Xbox One Vs. PlayStation 4: Two Years Later

Posted on by

It’s been nearly two years since the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. With dozens of software updates and falling prices, choosing between the two is far more difficult than it was in 2013. So we decided it was time to compare them. now that they are successful.

Applicants

If you’re looking for a console, you’ll probably want to choose between Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (sorry Wii U, but you’re in a separate category). Both are generally good, both have their drawbacks, and both have changed significantly since their launch.

  • Xbox One ($ 349) : Microsoft’s Xbox One had a slightly shaky start in terms of sales, but it changed completely within two years. For $ 350, you get a console, 500GB hard drive (although 1TB options are available for ~ $ 400), controller, headset, power cable, and HDMI cable. If you shop during the holidays, you will likely get a packaged game as well.
  • PlayStation 4 ($ 349) : The Sony PlayStation 4 was the top seller, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best. For the same price as the Xbox One, you get a 500GB hard drive, controller, power cable, HDMI cable, and headset. Much like the Xbox, if you buy it over the holidays, you will likely get a packaged game.

There are countless things to compare between these two consoles, so let’s get down to business.

The basics

Before diving into the details of each of them, let’s talk about each console more generally. While many will want to sit and argue about graphics comparisons between the two , we’ll skip that here. For most of us, the differences are impossible to notice. Or, at least, without seeing them side by side, you would never have guessed the differences between them. Likewise, if you want to go into detail on hardware specs from GPU bandwidth to CPU, this diagram will help you .

Xbox one

  • Hardware : There’s no doubt about that: when it comes to consoles, the Xbox One is pretty big. One half of the console is an air vent, so nothing should be placed on it. You get three USB ports on the back of the console, along with all the audio / visual connections you’d expect. You also get component / composite output, which is how the Xbox One handles cable TV capabilities (more on that later).
  • Controllers ($ 59.99) : If you’ve owned an Xbox 360 controller, you know what to expect from the basic shape of an Xbox One controller. The D-Pad has been slightly improved this time around, but it’s still not optimal for any 2D games you might be able to play. Oddly enough, you will need your own batteries for the wireless controller.
  • Interface : The Xbox One interface is based on Windows 8, so if you’re familiar with it, you’ll feel right at home. However, the dashboard has tons of ads for various games and movies, so it can often be difficult to navigate. This seems more complicated than it should be; you need to tap too much if you want to do anything other than launching a game or application. You can move things around on the Xbox One to change the look of the dashboard, which is nice. That being said, the Xbox One will get a design update to bring it up to Windows 10 standards in November, so hopefully they’ll fix all the oddities of the interface.
  • Storage : Xbox One comes standard with a 500GB hard drive, and a 1TB option is also available. You cannot upgrade your hard drive, but external hard drives will work (thus three USB ports on the back instead of two for controllers).
  • Game Device Streaming: Xbox One can stream games from your Xbox One console to any Windows 10 PC on your home network . Unfortunately, you can’t stream games the other way, from your PC to Xbox One, but it’s still a pretty cool feature .

Playstation 4

  • Hardware : Compared to the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 is much smaller. Two USB ports are on the front and fans are on the back, so you can place something on top of them if you need to.
  • Controllers ($ 59.99) . The Sony-branded DualShock controller has undergone major overhauls for the PlayStation 4. It now includes a touchpad in the center of the controller and an audio jack that connects to a headset or for streaming in-game audio to any pair of headphones. … The buttons, size and feel have been greatly improved. The controllers are USB charged, which means you can plug them into your console or whatever USB charger you have.
  • Interface : Unlike the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4’s interface is quite sparse. You get a main menu with recently launched games and applications, as well as a second menu with most of the system tools. The rarity makes it pretty easy to find what you’re looking for, although it lacks any customization options for simple tasks like organizing your game library or pinning certain apps to the front of the menu.
  • Storage : The PlayStation 4 comes with a 500GB hard drive, but you can upgrade to any capacity as long as the drive of your choice is thinner than 9.5mm. Unlike the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 does not support external hard drives. However, the process of upgrading a hard drive is foolishly simple .
  • Game Device Streaming: The PlayStation 4 can stream games to the PlayStation Vita if you have one.

Many people will find the simple PlayStation 4 menu much more appealing, but if you like Windows 8 then you will love the Xbox One ( although many still find the interface confusing and impossible to use ). An update this November will bring the interface in line with Windows 10, which will hopefully make navigation easier.

As far as the little things go, each console has its own advantages. Streaming audio to headphones via a PlayStation 4 controller is a great feature that I personally use all the time when I don’t want to annoy everyone around, but not everyone will be interested. Streaming games from Xbox One to PC sounds great on paper, but not everyone will benefit from it. You can’t upgrade your Xbox One hard drive like you can on the PlayStation 4, which is annoying, but it also supports external hard drives, which is not the case on the PlayStation 4.

Games

These are primarily gaming systems, and the choice is not the same in both systems. Let’s take a look at some exclusives, some independent titles and backward compatibility options. This is very subjective, but we will try to take a little look at what is available for each of them.

One note: when we talk about exclusivity, we mean the Sony console and the Microsoft console. Many of these “exclusives” are also available on PC, Xbox 360, Mobile or PlayStation Vita.

Xbox one

Playstation 4

If you’re a big Halo fan, for example, you would obviously prefer the Xbox One over the PlayStation 4. Exclusivity is the main deciding factor for most people who choose consoles, so if that’s important to you, you’ve already made your choice.

But if we want to look at the statistics, Sony has 26 exclusive games with a Metacritic rating of 80 or higher, the Xbox One has 14 . Metacritic isn’t exactly the best metric for quality , but it does at least provide a metric that helps us compare the two.

The PlayStation 4 is gaining acclaim here (and the Metacritic advantage) because it has succeeded in capturing indie games otherwise exclusive to PC. Many of them have been well received and you can’t go wrong with games like SOMA, Journey, The Talos Principle, or Hotline Miami 2. If you’re into indie games, grab the PlayStation 4.

However, if you’ve skipped the latest generation and want access to Xbox 360 games, the Xbox One’s backward compatibility matters a lot and could potentially turn the tide, depending on how many games they actually make compatible.

Of course, since this all tends to happen, the upcoming games are just as important, so take a look at the list of upcoming Kotaku games to help you make your choice. If all else fails, just use what your friends have, because chances are you’ll want to play with them at some point.

Online Opportunities

When it comes to online features, the Xbox 360 wiped out the PS3. Things are a little smoother at the moment.

Xbox one

Xbox Live Gold costs $ 59.99 a year and gives you access to multiplayer, free games every month as a subscriber, small discounts on games (usually a couple of dollars off the sales price), and group chat options. Xbox Live Gold also includes game streaming to Twitch and similar services, group chats, cross-play chat, and various ways to publish media online. If you don’t pay for Xbox Live Gold, you still get access to video streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu, live streaming and Skype features.

Playstation 4

Playstation Plus costs $ 49.99 per year and gives you access to multiplayer, free games every month if you’re a subscriber, storage for saved online games, discounts (usually a few dollars on new games and discounted merchandise), and streaming options. video. … Without a membership, you can still play free online games and watch videos through any video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

The PlayStation 4 has been significantly improved over the PS3 to match Xbox Live Gold, including live streaming, group chat, in-game chat, and a dedicated ‘ Share Play ‘ feature that lets you invite a friend to play via streaming even if they don’t have a copy of the game.

So actually the two subscriptions are almost identical, but the Playstation Plus costs $ 10 less.

Multimedia functions and video playback

Game consoles are no longer just for gaming. They are also multimedia units that can stream movies, play videos from hard drive, and stream from home network .

Xbox one

Playstation 4

Both consoles have a huge selection of video streaming apps, and more are coming every day. Each also plays via DLNA (more on how to do this here ), and has a good set of codecs for local video playback. If you prefer a standard TV-style remote for a Netflix controller and the like, both have options for that, although the Xbox One also has a smartphone app for that.

You can’t go wrong with any of them

The Xbox One’s cable and satellite box integration is excellent, although it doesn’t add anything if you’re a cord lover. Conversely, while Spotify’s integration with PlayStation 4 seems minor, it is pretty good in practice. Spotify runs in the background, which means you can play music while playing games at the same time.

Cheaper online access to the PlayStation 4, a more powerful (currently) software library, and an easy hard drive upgrade make it a fantastic system to own. Xbox One’s cable TV integration and Windows 10 compatibility make it easy for Windows 10 users.

After two years of using software updates, both are great, both have a good selection of games, and both do a great job of doing their job as a set-top box, so whatever you’re working with is likely to enjoy it.

More…

0
Cooking

Leave a Reply