XBox One vs PS4 (Ongoing Battle-Comparisons)

[HacheMan]

Can the Xbox One Match the PS4 Before November?

By Mark Knapp
August 04, 2013


Microsoft may be closing that gap that was established immediately after it and Sony announced the technical specifications of their upcoming gaming consoles. Sony took the lead right away with a number of higher-performance elements, but that may not stay true until November.

Product Chief Marc Whitten was speaking about the Xbox One at a gaming convention in Cologne, Germany, called Gamescon. At this event, Whitten said Microsoft had made some improvements to its gaming console, including an increase to its graphics processing unit’s speed, a 6 percent increase from 800 megahertz to 853 megahertz.
Earlier comparisons of the two machines put the PlayStation 4 well on top in a number of aspects. For one, the PS4 will have almost three times the system memory bandwidth of the Xbox One, which means everything inside the machine will be able to communicate a lot faster. The console will also have the 8 gigabytes of 5500-megahertz GDDR5 Random Access Memory, which will help games perform better, compared to the Xbox One’s 8 gigabytes of DDR3 RAM that clocks in at only 2133 megahertz. Then there was the PS4′s higher-performing graphics processor, of course.

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Though Microsoft’s marginal increase of the Xbox One’s graphic processing performance may not be enough to catch up to the specs on the PS4, it sends a different message: the current specs of the Xbox One might not be the final ones. Microsoft could potentially continue making changes to the system to make it more powerful in the months before the November launch of both consoles.


Fortunately for Microsoft, there are other important factors that will affect the console’s success. If Microsoft can simply land a better lineup of games than Sony, then it may have a winning console on its hands. Even if it could just get earlier launch dates for the most popular games, it would have an advantage. Whitten also mentioned that Microsoft was working on some systems to make game developing on the Xbox One simpler, which could help pull developers away from the PS4.

Without Don Mattrick, the former head of Microsoft’s Xbox unit, it may be an extra steep struggle to make the Xbox One look like a strong competitor for the PS4, which has been proving its strength in gaming since its specs were announced. If Microsoft plays its cards right, it may be able to do just that.

 

[HacheMan]

Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One are easily two of the most highly anticipated launches of the year. Details continue to trickle out ahead of their launches in November, and we most recently got a look at the full lists of PS4 and Xbox One launch titles. Now, Sony’s President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has quietly revealed a very cool PlayStation 4 feature that Sony hadn’t previously announced. The PS4 and Xbox One each will have smartphone companion apps and various mobile integration features, and here’s one of the new PlayStation’s coolest: When a user purchases a PlayStation 4 game on his or her smartphone from anywhere in the world, the PS4 console at home will automatically wake, download the game, and then go back to sleep. Sony’s PlayStation 4 is set to launch on November 15th starting at $399.99.

 

[HacheMan]

Xbox One to Launch Nov. 22, One Week After Sony’s PlayStation 4

Marc Graser

Without much fanfare, Microsoft said it will launch the new Xbox One videogame console on Nov. 22, a week after the Sony PlayStation 4 hits retail shelves.
Company made the announcement Wednesday on the Xbox blog.

The console, which will be priced at $499, will launch in 13 countries — Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, the UK and the United States — with others to follow in 2014. Sony’s PS4 will come with a $399 pricetag.

The date was chosen because Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 on Nov. 22, 2005 in the U.S. and Canada, which worked well for the company in making the Xbox a major player in the console biz.

Microsoft said it recently began producing the final version of the console, first revealed in April from the Xbox campus outside of Seattle.
Final specs include an enhanced CPU, which has grown from 1.6GHZ to 1.75GHZ, roughly a 10% increase over the Xbox One that was first introduced.

Already, Microsoft said it has sold out of its pre-order supply in the U.S. faster than at any other time in its history, but did not disclose numbers. Because of the demand, however, Microsoft said it will offer up a limited number of additional Xbox One Day One consoles for pre-order. Again, it did not disclose how many.
Microsoft plans to support the current Xbox 360 through 2016 and will release more than 100 games on the console.

 

[JustinCruise]

Ps4

 

[HacheMan]

Xbox One Vs. PS4: The Top 12 Cross-Gen Video Games
forbes.com
10/16/2013

Recently, we discussed the top ten next-gen only video games headed to PS4 and Xbox One. But there’s a lot more cross-gen games coming out, landing on both next and current-gen systems.
Today we’ll look at video games slated for release on systems ranging from the Xbox 360 and PS3 to the Wii U, Xbox One, and PS4—and, of course, the PC.
Ground Rules
To qualify for this list, a game must be releasing on at least one current and one next-gen platform. Therefore, it can’t be a PC-only release, since PC doesn’t fit into the same “generation” cycle that defines consoles. I may do a more PC-focused list down the road (though many of these titles are also coming out on PC.)
These are also all larger projects being published by a major publishing house as opposed to self-published or niche games—I’ll follow up with an indie next-gen list in the near future.
All the games on this list are unreleased on any format as of this post’s publication, as well, ergo no Skylanders: Swap Force or Madden NFL 25 or any other game already out for current systems.
Finally, these are only games with some substantial amount of information available. No guesses like Half-Life 3 or games not releasing until 2015 like Cyberpunk 2077. There’s lots of games out there which we know next to nothing about, and have little to go on; these titles, as exciting as they may sound, will have to wait.
And now, without further ado and in no particular order:
Titanfall (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC)

Everything I’ve seen about this game so far looks and sounds amazing. Parkour meets mech combat meets competitive online shooter. You can jump, double-jump, run across walls and slip into a mech all while trying to beat the Other Guys.
That the game is multiplayer only may be its one drawback.
Granted, when it comes to the biggest shooters out there like Call of Duty and Battlefield, the single-player campaign plays second fiddle, and it makes sense for a studio like Respawn to focus on the core game rather than tacking on an expensive and time-consuming solo romp.
Still, my hope is that the multiplayer is successful enough to warrant a single-player game down the road.
Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: Q2 2014
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Destiny

Bungie is best known for the Halo franchise which, in many ways, helped propel the Xbox brand to what it is today. When Bungie handed over the reigns to 343 Industries and bid adieu to Master Chief, they turned to an entirely new space opera: Destiny.
Destiny is a “shared-world shooter” that blends single-player and MMO into something that’s at once both and neither. Set in a far future in the ruins of a once-great civilization, players are tasked with protecting humanity and exploring space. Unlike a typical MMO, there won’t be countless throngs of unfamiliar players. Instead, you’ll be matched with friends and contextually relevant players. It sounds quite similar to what we’re seeing in games like Star Citizen.
“Defend the last safe City on Earth,” the game description reads. “Defeat our enemies. Explore the ancient ruins of our solar system. Discover all that we have lost. Become legend.”
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One
Release Date: Q2 2014
Watch Dogs

Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs was planned as a launch title for the next-gen systems, but it’s been delayed into Spring 2014. Hopefully that results in a more polished game, even if it is disappointing to see one of this November’s most promising titles delayed.
The open-world hacker title casts you as Aiden Pearce, a hacker and former criminal, on a quest for justice and revenge. It’s a near-future science fiction game that posits a world of total connectivity, set in the high-tech landscape of Chicago where everyone and everything is linked together through the Central Operating System.
Watch Dogs also features a multiplayer invasion system that sounds a bit reminiscent of Dark Souls. And the game looks gorgeous, though as with any other game yet to be released, we have to take all our promo materials with a grain or two of salt.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: Q2 2014
Battlefield 4

Another game with extraordinary graphics, Battlefield 4 looks to unseat Call of Duty this year with its massive maps and destructible everything.
Using the Frostbite 3 game engine, DICE has put together a remarkable looking game. Even if you are burnt out on military shooters, there’s no denying that this looks like it could be a lot of hectic, explosive fun.
Of course, if you are going to go this route, you may want to consider PC as your platform of choice. While the resolution hasn’t been settled on yet, DICE will likely not opt to run the game at full 1080P on Xbox One and PS4. With so much going on, the systems might simply buckle under pressure. Nothing is more important than a smooth frame-rate in games like these.
But on PC, with a really huge budget, you can run the game at 4K resolution—four times the pixels of 1080P. With a really huge budget….
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PC
Release Date: October 29th, 2013
Call of Duty: Ghosts

Call of Duty: Ghosts is a new sub-brand in the Call of Duty behemoth. Everyone expected Infinity Ward to go with a new Modern Warfare game, but I’m glad they didn’t. Ghosts sounds a lot more interesting.
In Ghosts America is a fallen super-power. Your elite soldiers are no longer members of the dominant military force on the globe. I’m curious to see how this plays out; I’ve always been a sucker for an under-dog story.
The multiplayer is the lifeblood of the series, of course, and while the changes from one year to the next aren’t drastic, there’s often just enough tinkering and balancing going on to see a steady improvement with each release.
Like all these games, Ghosts faces a unique challenge when it comes to system proliferation. The multiplayer is so fundamental to the game’s longevity, a splintered player base even just across two Xbox platforms poses real challenges.
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: November 5th, 2013
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

The love-hate relationship I have with Assassin’s Creed never stops me from being excited about a new entry in Ubisoft’s long-running franchise.
Assassin’s Creed III introduced some cool stuff like naval warfare and the New World, but it was pretty buggy and the story and main character were boring.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag looks like a much more interesting game. Pirates! More naval warfare! No boring homestead, this time around your base of operations is your pirate ship!
That’s all very cool stuff, but I’m still dreading both the modern storyline that punctuates each of these games like an unwelcome house guest, and the combat. There’s so much potential in a pirate game of this scope to have amazing sword fights and swashbuckling adventure; I don’t doubt the adventure will be here, but the combat in these games has always let me down.
Still, I can’t wait to climb to the top of a massive palm tree and dive off into a hay bale. No other game makes climbing and diving so much fun.
Platforms: Wii U, PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One
Release Date: October 29th, 2013
Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition looks terrific. Fans of the series and of BioWare’s other games like Mass Effect, are divided at this point, with many worried about the studio’s recent track record.
I’m taking the eternal optimist’s role. The third in the fantasy roleplaying series looks nothing like Dragon Age II and has been in development much longer. Besides, the game is bringing back multiple playable races, the tactical camera and pause-and-play tactical combat, and adding neat stuff like destructible terrain and magic that can manipulate the environment around you.
You play as the head of the Inquisition, and there’s a major strategy element to the game as you take over fortresses, send out agents, and try to puzzle out the mystery of a demon invasion.
Like Battlefield 4, Inquisition makes use of the Frostbite 3 engine, and the areas you can explore are vast because of it; one area alone is said to be as big as the entirety of DA:II.
Of course, gamers who feel burned by other BioWare titles should be wary—don’t pre-order tends to be my advice—but from where I’m sitting this looks fantastic.
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4
Release Date: Q3 2014
Dying Light

Parkour meets zombies in Dying Light, a cross-gen title developed by Techland and published by Warner Bros.
Yes, I know, zombies are like shooters—they keep coming back and too often they look the same.
Nonetheless, from what I’ve seen so far Dying Light has real potential. People are calling it a blend of Dead Island and Mirror’s Edge.
All I know is that if I were trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, I’d sure as hell like to be able to run on walls and do crazy parkour moves.
The game’s title isn’t incidental: By day the zombies are somewhat manageable, but at night the zombie horde wakes up, becoming more aggressive, quicker, and deadlier.
Players who pre-order the game will have access to a special multiplayer mode that allows them to play as Night Hunters—fearsome zombies who can then track down and kill other players.
Platforms: PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: TBA 2014
The Evil Within

Developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda, The Evil Within is game director Shinji Mikami’s final work. The Resident Evil creator is one of the most accomplished developers in the survival-horror genre, and so far The Evil Within looks like the game many fans of the genre have been waiting for.
You play as Sebastian, a detective who finds himself at the scene of a grisly murder where he’s assaulted and then wakes in what appears to be an alternate reality of terror and madness. Seriously, I’m creeped out just watching the trailer and gameplay footage.
Survival horror requires a tremendous level of balance to get right, and all the pieces—scarcity of resources, lighting, sound, etc.—need to be perfectly placed to really achieve the right mix of fear and tension. We won’t know whether the game will get it right until we play, but I have high hopes for this one.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, PC
Release Date: TBA 2014
Wolfenstein: The New Order

The Wolfenstein games were trailblazers, helping define the very concept of a first-person shooter. I remember playing Wolfenstein 3D way-back-when, and probably the only shooter that’s had more of an impact on me was id Software’s DOOM.
You can’t really ever replace that sense of nostalgia, and Bethesda isn’t really trying to with Wolfenstein: The New Order. Instead, we get a re-imagining of the Nazi threat, including mechanized soldiers. I love a good alternative history, and The New Order tells the story of a Nazi-won World War II and the desperate counter-offensive.
Of course, you still play as William “B.J.” Blazkowicz, and the game is refreshingly single-player only. I enjoy multiplayer games as much as the next guy, but it still warms my heart to know that those of us who generally prefer solo play have a place in the industry.
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3
Release Date: TBA 2014
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain began life as two distinct games, one being developed by the (fictional) Moby Dick Studios. Game director Hideo Kojima was playing a prank that just about everybody saw through to one degree or another. I was in attendance at GDC 2013 when Kojima ‘came out’ from behind his bandaged mask and revealed the game.
Antics aside, I love this weird franchise though I’m hardly a font of knowledge when it comes to all the bizarre characters and intertwining story-lines. But I love the stealth-action mix and the crazy, over-the-top plots, and the games’ sense of humor. Hell, I love the sound effects—that familiar alarm sound when you’re spotted. The sound of your comrade shouting “Snake! Snake!” I suppose it’s just a part of game culture now that’s embedded itself on my brain, but I can’t wait to play this one. Also: horseback riding!
Now if only we could get a PC version, we’d be in business.
Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4
Release Date: TBA (2014 likely)
Thief

Last, and hopefully not least, we have Thief. As far as reboots go, we’ve seen plenty recently and they’ve largely been hit and miss. I’m hoping Thief will be a hit, of course, but it’s difficult not to make comparisons to Dishonored, Bethesda’s own stealth and assassination game set in a decidedly similar world to Thief.
Then again, this game is supposed to be designed much more around stealth rather than the choose-your-own-play-style Dishonored. You’re not an assassin, after all, you’re a burglar, and stealth is what you do best.
If Eidos Montreal and Square Enix can pull off a really challenging, immersive stealth game—a reboot, in other words, that pays real homage to the source material—I’ll be delighted. As it stands, after watching gameplay and listening to the developers, I can’t quite make up my mind. I’m hopeful, but I’m not going to go so far as to actually pin my hopes to anything just yet.
Platforms: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: February 2013
Be sure to check out my first list which looks at games not available on current systems: The Top 10 Next-Gen Video Games.
If I missed something, shout it out in the comments. These lists are never exhaustive or definitive. I’ll also take a look at what the Wii U has on offer in the coming months and into 2014, so if any Nintendo titles have you excited, let me know about them.

 

[SharkTank]

ps4 looks like the system to get...what do you guys think?

 

[KingofNicotine]

When Metal Gear comes out is when I will buy the PS4

 

[SoCal]

My problem with these gaming consoles is that the programmers have to relearn coding each time and with certain title... Madden, NCAA Football for example - the games suffer greatly in during the first few years. I haven't played any video games in a few years, but I remember being very unhappy year after year with those titles because the programmers were still feeling their way thru the coding.

Hell.. if I could have some of those old game system versions of Madden back... I would even play online again. But those days are over. New game systems... new bad football games. I do like a good game of WarHawk (Ps3) now and again - may have to bust the PS3 out soon. Best multi player game ever.

 

[SharkTank]

My problem with these gaming consoles is that the programmers have to relearn coding each time and with certain title... Madden, NCAA Football for example - the games suffer greatly in during the first few years. I haven't played any video games in a few years, but I remember being very unhappy year after year with those titles because the programmers were still feeling their way thru the coding.

Hell.. if I could have some of those old game system versions of Madden back... I would even play online again. But those days are over. New game systems... new bad football games. I do like a good game of WarHawk (Ps3) now and again - may have to bust the PS3 out soon. Best multi player game ever.

This is true, first year usually sucks for new systems football games.

 

[HacheMan]

The 5 Best Reasons For Buying The PS4 Instead Of An Xbox One

By Dave Their

It’s November, and that means that next-gen consoles are finally on their way. Both consoles have their strengths and weaknesses, and both consoles are going to appeal to different kinds of gamers. In that spirit, I’m running a mini-series on whether you should by the Xbox One, the PS4, or neither. Check back tomorrow for the argument for the Xbox One, and the day after that for why you might just want to wait.

Power: As the controversy over the resolution of Call of Duty: Ghosts proves, there are some important hardware differences between the Xbox One and the PS4. The game runs at 1080p native on the Ps4, and 720 on the Xbox One — some are saying that it’s definitive evidence that Sony's SNE +1.97% system has a power edge on the Xbox One, as we’ve suspected for some time. Developers have said similar things to websites like Kotaku, though they’re less confident about exactly what it all means.

We can argue all we want about what difference this will actually make when it comes to way games look on our new systems. But when it comes right down to it, Sony appears to be the better bet for pure hardware capability, so why not go with that? It’s probably not the wrong decision.

Exclusives: Sony has some of the best studios in the biz producing game exclusively for its platforms, so if you want to see what shops like Quantic Dream or Media Molecule are cooking up, you’ll need a PS4. While Sony does have its shooters, as a whole its exclusive lineup offers games that are slightly more offbeat than those from most AAA developers. Littlebigplanet is quirky, charming and wonderful. It’s the kind of game that gives Sony platforms their unique flavor.
Naughty Dog alone could warrant its own bullet. You can only play Uncharted on Sony hardware, which for some is reason enough.

Controller: The Dualshock 4 is the most drastic redesign of the Playstation controller since Sony got the idea to put analog sticks on it. The triggers are easier to use and rest your fingers on, there’s a share button for easy access to social features, and the clickable touch screen is front and center for a whole range of different controls. It still maintains the essential Dualshock design to avoid alienating long-term fans, but it’s a vastly more refined and easier to use version.
I used one at E3, and it’s miles ahead of the Dualshock 3. We’ll see how that sensor bar eventually gets implemented, but right now the touchscreen is a nice way to increase functionality without adding a hundred extra buttons to some limited real estate. It’s also bound to be useful on non-traditional games, which the PS4 should have in spades. And it works with Macs.

Indies: Microsoft MSFT +1.17% may be starting up an indie program, but it’s a little late to the party. Sony has been actively fostering and improving the development process for indie developers for years, and the proof is in the pudding. PS3 gave us games like Flower, The Unfinished Swan, and Journey, and that console was considerably harder to develop for. The PS4 was built for easy development and publishing from the ground up, meaning that we should be getting a lot of weird, wonderful, and beautiful games from small teams. We know we’re getting Jonathan Blow’s The Witness, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Rime, Transitor, and plenty of others.

Indies may not pull the same kind of numbers as AAA titles, but they tend to push the envelope in a way that big studios just can’t afford to. They can take risks, they can make strange games, and they can make games where you don’t shoot people. They also fill in the gaps between major release seasons, giving you more ways to use your console than ever before.

Price: This one is a no-brainer. If you just want to play games and don’t want to get bogged down in specs, motion controls, or all those other features you might wonder about, the PS4 will let you do that for $100 less. In an ecosystem where the two machines have started to look very similar, this may be Sony’s first, last, and most important advantage. The price point is bound to push more than a few holiday shoppers towards Sony’s machine.
There are other reasons why Sony’s machine is the right choice when it comes out in eleven days, but these are what I see as the best ones. Feel free to add more.

 

[Defying]

I just hope they resell well on launch day =)

 

[HacheMan]

The 5 Best Reasons For Buying The XBOX One Instead Of A PS4

By Dave Their

It’s November, and that means that next next-gen consoles are finally on their way. Both consoles have their strengths and weaknesses, and both consoles are going to appeal to different kinds of gamers. In that spirit, I’m running a mini-series on whether you should by the Xbox One, the PS4, or neither. Check out yesterday’s post on the argument for the PS4, and check back tomorrow for why you might be better off with neither.

Cloud: Sony SNE -1.23% may have bought Gaikai, but Microsoft MSFT -1.78% is Microsoft. As this generation continues, we’re going to see the true benefits of having the resources of one of the largest tech companies in the world backing your console. “Project Mountain” is a $700 million data center built for Xbox One and Office 365, and more games will take advantage of that computing power as time goes on. In the early days, expect to see the full benefits of Microsoft’s cloud services in games like Titanfall — the developer explains what they’re capable of here.

A lot of gamers would argue that Xbox Live was the more reliable multiplayer service in the last generation, so Sony’s got some catching up to do. The fact that PSN is now a paid service suggest that it’s working on it, but for right now I’d bank on Xbox Live for better matchmaking and more reliable multiplayer.

Kinect: The Kinect never quite found its footing on the Xbox 360, but Microsoft believes in this technology. It’s a fully-featured depth sensing camera that, in my limited time with it so far, appears to be a huge improvement over the previous generation. If you want to do P90x with your Xbox, you can do that. If you want to use dragon shouts by actually shouting or command your squad with your voice, you can do that too. And I’ve got a feeling that the best uses of the Kinect are yet to come. It’s odd, new, and still brimming with potential. Why not take a chance on the future?
Next-gen shouldn’t just be about playing the same old games with fancy new graphics. This is hardware that can really change the way we interact with games, and that’s worth exploring.

Controller: The Dualshock 4 is a big improvement over the Dualshock 3, but the Xbox controller is still a beautiful little piece of industrial design. The Xbox One controller doesn’t fix what isn’t broken, but it builds on the now classic design in every way. Offset analog sticks remain a great way to game, and rumbling triggers actually make the experience feel different. It’s also better balanced, and has an improved d-pad. We’ve come a long way since the dinner plates.
For shooter fans especially — a giant chunk of the gaming public — the Xbox controller design is tested, successful, and worth sticking with. In an industry dominated by cross-platform titles, some of the biggest differences between these two consoles are not on the screen, but in your hand. Controller preference is a bigger deal than it appears.

Exclusives: Software sells hardware. Titanfall is probably the next-gen game that has generated more buzz than any other, and it’s not coming to PS4. On day one we get Lococycle, Ryse, Dead Rising, Forza, Fighter Within and Crimson Dragon. Quantity-wise, that’s a little more to play with than on the PS4. In the future, I’m very curious to see what Project Spark can bring to the table — it looks something like Microsoft’s answer to Littlebigplanet.
On top of that, Halo fans around the world have likely already made their decision based on that franchise alone. Exclusives come down to a matter of taste, and Sony performed very well towards the end of last generation. This, however, is a whole new ball game, and Microsoft is coming out swinging.

Entertainment: Much to the chagrin of gamers everywhere, Microsoft chose to focus on TV and entertainment options in its Xbox One reveal rather than games. But by now, we know that the system has games and, exclusives aside, they’re a lot of the same games the PS4 has. A wealth of entertainment options, complete with Kinect controls, represent a valuable expansion to the capabilities that Microsoft slowly added to the Xbox 360 over the course of the previous generation. Microsoft’s partnerships with the likes of Time Warner Cable TWC -1.64%, Verizon Fios, Comcast CMCSA -1.21% Xfinity and the NFL make this a very attractive option to gamers with cable. Plus, a Halo series produced by Spielberg is hard to argue with.
Add in MP3 support, DLNA streaming and audio CDs, and Xbox One can handily serve as an entertainment hub for the whole living room. I play games as much as anyone, but I still use my console for a whole lot of other things. It’s worth making those things a priority as well.
There are more reasons to like the Xbox One, and other reasons to dislike it (again, covered in the PS4 post). An honorable mention goes to the little noise the Xbox makes when you get an achievement.

 

[shane-o-mac]

I just hope they resell well on launch day =)

getting the camping equipment together Defy?

 

[Defying]

getting the camping equipment together Defy?

Already have 2 Xbox Ones and 2 Playstations Preorder guaranteed to get on release day.

Looks like Ill get around $600 for PS4 and $700 for Xbox One

 

[moocow]

Best bet is to save your money and get neither. Those screenshots are taken on a computer. A good gaming pc can be had for a little as $800 nowadays. Plug it into your tv buy a controller and you have the Xbox Two and PS5 before they release a couple years from now.

 

[HacheMan]

PlayStation 4 Vs Xbox One: Why The Most Talked About Console May Not Be The Winner

Alex Konrad, Forbes Staff


For gamers waiting for the next generation of consoles, we’re finally into the home stretch. Sony PlayStation 4 launch is just a week away on Nov. 15 and Microsoft Xbox One launches a week after on Nov. 22. In early buzz, more people are talking about Sony’s new entry. But even with less of the conversation, Microsoft could still finish on top, according to new data from several social media trackers.

By the raw numbers, PlayStation–which was announced weeks earlier than Xbox and launches first–has gotten the majority of attention on social media. According to millions of social media posts from the last three weeks of Oct. crunched by social listener LeadSift, 1.7 million people tweeted about PlayStation 4, versus just 1.1 million for Xbox One. And of those people who declared their intent to purchase within those posts, users said they planned to buy a PlayStation 2.6 times more frequently than they did Xbox.

But several recent trends in the data could spell good news for Microsoft. The first is in the raw numbers from LeadSift, which has found that since a similar comparison in Aug., when PlayStation was blowing Xbox out of the water, the percentage of ‘undecided shoppers’ among those discussing the consoles has soared, from 17.1% this summer to 28.4% by Oct. 30. Xbox has recovered in the tone of its buzz, too, from twice as many negative mentions in Aug. to a level playing field going into the month of launch.
A deeper dive into the social numbers by enterprise software company SDL also shows Microsoft may quietly outperform its rival. SDL uses a “product commitment score” to rank shoppers’ intent to purchase and interest in one brand using algorithms that search millions of Web sources for keywords that actually demonstrate purchase intent. People at comparable points in the buying process will tend to say similar things.
Looking at these scores for each console, the biggest gainer in recent weeks is actually neither Microsoft nor Sony at all. It’s Valve, which announced its own much cheaper Steam Machine console in late Sept. According to SDL’s data, Xbox overtook PlayStation by that score in the last week of Sept., but the biggest gainer last month has been Valve as the freshest and most disruptive option.
Between Xbox and PlayStation, SDL says Microsoft finally caught up to Sony in its product score in that last week of Sept. Comparing the data to previous years’ sales, SDL believes the data points to Xbox One winning out. Should that happen, Microsoft will win by replicating what worked so well in last year’s holiday season: targeting non-gamer shoppers.
“PlayStation is strongly winning the gamers, but our hypothesis is that Xbox One is learning from the lessons they learned last year of playing to the dual market,” says Liz High, a consultant at SDL. That means mothers and other non-gamers buying consoles as gifts, as well as families looking more for an entertainment device than just a pure gaming console.
Still, SDL’s own data suggests the PlayStation is “winning by a mile” when it comes to volume of conversation. According to SDL, part of PlayStation’s early lead comes from Xbox’s public relations nightmare when it initially announced several features that were rejected by gamers, including an always-online requirement and a system to eliminate play of used games. Chatter around the Xbox and its corresponding brand score rebounded and eventually caught up with PlayStation as Microsoft issued a public ‘mea culpa’ and reversed its plans.

If last year’s data is any indication, there will be three critical crunch moments for each console brand: Black Friday, a mid-Dec. peak for well-prepared shoppers, and then a last minute rush a couple days before Christmas for those doing things at the wire.
And even though PlayStation will get an extra week to sell consoles and build an early lead, SDL is predicting from its data that Xbox One will end up outselling its rival by 1.5 to 1 for the holiday season. That’s less than how Xbox 360 outsold PS3 last year, but still a lead that goes against what you’d expect based on the relative amount of social buzz for each console so far.
It also flies in the face of many analyst predictions of recent weeks, although more are beginning to buy into a Microsoft win, like Baird analyst Colin Sebastian, who recently predicted each to sell between 2.5 million and 3 million units this year worldwide. This new generation, however, may still disappoint compared to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
So is there anything Microsoft or Sony could do to try to move the needle in these final days pre-launch? One tactic that worked well for Microsoft with the last generation is ‘bundling,’ the packaging of a console with an initial pack of games and other accessories. It’s tactic that High says Sony has traditionally kept at arms length. But it can make the difference with last-minute holiday shoppers who can be swayed by the offer of a special value.
Sony could also benefit from fresher advertising, as its main television campaigns for PlayStation have run for weeks. And its embracing of ‘the gamer’ means it could also make up ground in non-gaming retail locations like big box stores.
Of course, it’s possible that SDL gets it wrong and the raw volume of PlayStation chatter ends up telling the story. SDL says that as the sales race hasn’t begun, pole position isn’t fixed–and PlayStation 4 is leading in pre-salesthat skew towards hardcore gamers over holiday buyers.
“Right now they are neck and neck,” High says. “But based on all the activity, we expect Xbox to move ahead.”

 

[LoCalDallasGuy]

yeah defying, I went your route as well.

Pre-order a bunch of them and try to flip then before Christmas.

If no bite, my nephews and nieces are going to love their Christmas gifts.

 

[Willye]

you will get way more than 600 easy double if not more

 

[HacheMan]

3 Reasons the PlayStation 4 Will Outsell the Xbox One

By Timothy Green<META content=2369 itemprop="contributor">
November 10, 2013

With the next generation of game consoles right around the corner, this holiday season will be very exciting for gamers. Sony (NYSE: SNE ) is set to release the PlayStation 4 on Nov. 15, and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) will release the Xbox One on Nov. 22. Nintendo (NASDAQOTH: NTDOY ) , which had the best-selling console last generation with the Wii, released the Wii U about a year ago.
With the Wii U doing poorly, the battle comes down to Sony and Microsoft. The PlayStation 4 has some serious advantages, and there's a good chance that Sony's console will see the most sales. Here are three reasons the PlayStation 4 will be the winner of this console generation.
1. The PS4 is more powerful.
On paper, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One look very similar. Both run on processors and graphics chips from AMD, with the processor in each system having eight cores, and both systems have 8GB of RAM. However, it seems that the PlayStation 4 is actually quite a bit more powerful. One of the biggest games of the year, Call of Duty: Ghosts, is a launch title for both systems. The PlayStation 4 version will run at a resolution of 1080p, the same as almost all HDTVs these days, while the Xbox One version will only manage a resolution of 720p, less than half the pixels.
It turns out that the team making the game was unable to get the Xbox One to run at the higher resolution while maintaining the desired frame rate. This is troubling for the Xbox One. If the team behind a well-funded, triple-A title like Ghosts is having trouble with the console, then other cross-platform games may end up following suit. This could give the PS4 a serious edge.
To be fair, the Xbox One will upscale the lower resolution, so the visual differences may or may not be all that noticeable. The fact that the PS4 is more powerful means that games exclusive to Sony's console may outshine Xbox One exclusives, however.
2. It has more and better exclusive games.
While many popular games, like the Call of Duty series and Grand Theft Auto games, are released on both consoles, each console also has some exclusive games as well. Sony has a huge edge here, as it's acquired a roster of more than a dozen game studios pumping out PlayStation exclusives. Guerrilla Games is best known for the Killzone series, a series of solid first-person shooters. Media Molecule is behind the quirky LittleBigPlanet games, and Polyphony Digital is known for the Gran Turismo series. Naughty Dog is in a class of its own, responsible for the Uncharted series and the recent critically acclaimed The Last of Us. The three Uncharted games on the PS3 sold a total of about 17 million copies, and The Last of Us received a perfect score from gaming site IGN.
These are just a few of Sony's studios, with many more currently working on games for the PS4. Microsoft has exclusives of its own, but it can't match the depth and breadth of Sony's offerings. Sony has also put a big emphasis on indie games, making the PS4 very easy to develop for; this should mean that there are quite a few exclusives on the PlayStation Network as well. The bottom line is that Sony's roster of exclusive studios trumps Microsoft's, and both the quantity and quality of PS4 exclusives should surpass those for the Xbox One.
3. The PS4 is cheaper.
At launch, the PlayStation 4 will sell for $399 while the Xbox One will sell for $499. Sony made the mistake of pricing its previous console too high with the PS3 retailing for $599 at launch, and it's clear that the company doesn't want to make the same mistake again. The Xbox One does come with the Kinect motion controller, but forcing this on people may not be the best idea.
The price of both consoles will eventually decline, but for at least a while the PS4 will have a big advantage. New gamers will see the PS4 as a cheaper, more powerful console with better exclusives and without unnecessary peripherals.
Does Nintendo have a chance?
The Nintendo Wii sold well because it was inexpensive and was -up to the Wii that launched last year, has sold poorly thus far. The company was forced to cut the price in September; this led to more sales, but Nintendo is still losing money.
Nintendo has a roster of popular game characters like Mario and Zelda, but the console is generally aimed at a younger crowd. This may turn out to ultimately be beneficial for the company, but as of right now it's not working very well.
I doubt that the Wii U will outsell either the PS4 or the Xbox One, although it may begin to see some success at lower price points. It certainly won't be a repeat of the Wii, though.
The bottom line
Sony's PlayStation 4 has a lot of things going for it as we near the launch of the next generation of consoles. A more powerful system, better exclusives, and a lower price all point to the PS4 at least initially outselling the Xbox One. This is a marathon and not a sprint, but Sony currently seems to have everything going for it.

 

[Defying]

what did you end up going with Hache?