Xbox One & Playstation4 Comparison

Gaming systems are evolving very quickly and include a lot of technologies. Two large competitors in this industry are Xbox, manufactured by Microsoft, and PlayStation, manufactured by Sony. Both companies launched new versions of their gaming systems – Xbox One and PlayStation4 – in November 2013. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast them and to provide recommendations for choosing one of these systems.

There are different criteria which might be used for choosing a video gaming system. The most popular criteria are hardware, price, controls, available games, camera, online services, media features, etc (Michael, 2013). In terms of price, the initial price of PlayStation 4 was $399.99, while Xbox One price at launch was $499.99 (Swider, 2014). Currently Xbox One can be purchased at prices around $390-$400 online, but PlayStation 4 is still less expensive.

It is reasonable to consider the costs and features of online services associated with both systems. For example, one-year premium subscription costs $60 at Microsoft and $50 at Sony. However, Xbox One requires premium subscription for accessing online media services, while Sony offers a variety of free or partly free services for users without a premium subscription. Therefore, for some categories of gamers PlayStation 4 can be more economic compared to Xbox One.

In terms of hardware, both systems are quite similar: they have CPUs with 8 cores, 500Gb HDD and 8Gb RAM. PlayStation 4 has one slight advantage in terms of RAM – it uses GDDR instead of DDR5 (Swider, 2014). In general, hardware used in these systems is comparable and there are no clear advantages of one system over another. Both systems also have additional controls – Xbox 360 and DualShock 4 accordingly.

As for games, both gaming systems support major games such as Battlefield, Call of Duty et al. There also exist specified games for every system; for example, Dead Rising 3 or Killer Instinct are only available for Xbox, while PlayStation 4 supports exclusive Knack and Killzone (Swider, 2014).

One distinct advantage of Xbox One is Kinect camera with various interactive features such as face recognition or voice control. PlayStation 4 does not have such camera in the basic package, but it is possible to purchase an additional PlayStation Camera with quite similar functions. With regard to other media features, both systems support Blu ray technology and are compatible with various online media services, e.g. Netflix. Xbox One also has additional features allowing to integrate all entertainment facilities into one system.

In general, PlayStation 4 might be the optimal choice for gamers who prefer flexibility, who want to optimize their gaming costs and choose “pure” gaming mode. The sales of this system show that it is best for the majority of users: there are over 10 million of PlayStation 4 sold by October 2014 compared to 5 millions of Xbox One (Swider, 2014). However, for those gamers who prefer out-of-the-box features and advanced media functionality, Xbox One would be the best choice.

 

References

Michael, E. (2013). Xbox One Or PS4 (Playstation 4): Which New Video Game Console Should You Buy? CreateSpace.

Swider, M. (2014, October 9). PS4 vs Xbox One: which is better? Tech Radar. Retrieved from http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/ps4-vs-xbox-720-which-is-better-1127315

 

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
close
Haven't found the right essay?
Get an expert to write you the one you need!
print

Professional writers and researchers

quotes

Sources and citation are provided

clock

3 hour delivery

person