The price is right in the same ballpark as the Xbox 360 when it launched. The (HDD) version of the 360 was $399 in 2005, or $450 in today's dollars. The PS3 was $599, or $680 in today's dollars. So the $499 Xbox One is $50 more expensive than the 360, and almost $200 cheaper than the PS3. If you include the cost of the Kinect, the Xbox One is $100 cheaper than the Xbox 360 + Kinect combo when those products launched.

Regarding game sharing, Microsoft has a far superior setup to Sony, at least for someone like me who has broadband internet access. With the PS4, the idea of "sharing" games is limited to loaning the disc to another person. You have to transfer the physical media to another owner, during which time only the person you handed the disc to can play your game. It's not "sharing" -- it's "giving."

With the Xbox One, however, you can set up 10 people to be in your circle of friends. These friends will have access to your entire game collection, anytime, anywhere. You don't need to drop your copy of Forza 5 in the mail -- your friend in Boston can boot up his Xbox and play it at any time, while your friend in San Diego plays your copy of Halo 5. And you are truly "sharing" your game, in the sense that both you (the owner) and one of your friends can play a game at the same time. If you have a circle of friends, you can save 50% on the cost of your games if only half of you buy each title.

For me, that means that my wife and I can have two Xbox Ones hooked up to two TVs, but we will only need to purchase each game once. We bought two copies of Halo 3, Halo Reach, and Halo 4, but we'll only need to buy one copy of Halo 5.

This setup just blows me away and makes every connection requirement for the Xbox One more than worth it. It's like Steam, but with a big pile of communal games that friends from around the country can enjoy at no additional cost.

Graphics are an interesting issue because they improve so gradually. Halo 1 looks incredibly dated now, especially the human characters. Halo 4's characters are so realistic that they're standing at the edge of the uncanny valley. I think the next generation will see gradual improvements in graphics but leaps ahead in online interactions (the cloud) and immersive control schemes (the Kinect).

I find "console wars" pretty silly. I'm going to buy the products that are right for me, and I expect others to do the same. I will enjoy my Xbox One no less because someone else purchased a PS4.

There's an old anti-console war adage that we "play games, not systems." If you like the the software on the PS4, buy that. If you like the software on the Xbox One, buy that. I hope everyone enjoys their games and loves Destiny, regardless of which console you buy it for.