With Halo 5 coming out very shortly I'm fully on the hype train, having been a Halo fangirl for a while. I didn't think that I'd be able to play it but I just came into a bit of surprise money and it's enough that I'm considering buying an Xbox One and having some left over.

But I'm not really sure if I want to spend that kind of money on what may just end up being a Halo Box for the house... I keep trying to think of what else the Xbox One has that I may be interested in but I'm finding that I actually don't know much about the system at all! The only games I know of are Halo 5, Quantum Break and Crackdown 3 at some point and of that list, Halo 5 is the only one that really stands out to me. I've already got a PS4 and zero friends with an Xbox One, and with the low amount of exclusives this gen I feel like my ps4 is enough already, on top of having a good gaming PC?

I'm not sure! Does anyone have any opinions to share on this? I don't really know anything about Microsoft's new Fun Machine and I'm wondering if it would be a smart purchase..

There are a few other exclusives: Forza, more Gears of War if anyone really wants that, whatever Scalebound is. Seems like you'd mainly be buying a $500 Halo machine, so it depends how much you like Halo, I guess.

Hey there, as the MS evangelist that I feel I'm becoming, I'll copy paste my reply to someone who was wondering the same thing a few weeks ago:

I won't talk trash about the PS4 but here is why I chose to keep my Xbox One and sold my PS4 after E3.

The obvious: Cheaper, more first Party titles for the last 3 Holidays and it seems like next year will be the same, the controller does things I didn't know was possible (Forza 6 blows my mind), the connection with windows 10 and next year emphasis on cross buy/cross play with PC, better online infrastructure and stability, monthly updates, preview program, the "one entertainment system" is actually true. Also... next year's line up is insane:

• Quantum Break
• Scalebound
• Re:Core
• Halo Wars 2
• Sea of Thieves
• Gears of War 4
• Inside
• Cuphead
• Below
• Crackdown 3

Now the less obvious:

Phil Spencer is someone I somehow fully trust ( not enough people like him runs big companies ) and MS seems to be really getting their shit together. Their vision for the future of windows devices and games is exactly what I expect and want. The strong desire to bring backward compatibility on the xbox one 2 years down the line is a strong sign that your current games will likely be compatible on the next console as well compared to Sony who is developing a streaming/subscription based service to solve that issue. The cloud... I always downplayed that aspect thinking it was just a "hype word", but seeing what Crackdown 3 seems to be doing is just unbelievable and just a glimpse of what is possible on that edge.

Hopefully, it helps you.

rare replay that is all.

@nashvilleskyline: what does the controller do? Do you mean the rumble in the triggers? I've never noticed this and I have forza 5 6 and horizon. And I have 2 controllers.

@cabbages: The amount of information conveyed through the controller because of all the rumblers, give the most impressive physical feedback from the car and the road I've ever seen. When you hit the brakes or when you hit the gas pedal, you can feel when you are loosing grip etc.
But, since you're probably used to use the controller, you sort of no longer perceive it. It's like, you don't notice it until it's no longer there kind of a situation. You also need to turn off the brake and gas "auto control". I don't know what it's called.

Ori and the blind forest is fantastic, nobody ever seems to mention that game. I really enjoyed Sunset Overdrive as well.

@cabbages: You can definitely feel tire traction on the road with the impulse triggers in all the new Forza games and its fantastic. I wish more games took advantage of it.

So, the Xbox One is my main console this generation, but I have both. I don't know how it is from the other side, because I barely use my PS4, but I can imagine it would be similar. I probably should not have bought both consoles. I played Bloodborne, and then haven't touched my PS4 since. I really want Halo 5 as well, so luckily I committed to the XB1, but I hope the same fate doesn't befall your second console.

As someone that seems to buy every console each generation it just comes down to if you think picking up 5-10 games within a console generation is worth it. My Wii U and Xbox One are side consoles that I will most likely only end up getting 10 or so games before the next consoles come out. At least in my case that was enough of a reason to pick them up when they were on sale.

Or instead of getting that expensive bundle just go buy a regular Xbox One plus the game.

I can't really answer that question for you. You just need to think really hard on whether or not you want to play the upcoming single player or exclusive games if you're just going to be playing multiplayer with your PS4 friends

I have them all and I never touch my Xbox One. I'm a crazy person, don't be like me.

@tavistavistavis: SO is great. Dead Rising 3 as well. The DLC was crap, but I loved the game.

I knew I would buy one this Christmas. I was eagerly watching the releases of their holiday bundles and I'll be buying the Tomb Raider one.

@colourful_hippie: Wow, I typed $500 without even thinking about it. I actually thought it was $400 like the other bundles. Why does it cost so much?

@teaoverlord: It's got the limited edition of Halo 5 and a TB HDD. I think it's still a crazy price considering that the thing doesn't even have a kinect

Dead Rising 3 is pretty good, and Scalebound looks great. Masterchief Collection is there too. Another big exclusive is Sunset Overdrive but that game is just so, so boring save for the boss battles. That's, uh, kinda it though. Quantum Break looks okay, but Alan Wake left a real sour taste in my mouth.

I dunno, there's probably gonna be a bunch of Halo games on Xbox One in the future, so if you really like the series I'd say it's probably worth it maybe?

also hi lina

I'm in a similar predicament in that my XB1 is currently just a Gears of War machine. I otherwise consider the XB1 to be a pretty bad console frankly, but dat gears

Plus it'll eventually get itself that sweet, sweet Backwards Compatability, and there's a number of interesting exclusives on the horizon which has helped tide me over my opinion that this console sucks. Only one USB port, and it's on the side??? Fuck is with that.

Obviously wait until the game comes out before making a decision (probably already knew that, but just a friendly reminder).

The only reason to buy a second console is so you have access to more exclusives. So, you have to see what the current/future lineup is on the console and decide whether it's worth the money or not. Personally, I'm fine with just my ps4 and don't have any reverence for any Microsoft exclusives. If its really just the one game, I lean towards telling you not to buy it and just wait for when the XB1 is cheaper.

You could always wait for The Master Chief Collection 2 ;)

I imagine MCC is more-or-less cleaned up at this point, so the 'Bone could get a lot of mileage as your go-to Halo Box. Also if back-compatibility kicks off, it could replace your 360. (And I hear 360s are machines that one generally has need to replace... >_> )

Personally, I bought into this generation to get a Killer Instinct Box -- which I haven't regretted yet, KI is super impressive and keeps getting better -- but I've never really liked Sony and I don't think the PS4 has anything substantial going for it over the One (I think visual flair in modern games is seriously overdone, so resolution and framerate certainly don't speak to me), so the One is my go-to console anyway.

I think most of the exclusives have been spoken to at this point, but I'm not seeing a lot of love for ReCore. Did you like Metroid Prime? ReCore seems to be the closest thing we're getting to a new Metroid Prime anytime soon, but also seems to do a bunch of new things.

It's also worth noting the pseudo-exclusivity of Rise of the Tomb Raider, that seems to've arisen from Square-Enix feeling the heat of publishing risky AAA games and deciding to get MS on-board as a publisher: it hits the One very soon, the PC in 6 months, and the PS4 a year from now, I think. Worth it if Uncharted-style games are your thing, I think -- or maybe it'll be more open-ended and less insufferably set-piecey, since it looks like they're expanding the game world and building more of a Far Cry-style upgrade system. (The Tomb Raider reboot is what convinced me never to play an Uncharted game, so this stuff is what's keeping me interested, but YMMV.

EDIT: also, Sunset Overdrive is great! Some of the amusing quips don't go over well if you're constantly expecting the game to be funny or something, and if you're a big narrative person you find the story a bit meandery and get hung up on that, but it's still a seriously underrated game.

@yummylee said:

There are two more on the back. I actually really like the port on the side because it's much more discrete than the two on the PS4, but I guess the utility of it depends on how and where you have the console set up.

Man, I totally forgot about them, primarily because they're so out of reach for me that they might as well not exist. There are other reasons as to why I dislike the XB1 anywhoo, such as the continued reliance on batteries for your controller, the messaging keypad is drastically inferior to the surprisingly intuitive PS4 one, the sluggish as shit interface, and everything to do with its video recording features is just Hell on Earth. Though this upcoming update in November will hopefully iron out a few things.

Also, funny story concerning the controller - it didn't come with a chargeable wire in the console. That's a nuisance in itself, but what was really nonsensical is how for me to plug in the pack-in headset, the controller itself needed to be updated... But it couldn't update unless it was plugged into the console. I was fortunately able to just use my PS4 wire, but it's still ridiculous that they didn't pack one in with the console itself.

So like, most of the early exclusives for the Xbox are out on PC now, and they're going to be pushing that "cross-buy" type thing for Windows 10, so I feel like you should give it another half-a-year or so to see just how that stuff all turns out. Might wind up being totally useless if you prefer playing 3rd party games on the PS4.

Also, if you can, try out the bumpers on an Xbox One controller. They're a huge problem for me, but others are fine with 'em. They're one of the main reasons I always wind up choosing PS4 versions of games.

@teddie: Quantum Break and Scalebound I can definitely see coming to PC, but Halo? I don't know. That seems really unlikely, despite Halo being on PC in the past.

I would wager that Gears 4 will probably stay an XB1 exclusive, too.

@yummylee: The ubiquity of micro-USB has become such that many manufacturers don't include the cable with their products. It'd be consumer friendly to include it, but as someone who's got two of those cables plugged into outlets and an extra five laying around all the time I didn't really miss it. I also think that the battery thing is largely a matter of taste. As a rechargeable-battery user I vastly prefer the Xbox One system, since every time my controller runs out of juice I can just swap fresh rechargeables in there without ever having to plug the controller in (outside of updating it). The Eneloops I'm using also last a lot longer than the native DualShock 4 batteries. I can easily get more than a week of game time from the Eneloops as opposed to maybe a day from the DualShock 4.

From what you've said, I don't think you should buy an Xbox One - at least not this year. You already have most of gaming covered simply by owning a PS4 and gaming PC. That leaves Xbox One exclusives that aren't coming to Steam already, specifically Microsoft's major franchises: Forza, Gears, Halo, Crackdown, and Fable. From the sounds of it, the only one that interests you is Halo. There are a few more exclusives that are new IP coming out next year, but I wouldn't suggest buying an Xbox One only to shelve it after you beat Halo until one of those maybe appeals to you.

I fell into the trap of getting one last holiday season because it was on sale and I got it with a couple of free games, including Sunset Overdrive. I play my Wii U more than the Xbox One because nothing has appealed to me. You're lucky that at least Halo 5 is appealing to you, but after that, you might be in the same boat as me: not bothering to power the thing on for almost a year except to check that the latest update has downloaded and installed.

I say wait another year. If there's more on the system that appeals to you, buy it then. You'll likely be able to pick up Halo 5 cheaper when you do.

I've been having the same internal struggle for awhile. I only have a Wii U and a gaming PC, but I REALLY have been wanting to play through the Halo games. Forza seems interesting too, but I'm not sure what else I'd be getting for that thing. Any cross-plats would be an immediate PC purchase. I rarely play my Wii U as is, and I'm kinda worried the same thing would happen to a potential Xbox purchase. Even though I really love Halo, and would probably end up playing Forza on top of it, I can't help but feeling like it's a bad idea.

It is a lot of money to swing, and generally I'd suggest that if you don't feel 100% about the purchase and have some misgivings about it, it's probably something you could forgo for awhile.