When heavyweights collide, we are all bound to pick sides. Xbox One vs Playstation 4 is the rivalry between two of the best gaming consoles in the world. This competition and rivalry has been going on since a few years now, with both Xbox and Playstation predecessors competing earlier. However, the question still remains.
In a battle between Xbox One vs PlayStation 4, which one comes out victorious? Let’s find out!
The Controllers
PlayStation 4 features its DualShock 4 controllers which comes with a clickable front touchpad. The controllers also feature an inbuilt speaker, multifunctional lightbar and embedded thumb pads which are bigger than that of Xbox. Overall, it’s definitely an upgrade over its predecessor DualShock and is also bigger. Moreover, the controller is ergonomically more apt to hold for most gamers. Xbox One, on the other hand, has customizable textured grips and comes with 2 rumble motors. This is a bit of an upgrade from the one it had on Xbox 360. Also, Xbox doesn’t support micro USB charging like Sony’s PS4. So in this regard, the PS4 edges over Xbox One. Not by a lot though. Overall both are great and offer loads of convenience and great functionality though.
Backward Compatibility
This is a really important feature. Just because gamers would want to upgrade their console doesn’t mean they would want to move on from the games they would play in their previous consoles. The good thing is that both the consoles do have Backward Compatibility in some way or the other. But it’s not as straightforward. Let’s take a deeper look at how it works.
With PlayStation 4, gamers do have access to some of the games from the older PS2 and PS3. If you want to access the games from PlayStation 3, you will have to do so through PlayStation Now, which is a streaming service. You can’t do it directly. The games from the previous versions are streamed from the cloud. But it comes with a fee of its own. The average price in the US is $45 for a duration of 3 months and $19.99 for a single. Having a physical copy of the game also won’t be helpful.
Unlike PS4, Xbox One doesn’t lack direct backward compatibility. You get direct access to many Xbox original games and those from the previous Xbox 360. In a lot of cases, you can simply use the CDs from the previous version, you can simply download the game in the new console and use it. Gamers also get the option of downloading a digital version of any Microsoft game and playing it on Xbox One. Then there’s the benefit of having over 100 Xbox 360 games through the Xbox Game Pass service, at just 10$ a month.
This is an area where Xbox One comfortably does much better than its competitor.
Premium Versions
While PlayStation’s premium services cost $399, which is less that the $499 of Xbox One, the latter is actually better even though it costs slightly more. The Xbox One X comes with a 4K Blue Ray Player. A lot of high end games run really smoothly in Xbox One X. On the other hand, PlayStation 4 Pro more often than not plays the game in upscaled 4K quality rather than proper 4K. Even with backward compatibility, Xbox One X (The premium service) offers access to more games from previous versions, as compared to PS4 Pro. So here, Xbox One is the clear winner.
Overall Entertainment
When you look at both the consoles from an immersive gaming or entertainment experience point of view, spatial sound is a huge part of it. This is an area that Xbox One is compatible with, thanks to the console supporting Dolby Atmos. So gamers can enjoy multi-dimensional audio experience if they have any Home Theatre systems which are compatible with Xbox One.
Another interesting feature which Xbox One flaunts is the ability to catch the TV signals from your cable box. What this does is give you an option to very conveniently switch your favourite tv while playing a game. Also, you get to enjoy the perks of the open source media player, Kodi, with Xbox One. Kodi enables you to pull out any media files like songs, movies, pictures or videos from devices within range in your own house.
Other Features & Services
Generally, PlayStation 4 offers better resolution on screen, but that’s really very marginal. But the FPS you get for most games is pretty consistent, smooth and often runs between 30 and 60 for both. Xbox One reportedly has fewer games which experience frames dropping, compared to PS4. To be fair though, these are rare occurrences with both the platforms.
With Xbox One, you can also connect your device to a cable tv or satellite box, thanks to the additional ports. This isn’t really possible with PlayStation 4. Sure, PS4 offers access to a lot more famous games exclusively on their platform. But this is something that Xbox One counters with their overall intensive games library and ease of access to most games.
Moreover, cross-platform gaming is also something that Microsoft supports. Minecraft is a good example of that, where you can play the game on other devices like Nintendo Switch, PS4, Android devices and iPhone. Even though they are competitors. Something Sony won’t let you do. Take Fornite for example. If you’re a PS4 owner, you won’t be able to play the game elsewhere once your account is registered to your console.
Conclusion
All in all, both have their pros and cons, but Xbox One does edge over PS4 in a lot of areas. Even with future upgrades and newer additions, Xbox seems to have a stronger plan in place.
