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Xbox ONE

I have recently purchased the newest version of Microsoft's gaming consoles, the Xbox One. This is a shift from my prior gaming system which was Sony's PS3. I loved PS3 and preferred it over Xbox 360 for many reasons. It was smarter looking, faster, could play Blu rays, good games and all my friends had PS3s. However the most like able thing about it was the free online game play that Microsoft does not allow. Things I did not appreciate in Sony were its user interface. The move bundle was a waste of money for all intent and purposes as I used it once in the past two years.
So this time around I decided to go with Microsoft's game console. The decision was not easy. Obviously PS4 has some good press out there and it is a step forward in technology. However now Xbox can play blu rays too. Also now both consoles require a subscription service for online game play. This sort of made me feel like Sony didn't care for us anymore. I guess paying money might mean better experience but I am not sure about that given how Sony dealt with the security breach fiasco. 
The deal breaker for me was the no integration of other media into PS4 ecosystem. I mean if I am going to spend so much money I would like to have something that can integrate my TV watching habits in there. Play station just does not want to do that much. Also I was sorely disappointed by the move system. I say all this from a point of view of someone who is not a hardcore gamer. For those PS4 seems like an obvious choice. But I think for someone who is looking at a more integrated experience Xbox is a better choice. 
Well I was able to buy my console from Costco and was not disappointed. I think setting up the system was not all that difficult. The linear system just blows me off with its ability to recognize me the moment I enter the room. Thankfully when you buy from costco you get all the accessories with the machine and this means no last minute trips to the nearest store which in my case is about one hour of travel. 
The annoying part is the among an xbox live account and paying them money to even watch netflix. Without that membership you are not able to do anything with this console. So I went ahead and bought a three month deal. Costco again is the rescuer here as they have a discount offering on this. 
I was very easily able to set up my satellite tv with the console. Once live membership was up and dunning the console was able to display programming guide which looks so much better than what dish has to offer. The plus side is I can control my TV with voice commands. This process is quite smooth. Actually setting this up so that the gaming console controls both the dish and tv was very smooth and took about five seconds. 
I was able to use Skype and this offers a very real experience. Now instead of carrying the iPad everywhere and allocating one person as the cameraman we can all chat with family back home very easily. Kinect is able to follow and zoom in and out based on who is talking and interacting with it. For example if someone enters the larger frame the camera zooms out to get them into the frame and keeps on adjusting if people move around. This is such a great experience. 
Game play is good. I have only played CoD on it yet. No game play without disc yet. I did not try broadcasting gameplay yet and primarily because my gameplay is pretty pathetic. The new controller just is very different from PS six axis. 
All in all this is a good experience so far. 
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