. Also, there are some good PS4 exclusives down the road, but at this point the Xbox has a much better set.

@humanity: It isn't fantastic, but also isn't trying to take over your living room. The XB1 is positioned as an all in one, so there is a greater expectation for a device that does everything to be more pleasant to work with.

Part of the usability of the device went away with Kinect (if it worked well) .

@tuxfool: I don't know, giving you options and trying to take over your living room are two different things in my opinion. Also unless you're really strapped for cash, in which case you probably shouldn't be spending money on a video game console anyway, then I don't see why anyone would buy the XB1 without the Kinect. Even if you don't want to play Kinect games it does seem like it's part of the package.

Like a lot of people have said already, if you are fanatical about graphics then you really should be playing on a powerful PC. The differences between PS4 and Xbox One have been small so far, and I've been buying multiplatform games on the Xbox One just because I prefer the controller and UI. Sales don't really mean shit as long as the games are good enough. The Dreamcast, GameCube, original Xbox etc. were all great consoles no matter how well they sold.

No, you shouldn't be worried. The Xbox One had a rocky launch, but MS backed the console in a huge way by making some consumer-friendly changes and pricing it more aggressively. Any concerns that the console could be a failure should have disappeared then. MS proved that they won't let it fail. As mentioned above, all indications are that they're selling really well this holiday season due to the moves MS made. It's a very good console that only continues to get better and more successful.

I have one without the Kinect, before the UI update it was pretty nightmarish to get around the system but they fixed most of that, now if only the settings menu wasn't hard to get to/not complete shit.

But honestly I could care less the Kinect just isn't very good. And yes I was strapped for cash but I'd rather spend that 100 bucks on a game and lunch.

How to get to the settings menu:

1. Press menu button (start button)

2. Scroll down to "Settings"

3. Press A

@mattthadude: I've been kinda going through the same thinking lately. I was set on a Ps4 but then I saw sunset overdrive and scalebound and those are both games I really want to play. As a huge ratchet fan I've been drooling over sunset.

In a similar kind of boat where there's games I wanna play on both sides

Yes you should be worried. Unless theres an Xbox exclusive you know of that you want to play theres no reason to buy Xbone instead of PS4.

i would say that at this point it kinda does not matter what console you get unless you talk exclusives. there are a few points against it and for it. so if you have no preference then i think its pretty much a toss up

I'm actually feeling a lot better about my xbox one after the terrible year Sony had. Back when it came out, I was sort of regretting not being able to play Infamous 'cus it looked so nice, but that game was pretty quickly forgotten. Really the only thing that I feel like I'm missing out on is The Tomorrow Children.

Both consoles are absolutely worth getting. They'll both have the biggest games released on them and, for the most part, are generally the same device. The Xbone tends to do better at in home streaming and connectivity while the PS4 seems quicker at system processes and menus. Neither console will disappoint you and unless something major happens neither will be the "secondary" console like the WiiU sort of is.

Agreed and that's actually a really great thing. We should want these two companies to be in a heated competition for market dominance. Consumers win.

XB1 will be fine. I have both and play far more on xbox cuz of friends. But I can't wait to play No Man's Sky. 0.0

You really think a console backed by one of the most powerful companies (in our industry) in the country is "doomed?" Don't fall for that nonsense. Sure, it's losing the sales battle to Sony, the PS3 suffered the same fate last generation. However, the PS3 was a solid system with plenty of exclusives to make it a worthwhile purchase.

Still way too early to call

It'll be fine.

Lol no.

Personally I use my Xbox One almost exclusively for almost everything at this point and my Wii U has been gathering dust.

Worry? No need for that, because it will be okay. Oh, it very well may be the 'secondary' system this generation. But so what. Someone has to be second, third or fourth sometimes in these contests of sales. Games will come out for it, and it will be supported for the entire generation.

Now, if you want something else - well don't open it - return it if you wish. However, if you still would like to have it, well no worries because it will have enough support.

Yeah, that was announced Jan. 2013, a full six years after the release of the console. The first couple of years were a bit rocky for the PS3.

I wouldn't be surprised if the XBO overstepped the PS4 in a few years, it made a nice recovery in 1 years time.

At this point, no. When it launched, yes! 100 times yes!

There's absolutely no chance that the xbox one will outsell the ps4 worldwide. The reason the ps3 was able to recover and end up selling more is because PlayStation is a bigger brand worldwide. MS only sells well in the US and UK and right now they're even behind in those regions. The PS4 is so far ahead already that even if MS catches up in those 2 regions it won't make much difference.

Dude, I bought a PS4 first and then an X1, and I'm more worried about the PS4 (and I have a Wii U, too). Seriously. Sony completely wasted a whole holiday (LBP3 and Drive Club are NOT holiday-quality releases to me), while Microsoft nailed it with a new IP (Sunset Overdrive), a great remake with incredible value, aside from network launch issues (Master Chief Collection), and a great racing sequel (Forza Horizon 2).

Next year they've got good stuff in the pipeline, as does Sony. But the difference is that Microsoft is making tons of enterprise money and has loads in the coffers to sustain for awhile. Worst case, they spin off their Xbox division if it's losing too much, but I don't see that happening. Sony, meanwhile, is bleeding money, and their others product lines are failing to bring in enough revenue to sustain them long term. Sony as a whole is already in the financial panic zone, where as Microsoft isn't there nor are they getting there.

Don't worry.