Why your friends will choose the console you buy

Owning the head space around the Call of Duty franchise is not just about selling units, it’s about selling bundles of units to entire communities of gamers.

[Yi-Long]

... so they won't be getting Xbox Live, and neither will I anymore.

[LackTrue4K]

"true that!!!
40+ friends/clan members are ready for the PS4"

[TopDudeMan]

I decided to just make friends on whatever platform I play on rather than try to stick to the same group of friends that I play with. It isn't hard to just do that. Plus, my real life friends mostly play shooters whereas my gaming friends play RPGs.

[RIP_Cell]

who said PS4 has free online?

[Swiftfox]

RIP_Cell may have asked a devils advocate question, but in this case there is merit.

We don't know if online gameplay will remain a free service of PSN on the PS4.

In an interview with Shuhei Yoshida back in February, he was asked if online play would remain free...
“We totally believe that we want to provide more functionality and more services and more content on the network. And so we are looking at how we are going to structure that. And we are not ready to talk about that.”

http://www.thesixthaxis.com...

This may just mean they are looking for ways to tier the new features with existing ones, but the fact remains there is no definite answer. I have yet to find confirmation from Sony to prove otherwise. If someone has found confirmation from Sony stating online gaming will remain a free service of PSN on PS4, please post it. =)

Hopefully, this situation will be positively addressed at E3.

[MysticStrummer]

My friends have never chosen what console I buy. They all bought 360s. I waited for PS3. Now they all have a PS3 and no 360. Who chose for who? ; )

[Kalowest]

I'm getting all next-gen systems!!!

[byeGollum]

I want them all too. . They'll all have games I want to play. .

[ltachiUchiha]

I kinda agree with the article but at the same time i think where microft got its momentum was from the year head start. 360 was alot cheaper then ps3. Also the ps3 was a pain in the azz for 3rd party studios to get a hang of and because the ps3 launched at an expensive price. All this is what lead the 360 to where its at now & rrod was a big factor too. Not trying to sound fanboyish because I own all the current gen systems but these were the reasons why microsoft did so well this current gen.

[JoGam]

Agreed.

[NYC_Gamer]

My plan is to buy both PS4 and XB1 for different software and hardware features

[ltachiUchiha]

Im kinda keen about microsoft right now but it could change but its up to them to make that decision. They either ignore us with just going on ahead with their bold plan or they can win us all back at e3 with what gamers want them to do. Its their choice.

[golding89]

That is exactly how i feel..only time will tell

[bub16]

i disagree. im slowing turning to a wii u fan! my friend and this community hate me for it!

ill be playing alone :(

[PigPen]

If you buy this game for the Wii U, I'll play with you.

[TwistedMetal]

ill play with myself like i do every night. it just feels so good to play with my wii

[PigPen]

I was talking online.

[MisfitsInc]

im rocking with Sony. M$ has too many hidden fees and BS when it comes to their console

[gtxgamer2]

I convince my friends to get the console I buy, I just show them how fun it is when I play then let them enjoy it until they want one themselves. Can't wait for ps4

[PigPen]

That's not true at all. I can have friends that play on other consoles. I buy my console(s) for me for the games I like to play.

[BeZdaBest]

all my friends have ps3 for COD (which i dont play MUCH)(literally like 3 hours a week)...but i like to branch out to other systems when the games are ripe..

[FITgamer]

Not true, Im going PS4. Majority of my real life friends are COD whores who own PS3's now, but say they are gonna by X1 because "im not waiting an extra month for map packs" Which personally i think buying a console just so you can get dlc early is a noob move. I hate using the word "noob", but it seemed appropriate to use with COD. Anyways personally waiting never bothered me, there are plenty of other games to occupy that month wait, also COD dlc for the most part is usually disappointing. I also have friends who are casual gamers and also have kids who think the Kinect looks cool, but didn't really understand DRM or the used game thing when i tried to explain it to them. They'll end up buying the X1 and be pissed off later, and i have a feeling there will be alot of people in that same situation.

[dethpuck]

I'm getting both consoles. All my friend have Xbox or both consoles. Can't wait for bf4 on x1 with my friends

[kingmushroom]

I'm getting a PS4 day 1 and since most of my friends have Xbox and I refuse to buy one, Their all making the switch and some might have the two

[avengers1978]

A majority of my friends are playstation only gamers, but there are some that are 360 only, and some that are PC only, and a few that have everything. And a lot of my friends are not the people I play online with the most, so I'm not sure it matters that much.

Long live play

[jon1234]

my friends can go suck it

[generalthadeape]

Bubble for making me smile!

[NegativeCreepWA]

I'll probably do the same thing I did this gen, buy a X1 first and buy a PS4 after the first price drop, also it'll have a few good exclusives out by then.

Three things will influence me to buy a X1 first.
1. I prefer MS controllers
2. I love XBL and the features it has(which I'm sure will only get better.
3. Most of my on and offline friends will have the X1 first, mutli-player games are always better with friends.

[Neko_Mega]

Most of my friends aren't getting next gen consoles until the Slim models come out or cheaper ones.

I can't wait that long on PS4, Xbox One I can because whats been said so far (plus I only like Halo, Gears and the Fable games that aren't using Kinect).

One of my friends was mad at me for planing on getting BF4 for PS4 an not PS3, I don't really care because their is a chance that we can play online because it might be on the same servers. I don't really care, plus getting a next gen console before my friends means that they be coming over to party, drink and play games on the next gen console (well on my console XD).

[generalthadeape]

I can see the problem with you upgrading to the PS4 which leaves all of your friends behind.

That is something I want to avoid, too.

This is something that adds to the equation because we all have to decide which version of a game to buy even if the game is on the same brand-- (Microsoft Xbox 360 / Xbox One or Sony PS3 / PS4).

I'm an early adopter when it comes to video games but I really like playing games with my son who lives out of state.

I suppose in the long run that I'll have both the PS3 and the PS4-- until he gets one.

I have a strange feeling that this will be what makes me end up buying a PS4 for him in the near future.

Please don't make these things too expensive Sony-- we have to get as many PS4s in the hands of gamers as we can-- the best way to do that is to make your system "affordable".

[byeGollum]

I'll need, at the very least, two of the three new consoles. Chances are, PS4 and the ONE.

[andrewer]

What about getting your own opinion over just going with the wave?

[Sketchy_Galore]

I have a few people I play with that I've met through playing but as for actual day to day friends the closest I have to a gamer is a guy who only plays sports games and another who only ever bought Call of duty 4 and now claims that he's 'grown out of' videogames.

[jon1234]

slap your "mature" friend for me

[danny818]

All my friends switched to pc gaming. I think i might give pc gaming a try if the ps4 and X1 implement hardcore online restrictions and that games drm crap

[sway_z]

Are you serious?

Immature gamers maybe, but mature gamers have their own minds...everything I purchase is my own choice and decision.

Younger people are more likely to be influenced by their peers. I'll be purchasing PS4 whether my friends on PSN do or don't.

Example

I had a 360 since it's launch back in 2005..I built up a good list of dedicated gamer friends and a very high gamerscore. After my 360 let me down for the last time I sold it and stuck with my PS3, also purchased at launch.

@RinkyDinkyDan

I lost a lot of my COD TDM/CTF friends from XBL, but if you're sociable, you can rebuild that friends list on any platform.

[OldDanNew]

Fair enough point, and I agree to an extent, but for that (large) population of players who are only interested in their annual fixes of Madden/ CoD, don't you think it's a consideration.

Personally I will go where the best games are, but that's not always the case! :)

[rainslacker]

In the case of the people that the article is talking about, the truth is, they will likely buy the system their friends own. This is because they want to play with their friends, not because of any brand loyalty, or addiction to a particular game. It's the same reason they would buy a particular game...to play with their friends. So it really only takes one influential friend to steer the group, and if say that influential friend is big into COD DLC, or a xbot, then X1 it is. Sure we could find examples to use for PS4 too, so it's not really a console thing.

It's more about spending time with your friends than it is about the console.

[generalthadeape]

I started out with the old white Xbox 360-- never had a problem with it except the disc tray stopped opening unless I smacked it.

I then bought PS3 "fatty". Out of all my friends, I was the only one except for my grown up son who lives in Michigan.
Online play was virtually zero during that period of my gaming life.

I then got an Xbox 360 "slim" model and enjoyed playing with all my friends on that machine. In fact, my other two sons bought Xbox 360 and we all played Halo 4 together several times.

After hearing what Microsoft has up their sleeves this time for the Xbox One-- I decided now was the time to "retire" my Xbox Live gamertag and to get on board with PS3. During the last week or so, I pondered the idea but wasn't ready to commit.

Since I was getting close to 60,000 gamerscore, I thought now might be the perfect time to do it. Playing through Gears of War Judgement two days ago, I quickly calculated which achievements I would need to unlock to make that happen.

I eventually decided to get that idea out of my head and just play my 360 for fun.

Then it happened-- one achievement unlocked for a modest score of a few points & then the other. Amazingly, they both added up to what I needed to get exactly 60,000 gamerscore-- this must've been a sign from God!

Yesterday, I bought a PS3 "superslim". I think it's kind of cheesy the way the disc door slides open and the overall feel is nothing more than "plasticky"-- but once I set everything up, it played very nicely on my setup.

The system came with Uncharted 3 and my son in Michigan talked me into buying Black Ops 2 and a decent headset so we could play online together. I really like not having to pay for Xbox Live anymore and it was fun talking to him about gaming since he's been away for so many years now.

After playing several hours on the PS3, I sent my son a message saying my thumbs hurt from pushing the left stick down to run and I was ready to go to bed. He then replied back, "You are a wuss if your thumbs hurt & the PS3 is the best system out there yet." He also warned me, "You better not sell this one!"

I'm sitting here now with 2 Xbox 360s and a PS3-- wondering if I will ever turn on my 360 other than to stream movies from my PC to the 360 onto my TV screen. I'm also doubting that I'll ever log on to Xbox Live again.

Several of my friends are avid gamers that I met online in other video game forums several years ago-- all of them are my friends on Xbox Live-- not one of them has said that they are going to buy an Xbox One. Instead, they are seriously contemplating the PS4 as their next "system of choice".

So, Microsoft-- beware! Some of your most loyal customers are watching you closely to see how your anti-consumer / privacy policies will play out in the next few months. Please keep in mind that our prior tireless devotion to the Xbox 360 is not unwavering. In our eyes, the Xbox One Is NOT the same as the Xbox 360-- it's not even close. We WILL choose Playstation 4 over Xbox One if you fail to heed our warnings.

[OldDanNew]

I am in this camp too. LOVE the 360, probably the best console I have ever owned, but the story you tell rings true to me too.

[jacksonmichael]

None of my friends have a Sega Saturn...

[rainslacker]

I have a Sega Saturn...2 of them so I can be your friend x 2.:)

[Hicken]

Not necessarily. Granted, it helps that all my friends- save one- see how ridiculous the XBOne is and aren't planning on buying it(there's one that IS, but she still sees how silly it is, oddly enough), but they won't be buying the PS4 because I'm buying it.

Rather, we're all buying it because our interests in games, what we expect from gaming consoles, and what we wish for the industry all mesh. Hell, most of my friends are people I know BECAUSE we're gamers, so that's not much of a surprise. But it's nothing to do with buying one thing because everyone else has it, or them buying something because I have it.

[TKCMuzzer]

I should think so.....after all they all watched the Xbox one reveal as well as myself. They already play mostly on the PS3 and have seen nothing that will change their mind.

(of course, they will ultimately make up their own minds)

Not sure about my brother though, he's a 360 man....but you never know.

[_LarZen_]

Fek em, im going with the console made by gamers for gamers. And that dont have evil DRM.

[ElitaStorm]

iam going to tell my friends that i will buy Call of Duty: Intelligent Fishs for the ps4 so they all buy for the ps4

that is what i have always done

[SOULJER]

All my friends are straight baller's. Hi-tech everything so it's the PS4 for consoles. I already have a pimp out PC rig.

[EazyC]

44 comments and only degrees?

Its freezing in here!

[whamlollypop7]

I'm sure most Xbox users will upgrade and I'm sure most Play Station will upgrade, both groups will follow along party lines. Sure there will be cross overs but I think the next gen is going to be similar to the one we are currently in.

[Blackcanary]

All my friends are getting the PS4 and even if they didn't i would still buy the PS4.