Xbox vs PlayStation: How to Choose Gaming Platform

Xbox vs PlayStation. Well the name says it all.

Both have always been among the commonly mentioned names when it comes to gaming as they are known to produce amazing gaming consoles.

These consoles always seem to be quite similar in many ways. This often makes a lot of people to take some time off as they try to figure out which is the best console to purchase.

Well, over the years, Xbox and PlayStation both have made significant improvements, making it even harder for most of us to come to a quick conclusion on which is the best gaming console.

Anyway, as people are still trying to get their hands on these video gaming platforms, let us look at a few things that might help you figure out how to choose gaming platforms.

Xbox vs PlayStation

Just a disclaimer we are not sure how PS5 vs Xbox Series X compares to one another…

Xbox vs PlayStation: Price

Well, among the simple differences you can notice between the two consoles, are their prices. Currently, a PS4 console goes at around $399 while on the other hand, an Xbox One console, with almost the same features costs $50 less.

Among the features shared include 8 GB RAM, 500 GB storage capacity top of the line AMD processors, cloud storage and voice command among others. However, if you are going for the 1 TB version of the Xbox One, you will need to pay $399 just the same as PS4.

It will cost you an additional 100 bucks to get an Xbox one with an integrated motion sensor and Kinect camera as this one costs around $499. The  Kinect had been discontinued in 2017, however, you can still access the motion sensor functionality on Azure Kinect, which is the recent release from Microsoft. Even with the slight difference in price, you will notice that both consoles look a lot more the same when it comes to appearance and shape. Both of them can also be placed to stand horizontally.

Xbox vs PlayStation: The Interface

If by any chance you’ve used a Windows 8 OS, then you already have a glimpse of what you can expect for an Xbox One interface. This is because they look much similar. The Xbox One interface can easily be navigated by using voice commands, Kinect or simply just the controllers.

This Xbox One interface also offers application snapping abilities thus allowing you to open up a new app window while you are still enjoying your game. On the other side, PS4 offers an amazing dynamic menu that easily allows you to do all sorts of things from selecting games, viewing your profile and also allows you to view social media activities among others.

PS4 event went ahead and introduced a new feature that lets you record and shares your gameplay on the internet. Well, Xbox One also has the same feature, but, it is only available to those who have subscribed to Xbox Live Gold.

Xbox vs PlayStation: Backward Compatibility

This is among some of the major differences worth noting between Xbox and PlayStation consoles. The Xbox One console offers limited backward compatibility made available for a few games.

This is however promised to improve in the future. As long as you own the game you will be able to play whether digitally in your library or physically on a disc. PS4 does not have backward compatibility.

However, you can turn to PlayStation Now, which is a cloud-based emulation service that you can use to access PS3 games and other older versions.

Xbox vs PlayStation: Graphics

When it comes to the graphics, PS4 might go with the majority votes. This is because the console has more graphics horsepower compared to its counterpart the Xbox One. Well, both Xbox and PlayStation use the same architecture for their graphics processing unit, yet the chip used by Sony has 1152 cores while Microsoft’s has only 768 but runs at a relatively higher speed. But even at this, Sony proves to be great as it offers an advantage of about 40% maximum potential graphics performance.

The table below shows a comparison of specifications for PS4, Xbox One S, PS4 Pro and Xbox One X consoles.

Xbox vs PlayStation: Games

When it comes to the games, there are a few things you might want to consider and cross-platform ability is usually one of them.

Third party publishers like Activision and EA produces more cross-platform games and therefore it will now be upon you to pick the exclusives that you find appealing. Well, as you might have noticed, games that are produced by Microsoft will only be available for Xbox One and those produced by Sony will only be played on PS4.

But, since Windows 10 seems to be compatible with most Microsoft products, it shows that you can be able to play some of the major Xbox One Exclusives on a PC whenever you like. On the other hand, PS4 exclusives can only be played on the PS4 console. Even though keeps Sony ahead, it doesn’t come as an advantage to the gamer. Exclusivity limits gamers and only benefits both the manufacturer and publishers.

However, thanks to games like Fortnite, Rocket league, and Minecraft, Sony has finally realized the importance of cross-platform play as now the users can play with each other on different gaming platforms  Even though this is still in early stages, we can expect to see more improvements with time.

As it is right now, PS4 has a better library when it comes to the exclusive games but then this still will depend on what you like. Some of the amazing PS4 exclusives include; Spider-man, Tetris effect, Bloodborne, Until Dawn and Zero Dawn among others. For the Xbox exclusive games library, you can find Halo: The master chief collection, Quantum break, State of decay 2, Ashen and Crimson dragon among others. Also, you need to have in mind that game features that requires Xbox Live service can only work in some regions as it is only restricted to 21 countries. The games for both the consoles are not region locked. However,  the DLCs and other service entitlements are always locked to their respective store region.

Xbox vs PlayStation: Entertainment and Online Services

When it comes to entertainment, both consoles do a commendable job. The Xbox One console can allow the users to transmit their cable box’s TV signal thus making it possible for them to switch from playing to watching their favourite shows. Both Xbox One S and Xbox One X together with PS4 Pro can all be able to stream 4K content but only the Xbox consoles can play 4K Blue-ray contents.

Xbox One seems to have an upper hand when it comes to the sound produced as it uses the Dolby Atmos technology to allow the users to enjoy great quality sounds when connected to any compatible sound system. It was announced that they are also planning to support Dolby Vision to improve the HDR quality.

The Xbox One also has an advantage as it is the only console that uses Kodi. This is an important feature that serves as a media server app. It allows the Xbox console users to access their favourite TV show, images, movies and songs that are saved on any devices in the house.

Aside from that, both the Xbox One and PS4 consoles supports most entertainment media including major apps like Hulu, Netflix, WWE, and Amazon Prime. You can also find music streaming apps like Spotify to allow you to enjoy your favourite tunes as you play. Xbox one has even gone ahead to include some other great music services like Pandora, Deezer, and SoundCloud. You can also be able to cut the cord when you have any of these consoles.

PS4 has PlayStation Vue which is an online TV service that allows you to get what is offered by the cable TVs but at a monthly fee usually starting from $40 per month. This can allow you to get access to a lot of the popular cable channels like Nickelodeon and MTV.

Sony also offers PlayStation Plus which also require users to pay a monthly subscription fee in order to access its services. On the other hand, Xbox One also offers Sling TV for the users and shows major channels like ESPN for a subscription fee of about $20 per month. This also come with a few add-on packages that include HBO and Epix among others. It also offers Xbox Live Gold membership plan that will require you to pay around $60 per year to enjoy other amazing features including playing online, free game previews and demos and a face to face chat through the Kinect. You can always find the Xbox Live Gold subscription at some discount on Amazon.

Xbox vs PlayStation: Verdict

This is usually a debate that doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon between gamers as people are trying to find out which console is better than the other. Well, based on the few things that we’ve looked at, they are clearly much similar to each other.

Well, if you just want to enjoy a lot of great games of the current generation then you should consider getting yourself a PlayStation console. It offers great graphics support even for the older versions with a much simple user-interface and a plethora of great exclusive games.

On the other hand, the Xbox One library will allow you to enjoy a wide range of both the original Xbox and Xbox 360 games. Supporting the backward compatibility also comes in as a bonus and also the ability to support multi-platform games.

Both consoles offer great entertainment options and great user experience. With all these in mind, the decision to choose the best gaming platform between the two will still depend on your preferences and interests as both products are uniquely amazing.

We will soon be diving into a comparison between PS5 vs Xbox Series X, so stay tuned.