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PS4 vs Xbox One: 5 Reasons To Buy The PS4

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Started 10 years ago by Anonymous
Latest reply from mikiem2

Anonymous
Unregistered

E3 2013 marked the moment when the next-generation truly began, with all three contenders — the PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox One, and Wii U — revealed in full. The Wii U is already on the market (and hardly selling), which leaves a battle royale brewing between the PlayStation 4 from Sony and the Xbox One from Microsoft. Both consoles will be released before the end of 2013, and you can pre-order either one right now. But which should you choose?

Having watched both E3 press events and read reams of news posts, features, and opinion pieces on both offerings, I’m going for the PS4. I may buy an Xbox One in the future, but it’s looking unlikely, quite frankly. Sony has me opening my wallet and preparing to shove my money in its pockets.

When it comes to the PS4 vs Xbox One, here are the reasons why I chose to buy the PS4 instead of the Xbox One, and why I think you should do so as well.
A Broad Selection Of Games

ps4 vs xbox one

The people who buy games consoles are gamers, surprisingly enough. This may seem to be an unnecessary thing to say but with consoles becoming more like multimedia devices, it’s an important thing for all concerned to remember. While Microsoft was extolling the virtues of the Xbox One as a set-top box for watching television, Sony has instead remembered who its customers are and focused on pleasing them.

There are plenty of exclusives coming to the PS4 within its first year on sale, including Driveclub, Infamous: Second Son, Killzone: Shadow Fall, The Order: 1886, Final Fantasy XIV, and Knack. This list offers a good mix of popular franchises and brand new IP.

Sony is also embracing indie developers in a way that Microsoft isn’t. Hundreds of small teams are working on bringing games to the PS4, with many of these under-the-radar titles being showcased during the PS4 press event at E3 2013 (as seen in the video above).
Used Games Are Fine

ps4 vs xbox one

For years, game developers and publishers have been trying to curtail the used games market, something I for one have vehemently railed against. Until now, the efforts have been confined to charging extra for the buyer of a used game to play online. However, Microsoft has upped the ante considerably with the Xbox One, and the restrictions are numerous and confusing. It’s clear that Microsoft is taking power away from gamers and handing it to publishers.

Sony, on the other hand, is keeping things clean and consistent. PS4 games can be traded and sold as each individual owner sees fit. Some publishers may still try to persuade you to buy new games, but Sony isn’t enabling them to run the show to any greater degree than they have in previous generations. And let’s not forget that used games have been a part of the industry forever.

Online/Offline Options

ps4 xbox one

It may surprise you to learn that not everyone has a fast or reliable Internet connection. And even those who do may like to play their games offline and without the attentions of friends and strangers. Those people should not be buying an Xbox One, as the Microsoft console requires that you connect to the Internet at least once every 24 hours. If you don’t then you can’t play games. At all. Even offline.

Sony has chosen not to force gamers to go online if they don’t want to. Instead, the PS4 allows you to play offline as much as you want and for as long as you wish. Online functionality should be a choice, not a requirement, which is exactly what Sony is offering. Choice… it’s a wonderful concept that appears to have passed Microsoft by.

This, along with the used games announcement, was one of the key moments in the PlayStation 4 press event, as the reaction from the audience truly showed how badly Microsoft has judged things. Still, Xbox fans who can’t get online regularly have another option… just keep playing the Xbox 360. So says Don Mattrick, head of interactive at Microsoft.

One small negative that belongs under this heading is Sony’s move to a subscription model for online multiplayer. PS3 gamers can play online for free, but PS4 owners will need to purchase PSN+ in order to do so. Thankfully, PSN+ is a fantastic value for the money, with a full year’s subscription currently costing just $49.99. For that you get free games to play every month, and discounts on many more.
Price Advantage

ps4 xbox one

You should have some extra cash burning a hole in your pocket after buying a PS4, because its price at launch has been set at just $399. This makes it $100 cheaper than the Xbox One, and represents a marked contrast to the $599 launch price of the PS3. Sony has clearly learned its lesson.

Microsoft is justifying the $499 price tag of the Xbox One by flagging the inclusion of Kinect as standard, while Sony is sticking to offering the PlayStation Eye as an extra peripheral (priced at $59). I’d argue that most gamers have no interest in motion-control, so cramming it down people’s throats is actually a bad thing. This difference in approach also suggests the PS4 is the console of choice for core gamers, with the Xbox One clearly embracing the casual crowd.

Region-Free Gaming

ps4 vs xbox one

Last but certainly not least is an announcement that seemed to elude most people at E3, thanks to the used games and offline-friendly goodness that made all the headlines. The PS4 is region-free, meaning that games purchased in any region will play on a console from any region.

In practical terms, this means that people who regularly holiday in foreign regions will be able to buy PS4 games abroad and play them just fine when they get home. This is another sign of Sony keeping gamers in mind when making decisions about the PS4 and how it will operate.
Conclusion

So back to our question, “PS4 vs Xbox One?” If you can afford to buy a PS4 and Xbox One, then by all means, do so. But for the majority of gamers who can only spend a certain amount of money on their hobby of choice, one next-gen console will have to do, at least for the first couple of years of the generation. It’s to those people I thoroughly recommend buying the PS4 over the Xbox One for all of the reasons cited above.

Matt Smith disagrees, and is arguing instead in favor of the Xbox One. You can check out his 5 reasons to buy an Xbox One over a PlayStation 4.

article plus visuals plus video

Posted 10 years ago #
Anonymous
Unregistered

Home » Games & Gaming »
PS4 vs Xbox One: 5 Reasons To Buy The Xbox One

June 13, 2013
By Matt Smith

This year’s E3 felt almost like it was over before it began. Though the conference lasts for days, both Microsoft and Sony made their announcements before the doors opened, showing not just hardware but also their lineup of launch and near-launch titles.

In doing so, each company has ignited a new chapter in the console war. While an ideal gamer’s den will have both, most people don’t have the money or need to grab two consoles at launch, so a choice must be made; Xbox One or PS4? I’ve put my money down for the Xbox, and here’s why.
The Games – Duh!

As a Wii U owner I’ve learned the hard way that games matter. A console without new content doesn’t get much playtime, so the exclusive titles slated for each system in the year after launch is important. And Microsoft has the stronger roster.

Surprisingly, only three of the One’s console exclusives come from recently active franchises, but they’re among the strongest in the industry; Forza, Halo, and Dead Rising. Other strong titles include Sunset Overdrive, a stylized shooter from Insomniac Games (best known for Ratchet & Clank and Resistance) and Titanfall, which comes from the developers who worked on Modern Warfare before it became the Madden NFL of first-person shooters.

When I say this roster is strong, I mean so in an objective sense. Most of the exclusives revealed are either part of a popular, well-reviewed franchise, or come from a developer with an excellent record. Sony’s got some decent stuff too, but Killzone is not as promising as Halo, Drive Club is not as promising as Forza, Knack is not as promising as Sunset Overdrive, and so on.

Many critical games that seemed like PS4 exclusives during its conference actually aren’t; Final Fantasy XV, Destiny and Kingdom Hearts III, for example, are cross-platform. The PS4′s exclusive list is now down to just six games, and two of them (Deep Down and The Order: 1886) are new IPs with few details released so far.
Television Does Matter

When Microsoft held its first press conference, the focus was on features besides games. Gamers were outraged! How dare anyone acknowledge other forms of entertainment!

But here’s the fact; television is important. Most of us watch it, and it’s not going away. The problem is that while technology becomes more advanced, our access to television has fragmented, which makes for a confusing experience. Personally, I have a Roku for streaming, a PS3 for Blu-Ray, and a computer for everything else. The result is five different remotes to shuffle around.

Xbox One aims to solve this inconvenience, and that’s actually a rather big deal, because none of the currently available solutions (like smart TVs) is adequate. There is a catch here; Microsoft has to deliver. If its interface is terrible, then it’s game over. But if the interface is good, the value Xbox One adds to the living room will be astounding.
A Better Kinect

The original Kinect was a huge commercial success. About 30% of all 360 owners bought one, which is a crazy good attach rate for peripheral, never mind one that sells for over $100. But Kinect also had its problems, including a general lack of precision and an inability to handle small rooms.

Kinect solves these complaints in three ways. First, resolution has been increased from 640×480 to 1080p, which translates to an almost seven-fold increase in sensor data. Second, a wide angle lens has been added to make the Kinect usable by someone standing just a few feet in front of it. And finally, the Xbox One’s more complex hardware will allow for more complex movement algorithms and faster processing of input data.

In practical terms, Kinect will give Xbox One a lock on the party game business. If you want to play a game like Just Dance, you’re going to want to do it on the Xbox One, end of story. Core games, on the other hand, will benefit from the increase in sensitivity. Facial tracking will be far improved, and gesture input can consist of a small hand wave rather than large, exaggerated movements. And since Kinect is bundled with every Xbox One, developers won’t feel that adding control for it is a waste of time.
The Cloud Is Here To Help

xbox one vs ps4

One of Microsoft’s big selling points is the cloud. While Sony intends to use cloud technology to stream games to the PS4, the Xbox One goes much further by offering developers access to a huge number of Xbox Live servers which can handle any sort of data imaginable.

Most people think of improved graphics as a potential benefit, but that’s actually one of the least suitable applications. The true benefit of the cloud is in features like persistent world-building, AI development and social sharing.

Forza 5 is the perfect example. The game will include a feature called “Drivatar” which builds a custom driving profile based on your movements that can be used to run races you don’t want to. More importantly, it’s uploaded to the cloud and used to build AI that drives like you and populates your fellow gamer’s single-player experience. Your Drivatar continues to race online when you’re not playing; when you log back in, you receive credit for races it won.

Now apply that thinking elsewhere. Developers could make multi-player team games more balanced by the insertion of AI bots that play according to a profile built from players who recently left the game. Or developers might let your AI profile manage your base in a strategy game while you fight a battle. Or there might be a persistent open-world combat game where players fight while also commanding an AI squad that uses profiles built from the play-styles of Xbox Live friends.

And this is just AI. The possibilities are almost limitless, and I’m sure developers will find many creative ways to use this feature.
Digital Is A Blessing, Not A Curse

xbox one vs ps4

I’ve been somewhat slow to embrace digital content, haven written in the past how I don’t like to buy games off Steam (particularly if not on sale). My concern, more than anything, is that the games we play have no future; they’ll eventually go offline and then never be experienced again.

But with that said, there’s good reason why Steam is the most popular PC gaming platform and phones have embraced digital as the only form of distribution. Digital distribution is convenient, instant, and just works. Yes, you can still buy games on disc for Xbox One, but there’s no particular reason to do so.

The complaint that gamers can’t share games by toting a game disc to a friend’s house misses the point. With the Xbox One, there will be no reason for that to ever happen. You can either log in to your friend’s console with your account, thus giving you access to your games, or you can share your game library using the Xbox One’s built-in share feature. Your friend can then play your games as long as you keep them on your share list, and the only restriction is that you can’t both play the same game at the same time.

Going digital also offers more opportunity for promotion and unique business models. We could see more aggressive sales, as Microsoft will have the ability to coordinate with all developers, rather than just those who opt in for digital distribution. And Microsoft has hinted developers could sell short-term passes to a game or even monthly access to a developer’s library – so perhaps rental is not dead just yet.
Conclusion

The Xbox One is an incredible bundle of new technology and forward-looking initiatives. There are numerous features, including Kinect, Xbox Live cloud connectivity and HDMI-in, that the PS4 simply does not have and, more importantly, can’t easily emulate. And I didn’t even get the chance to talk about the Xbox One’s operating system, which is based on a Windows kernel and supports multi-tasking.

But ultimately, the core reason why I’ve picked the Xbox One over the PS4 is the game library. The list of PS4 exclusives is down to six, while the Xbox One has fourteen. Why buy a console with less great games to play?

Think you should buy a PS4 like my colleague Dave Parrack? Read his 5 reasons to buy a PlayStation 4 over the Xbox One.

article plus visuals plus video

Posted 10 years ago #
thenameipicked
Member

While I won't buy either...the arguments for Xbox One are more convincing.

Posted 10 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

For Sony the question is can they deliver?... I think there was more enthusiasm over the PS3 than the Xbox around the time that they both became available, but the gap between promise & execution cost Sony dearly. Nowadays when many [most?] people think of Sony, they think of the same basic story of missed targets that's been repeated over & over. If they nail it the PS4 will be a solid performer out of the gate.

OTOH Microsoft's trying something new with the dual VM setup. And Microsoft as a software company doesn't excel at hardware. They could very well miss too, or come January the lines at the stores for returns could be filled with people with now broken Xbox Ones.

That said, the Xbox One is the Xbox One... You know what you're getting, or should anyway. The Xbox One plays Jekyll & Hyde with 2 VMs running on a sort of hypervisor setup -- VMs running in a full OS like Windows give up a lot of hardware resources because of the high overhead running that full-on OS, whereas this sort of setup is just enough OS to run the VMs, allowing them to still access actual hardware. One VM will be Xbox, while the other's a version of win8's metro GUI.

On the heavy game end announced & expected games expand on what the Xbox & PS3 offer now. *IF* game developers can capitalize on the new kinect you'll likely see some neat & practical stuff like using vision tracking -- e.g. maybe glancing to the upper corner pops up a menu without interruption to your game play, or maybe it'll follow your eyes to zoom in to better target a kill. I don't think anyone knows fully what to expect from the Metro 1/2, because it will depend on what people use. Yeah, Microsoft can continue offering the same sort of stuff they have in their store now, but streaming content costs a bit more money that they may be unwilling to spend if it's ignored [remember that's why they dropped Media Center from 8].

Ignore the fan Boy fluff from the guy that wrote the Xbox stuff. For whatever reason everyone wants to control your TV, even though no one has yet succeeded, regardless the billions they've thrown at their projects. In the living room Reality is that you've got more ways than ever to put content on your screen, people that go on-line via their cable service are not going to cut that umbilical cord, & anything the Xbox One offers beyond traditional Xbox-style gaming, is just going to be one more option to do what you already do now. Where that *other* Xbox stuff may matter is in the kid's room, where I don't think anyone knows yet whether it'll translate into enough revenue to make providing content worthwhile to Microsoft & whatever partners.

Posted 10 years ago #
Anonymous
Unregistered

Two reasons for me not to buy either, they don't have a keyboard or a mouse. I hate traditional game controllers. I do have a Wii, but I don't play Call of Duty on it. I use it for things like bowling or sword fighting or sometimes as an exercise aid.

Posted 10 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

There are Microsoft fan boys & I guess I'll say their perceptions can be a bit different from that of the average person. Then you have the console gamers, who again sometimes have their own sort of cultures. Sony is banking more on the traditional console gamer -- the folks who'll move up from their current console. Microsoft would like to hold onto that market, but expand their reach to the gamer's mom & dad, grandma & grandpa. That sort of change, along with the new DRM stuff, is not entirely welcome to current Xbox owners. If you're curious, the following page [article, poll, & comments] gives a glimpse of what some of the Microsoft & Xbox fans think.
http://www.neowin.net/news/poll-if-microsoft-twist-will-you-stick

Posted 10 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

Win an Xbox One & the decisions made for you -- convenient! The 1st link is US only -- not sure if the Pepsico promos will be national or international, but I'd think being an international brand the EU would see some of this.

http://majornelson.com/2013/06/13/win-a-special-mountain-dew-doritos-xbox-one-promotional-package/

http://www.pepsico.com/PressRelease/Mountain-Dew-and-Doritos-Brands-Will-Offer-THOUSANDS-of-Microsoft-Xbox-One-Syste06102013.html

Posted 10 years ago #
Mavadelo
Member

but I'd think being an international brand the EU would see some of this.

Your kidding right? since when has any US company cared about Europe (or the rest of the world for that matter) no, I don't think we will see that promo here in the Netherlands especially since it is a promo for a Microsoft / Xbox product.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of my 360 and I love the playstation (1,2 and 3)but all 3 major developers, Nintendo, Sony AND Microsoft have shown with their latest consoles that they do NOT care what the majority in Europe thinks except for a few regions like Germany, the UK and France. Special programs, like the XBox award program, are never available for us overhere. Streaming content is only now slowly coming to my 360, games that work voice controlled can't be played here despite the fact that every Dutchie speaks almost better English then the average American.

Payment methodes are also entirely focused on the USA with things like CreditCards and paypal but no options to use a simple, widely available methode like IDeal or UKash which the majority of Dutch (and Belgium, Danish, Greek, Spanish etc etc) people can use. Europe is not like America where you get a creditcard with an ounce of butter.

As far as which one is better.... like you said, a console is bought by gamers so the only thing a gamer will look at FIRST is the game line-up and (based on past releases) the games that are expected, in that regard both platforms will still have their faithful followers simply because a game like Forza can't be played on the PS4, Pokemon can't be played on the XBox one and a game like Final Fantasy (in a far and distant past a nintendo title) can't be played on WII U.

You really think a GAMER cares if he can or cannot watch television on his xbox/ps/wii .. nah.. they don't

personally I think the XBox will come home first, after all I have a gold subscription which will be valid for XBox One as well. Good chances the PS4 will follow within 6 months. Who knows, maybe I even gonna buy the WII U too if Nintendo is smart enough to finally make that uber pokemon rpg that the fans are waiting for for so many years now ;)

Posted 10 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

"Banned Xbox One accounts will retain access to purchased games"
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/06/16/banned-xbox-one-accounts-will-retain-access-to-purchased-games/

"Users banned on Xbox One will not lose access to the games they've purchased, Director of Programming Larry Hyrb (Major Nelson, colloquially) told Reddit Games during an E3 video interview.

This became a popular question following an Xbox Support Twitter answer from June 13 that read, "If your account is banned, you also forfeit the licenses to any games that have licenses tied to it as listed in the ToU." The question specified Xbox One, but later, Xbox Support said this answer was in reference to Xbox 360."

----

I consider this the same way I consider rumors - questionable & not easily verifiable... an article on MCV has been quoted on several sites, based on a report released by DFC, which you can't read without paying a fair amount of money, & may or may not be that accurate because it's nothing more than DFC's analysis.

"DFC: "The entire future of the Xbox business is in question""
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/dfc-the-entire-future-of-the-xbox-business-is-in-question/0117250

"Interactive entertainment research firm DFC has delivered a scathing verdict of Xbox One’s market chances in the wake of last weeks’ incredible events at E3.

In fact, it even goes as far as to question whether the scope of Xbox One’s PR failure to date could jeopardise Microsoft’s entire games operation.

DFC’s Forecasts for the Video Games Market report says that “Microsoft's overall strategy for entertainment devices is deeply flawed”.

In turn it has stated that it is likely to raise its PS4 sales forecasts and on turn “further lower” its Xbox One predictions in its upcoming August market update."

The report's pricing - http://www.dfcint.com/wp/?p=211

Posted 10 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

"Your kidding right? since when has any US company cared about Europe (or the rest of the world for that matter) no, I don't think we will see that promo here in the Netherlands especially since it is a promo for a Microsoft / Xbox product."

Ouch! I didn't know that... pretty short-sighted of them IMO.

Posted 10 years ago #

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