Being part of a video game media outlet means we get the Gift and the Curse of having to purchase both of the Next-Generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Having picked up our PlayStation 4 on November 15th along with games like Assassin’s Creed IV, Call of Duty Ghosts, Skylanders SWAP Force, Battlefield 4 and more was followed by receiving a package on November 22nd with an Xbox One inside with games like Assassin’s Creed IV and FIFA 14.
On the surface both consoles seem very much alike.
Both the PS4 and the Xbox One play high definition games that look more crisp with higher resolution textures, a higher frame rate and better lighting than anything we have seen on the PS3 or the Xbox 360.Both consoles rely on day one updates to bring the interfaces up to date and add some of the most basic things like playing BluRays on the Xbox One or allowing for multiplayer on the PS4.
Another great thing the two consoles have in common is the fact that any game available on retail discs can also be purchased via the Xbox Games Store or the PlayStation Store which adds a lot of convenience to the Next-Gen experience.
But there are many differences about how these consoles fee when compared to each other.
The PS4 feels like a video game machine through and through while the Xbox One expresses itself as a media hub for the living room. Right after powering up the PS4 and completing the download of the day one update, I was greeted by a fast and simple interface, gone are the times of the cross media bar, while some of its structure remains. Everything is quick, snappy and smooth. The PS4 invites you to pick your game and jump right into it after a quick install buffer of a minute or so. The theme continues.
The PS4 just feels like there is no fluff or extra fat on the bones, just lean meat of gamer heaven. I loved being able to stream my game via Twitch or Ustream after a quick and simple setup that was more painless than anything on a PS3 ever could have been. If you also pick up a PS Camera you will be able to use some basic voice commands along with the facial recognition and picture in picture broadcasting and commentating (Voice commands can also be done via the PS Mic). Apart from streaming players can upload videos to Facebook or Tweet images out to Twitter.
The PlayStation Store is fast and simple, while it looks a lot like the PS3 store, it actually works! I was able to quickly jump back and forth, download a game in the background or check out videos and screens. By now you can guess, the PS4 left me very impressed. The consoles also looks very sleek and compact. The PS4 is much smaller and visually appealing than the larger Xbox One. The camera is smaller than the new Kinect and the controller is actually a nice and substantial piece of kit – I prefer it over the new Xbox One Controller. Games run incredibly smooth and at 1080p resolution since there is a full 8 GB of GDDR5 RAM available to the console while the Xbox One holds back 3 GB of its 8 GB of GDDR3 RAM.
Is the Xbox One inferior compared to the PS4 then?
I don’t think so and also, the answer is not black and white – there is a lot of gray in this one. The Xbox One is larger, carries a massive power brick and an over-sized Kinect sensor. While it looks visually more clunky than the PS4, the Xbox One does not look terrible, it is not angled like the Sony machine and more square, it has a place in the living room next to receivers or DVRs. Maybe the biggest difference to the PS4 is the fact that the Xbox One has an HDMI pass through for your cable box which allows for TV integration and combined with Kinect’s voice commands, this may just be the killer app for Microsoft’s machine. I have been using it for a couple of days and it’s quite a technical marvel even though the commands don’t always work and require very specific commands.
The Xbox One of course plays great looking games and running FIFA 14 on the machine is an absolute blast and gets the in-laws asking me what game I am watching. The Xbox One is a next Next-Gen machine, too. Installing games however takes a while and make it seem much slower than the PS4 which takes about a minute to let me play. Good thing is that I am able to snap apps, TV or the Internet Explorer side by side to the dashboard or Xbox Games Store . The consoles is truly a multi-tasker even though watching YouTube while playing games doesn’t quite run without some intermittent buffering.
While the Xbox One does not allow for streaming via Twitch or Ustream with the push of a button like the PS4 but it does have a Game DVR which allows for recording some of your favorite clips, edit them with surprisingly great tools and upload them to Sky Drive which then allows players to upload their game clips or lets plays to YouTube and more.
Which console is for you then?
This is totally up to your preference, the PS4 is a gaming power house with instant streaming capabilities and sufficient apps like Netflix or Amazon Instant Video. Sony’s new console also provides some limited voice commands and video recognition with a quick and snappy interface.
The Xbox One on the other hand also plays some of the best Next-Gen games but it is more geared towards being the one stop shop media living room experience. Being able to watch TV through the Xbox One is one of the coolest things we have seen of this new generation of consoles and the voice commands work reasonably well also. The dashboard seems a bit bloated and less organized than the PS4’s interface but if you want to have all of your entertainment in one place, you may want to chose Microsoft’s console.
The deciding factor here may be the price though, the PS4 comes in at $399 which is 100 bucks cheaper than the $499 Xbox One. If I had to recommend a console at launch it would be the PS4 because I don’t care about the media hub aspect or Kinect as much as I do about the slick interface and gaming focused PlayStation 4.
Both consoles were purchased by onPause.org
