So, E3 is wrapping up and the internet has been buzzing with new information about everyone’s favorite upcoming titles, the latest developments in the next gen consoles and discussions are taking place online virtually everywhere about whatever caught anyone’s eye. The big talk of this week is the Xbox One vs the Playstation 4. Both Sony and Microsoft have had opportunities to both make an initial announcement on the existence of their console as well as some of the details to get the rumor mill rolling, but after this week we know have a fairly concrete idea of what we’re going to get out of the box. The Xbox One has been receiving a lot of flak over the last week. Microsoft opted to be the first to set the bar by kicking off E3 on early Monday. While Microsoft’s conference in and of itself was not all that bad and they demoed some very interesting new games and technology, it was the tiny details that hurt Microsoft. Already coming off of what many felt an admittedly lousy start from their announcement a few weeks ago (such as the negative reactions to the always-online requirement and used game market DRM), Microsoft had a lot to of ground to make up for in the spotlight; and when the time came the internet piranhas tore them to shreds.   The gaming community was not pleased to see this interview. Don Mattrick’s now-famous line “We have an offline device, it’s called the Xbox 360” has been blogged about all over the tubes within hours. Meanwhile, Sony was slated to be last up on the main E3 platform Monday evening and completely stole the show by capitalizing on the golden opportunities Microsoft had laid out for them (I...

Last week, Microsoft finally unveiled its official entry into the 2013 console war: The Xbox One in an hour-long presentation streamed online. Being a hardcore gamer at heart, even though most of my PC (GOGO PC MASTER RACE) I still have a nerdy obligation to see what the next generation of consoles is going to bring. Xbox has been my primary gaming console for over a decade now. As much as I love PC gaming, there are some console-exclusive titles and even some games that just flat-out run better on a console. Part of me had high hopes for the Xbox One, even if only from the standpoint of “Yay, all of the PC ports will be slightly better now!” I feel like this video sums up the reveal quite nicely: TV, TV, TV, Calladuty, Calladuty, Calladuty, Sports, Sport Sports. The Xbox One is covering me in mainstream. Being a PC gamer who really only ever got into IT because of my interest in the “bleeding edge” of technology, this reveal really didn’t speak to me – which from a raw, pragmatic standpoint makes sense: I am not the mainstream. I am by most definitions of the word a video game “hipster.” …But so are many of the folks in online communities that are going to be taking a very hard look at their new product. Gamers want to play games on their gaming console, not watch TV while holding onto a controller. They want to see new and exciting IPs, impressive leaps in technology and graphics, innovative gameplay and all the other exciting buzzwords that you see floating around when someone is truly blown away. In my experience, this has not been the case with the Xbox One. Instead, it’s received a lot of...