ps4vsxbox1

Well E3 could have went a lot better for Microsoft. Sony came out and pretty much said “Every thing that you hate about Xbox won’t be an issue on the PS4.” That said players care about the games.

Every year E3 is the place for gamers to have their moment in the spot light. The Electronic Entertainment Expo this year was better than most in recent years because gamers got a chance to see both of the new consoles up close. I’m sure you have heard lots about the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 everywhere else so, lets cut to the chase. Why pick one over the other?

 

Xbox One highlights 

  • Microsoft’s Xbox Live is years ahead of PlaySation Network.
  • The Kinect is the like the Wii but better. It makes the Sony Move look out dated and desperate. The power of your voice to control your games and entertainment media is very valuable.
  • Smartglass has a ways to go before it is a killer feature but the ability to interact with your games and TV on just your phone or tablet is great. The 2nd screen market is still young but Smartglass is ahead of the rest.

PlayStation 4 highlights 

  • PS4 “won’t impose any new restrictions” on pre-owned titles.
  • PS4 won’t require a persistent online connection or online check within 24 hours
  • It’s $100 cheap than Xbox One.

playstation4 used 730x501 E3 showdown: Xbox One vs PlayStation 4

What’s the deal with used Games?

No one likes DRM. What’s more, it never seems to work out well for companies that support it. It didn’t work too well for the music companies when they went after Napster. It didn’t work well for EA when they tried with SimCity and as you can see it is doing wonders for Microsoft. The media and consumer backlash has been to say the least harsh. Well deserved but still harsh. Microsoft’s Xbox One requires an internet connection once every 24 hours.  Publishers have the authority to deny or charge a fee for the loaning of games and trade-ins.  You can only do a trade in at “participating retailers”. CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Jack Tretton said they are keeping things as they always have been. No restrictions on used games, lending, renting and no online requirements or check ins.

 

Value 

Sony’s PlayStation 4 is cheaper than the Xbox One However you may have missed that online multiplayer now requires a PS Plus subscription. You may also may have missed that Sony’s camera and it’s device Move are not part of the system. You have to shell out extra for those. So if you add it up, you are paying roughly the same price. All the same, $100 sounds like a lot without the facts. Parents will not think about the extra addons until they are at the store and by then they already made up their minds. Microsoft’s going to have to work very hard to convince and educate gamers on why its system is worth the extra upfront investment. The way Microsoft seems to want to do that is by billing the Xbox One as not just a game system but as the “One” system you need to have in your living room. The Xbox One console is an “all-in-one entertainment system”. When you put the systems next to each other, the Xbox One wins on value. However, if you just want to play games and don’t need the extra media stuff; such as talking to the your system, PS4 is the way to go. I personally  hate TV guides and can’t wait to change channels by just saying “Xbox HBO”  or “Xbox Syfy channel”

The Games

In this new age of gaming there is no such thing as exclusives. Gone are the days of Mario Vs. Sonic. Games cost too much to make in modern times. Sony says it will have 100 PS4 games in it’s 1st year. Sony also said that 40 of those 100 will have exclusive. What Sony calls exclusives in most cases are not really in fact exclusives. they are DLC (Down loadable content) such as an extra mission, level or an outfit.  Microsoft has 13 exclusive titles coming to the system from 3rd party publishers. However, they don’t always stay exclusive. Mass Effect left Xbox 360 to play on PS3 so it could play on both sandboxes.  Microsoft Studios plans to publish 15 exclusive titles during the console’s first year. 1st party games are the only real exclusives you can count on.  That said once again, Xbox One at the moment has more original content due to delays on 1st party titles for PS4.

So, what system should I buy? 

Everyone that thought Xbox One was just going to be a glorified TiVo box that happens to use the power of your voice would be wrong, very wrong. This system is more than an media entertainment box. At E3, Microsoft showed off Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The once Sony PlayStation only game will now be on Xbox One as well. Microsoft also had some exclusive games that will only be on the Xbox One. Games such as Crimson Dragon, Quantum Break, Ryse: Son of Rome, Titanfall all confirmed as Xbox One. Sony had one point, I’ll be it a very good point. Gamers should not have to pay twice to for the same game. That is basically what you would have to do to sell a used game. Sure you don’t have a direct fee, but GameStop is not going to eat that fee. They will pass it on to the gamers. You should not have to be online to play games. I hate this. Games you buy from Xbox Live do not work if you are not online, even if you want to play a game that have a single player option. This is a rip off. Not everyone is online 24-7. What if the internet connection goes down? Microsoft’s answer was just plain insulting. An executive said that gamers can buy an Xbox 360 if they don’t have internet. Come on Microsoft. Windows 8 sucks, Windows Phone 8 sucks, The Surface has no owner base and the business model for Office is fading. Xbox is your one good thing at the moment that people are excited about. Don’t mess it up.  Sony PlayStation 4 will be a great system but in the end of the day Xbox One is what you should go with. It just has more. They system comes with the Kinect, Xbox Live is more robust than PSN, Xbox One partners with major cable companies and networks. Add that in that it is also a truly great games and it is a clear winner.

 

 

Men lie, women lie, Numbers don’t 

Feature PlayStation 4 Xbox One Wii U
Price $399.99 [1] $499.99 $349.99 / 299.99
Optical Drive Blu-ray/DVD [2] Blu-ray/DVD [3] 25GB Optical Disc (Proprietary)
Game DVR Yes [4] Yes [5] No
RAM 8GB GDDR5 [6] 8GB DDR3 [7] 2GB DDR3 [8]
CPU Single-chip x86 AMD “Jaguar” processor, 8 cores [9] 8 Core Microsoft custom CPU [10] Multi-Core PowerPC “Espresso” CPU[11]
Storage 500 GB Hard Drive (user removeable)[12] 500 GB Hard Drive (non-removeable) [13] 8GB or 32GB Flash
External Storage TBA Yes, USB [14] Yes, USB
Cloud Storage Yes [15] Yes [16] No
Mandatory Game Installs No [17] Yes [18] No
Required Internet Connection No [19] Yes [20] No
Used Game Fee No [21]Publisher Dependent Yes [22]Publisher Dependent No
Backwards Compatibility None [23] None [24] Yes, Wii
Cross Game Chat Yes [25] Yes [26] No
Motion Control DualShock 4, PlayStation 4 Eye(not included), PlayStation Move(not included) Kinect 2 Wii Remote, Wii U GamePad (included)
Second Screen Vita (not included) [27] SmartGlass (not included) [28] Wii U GamePad (included)
Voice Commands TBA Yes [29] No
Subscription Service PlayStation Plus[30] Xbox Live [31] No
USB USB 3.0 [32] USB 3.0 [33] USB 2.0
Live Streaming Yes Yes No
Reputation Preservation Trophies will be ported Achievements will be ported [34] N/A
Web Connection Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n [35] Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi [36] IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, LAN via USB dongle
BlueTooth Bluetooth 2.1 (EDR)[37] No* Bluetooth Support[38]
A/V Hookups HDMI (4K Support [39]) , Analog (Component, RCA), Optical output[40] HDMI input and output (4K support), Optical output [41] HDMI out, Component/ Composite out
Region Locked No Yes [42] Yes

 

 

By Rubens Saintel

Proud father, #Haitian, photographer, consultant, writer & entrepreneur. I love video games, movies, plays, technology (surprise), beta testing apps and all things sci-fi. SaintelDaily.com |AppleWatch101.com | NBA101.com