After spend the day glue to screen watch E3 press conference, I must say there is not a better time to be a gamer than now. But my real question is which system will satisfy my gaming needs for the coming future. Used games and always on don’t really effect me. I generally buy new and keep my games and maintain connected system anyway. When you break down both system, they are quite a lot alike. I am not trying to start a fanboy war, I just fail to see the difference that effect me.
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 Xbox One features a custom eight-core x86 CPU, a 500GB hard drive, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, USB 3.0, HDMI in and out ports, and WiFi. The Sony PS4 has an single-chip eight-core AMD Jaguar custom low power x86-64 APU with a Radeon based graphics engine, 8GB of GDDR5 RAM and a Blu-ray optical disc drive. Both firms have gone for custom AMD chips. Never system will be backwards compatible, although Sony will allow for streaming of PS3 games. Both consoles have DVR features, and each will let players upload their content for sharing with their peers. X1 will use Twitch and the PS4 will goto Ustream.
Games
Both Companies showcase a great selection of games that has every gamer drooling a little. Sony lineup: InFamous: Second Son, DriveClub, Killzone Shadow Fall. Xbox One: Ryse: Son of Rome, Killer Instinct, Dead Rising 3, Halo.
DRM and Online
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. However maintain the physical disc is DRM itself.
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.
Look at the feature Developers’ have announce so far, ie second screen, ps vita connect and other feature, I believe a constant connection will be mandatory for player to get the most of their games. Sony is just leaving it to the developers to say you need to connect daily instead of mandating it from the console. Take Destiny for example, it requires an always on connection, the same goes for Need for Speed Rivals and Titanfall. So the PS4 might not need an active connection but the game sure do.
Final Thoughts
When you cut through all bull, the only different is the price. Xbox One comes in a high $499 USD wile the PS4 sit at $399 USD. If you choose to include the PS Eye and Move for this generation, there is no price difference. So beside exclusive content, the PS4 and Xbox One are the same system, one just comes with motion control. I was hoping Sony would put a nail in the decision coffin for me but I am more stuck in the middle then ever.