PHIL SPENCER'S THOUGHTS ON THE 'CONSOLE WARS'

Recently Phil Spencer of Xbox gave an interview with Gamespot and a piece about it can be found at www.exlgaming.com

Most of what he had to say is true - too much time is spent by gamers who argue about which console (or piece of plastic) is better rather than discussing the games themselves.

As Phil Spencer says console wars have raged since the time consoles began - but this is about expensive pieces of plastic. His job is to make the gamer proud of what the Xbox has to offer and give them an enjoyable experience.

To my mind the Xbox One was rushed out to beat Sony's Playstation 4 and with it came a bunch of defects that have yet to be fixed. I can play certain online games if I change the settings but if I do that then I lose out on other games and have to change those settings back again.

Also the Xbox One has no save data on the hard drive - so that is wandering lonely in a cloud somewhere. I have two games that just sit and 'sync' all the time but never load. Xbox customer care do not have a solution to this.

In fact Xbox customer care know about both the cloud and server issues so I am not alone in this. So, Phil Spencer, who wants gamers to have an enjoyable experience, needs to take a look at the problems and iron out the defects to make gamers proud.

In a recent survey I stated that I would never recommend the Xbox One to anyone is based on my experiences that one year on have yet to be resolved.

And, yes I know that many Xbox One owners will say that they don't have problems with their console but customer care does say something different. Loyalty to a brand is great just the same as we all do with a certain type of game. They say that a particular long running game is dead because it no longer delivers in the way it began. The developers continue in a certain direction because that is what is best for business - it is the same with consoles - even if they get it wrong they are all reliant on that loyal fan. Why? Because they know that their product will sell despite the naysayers.

Now the very experience that Phil Spencer would like me to have I do get from the Playstaion 4 and my Xbox 360.

The 360 is one of the first black Xbox consoles (the one before those with the in-built wi-fi) and is fitted with a wi-fi attachment. Never had a problem with it - never had the need to upgrade it. So I expected the same with the Xbox One. I still play on the 360 - quite a lot - because it is an excellent machine even though there is online lag from time to time. Let's face it no console is perfect - if it was then we wouldn't have anything to complain about.

So, yes, games are important as well.

As gamers we do dwell on what is wrong with a console. Last time around it was the Playstation 3 that was getting it in the next. All the rumours of the 'ring of death' and blu-ray problems but they got there, eventually.

I do not agree though with exclusivity. I find that it takes away my right to choose. If I want to play Forza titles or Gears Of War - or the new 'Rise Of The Tomb Raider' I have to have an Xbox One (though Tomb Raider will be on the 360 so that is not a problem). At the same time I might want to play 'Uncharted' series for which I would need a PS4 or Bayonetta 2 which can only be played on the Wii. But the Xbox and the PS4 are rivals and competitors who play out the game of my console is bigger and better than your console - and expect gamers like me to choose sides - then blame the gamers for doing the same.

I'm not so sure that I would want to wait for 'Backward Compatability' as I do not want to lose my 360 save data to disappear into some distant cloud.

To conclude I am not a 'fan' and way beyond being a 'boy' but I do enjoy a good gaming experience and that is one with good connectivity and a memory that can be accessed from the hard drive. I have two that does what it says on the tin and another that is close but still a wannabe. I know someone, though, who has the power to make me want to feel proud that I own that third console.

GAMESCON 2015

Watched the briefing for Gamescon 2015 that took place on Cologne, Germany this weekend. Lost count of the number of times that the phrases 'We are excited', 'Microsoft' and 'Windows 10' were mentioned.

Of the three games that were highlighted 'Quantum Break' and 'Crackdown 3' don't really appeal to me and the enthusiasm of the 'excited' developer/salesman did not really sell the product. As for 'Scalebound' this looked like a 'Devil May Cry' clone with added dragon and I did like the look of it.

The main thrust of the briefing was centred on the well plugged 'Windows 10'. Upshot and cut down to a rough single sentence means that you will need 'Windows 10' to use in conjunction with the Xbox One.
Well 'Windows 10' was on offer to download for free up to 29th July - though I believe that if you didn't pre-order then you will have to pay £99.99 for this upgrade (something that they didn't mention at the briefing).
My cousin had downloaded 'Windows 10' and his opinion is that it is a load of 'c..p'. Many others have decided not to take up the offer. We did try but we got an 'error' message so deleted everything and won't bother.

I have to admit that the one thing that really did get my interest was new 'Elite' controller. Being able to programme the controller to your needs and the way that you play games sounds almost perfect. Play 'Call Of Duty' multiplayer games with a hair trigger rather than having to depress that RT trigger all the way. With a normal controller you can only re-arrange buttons but to refine what that button does has to be a plus.

Other things that are coming to the Xbox One are free to view TV and later the ability to record one programme while watching another or playing a game. The people at Microsoft are 'excited' about this - but I have to wonder why. I have freeview and there are things like iPlayer - cable and satellite TV comes with a recording device - so why would having this sell an Xbox One to me?

The other thing that became repetitive on the next 'live' transmission was that a) fans were listened to and b) fans were enjoying this, that and the other. This latter with a sweeping gesture towards the hordes of gamers at the stands. Certainly, getting hands on to so many new games for free is a great thing - but once out of the hall and into the cold light of day that enthusiasm begins to go down. I always have a preference to play those games that I know and trust - anything new and I tend to watch in-store to see what gets an early trade-in. Then again I am always wary of the hype - if something sounds too good, then maybe it isn't.

Gamescon hasn't sold me on anything - not even the bald headed, middle aged bloke who tried to sound trendy by using words like 'stoked' - but there is always one or two things amongst the offerings. The Elite Controller and the first look at 'Rise Of The Tomb Raider' which has Lara Croft doing things (like using the landscape for cover) that should have been a part of the previous game. Will have to wait until next year for the PS4 version though.

The three programmes available via the Xbox are interesting if you can get past the 'big sell' for why you need 'Windows 10'.

XBOX DONE

For the past six months I have tried to find a 'fix' for my Xbox One. Some games just crash with a server error - server timed out - and the next message is that I need an active Xbox Live connection. I do have that connection because my Xbox One says so - there are no problems with either internet or multiplayer connection.

As my main problem was with Call Of Duty games the customer services bloke at Xbox Live was quick to point the finger at the developers Activision. Activision's customer services were really helpful - we went through various steps but none of them worked. Until they took a look at my Call Of Duty account and discovered that Xbox Live had not uploaded my full profile.

Back to Xbox Live who took me through the same steps that I had gone through with Activision but ignored the part where I told them that there was a problem with my profile - and, because I shared the Xbox One with my wife, she was experiencing the same problem.

However, this problem is not confined to Activision games, but with Bungie (both Halo and Destiny had connectivity problems) Microsoft/The Coalition with intermittent server probs on the Gears Of War beta; Microsoft/Turn 10 Forza Horizon 2.

Nor was I alone.

Last night I removed my profile.
All my Xbox One pre-orders have been cancelled.
Not sure what to do next - maybe the new PS4 1tb - the PS4 plays so much better and there are no connectivity issues.
Would I recommend the Xbox One to anybody - the simple answer is 'no' - because the cons outweigh the pros.
And, of course, most of my friends and family have ditched their Xbox Ones for the PS4.

After a long chat with Xbox Live I discovered that the problems that I have encountered are far more common than Xbox owners will admit. It appears that the servers for both B.T. (British Telecom) and Virgin Media have not been updated to cope with the new generation of consoles.