Xbox One vs PlayStation 4: Next-gen showdown
Trying to decide which next gen console to buy? Is choosing between the PS4 vs Xbox One making your head hurt? Which console is best? In these tough gaming times you need a friend to guide you to buying the right console for you, and we're that helping hand. We've pitched the new Xbox up against the latest PlayStation in the ultimate buyer's guide.
Microsoft and Sony have finally shown their hands and revealed the next generation games consoles within. As the dust begins to settle, and these two tech heavyweights go head-to-head in the run up to Christmas, we take a look at who's winning the battles, and who might win the war.
Check out T3 gaming gurus Nick Cowen and Matt Hill in our Xbox One vs. PS4 video.
Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: Games
Sony PlayStation 4
Sony has managed to position its console as the gamer's choice, thanks largely to its stance on second hand games but also a significant software line-up. You can check out our list of the best PS4 games.
Forza rival DriveClub, steampunk shooter The Order 1886 and cutesy action-adventure Knack all look extremely promising. Final Fantasy XV will also arrive on PS4 exclusively, along with a raft of multi-platform titles and additions to both the inFamous and Killzone franchises, with the latter in particular looking superb.
The PS4 will be home to a raft of great indie arcade-style titles too, includingResogun, Supergiant Games' new titles Transistor, and more.
After an initial Xbox One unveiling that was disappointingly low on games content - Microsoft's E3 presentation was packed to the gunnels with next-gen games, with much of it being exclusive to Xbox One. Check out our guide to the best Xbox One games.
More information on Forza Motorsport 5 and Remedy Entertainment's Quantum Break was but an opening salvo... before Microsoft fired a full broadside of new content. A new Halo game is on the way (albeit in the distant future), as areDead Rising 3, Metal Gear Solid V, Ryse: Son of Rome and a long-awaited reboot of Killer Instinct.
There were yet more new IPs, including cell-shaded thriller D4, barmy parkour-shooter Sunset Overdrive, Crimson Dragon (which looked reminiscent of Lylat Wars) and a quirky, indie-looking dungeon-crawler called Below. And more, that you should check out here: Xbox One Games
Ubisoft and Bungie respectively reveleaed that Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag,Watch Dogs and Destiny will all be arriving on Xbox One as well as PS4, but Xbox One users will get first dibs on Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC content, with PS4 gamers having to wait their turn.
The parting shot was perhaps the most exciting of all, as Respawn Entertainment unveiled Titanfall - a gorgeous-looking FPS where jetpack-equipped soldiers and mechs do bloody battle, complete with some parkour mechanics and all the polish you'd expect from the former Call of Duty devs.
Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: Features
Sony PlayStation 4: 4K Support
The PlayStation 3 was one of the devices which brought Blu-Ray to prominence and its successor could again be the pioneer, this time being the first console to offer 4K resolution capabilities. 4K refers to the resolution of 3840 × 2160, a massive step up from the current console which outputs at 1920 × 1080. While 4K TV’s are rare (Probably because of their outstanding price tags) inclusion in the PS4 could definitely bring it into the public eye.
Microsoft Xbox One: 4K Support
As previously mentioned, the Xbox One will support 4K upscaling for Blu-Ray, but it’s unclear if it will also support games and other media at that resolution.
Sony PlayStation 4: Camera
The PlayStation Camera is a bit of a micro-Kinect, following in the best tradition of EyeToy. Like Move, it reads the light bars on the rear of the DualShock 4s so that you can manipulate items on screen with it, but also reads your flailing arms to interact, too.
The resolution is decent if nothing too scary – it doesn't track your expression or engagement, but it can tell if you've covered your eyes (the crowd of AI bots on the demo hushed, before we pulled our hands away and they all cried in a really quite charming game of Peek-a-boo). It will also set your head on fire – virtually, at least – in that AR style that Reality Fighters and its Vita brethren did.
Microsoft Xbox One: Camera & Kinect
First off, the new Kinect sensor can support up to six players at once, which is a vast improvement on the two- player limit its predecessor could handle.
Rather than reading the player as wiry stick figure with boxes for hands, feet and a head, the new Kinect module can pick up muscle texture, the shape of the player's head and register the difference between their thumbs and the tips of their fingers.
It can even pick up strain on the player's body parts, demonstrated to us when we stood one leg and saw our body part slowly turn red on the screen in front of us. Voice activated commands are still part of the package too.
Kinect can now monitor facial expressions, see if the player’s face begins to flush and even read the player’s heart rate. Not only will all of this be useful in the creation of Kinect software – fitness games, for example, will be far more advanced – but it also allows Kinect to gauge the player’s level of engagement with any form of entertainment they happen to be watching through the Xbox One. If all of this sounds a bit Orwellian, don’t worry. Contrary to some of the rumours flying about the Internet, you don’t have to have Kinect active at all times in order for the Xbox One to work – you can deactivate it entirely. Not only does this mean you can still play games in the nude, should you desire, but you don’t have to allow it collect any data from your viewing or playing habits – although if you do, Kinect and the Xbox One will start to build a more bespoke entertainment experience just for you.
Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: Interface
Sony PlayStation 4
The new PS4 interface features a similar blue and layout to the PS3 UI, with the usual smattering of friends lists and profile features, all denoted by horizontal tabs at the top of the screen. If anything, it actually has more in common with the layout you'll find on Sony's latest TVs.
Hitting the PlayStation button in the middle of your controller will automatically pause the game and let you fiddle with any options or settings you want, before jumping back in where you left off. A double tap toggles between active apps and games in a iOS7 sort of fashion/
The process of signing into user accounts and PlayStation Network has all been streamlined and simplified - another welcome change.
Microsoft Xbox One
Since we paid for our nosiness with a mild ticking off, we might as well tell you about what we witnessed. The menu that flashed briefly before our eyes was laid out lengthways in a series of squares, almost like a smaller version of the layout on a Windows Phone 8 handset if you gaze at it sideways.
Importantly, the increased capabilities of Kinect's four-element array mic eliminate ambient sound and recognise more words, making voice interaction not just possible, but genuinely useable and intuitive. Integrated SmartGlass also means your iOS and Android devices become genuine second-screen resources rather than lightweight extras. Amongst the Kinect port and USB 3.0s is not just a HDMI out, but a HDMI in. This is for your set-top box - part of Microsoft's aggressive "input one" strategy. Even if a telly service doesn't have bespoke Xbox content, you can still control it through your console and via Kinect. Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: Online & Cloud
Sony PlayStation 4
Sony wants the PS4 to give you social media through a gaming filter. You’ll be able to jump into a friend’s party and watch their game in progress as well as offering tips. You can even become the ultimate backseat gamer, and take control of the game if you deem them sucky enough.
Sony’s acquisition of Gaikai ties into this nicely, offering an online service that lets you play games and demos via cloud streaming, as well as digital downloads. This is all very convenient and lovely on paper, or indeed in the Far East where average internet connections are around 8-12Mbps. But how the UK’s internet infrastructure – and indeed, Gaikai’s servers – will cope with this sort of traffic is something we simply don’t know yet. Microsoft Xbox One Fear not, you can still own and use an Xbox without an internet connection, but you will be excluded from most of the new functions and features of the new console, as well as most new games. Now, you can buy a physical copy of a game, and then upload it to the cloud for your friends to access, and vice versa. So, say you want to try out the new Fifa and your mate has a copy – if he uploads his to the cloud, you can access it and play it. Once you sell a title, your version will be removed from your console and the cloud as soon as the new owner boots up that copy. Very clever stuff. Developers now have the option of using large (and complimentary) external server spaces to outsource some of their game's grunt. While this will mean titles can be improved beyond the capabilities of the machine itself, it puts the requirement of speedy internet in the hands of the games makers on a case-by-case basis.
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