It isn’t a coincidence that the release date for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One are so close together. Both companies want a war, and they are depending on your decision to win it for them.
But, as a gamer or lover of entertainment, what is the right decision? Well, that comes down to personal preference, and what you will use a console for. Read on for a comprehensive guide on the pros and cons for both next generation consoles.
Console Exclusives
If you’re getting a console specifically for playing games, this is the biggest deciding factor on what console to buy. Some developers feel inclined to create games for one console for many reasons. Whether it is money, loyalty or console publisher backing, you’ll often find different types of games tied to each console. So let’s look at the current most exciting announced exclusive titles.
Xbox One: Halo 5, Titanfall, Dead Rising 3, Forza 5, Ryse, Quantum Break
The Halo series has got a lot under its belt, but since it got handed over to 343 Industries, many have started to dismiss the series they once loved. The game has a great story, but multiplayer is like marmite- you either love it or you hate it.
Titanfall on the other hand looks gorgeous. It looks as if the developers are really trying to break the first person shooter boundaries. However, speculation has it that Titanfall is only a timed exclusive and will soon be available for PS4.
Both Dead Rising 3 and Quantum Break look incredibly enjoyable, and they are created by well-respected developers.
Forza 5 is just another Forza with little to improve upon the previous game apart from a few new game mechanics and prettier graphics. Forza games are decent racing games though, just don’t expect much of a difference from Forza 4.
Ryse is game with much debate- it looks good, but Microsoft are ensuring they can squeeze as much money out of it as possible, so expect high priced DLC, micro-transactions and other wallet-tugging monstrosities.
PS4: Killzone, Knack, Infamous Second Son, Drive Club, The Order: 1866
Killzone is another game you may or may not enjoy. We’ve seen multiplayer gameplay, but it feels as if Guerrilla games are two steps behind other multiplayer games. This is acodeother game for the story.
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Infamous looks like a lot of fun, and could easily rival both Quantum Break and Dead Rising 3. Drive Club is looking to be an incredibly impressive open world racing game, and Sony are making sure everyone with a PS Plus subscription can get a play of it for free.
The Order: 1866 looks interesting, but details on that game are pretty small at the moment.
Loyalty rewards
The end of this generation of consoles has proven one thing- Sony cares, or at least makes it look like they care about their players, and to do this they reward PS Plus subscribers with fairly new games like Farcry 3, and other discounts and bonuses.
Xbox LIVE Gold has always been a paid-for service on the Xbox 360, but instead of rewarding Gold players, Microsoft put up dozens of pay walls for media services, game content and other offers and this is expected to continue with the Xbox One.
Software Capabilities
Can the PlayStation 4 minimize a game and go right back to the dashboard and view content whilst the game still plays in a smaller screen? Perhaps not, but the Xbox One can. But can the Xbox One easily stream content, record clips and send it to friends and social sites like Youtube, Twitch, Facebook or Twitter without any hassle? Nope, but the PS4 can.
There are probably tons of things one console can do and the other can’t, but it goes both ways, and until the release of the consoles, there’s unfortunately no way of telling which has the better software.
Hardware Capabilities
If you’ve been hearing dozens of news stories about GDDR 5 vs DDR3, SoC nonsense this and that and other technical hoo-ha, don’t worry I’m bored about hearing it too.
Benchmarks may prove what console has more grunt, but it’s really not going to affect anything this early on in both console’s lives. Even with Grand Theft Auto 5, at the peak of this generation of consoles, there’s hardly a noticeable difference between either the PS3 or the Xbox 360 version.
Developer Support
Microsoft have shamed themselves time and time again with all kinds of trips and blunders with the new Xbox One, and to be quite frank, it’s amazing how much the gaming community has managed to change how the Xbox One will work.
Sony on the other hand have been the underdog from heaven in many gamer’s eyes, and this is probably going to do them a lot of favors for bringing in more great development teams into the world of PS4.
Microsoft has a certain bad air around them and developers that are looking for a backing from either Sony or Microsoft will probably go for the big S until Microsoft manages to prove that they admit their mistakes.
Manufacturer Support
Want to be able to use decent headsets or third party controllers on next generation consoles? Well, it’s looking to be a hard road ahead for you unfortunately. Microsoft seem to be keen on making restrictions on third party equipment, so only approved manufacturers and Microsoft will make gear for the Xbox One.
On the other side, Sony has a complicated controller and although it’s not impossible, it’s unlikely we’ll see cheaper alternatives hit the market. With that being said, we’ll probably see all kinds of headsets, game capture equipment and other gear that can work with the PS4.
Free to Play Titles
Imagine being able to go home with the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One on launch day and start playing a game without dishing out any more money. Well, that may be possible this year thanks to the introduction of free to play titles on both the PS4 and Xbox One.
Not much news has hit about F2P titles on the Xbox One, but the PS4 will receive awesome games like Blacklight Retribution, Planetside 2 and Deep Down within the console launch window.
There’s no real way for me to say which console will be better for you. However, with the above information, you should now be a little more knowledgeable on the PS4 vs Xbox debate, and hopefully that will help lead you to making the right purchase for you.
