Xbox One has more potential than 360 did for its time? You can't be serious. For starters, 360 wasn't utilizing underpowered hardware.
So you actually believe that potential and innovation comes squarely down to the hardware specs? That's so incredibly shortsighted. Specs are important, very important, but they are just one part of the larger equation on consoles today. The Xbox 360 brought serious improvements to Xbox Live and introduced things like achievements that have greatly impacted the industry as it now stands. The Xbox One, I honestly feel, purely on the basis of introducing free dedicated servers to all developers, has the potential to crush all of that. This move, to me, not just seems like a bigger deal than Xbox Live itself, it seems to me like it's going to finally complete with Xbox Live what Microsoft started on the original Xbox, and then supercharged on the Xbox 360.
And, really, a single look at Ryse: Son of Rome at launch tells you that the Xbox One hardware is by no means as underpowered as people would like to think. How does underpowered hardware create the most impressive looking game on either console at launch? I take underpowered to mean a system that will be incapable of blowing us away as a next gen system should. It is capable, it did it at launch, and it will do so numerous times this generation. Do people somehow think the Xbox One is in the same class as the Wii-U or something? While it may not be the most powerful next gen system, it undoubtedly passes the test.
And let's not pretend now like the Xbox 360 was universally praised as this monster, all powerful console at the time of release, or something that was widely viewed as better than the PS3, because that certainly was not the case. Hell, it isn't even the case
now. The Xbox 360 was seen as not having blu ray, but instead sticking to a last generation format such as DVD. The Xbox 360 was viewed as not being able to go the distance with the cell processor. Both things I just mentioned made people feel that the Xbox 360 would end up holding back the PS3. The Xbox 360 was also widely criticized for not including a built in hard drive in every unit. yet another thing people felt may hold back the PS3. This is from reading GAF. I haven't posted here for very long, but I've read many threads on both systems. In fact, I first started reading this site before the release of the 360. The Xbox 360, power wise, had to earn the respect it got, because it certainly wasn't easily given the benefit of the doubt. And it largely wasn't always necessarily because it was that much more powerful than the PS3, but because it got a year headstart on its competition and was simpler to develop for. The Xbox 360 benefitted from far more important things than just what was in the box. That headstart didn't just give developers valuable time to get use to and learn the system before the other two consoles were even on the market, it also gave the Xbox 360 time to build up a userbase that couldn't be so easily ignored, and also eventually led to the Xbox 360 getting equal treatment on major franchises that were once PlayStation exclusive. The price of the PS3 also played a not so insignificant part as well.
The Xbox One hardware is plenty sufficient for the kinds of next gen games we expect, and this has already been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt on day one. However, the Xbox One's potential as a system goes well beyond that as compared to the 360 or original Xbox. Kinect from day one on all systems matters, even if the use is subtle or even non-existent at times in games. The fact that everybody has one actually makes it worth a developer's effort if they take the time to do something interesting with it. The integration with the system makes the Xbox One a better console. The multi-tasking features of the system and the way it works with your television set top box is something that really matters a lot more than people realize. Just because it's a games console doesn't mean it can't also help entertain in other ways also while complimenting the other devices in your home. Anything that makes the Xbox One capable of doing things well beyond what was possible or even practical on the Xbox 360 is something that is an added value for the system, not an anchor. The Xbox One won't have any trouble being as good a gaming system or better than the 360 was because the Xbox One is still now benefitting from all the developer goodwill garnered by the Xbox 360. Even Kingdom Hearts and what was once named Final Fantasy versus 13 is coming to the Xbox One. The same also goes for the metal gear franchise. So, the Xbox One, as a gaming system, will be perfectly fine and actually has quite a bit less working against it than was the case for the huge uphill climb the Xbox 360 had to make.
When people say the Xbox 360 has more potential as a gaming machine than the Xbox One does, what does that even mean exactly? The Xbox One can do everything that the Xbox 360 could ever do, but better and faster, and it can also do things that the Xbox 360 could never dream of doing. But the Xbox One also brings with it a more feature rich system with a better, stronger xbox live (with the promise of many more games with dedicated servers) and many more possibilities, gaming as well as entertainment wise. Although there are some steps back in the entertainment area, so hopefully the Xbox One will eventually match or exceed the video streaming capabilities of the Xbox 360. That's the most impactful change from the 360 for me All other details, such as refinements that need to be made to the system as a whole (I'm guessing party chat is among them) will be made.
So while some people seem to prefer more that Microsoft had narrowed the scope of the Xbox One, I think I prefer a Microsoft that seems more ambitious and takes more of a risk. Their focus is on the entire experience, not just any one area. The games and other content (introducing various new ip in the process), the services and the features of the system, and better and closer integration with existing Microsoft products and services outside of more traditional xbox specific offerings. This is infinitely more exciting, innovative, and is definitely packing more overall potential than just a more powerful Xbox 360. No way in hell I trade away everything that the Xbox One currently is, and that it has the potential to be with the current list of features, just for a more powerful GPU.
Okay, all games 1080p, but you lose HDMI-in tv functionality, the one guide, Kinect and all associated system integrated features, even for things like game video uploads where you maybe decide you want to include yourself via picture in picture or something. Then, on another note (and this may not matter to some people), I'm hearing amazing things lately about the Xbox One fitness app from family and friends that now have an Xbox One or picked one up at launch, and they genuinely make it sound like one of the least talked about gems on the system. Everybody has their own view, but I wouldn't cast all this aside for a stronger GPU. Would I have liked a stronger GPU anyway, and for the same price with all the same features? Sure, fantastic, but that's not realistic.
