I'm Not an Apple Fanboy, But...

It's that time of year again.

It's the time of year when Apple unveils the newest version of the vastly popular iPhone, and I, for one, am excited.  Like many, my phone purchasing is dictated by when my carrier contract is up, and at this point my iPhone 4s is starting to show its age a little bit.  Frankly, I want to see what it is I will be buying next, and barring something catastrophic, I will get to see it tomorrow.

There are many who will simply buy the next iPhone on faith because it's the newest phone from Apple.  While I like Apple products (I have an iPhone and I'm on my second iPad), I don't think I have any blind devotion to them or their products.  In fact, there are some ways that the iPhone is demonstrably inferior to its Android counterparts.  For instance, if you want a big screen, a longer batter life, widgets of any kind or to be completely free of iTunes, you're getting an Android phone.  Truth be told, all of those things appeal to me.  The Galaxy S4 is, frankly, the most appealing form-factor I've seen in the mobile space.  But they're not enough to overcome the biggest advantages that the iPhone has, in my opinion.

Advantage 1: Android suffers from a serious over-stratification of its user-base.  There are simply too many hardware and software configurations.  My original smartphone was a Motorola Droid which I purchased almost as soon as it came out.  While the phone was a pleasure to use at first, it quickly became out-dated and under-powered compared to the newer, shinier phones.  Before too long, the phone felt old, slow and frustrating.  With dozens of Android phones using different versions of the Android OS, apps and games aren't necessarily going to be optimized for every hardware and software combination. It's entirely possible that the introduction of the rumored iPhone 5c will be a step down that same path, but even that would leave Apple with much less market segmentation than Android.  This leads right into the other advantage.

Advantage 2: When it comes to app development, iOS is often the primary platform, with Android playing second fiddle.  I know this isn't always the case.  In fact, I'm still waiting for the North American Soccer Netowrk iOS app to come from Android to iOS.  Still, it happens often enough for it to be of note to me.  This is especially true when it comes to games.  iOS may not be the leader in terms of market share, but it is the leader, from what I can tell, in terms of mind share.  That counts for something.

I don't love iPhone because it's Apple.  I prefer it because I've tried the alternative and didn't care for it.  Reasonable minds can differ on the iPhone versus Android debate.  In fact, I've recommended Android phones to people in the past.  As for me, iPhone presents the better package for me.  I don't NEED anything out of tomorrow's event other than a faster processor and more RAM for me to be purchasing my second iPhone in the next few weeks.  Sure, I'd like that bigger screen... but it's not worth what I'd have to give up.

I'm not opposed to switching back. I'm sure I will at some point, but for now, I'll stick with my Apple. 

E3 Throwdown... I Mean Massacre

There doesn't seem to be any doubt:  Sony won E3 2013

Whether it's the DRM, Kinect privacy concerns, or the tone-deaf response from Microsoft to consumer concerns about them, Microsoft dropped the ball.  Indeed, they seemed to have admitted that they screwed up when they nearly completely reversed their policies on DRM and online connectivity requirements within the week after announcing them.  The truth is, their biggest problem remains, and that's the ridiculous price point.

I'm not a hardware expert by any stretch of the imagination, but everything I've read indicates that the internals of the PS4 are superior to the X-Box One.  They're pretty similar, but the Playstation is using faster RAM, though it doesn't seem like the architecture of the respective systems will allow for an appreciable difference in the performance.  Still, if there's an edge to be given, that edge has to go to the PS4.  So, why is it the X-Box priced so much higher?  The answer is, of course, the Kinect.

Microsoft has a lot invested into the success of Kinect, and one can plausibly make the argument that part of the reason it wasn't utilized to its full potential on the X-Box 360 is that developers could not count on the player having one.  So, Kinect was relagated to quirky gimicks.  Microsoft is attempting to  learn a lesson from the past generation when it comes to fragmenting the player base, a mistake they made both with the Kinect and with the presence of a hard drive in the system.

The problem is that players have no reason to trust them.  I'm actually a huge believer in the potential of Kinect.  I think that there are lots of ways it could be used in ways that would appeal to hardcore gamers, but everything that they've done so far argues to the contrary.  In a way, the debacle of the X-Box one actually began with the poor implementation of the Kinect on the 360.

Microsoft is clearly excited about the Kinect and they want all of us to be to.  Gamers, for the most part, are not.  Gamers have no reason to trust that Microsoft will do anything worthwhile with the Kinect to the point where they're okay with being forced to shell out an extra $100 for the device.  Microsoft understandably wants the Kinect in as many homes as possible.  With the trust deficit they've created for themselves their path should be clear.  Microsoft should be eating the cost of the Kinect, not forcing their customers to do so.   Why should gamers pay for it?  Gamers don't believe in it... Microsoft does.

Sony learned its lessons from the mistakes they made with the PS3.  Clearly, Microsoft did not learn from Sony's mistakes.  Sony's strong showing leaves gamers like me with a clear and preferable alternative.  $400 isn't cheap, but it's a hell of a lot easier to swallow than $500, especially when at least $100 of that price is for something that has as much if not more of a chance of being a gimmick again than it does of being anything that adds to my gaming experience.  As a result, it looks like when I can finally afford to make the jump to the next generation, it will be time to retire my Gamertag and trade it in for a PSN ID.

A Little Self-Reflection

Someone asked me about my hobbies last week.  I was talking with someone of an older generation while I was at work.  He's not a co-worker, but someone I see frequently in a professional capacity.  We were talking about a project he was working on at home, and when he finished describing it, he politely asked me what type of hobbies I spend my spare time on.

I led off by saying that I'm a soccer fan.  I love to watch soccer and I enjoy playing in my indoor rec league.  After briefly talking about that, I found myself in an awkward situation.  The other hobby which I approach with any amount of passion these days is technology and video games, especially video games.  I love video games.  I love playing them and I love talking about them.  For some reason though, was afraid to admit it.

I don't understand why I feel this way.  I presume there are others that feel the same way that I do.  We're in a period when people who grew up with video games are entering the professional world and working with or under people who did not grow up with video games.  I don't generally have a problem talking about video games with people of a similar generation or people that I know like video games as well, but I think there's a fear on my part that there's an baseless judgments will be lumped into a stereotype based on my hobby. 

The truth is that the same thing happened in the last generation with comic books, and the generation before that with TV.  It's easy to see that from my perspective, and it's easy for me to see objectively that I've got nothing to be ashamed of.  There is plenty about the video game hobby to be proud of, and I actively try to avoid some of the more shameful aspects of the hobby (like internet flame wars).  I know it, but plenty of folks don't.  

This will end in one of three ways.  At some point, I may be comfortable enough and established enough as a professional that I won't have to care much about the opinions of others.  I may be around long enough to get to the point that the older generation retires and and the problem evolves out of existence like TV and comics before it.  The other option is that I have to hide in the shadows and wait for those moments when someone else I run into reveals him or herself as a gamer and I know that I can talk safely about the hobby with that person.  

It's entirely possible that all of these things will come to pass at some point.  As a post-script to my original story, I mentioned my video game hobby.  For my trouble, I was rewarded with a story from the person I was talking to about his long nights playing Goldeneye 64.  As gamers, we are becoming more and more the rule, not the exception.  Eventually, we may not feel any need to hide our hobby from the "adult" world.  The truth is, we don't NEED to and we SHOULDN'T feel like we need to.

The Next Gen is Almost Here

On Wednesday, Sony is poised to unveil the successor to its Playstation 3 and officially kick off the next generation of video game consoles.  No, the Wii U doesn't count.  I don't care what Nintendo fans say.  I'm not saying it's a bad system.  I'm just saying Nintendo has finally caught up to the current generation of console hardware.

If Sony's track record is any indication, they will set the bar high in terms of hardware specs.  We don't know what Sony is going to unveil on Wednesday, but I can pretty much promise that once Sony lets us have a look under the hood, even the most unreasonable of Nintendo fanboys will have no choice but to acknowledge that the Wii U simply doesn't stack up in the hardware department.

The next generation is here.  Nintendo has managed to leave themselves behind for the second generation in a row, not that it stopped them from being financially successful in the last generation.  What is clear is that they are doing their own thing.  They're not playing the same game as Microsoft and Sony.  Sony has decided to lead off on Wednesday.  What we don't know is what playbook they're working off of or how Microsoft will respond.

It's been a long time since we've had new consoles unveiled.  Wednesday's event is set to kick off an exciting year of cat and mouse between Sony and Microsoft.  My hope is that no matter which company claims victory, gamers are the ones who come out on top.