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Xbox One vs PS4: Which Should You Buy?

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Few things garner the kind of passion and attention that choosing a console does. It’s not that all video game consoles don’t do the same thing – at a very basic level, they do. The problem is that asking any informed person about why you should own the console they purchsaed usually gets you a torrent of information that you don’t necessarily need to choose between the Xbox One or PS4.

Don’t misunderstand me. There are definitely some differences between Microsoft’s console and Sony’s. Talking to current owners does highlight these differences. The Xbox One started this race trying to be a single place that every family member could use for all different kinds of entertainment. Sony, seems to have had a singular vision for a console that plays video games the best it possibly can, but still functions well for everything else.  The Xbox One had what some would characterize as a stellar library of titles this calendar year. The PS4 didn’t have tons of exclusive titles, but made up for that with smart deals on this year’s must-have video games and a well-timed price cut.

PS4-Xbox

Here’s what you need to know about Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PS4 video game console so that you can make the best purchasing decision for your needs and yours alone.

Xbox One

Hardware & Xbox Live

Microsoft’s Xbox One entertainment console is a black box complete with a Blu-ray drive and 500GB of storage space minimum. It has an Ethernet Port, an HDMI Out Port, HDMI In Port, IR Port, SPDIF port (optical audio out) and three different USB 3.0 ports. Microsoft makes versions of the Xbox One with as much as a 1TB of storage space for games, but users can add more if they choose to. There’s other hardware inside, but that stuff is of no consequence to the end users. Suffice to say, games typically look a bit better on the PS4 than on the Xbox One because of differences in internal hardware.

Xbox-One-Black-Friday-2014-Deals-Bundles

During the holidays, Microsoft is running a sale that brings the price of the Xbox One down to $299, matching what’s available from Sony.

The Xbox Store is stuffed with digital games, apps, television shows and movies, though video games purchased from GameStop and other stores work with the console too. When the Xbox One was first announced, Microsoft hoped that people would play video games with the Xbox One Wireless Remote or Kinect voice and gesture sensor. That didn’t exactly work out because of cost concerns. Now games are almost exclusively created to only support the Xbox One Wireless Controller.

PS4 vs Xbox One 2014 Buyer's Guide - 4

Buyers of a Kinect bundle can still change channels with Kinect voice commands or navigate the entire Xbox One experience without pushing a single button. The Kinect doubles as high-definition camera and chat system too. The HDMI-in port is for connecting to cable boxes so that you don’t have to switch inputs when using an Xbox One.

Exclusive Games in 2015 & 2016

quantum break

In the world of console gaming, each ecosystem is defined by titles it has only available to it. In 2015 Microsoft had  Halo 5: Guardians, Forza 6 and Gears of War Ultimate Edition. Games in 2016 for the Xbox One include Halo Wars, Gears of War 4, Quantum Break, Recore, Scalebound, Gigantic and Fable Legends. Microsoft recently began letting Xbox One owners play a growing number of Xbox 360 titles on their console through the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program.

Quick Pros

  • Add more storage for games and apps using USB hard drives.
  • Video clip and photo capture from within games.
  • Xbox Live on Windows 10 allows players to stream their games around the house and stay connected to Xbox Live.
  • Using Kinect, Xbox One automatically tracks which players have which controllers so that you don’t have to.
  • Xbox Live Gold Free Weekends, Deals With Gold and Games with Gold give cost-conscious players something to play regularly.
  • Rechargable batteries are separate purchase for Xbox One Wireless Controller.
  • Only console with EA Access subscription gaming service.
  • Only video game console with Sling TV
  • App snapping for watching video and playing games at the same time.
  • Kinect voice commands in some games.
  • OneGuide stitches together video content from cable boxes and streaming services. Switch channels by just saying “Watch, and the channel’s name.”

Quick Cons

  • Games don’t run at as high a resolution as they do on PS4.
  • Most experiences are a separate app that requires downloading from the Windows Store.
  • In some circumstances media apps are useless when Xbox Live has issues.
  • New software improvements introduced performance problems for some users.
  • $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year for Xbox Live Gold to play multiplayer online.
  • Can’t play games on the entire screen while listening to music.

PS4

Hardware & PlayStation Plus

The PS4 is a rectangular box, but one that’s sharpened and angled on both the front and back. It’s the second generation console from Sony to include a Blu-ray drive for video games and movies. The PS4 has Optical Audio Out, HDMI Out, an Ethernet Port and two front-facing USB 3.0 ports. The PS4 also has a key communication tool that the Xbox One doesn’t: Bluetooth connectivity. The technology lets players reuse the headphones and headsets they already have around their home.

PS4 Black Friday 2015 Deals

A single DualShock 4 controller is included with every PS4 bundle. The DualShock 4 controller comes equipped with a rechargeable battery inside. Depending on what your preference is for having to send off a controller to have its batteries replaced, that could be good or bad. At this point, the PS4 has stepped ahead of the Xbox One in terms of raw power. Games from third-party developers routinely arrive on PS4 with slightly better graphics than they do on Xbox One.

Sony hasn’t yet added the ability to use USB storage for games. That being said, the hard drive inside the PS4 can be easily swapped out for more storage, which is terrific for everyone involved. The PS4’s focus is on providing the best gaming experience, not the best all-around experience for every kind of entertainment. The PlayStation Camera that was meant to compete directly with the Kinect for Xbox One seems mostly relegated to the dustbin. It can record video and provide audio chat, but few apps and games support it.

PS4 Camera - PS4 Accessories

PS3 owners didn’t need a subscription to PlayStation Plus. PS4 owners do if they want to play online. Included in that subscription is access to a rotating library of titles that changes every month. Sony has placed big bets on next-generation services and ideas of what the future will be.

PlayStation Now lets users rent games from the comfort of their own home. These rentals come complete with each game’s add-on content. Besides one-time rentals, PlayStation Now is available in a $20 month subscription service. PlayStation Vue is a subscription television services expecting to arrive nationwide in the United States sometime in 2016. For one flat fee homes can skip out on their traditional cable subscription.

PS4-Black-Friday-2014-Accessory-Deals

Exclusive Games

2015 saw the launch of titles Bloodborne, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Rocket League. This was the first year that Sony console owners got first access to new Call of Duty content before other console owner. Smart deals with publishers for extra content in Batman: Arkham Knight and Star War Battlefront kept the PS4’s sales high when exclusive games ran dry this year.

Next year Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Rachet & Clank, Horizon Zero Down, Street Fighter 5 and No Man’s Sky are coming exclusively to the PS4.

Quick Pros

  • Share Play lets PS4 owners hand over control of their gaming session to friends if they need some help or just want to watch along.
  • Sony is quietly working to bring back some older titles from the PS2 to the PS4 for repurchase.
  • Captured video and pictures can be loaded onto a USB storage device for transfers.
  • Remote Play lets owners play their games from their PS4 when they aren’t home.
  • Spotify music streaming built-into PlayStation Music. Only gaming console that supports Spotify.
  • Better graphics than any other console.
  • User created Communities help friends and groups organize gaming sessions through PlayStation Network.
  • Only console with an official Major League Baseball simulation.
  • Coming PlayStation VR headset and games for those who want to experience their games differently.

Quick Cons

  • Nothing like Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program, meaning players will need to rent their old games for PS3 through PlayStation Now or keep their old console.
  • Can’t change PlayStation Network handle easily.
  • All games don’t support running in the background while using a media app.
  • No media player app for playing music and video that’s already owned and stored locally.
  • $49.99 a year or $9.99 a month for PlayStation Plus.

Which Should You Buy?

PS4 Price Cut 2015 - 1

Don’t bother asking anyone else what console you should buy. Decide for yourself by looking at the features that are available to each. Don’t hesitate to check out YouTube videos of each console’s software in action either. If you have one of their predecessor’s already, that makes your upgrade choice a little easier for you.

Good luck with your decision.

25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. The internet

    12/21/2015 at 9:21 am

    Not exactly news to compare the specs of game consoles two years into their life cycles.

    • Voice of Reason

      12/21/2015 at 10:56 am

      No but it’s refreshing to see a comparison that doesn’t flaunt a heavy handed bias against the Xbox One as most articles do. Although it should be noted that some (not all) games have a slightly higher resolution on the PS4 and that an update is coming soon to allow the Xbox One to play full screen with personalised background music. Also there is no mention from Sony of PS4 owners being allowed to change their ID’s.

    • Tim

      12/22/2015 at 12:05 am

      I bought a PS4 at launch 2 years ago in the UK and absolutely think it is the one of best things I’ve ever bought. The operating system and interface is slick and fast, the PS4 controller is superb, the games play great and look fantastic (usually at 1080p), PS4 exclusive games are usually very special (Bloodborne, Last of Us, Infamous, etc..), the multiplayer community is big and varied so there is always someone online to play with, and PlayStation Plus is great value for the amount free great quality games that come with the subscription.

      All round, the PS4 is a fantastic buy, I thoroughly recommend it.

  2. BeenJammin03

    12/21/2015 at 12:05 pm

    This article is great. It is unbiased. These days most things are bias towards ps4 and I know because I have both. They are both great consoles and this article seems like it would be good at helping you pick a console!

  3. Donald Current

    12/21/2015 at 3:46 pm

    I am actually impressed to see a non-biased view on these two systems. I do however hate the statement on the way XBOX ONE games look. Articles never expand on it being the games that appear on both consoles. IT also never states that all games exclusive to the consoles have maxed out visuals. Even launch titles like Rise and Forza. Great Article though.

  4. Kevin Berryman

    12/21/2015 at 8:50 pm

    How to choose a console to buy:

    Step 1: Find out which console has Halo.

    Step 2: Buy console with Halo.

    Step 3: Enjoy full satisfaction thanks to Halo.

  5. Robert Griego

    12/21/2015 at 9:06 pm

    Why choose? Get both consoles. Both consoles are great. I have both because it seems like this gen there isnt enough games on either console by it’s self. I think because of game studios strong shift to mobile and long development times..idk?

  6. Jimmy Rowe

    12/22/2015 at 1:03 am

    If you’re going to include F2P titles like Gigantic and Fable Legends for Xbox One, then it’s only fair to throw in Drawn to Death and Kill Strain for PS4.

    Xbox One also has Cuphead coming with I think is noteworthy.

    Ori and the Blind Forest is worth mentioning as a 2015 Xbox One exclusive.

    PlayStation 4 has more exclusives launching in 2016 than the ones mentioned, such as Gran Turismo Sport, Dreams, Persona 5, Gravity Rush 2 and The Last Guardian.

    Rocket League is not exclusive to PlayStation 4.

    Tearaway Unfolded and Until Dawn are also worth mentioning as 2015 PlayStation 4 exclusives.

  7. Kate Briga (@puamdefoke)

    12/22/2015 at 3:39 am

    the one that has Bloodborne = PS4

  8. eyeamtj

    12/22/2015 at 4:35 am

    Better graphics on PS4? LMFAO yeah ok

    • You Don't Say

      12/22/2015 at 6:41 am

      It’s a fact the ps4 is more powerful. Not by much, but more capable.

      • Edonus F

        12/22/2015 at 9:41 am

        Being more powerful doesnt mean you have better graphics. It just means you have the potential for better graphics. The Xbox One has won the siggraph graphics award every year since it been released against the “more powerful” Ps4.

        And the Ps4 really isnt more powerful…. this may be over your head because it is with lots of gamers but power s relative.

        • Tsn_GamingYT

          03/10/2016 at 8:24 am

          the ps4 in my opinon is better i’ve played them both and I say the ps4 is better becuz u can look at the mesg you send to friend on xbox u can’t that just 1 out of many tho and whit share play it alwayz fun to whach or play games u dont have

  9. khamar

    12/22/2015 at 6:07 am

    ps4 is better with everything

  10. Shalondajburke

    12/22/2015 at 6:13 am

    0=32 my neighbor’s ex-wife makes $68 /hr on the laptop . She has been fired for 6 months but last month her pay was $18404 just working on the laptop for a few hours.

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  11. Jeremy Freeman

    12/22/2015 at 8:36 am

    Xbox One for Exclusives, and a super Multimedia device. PS4 for hardcore gaming. Simple as that. Or get both, I have both for those reasons. And the remasters are superb on PS4, as are the 3rd party titles. If you don’t think their is a difference in graphical fidelity. Then compare them side by side, you’ll see it instantly, on “most” games.

  12. bandaid628

    12/22/2015 at 8:58 am

    Not quite sure how some of you think this article is unbiased. It is totally favoring the PS4. A PRO to the PS4 is that you can REPURCHASE old games for your system?? Yet with XBOX one you can just throw the disc in, and boom – start playing. But that isn’t a PRO? When a CON for the PS4 is it doesn’t have backwards compatibility like the XBOX one – yet again backwards comp isn’t even listed as a Pro for the XBOX one. I mean if you are going to compare systems – compare them line for line, not just randomly. To continue – a PS4 pro is the VR headset – yet again nothing about HoloLens for XBOX One… Hmm… There will probably never be a non-biased article written comparing these two systems. I have both, so I really don’t care… I just feel that both systems should get the same level of love… The only sensible recommendation is as the last line states – look at the features and choose on your own.

  13. otherZinc

    12/22/2015 at 9:02 am

    It’s not a hard choice. The PS4 has far superior hardware, far superior exclusive games, a far superior controller and a far superior online service.

    PS4 has the highest rated exclusive games of the year on Metacritic while the shovelware on the Xbox bombed both critically and at retail.

    A quick look at the sales charts tells you that most consumers have already made up their mind about which is better. All the real gamers have sided with the PS4, it’s only a handful of ignorant, misinformed, self – deluded brand slaves that are still trying to defend Microsoft’s dead console at this point and sales prove that.

  14. Seferoth75

    12/22/2015 at 10:30 am

    I’m leaning toward an x1.
    1. I like to play games, not sit on social media trashing other consoles because I’m bored.
    2. The ps4 user base is filled with 12 year Olds and first Gen gamers who think their low end hardware I’d the best evah.
    3. Sony loves to take advantage of their use base. Paying for online is silly til Sony does it.
    4. Sony doesn’t do anything original. Nothing the ps4 offers wasn’t already being done on other platforms

    • Spoiled9

      12/22/2015 at 11:33 am

      Yet your here on social media trashing the other console. lol

    • Sean Holt

      12/22/2015 at 3:46 pm

      and what exactly has microsft down that was original

    • Angered by Seferoth

      12/23/2015 at 9:41 pm

      1-Yet here you are doing what? I guess you just trash other consoles while…. not bored? Lol!
      2-Filled with 12 yr olds? How old are you? Way off! Adults buy the better console. Lol! JK
      3-Paying online does suck. Only consolation is Sony gives crazy good deals/free games with it, Trumps x-box!
      4-Sony doesn’t do anything original!? Are you serious! Disc games-first, Blu-ray (ya know what the x-box one now uses) first, Camera with gameplay-first (eye toy), Bluetooth for controllers-first, touchpad for controller-first?, Lightbar for controller-first?, VR for console-first, and one of the best in my opinion is share play-first!

      Get your xbox and be happy! Then find a friend who will have Bloodborne and Uncharted, and Horizon, and InFamous, and The Last of Us, then you will see really great games that you’re missing out on.

  15. Based Sony

    12/22/2015 at 12:50 pm

    Why is this a question?
    The answer is, of course, the Based PS4.

    I really wish more people could see the Greatness that Awaits #4theplayers and just join the Based Winning Team already.

  16. Sunita

    01/13/2016 at 4:11 am

    Xbox one has backward compatibility which ps4 doesn’t has

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