It’s been nearly two years since the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. With dozens of software updates and a price drop, choosing between the two is much harder than it was in 2013. So, we decided it was high time to compare them now that they have hit their stride.
The Contenders
If you’re looking for a console, you’re probably looking to decide between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (sorry Wii U, but you’re in a category of your own). Both are great overall, both have their disadvantages, and both have changed significantly since their launch.
- Xbox One ($499): Microsoft’s Xbox One had a bit of a rocky start sales-wise, but over the course of two years it’s turned itself around. For $499 you’ll get the console, a 500GB hard drive (though 1TB options are available for $549), a controller, headset, power cable, and HDMI cable. If you’re purchasing around the holidays, you’ll likely get a game packed in as well.
- PlayStation 4 ($479.95): Sony’s PlayStation 4 has been the leader in sales, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best. For around the same price as an Xbox One you’ll get a 500GB hard drive, a controller, power cable, HDMI cable, and headset. Like the Xbox, if you’re purchasing around the holidays, you’ll also probably get a packed in game.
There are countless things to compare between these two consoles, so let’s get to it.
The Basics
Before we dig into the specifics on each of these, let’s talk a bit more generally about each console. While many will want to sit around and argue about graphics comparisons between the two, we’ll skip that here. For most of us, the differences are impossible to notice. Or at least, without seeing them side-by-side, you’d never guess the differences between the two. Likewise, if you want the nitty-gritty on the hardware specifics from GPU share throughput to the CPU, this chart has you covered.
Xbox One
- Hardware: There’s no doubt about it: as far as consoles go, the Xbox One is pretty big. One half of the console is a vent, which means you can’t put anything on top of it. You’ll get three USB ports in the back of the console, as well as all the audio/visual hookups you’d expect. You also get component/composite out, which is how the Xbox One handles it’s cable TV capabilities (more on that later).
- Controllers ($79.95): If you’ve held an Xbox 360 controller, you know what to expect from the Xbox One controller’s basic form. The D-pad has been slightly improved this time around, but it’s still not optimal for any 2D games you might play. Weirdly, you’ll need to supply your own batteries for the wireless controller.
- Interface: The Xbox One’s interface is based off Windows 8, so if you’re familiar with that, you’ll be right at home. The dashboard has a ton of ads for various games and movies, though, so it’s often a little tricky to navigate. It feels more complex than it should be; you have to do a bit too much tapping around if you want to do something besides launch a game or app. You can move things around on the Xbox One to change how the dashboard looks, which is nice. All that said, the Xbox One is getting a design refresh to bring it up to Windows 10 standards in November, so hopefully they will iron out all the interface weirdness.
- Storage: The Xbox One comes standard with a 500GB hard drive, with a 1TB option also available. You can’t upgrade your hard drive, but external hard drives will work (thus the three USB ports in the back instead of just two for controllers).
- Game device streaming: The Xbox One can stream games from your Xbox One console to any Windows 10 PC on your home network. You cannot stream games the other way, from your PC to your Xbox One, unfortunately, but this is still a pretty cool feature.
PlayStation 4
- Hardware: Compared to the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 is a lot smaller. The two USB ports are on the front, and the fans are on the back, so you can set something on top of it if you need to.
- Controllers ($79.98): Sony’s trademark DualShock controller got a massive change for the PlayStation 4. It now includes a touch panel in the middle of the controller alongside an audio jack that hook into a headset or to stream a game’s audio to any pair of headphones. The buttons, heft, and feel have all been drastically improved. The controllers are rechargeable via USB, which means you can plug them into the console or any USB charger you have sitting around.
- Interface: In contrast to the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 interface is rather sparse. You get a main menu with recently played games and apps, and a second menu with most of your system tools. The sparsity makes it pretty easy to find what you’re looking for, though it does lack any customisation options for simple tasks like organising your game library or pinning certain apps to the front of the menu.
- Storage: The PlayStation 4 comes with a 500GB hard drive, but you can upgrade it to whatever capacity you want as long as the drive you pick is thinner than 9.5mm. Unlike the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 doesn’t support external hard drives. The hard drive upgrade process is stupidly simple though.
- Game device streaming: The PlayStation 4 can stream games to a PlayStation Vita, if you have one.
A lot of people will find the PlayStation 4 simple menu much more appealing, but if you like Windows 8, then you’ll like the Xbox One (though many still find the interface convoluted and impossible to use). An update this November will bring the interface more in line with Windows 10, hopefully making it easier to navigate.
As far as the little things go, each console has their benefits. Streaming audio to headphones through your PlayStation 4 controller is an awesome feature that I personally use all the time when I don’t want to annoy everyone around me, but not everyone is going to care about it. Streaming games from the Xbox One to a PC sounds great on paper, but not everyone’s going to have a use for that either. You can’t upgrade the Xbox One hard drive like you can on the PlayStation 4, which is annoying, but it also supports external hard drives, which the PlayStation 4 doesn’t.
The Games
These are gaming systems first and foremost, and the selection isn’t the same on both systems. Let’s take a look at some of the exclusives, some of the independent titles, and backwards compatibility options. This is very subjective, but we’ll try and take a small look at what’s available for each.
One note: when we talk about exclusivity here, we mean between Sony’s console and Microsoft’s. Many of these “exclusives” are also available on PC, the Xbox 360, mobile platforms, or the PlayStation Vita.
Xbox One
- Big name exclusives: Halo 5 (Oct. 27), Rise of the Tomb Raider (Nov. 10), Forza Motorsport 6, Gears of War Collection, Sunset Overdrive, Titanfall
- Big name independent exclusives: D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die, Killer Instinct, Ori and the Blind Forest
- Backwards compatibility: The Xbox One is rolling out limited Xbox 360 backwards compatibility for a number of titles in the Fall. It’s still a little unclear how limited the selection will be at launch. It sounds cool, but right now the list of compatible games is a joke (PDF).
PlayStation 4
- Big name exclusives: Bloodborne, Infamous Second Son, The Last of Us Remastered, MLB 15: The Show, The Order 1886, Until Dawn
- Big name independent titles: Helldivers, Talos Principle, Hotline Miami 2, Resogun, SOMA, Transistor, Journey
- Backwards compatibility: No direct backwards compatibility. Americans can stream a (admittedly big) library of PlayStation 3 games through Playstation Now for $US20/month, but this feature hasn’t come to Australia yet, and it’s an expensive option that’s rarely worth the price regardless.
If, for example, you’re a huge Halo fan, you’ll obviously go with the Xbox One over the PlayStation 4. Exclusives are the main deciding factor for most people in which consoles they choose, so if that’s an important thing to you, you’ve already made your choice.
But if we want to look at stats, Sony has 26 exclusive titles with a Metacritic score of 80 or higher, the Xbox One has 14. Metacritic isn’t exactly the best gauge of quality, but it does at least give a metric that helps us compare the two.
The PlayStation 4 gets the nod (and the Metacritic advantage) here because it has excelled in grabbing indie titles otherwise exclusive to PC. Many of these were well received, and you won’t go wrong with titles like SOMA, Journey, The Talos Principle, or Hotline Miami 2. If indies are your thing, grab a PlayStation 4.
However, if you skipped the last generation and want access to Xbox 360 games, the Xbox One’s backwards compatibility is a big deal, and could potentially turn the tide here, depending on how many titles they actually make compatible.
Of course, as these things tend to go, upcoming titles are just as important, so have a look at Kotaku’s list of upcoming games to help you make your choice. If all else fails, just go with what your friends have, because chances are you’ll want to play with them at some point.
Online Features
When it comes to online features, the Xbox 360 destroyed the PS3. Nowadays, things are a bit more even.
Xbox One
Xbox Live Gold costs $79.95 a year and gets you access to multiplayer, free games every month as long as you’re a subscriber, small discounts on games (usually a couple bucks off the sale price), and party chat options. Xbox Live Gold also includes streaming games to Twitch and similar services, group chats, cross-game chat, and various ways to share your media online. If you don’t pay for Xbox Live Gold, you still get access to video streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu, live TV features, and Skype.
PlayStation 4
Playstation Plus costs $69.95 a year and gets you access to multiplayer, free games every month as long as you’re a subscriber, online game save storage, discounts (usually a few bucks off new titles and a sale items), and video streaming options. Without a membership you can still play free-to-play games online and watch videos through any of the video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.
The PlayStation 4 makes some big improvements from the PS3 to keep it in line with Xbox Live Gold, including live broadcasting, party chat, cross-game chat, and a special “Share Play” feature that allows you to invite a friend to play via streaming even if they don’t own a copy of the game.
So, really, the two subscription services are nearly identical, but Playstation Plus costs $10 less.
Multimedia Features and Video Playback
Game consoles aren’t just for games anymore. They’re also multimedia boxes that can stream movies, play videos from your hard drive, and stream from across your home network.
Xbox One
- Streaming app selection: The Xbox One has a bunch of streaming video apps, including Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO Go. Beyond that, there are countless other apps for the Xbox One.
- DLNA Playback: Yes, via Media Player app
- Video playback: Supports MKV, MOV, AVI, MPEG-2, MP4, and WMV files
- Media remote: Yes and you can also use your phone
- Live TV: Yes, with cable or satellite access, you can use your Xbox as an advanced cable box
- Music: Groove Music, Pandora
PlayStation 4
- Streaming app selection: The PlayStation 4 also has a few of apps, including the popular ones like Netflix, YouTube, ABC iview, and a few others.
- DLNA Playback: Yes, via Media Player app
- Video playback: Supports MKV, AVI, MP4, MPEG-2, and AVCHD files
- Media remote: Yes
- Live TV: No
- Music: Spotify
Both consoles have a massive selection of streaming video apps, with more added every day. They also each play over DLNA (more on how to do that here) and have a good set of codecs for local video playback. If you prefer a standard TV style remote for controller Netflix and the like, both have options for doing so, though the Xbox One handily has a smartphone app for doing so as well.
You Can’t Go Wrong with Either
The Xbox One’s integration with cable and satellite boxes is excellent, though it adds nothing at all if you’re a cord cutter. Conversely, while the PlayStation 4’s Spotify integration sounds minor, it’s actually pretty great in practice. Spotify works in the background, which means you can play music while playing games at the same time.
The PlayStation 4’s cheaper online access, stronger (currently) software library, and easy hard drive upgrade makes it a fantastic system to own. The Xbox One’s cable TV integration and Windows 10 compatibility make it a no-brainer for Windows 10 users.
After two years of rolling through software updates, both are great, both have a good selection of games, and both do an admirable job as set top media boxes, so whichever you run with, you’ll likely be fine with it.
Comments
78 responses to “Xbox One Vs PlayStation 4: Two Years Later”
Unless you’re a huge Halo fan, the choice is easy.
PC4Wii
Ill just leave this here
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/wiki/guide
That Windows virus is worth a mention. Thought I might leave that here too.
Except PC generally has shitty DRM. Atleast I own the plastic disc and case otherwise it just feels like another barrier between me and accessing the game.
That’s the one thing I feel consoles have over PC and it’s pretty important in my opinion.
Please convince me otherwise it would save me a ton of money haha.
I jumped ship from twenty years of PC gaming to my first ever non-Nintendo console (PS4) this year. Best thing I ever did when it comes to games. The master race is a lie.
If this is true I find that interesting, I wanted to try a ps4 so i bought one at launch with the intention my brother would by it off me if I didn’t like it which he did.
I liked the idea of what the ps4 supposedly offered, and online gaming seems much more relaxed on console as PC has a very competitive vibe about it with a lot of online games. But at the end of the day I just didn’t like it. GTA 5 constantly dropped below 30 fps (I personally believe 30 fps is fine and something you get use too despite the fact I game on a 144hz monitor, its a luxury not a necessity 60 is optimal but 30 is more then serviceable for most games).
The store never had a decent sale when I had it bar one game, quite often games sold for 20 dollars more then retailers, I did really like the record and post your replays (PC has had that for while with shadowplay etc but nevertheless I found myself using it on the ps4 more as it always ran hassle free).
The feature list was still being added too with a lot of the features promised still being patched in 6 months after launch. The only really super positive thing that made it stand out over PC was some of the games getting to play the last of us remastered was amazing, but even that struggled at times with performance. its easily a 9.5 out of 10.
At the end of the day I gave it too my brother for 100 off sticker price because I just realized the only reason i play it is because of exclusives and I refuse to buy and keep a console just to do that, if I want to play a xbox exclusive that means another 500 bucks for another console. The only PC exclusives I can think of are ones that simply wouldn’t work on console due to controls.
When bloodborne came out I felt a bit bad about selling it, until I saw it online constantly dropping below 30 fps and the massive load times. If they could produce games at a guaranteed minimal 30 fps, and have the features they actually promised without the insane load times, I probably would consider buying another one. In this day and age, and considering they where making a pretty tidy profit from them at launch their was no reason to cut the performance so much that games would struggle to get 30 fps at 1080p. Its not like the 360 and ps3 with their exotic hardware these consoles use 86x chips and are much easier to optimize for, there is no learning curve with the new consoles, meaning in 2 years time they still will struggle with 1080p 30fps.
All valid points, though honestly a few little dips below 30fps don’t really bother me that much in a single player game. I’ve never found them game breaking either. I guess the thing for me is, getting older, it’s just really nice to turn it on and play. Not logging into Windows, logging into Steam THEN logging into uPlay inside Steam to play a game. I always know that it is going to work and having less choice when it comes to setup is extremely liberating. I feel free to enjoy the games for what they are, rather than what they could be if I tweaked this or updated that. Honestly, I just have more fun. I still have my PC and it will be weird when I don’t build another desktop (which will happen, I use my Macbook a lot more now), but I truly feel like consoles have gotten powerful enough now to provide just as enjoyable an experience for 99% of the games that I play (I became terrible at Starcraft with age and lost interest!) with none of the hassle. I spend more time gaming and enjoy it more. Most would say the couch is better too, but I have my PC plugged into a TV along with a controller so that’s a non-issue for me. I dunno, maybe I’ve just become a filthy casual with age, but I’m alright with that.
Well if my theory is right, I think I might be looking at one again next gen. Looking at all the information, I don’t think the ps4 or the xbox one are going to last anywhere near the 8 years the 360 and the ps3 did.
Both last gen consoles where sold at a loss, their hardware was up to scratch with all but the highest end PC’s for quite some time, and in terms of API’s DirectX didn’t really overtake it until 11 which was about 2010 or 11 if I remember correctly while 10 offered improvements it hardly was game changing stuff.
The ps4 and xbox one both sell for a profit for both companies right from day one, they are not set up to benefit from dx12 in any significant way, and the leap just wasn’t impressive at all. Which was too be expected in terms of graphic fidelity but even on paper they are not impressive.
Dx 12 and Valkan (another API that is exceptional) have been known about for a long time. their benefits have been known about for a long time. To get that sort of hardware onto the consoles would have been impossible at 2013, dx12 was still in work and still being shown off, there is yet to be a natively supported dx12 GPU on PC yet to give you an idea.
Both consoles came out around 2013, I honestly expect a new console to be here by as early as 2018 and these current gen are simply their to bridge the gap, by then hardware will be freely available at prices that offer the performance consumers want and the price, Microsoft and Sony can have full functioning features and not be worried about longevity and we might finally get the holy grail of consoles, imo, 1080P 60FPS platforms.
The sales data shows this too, they are taking a long time to be adopted by consoles owners already, and as Dx12 pushes out into the mainstream they are going to do it tougher as PC hardware becomes cheaper, I think Microsoft and Sony whole long term goal was this, they knew the older 360 and ps3 couldn’t last until 2016+, they knew putting to much money into hardware that will be outdated in only a few short years in an extreme way, would be suicide too, so they made a console that offers a whole package, netflix, foxtel, multimedia and gave the consoles a sorely needed performance boost over last gen.
Interesting theory, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that you’re right. Makes you feel a bit sorry for the kids that get these if it does have such a short lifecycle though!
Would’ve been nice if this article wasn’t so neutral…
Particularly in regards to online capabilities which I personally think the PS4 has in spades.
I mean, paying a subscription to play online?
Xbox live is a joke…
Yeah totally because you don’t need Playstation Plus for online with PS4…. and that network was never hacked, taken down for weeks and personal details released…
To focus on your comments alone, quite a few games decided to allow for online play without PS+ and it started as a free game service they grew to include online play as opposed to just online play and free games added later.
As for the hacking matter, the difference is Xbox hasn’t been targeted to the extent Sony was and the annoying Lizard Squad BS showed it was just as easy to take down as any other platform.
Microsoft hasn’t been targeted by hackers?
I find this impossible to believe. They are the original Evil Empire before EA somehow stole their crown.
Oh of course they are, I mean on the scale of the infamous PSN take down used as a point by many when these sorts of articles/threads pop up.
Xbox Live service had a huge hack and also had a denial of service (with PS4) last xmas to boot.
Yes not as much data was stolen and yes MS didn’t take the service down for weeks to look at making it safer but at the end of the day I don’t hold this against either company but the pricks that hack.
Brings me to the Penny Arcade(?) comic when it comes to some peoples logic “It wouldn’t matter that my password was password if your system was secure”.
Never blame the victims, corporate or not. Blame the perp.
They decided to make the PS4’s online a pay subscription thing, despite the fact the PS3’s was free. Pretty dumb move on Sony’s part IMO, I’m not paying a subscription just to play my games online, thanks.
I guess PC and WiiU have the advantage there.
YEP!
I am about to get an Xbone but I am a whore. If I couldn’t have more than 1 it is for most people PC>Wii U/PS4>X1.
Good PC and a Wii U and you miss out on little to nothing to be honest. *shakes fist at urge to play everything*
Amen to that! I’d actually completely forgot that PS+ was essential for online play (I certainly don’t need it to play FF14 online on my PS4) so imagine my horror when I’ve just spent 30 bucks buying this new “Rocket League” that everyone’s talking about, and it tells me I can’t play it unless I sign up to PS+. Geurghgh. Well I played it for a couple of days through my free trial, and now it’s just collecting dust on my hard drive.
You have to pay for PS Plus to play online on a PS4 unless the game is free-to-play
What is more annoying than articles which state an opinion I disagree with?
Articles which propose to do so at the start and then decide that everyone is friendly and happy and equal at the end.
You mean objectivity is annoying?
Kotaku get ‘sponsored’ by Xbox and PS so there’s no way they are going to say one is better than the other.
This was just a features ad to promote the price drop for people looking to buy for Christmas.
I came here for BLOOD!
Re PS4 storage, it is also available in a 1TB option (also $549). The replacement hard drive does not need to be “thinner than 9.5mm”, it should be “9.5mm or thinner”. That said, a 12.5mm drive will actually fit in the caddy, it’s just a very tight fit.
Then you are a special person. I don’t mind it, everyone I have heard mention Windows 8, does so with a massive amount of disdain.
Who the fuck cares, honestly. I have both. I have had both for multiple generations. Ill have both for future generations.
Its not the end of the world.
I think more people are giving less fucks as the consoles slowly become more alike. Both have nice controllers, both have ok interfaces and both have 3-4 exclusives that are worth buying. I only picked PS4 because I had a 360 and wanted a change.
This. As stated in the article you rarely see them running side by side at the same time.
I was the same and was going PS4 but then looked at my 360 library and backwards compatibility pulled me back over.
EDIT: Interesting this comment is in moderation but previous one above not… Is that because its a reply to a comment with cursing in it?
EDIT 2: Oh no wait it’s because I got something incorrect on this thread and have been downvoted by the usuals… The “tolerance” of KotakuAU
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/10/a-new-steam-update-will-make-things-significantly-better-for-people-with-lots-of-games/#comment-3485410
BURN THE WITCH! BURRRNNNN HEEEEERRRR!!
I mean yeah… the downvoting thing is donkey balls D:
Yeah, I don’t get them at launch, I let them simmer for a bit then pick one up and their respected exclusives.
Look at me! I have two potatoes!
I have both and I can definitely tell you only one has my tongue licking its disc slit
The mental image alone scares me.
Whoa! Technosexual…
I own both – at the moment the Xbox gets used more as from a multimedia standpoint, it integrates better (to be honest, the Xbox gets used less for playing games (although I do play Forza), and more for multimedia playback. And the multiplayer features seem better laid out on XboxOne.
But, I do play Destiny on PS4 because graphics yo :P.
I own both, and played the PS4 most originally, due to Destiny, then started playing Destiny on XB1. Now mostly play on XB1, due to 1 and only 1 feature….I can play my games & watch tv at the same time! I no longer have to choose, hmmm…..game or watch sports…hmm…. Now I do both, and am finding my PS4 being used less. Sad but true, because I did enjoy the early access to Destiny strikes, and PS4 definitely had a better thought out user interface, though I’m hearing good things about the upcoming XB1 November update.
Time will tell, but for now I can play football while I watch football!
No mention of SFV? Looks like PS4 is gunna get all the 2 player fighters!
I’m lucky enough to have both. They’re both equally great and the respective exclusive games they offer. It’s also nice to have both to decide which runs the same game better. BUT….I still find I prefer my PS4. The main reason – I HATE the Xbox dash. It really grinds my gears.
Poor article, especially when I think things were missed.
I have both and I like both equally. Both have pros and cons like PS4 sounds like a jet engine while playing games. And the X1 UI is not good.
Just want to point out
I am in my 5th year of Xbox live gold and have never paid more than $50 for the annual subscription. $80 is the RRP but the internet has way better deals
I never understood why backwards compatibility was such a big thing. The last gen is real cheap at the moment, just buy an old console and have 100% compatibility with the last gen library.
Backwards compatibility is a litttle bit interesting to me. I’ve never understood all the fuss, but what I do know is that I own the last-gen consoles but I’m probably never going to play all those unfinished games I have on them because fuck plugging in those old relics again and putting up with their load times and other bullcrap. At least if they become backwards compatible, I might actually put those discs in and finish up some old classics.
(Edit: Double-post for some reason.)
They’re real cheap, but they aren’t free. But more importantly, at least to me, is that I already have a PS3, and XB1, a DVD player, a CD player, a receiver, and any number of hard drives and headsets and chargers clustering around my TV. Not adding another box is a pretty big drawcard.
I understand your point, but for nearly the price of a AAA release you can buy a second hand console. I’d rather play on the real hardware and not emulation (which is what is happening on the X360 to original XBOX, and with XBOne to X360). Gone are the days where the crucial parts of the last gen console was embedded in the system (PS2 in a PS3, SMS in a MegaDrive).
Plus with HDMI cables these days, connecting a console up to a TV isn’t a big task, you don’t even have to get to the back of it anymore.
At the end of the day, buy a current gen console to play current gen games. If you want to play last gen, there’s no reason to not pick up a console and play it on that. It’s cheap enough.
But I could play on my XB1 (the emulation looks pretty good, and with faster loading times as a bonus), with my lovely, lovely XB1 controller and buy a new AAA release instead of a new console!
All good in theory.
In practice – the more backwards compatibility – the less boxes I need around, and more importantly – the less boxes I need to maintain in working order to access my 30 years worth of console games. I’ve got a cupboard full of working consoles and software – but as soon as one breaks down – that’s a generation lost until I stump up the cash for a working replacement. And don’t get me started on replacement pads that don’t have at least one button malfunctioning.
Wii U got it right this Gen, it looks like Xbox One is heading down the right track too. Yeah I buy a new console for new games – but – Backwards Compatibility plays a large role in choosing what I buy first – and plays a large part in what software I choose to keep out and easily accessible.
Did I read this right and did the hardware section only talk about how the console looked? I would have thought the fact the PS4 hardware is 50% more powerful would at least warrant a mention?
I wouldn’t say 50%, otherwise the PS4 would be way ahead of the XB1.
The PS4 has a slight graphical advantage. The XB1 has a slight Processing advantage. This of course only seems to matter to exclusives since the games that come out on both are trying to get as close as possible to identical.
The PS4 is way ahead of the Xbox One, I said 50% based on the GPU alone as the processors are near enough to make no difference.
http://au.ign.com/wikis/xbox-one/PS4_vs._Xbox_One_Native_Resolutions_and_Framerates
The Xbox one doesn’t win in a single game. I would have thought a comparison article would note something like this.
That does prove the PS4 has a better GPU, it does not prove that the GPU is 50% more powerful than the XB1.
I will get the PS4 in a year or so (want Bloodborne, Uncharted and No Man’s Sky and damn that trailer I saw last for ‘Detroit’ looked incredible despite being the kind of game I probably wouldn’t enjoy
Having said that I chose X1 for
– the games (Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break and Crackdown in particular, Titanfall was a surprise fun bonus)
– the infrastructure (I have so many XBLA games it’s not funny so I’m in their Eco-system)
– the fact they are coming second (GWG, dropping Kinect, so many good exclusives, backwards compatibility, not wasting money on COD, this is all because they are no longer in a market leading position, during the 360 era we were starved for good exclusives from 2011-2013 now they are abundant)
– The UI felt like step up from the 360 particularly multitasking abilities like Snap felt like a next generation feature whereas PS4 seemed to me like it was catching up to where the 360 was previous gen.
– That’s where all my friends went
I know one guy with a PS4, and 5 who bought an xbone on release day!
Still I can’t fault the PS4 the conference the other show their lineup getting some great exclusives, plus they have iView and Stan apps which is a sore point for me with the Xbone (the 360 iView is in disrepair) which means I’ll jump on board when the price is right
I’m not sure that the PS4 actually has a better library of full-priced games. Lots of those 80+ metacritic (clearly the most scientific measure possible) games are PSN games like Rocket League… although that’s good anyway so who cares if it’s cheap. Xbone has three Forza games already… that’s gotta count for something.
All I know is I don’t have time to play all the games on both. So they both win!
Let’s hug it out, then go rough up the WiiU owners and take their lunch money and 2D sidescrollers.
They have to make their own 2D sidescrollers these days with Mario maker.
Uphill in the snow.
Bloodborne.
Nar.
Yeah I hate one eyed console enthusiast’s. It’s obvious to me that the ps4 has more power and great potential for exculsives, BUT the xbox1 has a way better exclusive line up at this point. The end
Both play games and games are fun
2,200+ words, sure… but I can say the important thing in three: Playstation is better.
^.^
Can I point out something REALLY important that you missed? That people always neglect for some reason.
You can easily link 2 Xbones with Xbox Live Gold accounts and share games. That’s a console seller if you have a like-minded mate.
My brother has a library of about 40 games and hasn’t paid for any of them, we play online against each other in the same game with just one version.
Anything I buy off the XBL store instantly pops up on his console and can be played as he wishes. You pointed out the PS4 “share-play”…. But the Xbone system shits all over it and then some.
MS doesn’t advertise it because they still want people to buy their games, but it’s literally a 5 minute process that never needs to be done again. Just set your mates consoles as the “home” for your account and it’s done. You use your account at your place (you need to be online when you start a game) and they can use the same game from their account on the “home” console.
you can do pretty much the same thing with the ps4. and the ps3 and 360 as well.
Really? You can have free-use of the same game, including online, simultaneously on two different accounts on two different systems using a single license?
That would be news to me!
its pretty much the exact same setup, has been for ages – http://au.ign.com/wikis/playstation-4/How_to_Game-Share_with_Family_and_Friends
Oh cool.
Hard to find confirmation that you can actually play the same game at the same time online though, even though it looks like you can.
Can you confirm that you could download one version of Killzone (for example) and play multiplayer on two different accounts (a second account on the “home” console, and on the owner account logged in as a guest )?
Also, XBOne seems to have the better digital setup (for consumers, anyway).
You can region-hop to buy games all on one profile, as long as you set up billing details for that country. Also, Xbox Gold codes are region-free – it’s MUCH cheaper to find overseas prepaid codes than pay Aussie RRP.
* The xbone has 2 usb’s at the back not 3 – and one at the side for easy access.
* you can stream audio through the xbone controller as well on the new ones, or use an adapter on the old ones
* don’t think i’d consider killer instinct as independent, its owned by rare (microsoft), even if it was made by multiple studios.
I have both, and can say i prefer gaming on the xbone, but have less issues with the ps4.
personal preference.
rip wii u.
TBH PC and Wii U are better than both. If I have to choose one, it’s the Xbox One. It has better games, a better controller, the UI isn’t as terrible as people make it out to be and I don’t have to pay for backwards compatibility.
The PS4 has some great-looking games (Horizon: Zero Dawn, Bloodbourne, No Man’s Sky and Tearaway Unfolded) and runs at 1080p, but there I prefer the games selection on the Bone (Fable Legends, Sea of Thieves, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 2, etc.)
I bought one of those “Gamestation II” machines from a market, Paddy’s I think. And wow, it looks like a Playstation, but toploads cartridges like a SNES ,and plays NES games! And even better: The cartridge holds HUNDREDS of games, some of which are the same game under a different name. And you’d expect such a miracle machine for a few hundred dollars. Nope, only $30.
I vote Gamestation II…
This article states that the PS4 has a media remote. Waitwhat-? Did I miss something? I’ve been begging Sony to release a remote control for ages. Did they finally do it while I wasn’t looking…?
You can activate your TV remote to control your PS4 via hdmi no need for a second remote.
I have a Sony Tv and its remote works automatically on my PS4.
I like the WiiU far more than the other two. I was hoping for something different this gen like Microsoft making a PCish console ala steamachines or something surprising but yeah just feels like an updated PS3.5 and an XBOX720 TO ME
I knew the list was meagre, but not this small. Microsoft really need to lift their game here if the backwards compatibility is to be taken seriously as a selling point for the Xbone.
The current list is for the preview members who are trialling backwards compatibility. BC is not available to everyone yet. That’s why the list is small; no need for MS to change anything. When BC becomes available to everyone, there will be 100+ BC games (according to MS that is)
i have PC xb1 and ps4 and i find i like playing on each because each one has games on that i like to play i do think sony got it right more than microsoft this time.I find the ps4 is quicker loading games i like the fact you can pause downloads and you can play said game while it does an update for it and cant do that on the xb1 which is frustrating.But my 360 will always rule supreme over my consoles though.But games on my pc will always be the best just for the graphics alone.
Having both I can honestly say that either will do you perfectly fine but I’ll be honest: the PS4 does have obvious performance advantages, even in the main system UI, but not enough to make you regretful if it’s all you have. (Still waiting on the new Xbox UI update)
Have both, play the ps4 for Rocket league… and the x1 for everything else. It’s where my friends are and I much prefer the x1 controller over the ds4.
That said there is nothing wrong with the ps4 and it is slightly more powerful graphically. I think the main reason I prefer x1 is that I like the exclusives better, horror games aren’t my thing.
Got Alienware Alpha and PS4, thats all i need