The battle for buyers in the gaming console market between the two leading companies - Sony and Microsoft - has turned out to be serious. At the end of 2013, two new generation game consoles were released at once - Sony Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Each of the consoles has incredibly powerful technical characteristics and distinctive features. Of course, it is quite difficult to determine the clear winner in this struggle, as well as to give an unambiguous answer to the question of which of the game consoles is better, but you can draw up a detailed comparative description of both products and identify their main advantages and disadvantages.
Design
The design of both game consoles is made in a similar style. If you do not take into account some minor details, there are practically no external differences: they are dark rectangular boxes, in appearance resembling video recorders, which were produced back in the early 90s. A Blu-ray drive is located on the front side of both consoles, and all necessary cable connectors are located on the back side. However, the PS4 also has two USB ports on the front, which certainly makes working with the console even more convenient. In addition, the PS4 is more compact and looks sleeker thanks to its “beveled” design and visual separation into two parts.
Specifications
The Xbox One and Sony Playstation 4 game consoles are equipped with an eight-core AMD processor, a 500GB hard drive and 8GB onboard RAM. A distinctive feature of the PS4 game console is that it supports 4K high-definition video (3840 x 2160 pixels). At the moment, televisions that are capable of delivering such a clear image have not yet become widespread due to their high cost. This move on the part of Sony may well be far-sighted and help in its competition with Microsoft.
Game controllers
The new generation console from the Japanese manufacturer is now equipped with the new DualShock 4 game controller, which has undergone many changes compared to its predecessor. The new gamepad has a more comfortable size, which will certainly be a big advantage for people with wider palms. In addition, there is a built-in speaker and touchpad on the front of the controller.
The Xbox One game controller hasn't changed much compared to the previous generation console. The wireless joystick has become more comfortable in the hands and more responsive to commands, however, it is rather difficult to call these changes a significant update.
When it comes to active video games, the new Playstation Eye is now equipped with two cameras, which makes it possible to accurately track even small movements of several players at the same time. True, the viewing angle is only 85 degrees, and the minimum distance for working with the device is 30 cm, which, of course, is bad news for most Russians with small rooms. There are four built-in microphones in the body of the Playstation Eye device, and a face recognition system and voice control have been added to the previously existing Playstation Move functionality.
The Xbox One's Kinest 2.0 system is much more suitable for small spaces, as it has a fairly wide viewing angle. The device is capable of reading the movements of six players at the same time, accurately transmitting even the slightest gestures, analyzing the heartbeat and distributing weight over the skeleton.
Services, social features, and built-in apps
If you use Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system on your computer or its mobile version of Windows Phone on your smartphone, then controlling your Xbox One game console will become familiar to you even on the first day after purchasing it. Its interface is a set of multi-colored windows, as in the eighth version of Microsoft's desktop operating system.
The Japanese manufacturer did not disclose all the details of the operating system of the PS4 game console. But Sony is actively promoting the possibilities of new functionality that will allow players to interact with each other. For example, with the help of a special Share button, you can upload photos and videos with the passage of the game to the Internet, as well as carry out an online broadcast of the game live.
Microsoft has unveiled the Xbox One console as a universal living room media device, so it is designed for a wide audience, including not only gamers, but also fans of cable channels, social networks and other home entertainment. Xbox One includes the Smart-TV function - the console supports voice control and multi-window interface, can make Skype calls and much more.
The Xbox Live service supports 300 thousand remote servers where users can store downloadable content, music, games and can add up to 1000 users as friends.
This year, Sony is launching a new Gakai service that will allow users to run PS3 games on next-gen consoles without having to wait for a re-release. Xbox One will not have such backward compatibility, which means that you will have to find additional funds to buy your favorite games, but for the new console.
Output
The simultaneous release of these two game consoles has presented many gamers with a difficult choice, as even experienced experts and professionals cannot come to a consensus and give a clear answer to the question, which console is better - PS4 or Xbox One? In any case, each product will find its consumer. However, as practice shows, the Sony game console is in great demand at the moment.
