Everytime I’ve come close to finishing this article, something new comes up. The first draft was written a few days before E3, but the information kept rolling in, so I decided to let most of the dust settle before putting my final draft out there.
PlayStation was the heavy hitter at this year’s big game conference. However, with the backlash Xbox faced about its Xbox One, Microsoft has now made a 180.
It’s been a hell of a bumpy road for both Microsoft and Sony, but now that things are on an even keel, more or less, let’s take a look at the new consoles. I’ll throw in some stuff about the new Wii U for good measure too, but this will mostly be a PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One affair.
PlayStation 4
Release Date: Rumored November 13, 2013
I have something of a love-hate relationship with Sony. The company often makes terrible decisions about new hardware, ($600 for a new system is crazy), but I do loved my PS2 and it still runs fine to this day.
PlayStation’s strategy for the new console generation seems to be focused on pleasing the customers. When Xbox One made all its announcements, PlayStation seemed to be going in the opposite direction — offering used games, no checking in online, and no DRM. It was pretty obvious that PlayStation kicked Microsoft’s ass during the E3 conference, even offering funny little videos to take jabs at Xbox.
PlayStation hit a lot of high marks in other areas as well. One of the most notable was the impressive game lineup, which features plenty of exclusives and first-party titles.
To top things off, Sony dropped the PS4′s price to just $400. Much less than people were anticipating considering the PS3′s initial cost. From a gamer’s perspective, it appears that Microsoft has gotten a lot more interested in making money off us with half-assed measures, instead of actually offering something worth our money. Obviously, Sony is trying to make money too, but come on, gamers know what’s fair and what’s not.
We as gamers have some of the most influence on what comes out in the industry. Independent, mobile, and other cheaper forms of gaming are becoming better every single day, and it’s tough for companies to justify charging $60 on a game. Then the gaming companies try to get more money from us with DLC, which isn’t all bad since certain games were made for expansions. The concept of making something worthwhile, however, has really fallen by the wayside lately.
Stepping out of the PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One realm for a moment, Nintendo representatives may have said it best when they commented on the used games war. They stated that instead of trying to combat used games, why not try to make games people don’t want to trade in. I wouldn’t say that Nintendo exactly takes that to heart, but it’s good to hear a major company say it out loud.
PlayStation 4 also seems to be trying to open the door for independent gaming companies. The PlayStation network has had some incredible games in recent memory. Journey continues to stay in my mind despite how short it was. PlayStation has always seemed to push the idea of games as art and Microsoft has pushed for the “all-in-one” system. Again, the two companies seem to be taking different directions.
PlayStation 4 (Specs)
Price: $400
Blu-ray/DVD
RAM: 8GB GDDR 5
CPU: 8 Cores, Jaguar AMD
Storage: 500GB (removable), Cloud
USB 3.0
Bluetooth
Connectivity: Ethernet
PlayStation Network (payed)
Does not include PlayStation Move or Eye
No mandatory game installs
PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One continues with a look at what Microsoft has done…
