Xbox One:
My opinion of the reveal is that the console has some amazing potential, but the presentation, in terms of addressing specific issues amongst hardcore gamers, was poor. Instead of addressing the 2 main issues (1. Always on/Internet 2. Used games) from the gaming community with a clear message during the main presentation, Microsoft found themselves giving inconsistent answers from different Microsoft reps to different media outlets after the presentation... leading to a PR disaster amongst the hardcore gaming community.
What I've cobbled together:
1. Always on/Internet - The Xbox One will be in some low power state when not in use. With no information as to exactly how much power this state will draw it's hard to have an opinion either way. But, everywhere I look in my house I already have devices that do this (clocks, computers in sleep mode, anything with an led light, etc.) so I'm not really concerned about the power issue. And I'm choosing to ignore any privacy concerns about the Kinect camera being always "on" for the time being.
As for the internet requirement. I'm still not sure what this means. I have a Directv subscription for satellite tv that also "requires" a daily internet connection, but has never been hooked up to the internet since acquiring it years ago. It means I can never use the pay-per-view movie feature, but watching tv programming has never been interrupted. So will the Xbox One require daily internet access to just play games? Or will not having internet just disable non-gaming features? Microsoft did not present enough information.
2. Used games - After listening to publishers and console makers decry the rise in used games over the last 15 years or so (billions of dollars lost to a secondary market every year) I'm not surprised at steps being taken to bring that money back to the publishers and console makers. The news so far is that a license fee would be required to play any game. New copies include the license, whereas used copies would require a purchase of a license. If the license fee is high (like the cost of a new game), then this essentially eliminates any value in a used game.
Good news for the developers of games, they'll no longer be missing out on profits lost to used games sales. Possibly bad news for consumers as there will be little or no opportunity to trade-in games as used games may have no value without a "new" license. (I did read that friends can still borrow games amongst each other with no license to be paid as long as you are willing to let your friend have your account details to play the game.)
Overall, it gives game developers and Microsoft a more direct relationship with the consumer which I think will be a good thing if done right.
Now, outside of these unknowns, I'm surprised by how poorly the gaming community received the console hardware itself. To me, it looked pretty awesome. Pushing the transition away from the physical medium is the way to go. And I can imagine how terrific the Xbox One can be a few years from now when Microsoft has developed the content partnerships to allow everyone to use one seamless interface for all games/music/movies/TV/internet/etc.
Overall, I was really happy with what Microsoft showed. The controllers look to be improved exactly as I wanted (fixed D-pad, removal of stupid giant guide button) and got some extras I didn't know I wanted (individual trigger feedback, better balance/weight). Kinect 2.0 looks to be a great improvement over the original which gets used a lot in my house, although mostly by the kids or for watching video. I use it for games where it's more subtly implemented (Skyrim, Mass Effect, Fifa) and I really enjoy it when it works so I have high hopes.
I'm glad Microsoft ditched showing a bunch of stupid game trailers and focused on the console itself, I'm tired of console reveals being nothing but CG trailers. I only want to see gameplay, or at least in-engine trailers. Whatever game announcements can wait until E3 when I can hear from the developers directly about their vision. Console exclusivity has gone the way of the dodo for major developers so I don't expect to hear any major 3rd party exclusives for either console (outside of silly timed exclusives).
Overall, it looks like there will be the same 3 choices for high-end gaming as there were the last time... Xbox, Playstation, and PC. (Sadly, I have no interest in the WiiU). We all know that the PC will have a clear hardware advantage a year after both consoles launch in terms of graphic fidelity and access to most of the AAA titles available on the consoles. Nothing new for the PC gamer there. So if you want to own a console, your choices are either PS4 or Xbox One.
I assume that by the time either console is actually available to purchase, we will all know about some key exclusives to either console, and how exactly the new control devices for each console will shape our enjoyment of gameplay. Until then, I'm not going to get really worked up over which console is "better" because there just isn't enough information.
I will say, that I highly doubt Sony will be able to match Microsoft's ambitions for the console OS itself. Microsoft certainly knows how to make an operating system and has a huge experience advantage over Sony in terms of existing partnerships with other entertainment mediums. Sony is no slouch, but I would be shocked if Sony isn't playing catch-up in that area. The Xbox One certainly looked a pretty sweet "toy" beyond just gaming.
