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Xbox One vs PS4: Let the next generation games begin

Xbox One vs PS4: Let the next generation games begin

By Gurman Bhatia | Updated: 11 June 2013 18:35 IST

After two enthusiastic events at the E3 gaming conference from Microsoft and Sony that revealed a slew of details about their forthcoming gaming consoles, we now know how both the PS4 and the Xbox One hardware look like. The battle of the new generation gaming consoles is certainly on. Based on what we know about the two consoles, here is a quick comparison between the two.

1. Looks and Hardware

One look at the two consoles and both are pretty similar to each other. Half matte, half patterned and something like a VCR from the 90s, it's surprising how the two consoles look the same. That said here is how the two fare on what's inside.

The PS4 comes with an 8-core Jaguar CPU, 500GB hard drive, 8GB of unified memory, built-in Blu-Ray drive and the new DualShock 4 controller. The Xbox One on the other hand comes with a 500GB hard drive, a similar 8-core Jaguar CPU, 8GB RAM, a Blu-ray player, built-in Wi-Fi, the new Kinect and one Xbox One Wireless Controller. On the hardware front, the specifications of the two certainly are extremely similar.

While the new DualShock 4 happens to be Sony's strength here, the new Kinect will certainly put points on Microsoft's scoreboard. The DualShock 4 which was first showcased in February comes with a capacitive touchpad along with a headphone jack in the controller. It also has a lightbar that can be utilised for identifying players as well as create a 3D gaming environment.

The new Kinect on the other hand comes with voice recognition and happens to be always 'listening'. It is now certainly for more than just motion gaming.

2. Pricing and Availability

The Xbox One has been priced at US $499/ £429/ AUD$599/499 Euro (approximately Rs. 29,300) and will go on sale in November this year. The console will be available in 21 markets namely Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. India as of now is not on the list. The PS4 on the other hand is priced $100 lesser at US $399/ £349/399 Euro. The device will go on sale in a "Jet Black" colour, this holiday season (November/December) in North America and Europe.

Do note that while the Xbox One ships with the Kinect, the Playstation Eye does not ship with new PlayStation. The PS Eye has been priced separately at US $59. So, if you wish to own a PS4 with the PS Eye, the difference between the pricing of the two will be lesser.

3. Gaming Titles

At the end of the hardware and the power inside, what matters most is the content. A gaming console is no good without the game. As far as gaming is concerned, both the companies claim that the consoles come with some really good titles.

At the E3 a couple of these titles were showcased. Sony showcased games like Killzone: Shadow Fall, InFamous: Second Son and the racing game Drive Club. It also announced that the upcoming games lineup for PS4 from software developers and publishers will include games such as Destiny, Diablo III, Kingdom Hearts III, Final Fantasy XV, Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, Watch Dogs, NBA 2K14 from 2K Sports, The Elder Scrolls Online and many more totalling more than 110 titles.

Xbox One will be welcoming games such as the historical third-person game Ryse: Son of Rome, Killer Instinct, Minecraft, Project Spark and a new instalment of popular sci-fi game Halo. With Cloud computing being the major focus, Microsoft showcased third-person open-world games like the zombie-fighting sequel Dead Rising 3 and Sunset Overdrive. Titles such as the racing game Forza MotorSport 5 and multiplayer shooter Titanfall will also come to the Xbox One.

4. Used games policy

Here is where Microsoft turns out to be a big flop. The gaming community thrives on second hand and rental games. Why? Because games at the end of it are certainly expensive. Microsoft recently announced that it would be restricting the game distribution where you can resell a game only through a game publisher. Also, with the Xbox One while each game can be shared, it can be shared only once. Now that happens to be extremely restrictive.

Sony on the other hand has announced that the Sony PlayStation 4 will not come with any such restrictions. The console like previous iterations will not limit disc sharing and continues to have the same used games policy.

5. It's all in the cloud - or is it?

While being on the cloud is good thing for keeping your data in-sync and creating real-time virtual communities, restricting your device to the cloud and more importantly the Internet is certainly not a wise move. This happens to be exactly where Microsoft went wrong again. Microsoft's Xbox One offers only 24 hours of offline gaming. After the time period, the device needs to be reconnected to the Internet. This factor remains no matter what form your game is in - on the cloud or in a disc.

The Sony PS4 on the other hand stays true to the original tradition of gaming. While there are a host of features for the cloud and there are functionalities that let you record a game and upload the video in real-time with an option for you to take the controller of a friend across the continent, that is not where it ends. You need not connect to the Internet every 24 hours and can play games without it for as long as you want. While there are modern features as well, the traditional disc based gaming has been retained.

Microsoft also announced that it will be doing away with the Microsoft points system for online purchases with its Xbox Live online service, opting instead for local currency.

6. Multiplayer Gaming

With both the consoles integrated to work with the Internet, multiplayer gaming goes to a whole new level. But online multiplayer gaming on next generation gaming consoles does come at a price. From now on online multiplayer gaming on the PS4 will require a $50 annual subscription to PlayStation Plus, something that didn't exist earlier. This is similar to multiplayer gaming on Xbox consoles which have a similar requirement with Xbox Live Gold. Xbox Live Gold, which is required for online multiplayer gaming on Xbox 360 and Xbox One, costs $24.99 for three months and $59.99 for 12 months. So the pricing for the both the services happens to be quite similar.

7. More than just gaming?

The Xbox One has been dubbed as an "all-in-one" living room solution. If a living room companion is what you are looking for, the Xbox One might certainly be the answer. The Xbox One offers entertainment and gaming rolled into one device. The console lets you watch live TV from your cable and Skype chat with your friends. You can also do these in a 'Snap mode' with games open at one end and a movie open in the other. The device lets you 'Snap' between the environments.

The PS4 stays the way the PlayStation 3 has been as far as entertainment is concerned. What is noteworthy here is the integration of social media on the device. The DualShock 4 comes with the share button and the idea here is to live up to the present needs of social media. With the idea of sharing, users will now be able to upload videos of gameplay and screenshots on the online social world with the click of a button.

PS4 vs. Xbox One: The next gen gaming wars

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