Xbox One vs. the PlayStation 4: The battle to conquer your living room

If you start counting from the Magnavox Odyssey, we've been playing console games for seven generations now. Yes, it's crazy to think of, but it's even more alarming to realize that the industry has been in an all-out "war" since generation three. For better or worse, competition became a part of the hardware cycle. Now, as we kick off generation eight, we're seeing a very different kind of contest.

  

ENTERTAINMENT

  

Although Microsoft is currently fighting in what we call a "video game console war," gaming isn't the Xbox One's only focus. In fact, the console's announcement was widely panned for having an overbearing focus on television and media consumption.

  

Of course, if it weren't for the Xbox One's live TV integration, the two platforms' media offerings would be pretty square. This feature was practically the headliner of the console's announcement: Watch your cable television through your Xbox interface. It sounds almost silly, but it's actually quite impressive. Marrying the console's iconic interface with an IR blaster, the new Kinect sensor and an HDMI passthrough on the console's rear, the Xbox One allows you to control your cable box from its own dashboard. This includes voice commands, a channel guide, program search and the ability to create a favorites menu. The playstation feature most of the standard set of streaming apps. Interestingly none of them offer 3D blu ray playback at launch.

  

CAMERAS AND CONTROLLERS

  

Speaking of Kinect 2.0, it bears mentioning that it's at fault for the console's price tag. That's right the Xbox One's $500 price dwarfs the PS4's $400(INR 40000) sticker specifically because the next-generation Kinect sensor is included with every console. It let the company build a console interface littered with motion and voice control features, enabling users to turn their consoles on and off by simply speaking. Phrases like "Xbox on" and "Xbox, play Titanfall" are offered as easy, natural ways of interacting with your console. The device even claims to be able to recognize users on the fly, signing you in as you boot up the Xbox One and greeting other users as they walk in the room. Sure, it makes the console more expensive, but it also promises a richer experience for the price.

 The PlayStation 4 has a motion-tracking camera too, but owning it is strictly optional. This isn't a bad move either  it unburdens uninterested users from a higher price tag, but still leaves them with the option of tacking it on later. Of course, this means developers will be less motivated to build experiences with the PlayStation 4 camera in mind.

  

At first glance, each of the console's updated gamepads doesn't look too different from their predecessors, but there are some hidden gems here. For instance, the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 controller features a new share button (more on that later), and clickable touchpad area reminiscent of the PlayStation Vita's rear touch panel. It also doubles as a motion controller, though you'll need to pick up the aforementioned PS4 camera to track the PlayStation Move-esque LED on the gamepad's front edge.

On the surface, Microsoft's updated gamepad seems like little more than a refined variation of the Xbox 360 controller, but it actually houses a subtle evolution in tactile feedback: Impulse Triggers. In addition to the classic controller rumble, Xbox One users will be able to feel localized force feedback under each of the gamepad's triggers, which can lend depth to driving cars, firing weapons or even feeling a character's pulse.

THE SECOND SCREEN

It's still not clear if the idea of the "second-screen experience" will stick, but it's certainly gaining ground in this generation of gaming consoles. The idea is to augment the gaming or TV experience with a separate device, which, in Microsoft's case, means any tablet or phone equipped with its Xbox One SmartGlass app  although the experience itself changes depending on what the user is doing.

The PlayStation 4 companion app (available for iOS and Android devices) seems much simpler by comparison, offering remote use of the PlayStation Network and some light second-screen functionality.

No, the PS4's real second-screen device is the PlayStation Vita. Like the PS4 companion app, there aren't any games that really use the Vita as a "second screen," but the handheld's Remote Play feature easily makes up for it. When linked to the PS4, the Vita can completely take over the console experience, allowing users to transpose the system's next-gen gaming experiences to the small screen

 EXCLUSIVE GAMES

If software moves hardware, then Microsoft is building a stronger case for day one. At launch, the Xbox One is slated to have more than twice as many exclusive (retail) games than the PlayStation 4, including Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome with the heavily anticipated Titanfall joining them within the console's launch window. By comparison, Sony's camp hits the ground with only Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack under its exclusive banner, eventually to be followed by Driveclub and Infamous: Second Son. Buying a console on software alone is still very much a matter of personal preference, but make no mistake: PS4 owners will be dipping into the multi-platform releases a little sooner than their Xbox One counterparts .Also a good point to note is that most of the multi platform games such as tomb raider ,COD etc are locked at 30 fps for the xbox one, which give the PS4 a advantage when it comes to third party games as it runs them at a cool 60 fps.

HARDWARE

Everything else aside, hardware does matter. In this case, there's even a clear victor  at least on paper. Crack open either console, and you'll find an AMD APU with an eight-core Jaguar CPU at its heart. A slightly higher clock speed (1.75Ghz compared to 1.6GHhz) gives Microsoft's console a technical leg up, but these two rigs essentially share the same processor. Users aren't likely to see a difference in performance. The story flips when it comes to the graphics kit, however: Although both units use similar AMD Radeon graphics cores, Sony's features 18 compute units to Microsoft's 12. The PS4 is also equipped with 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, outclassing the slower DDR3 chips installed in the Xbox One. Although the minute technical differences can be a bit confusing, they do matter.

It's in Sony's exclusive games that the hardware stands to make a difference; games built specifically for the PlayStation 4 have the potential to visibly outshine the Xbox One's best efforts. It won't be enough of a graphical gap to give Xbox loyalists significant pause, but it exists, and it's worth noting.

WRAP-UP

Sony and Microsoft have left consumers with a tough choice. Both systems promise excellent gaming experiences and new features that push the industry forward. On one hand, you have the PlayStation 4 toeing a traditional line of hardcore gaming: It features raw power, social sharing and a controller that's trying to be more than your typical gamepad. Across the aisle, Microsoft's Xbox One presents a unified hub for all of your media experiences, wrapping them in a highly stylized voice- and motion-controlled dashboard. With great exclusives and tons of multi-platform titles bound for each system, it's hard to say which console will come out on top.

CREDITS - Rohit Kumar H