GAME CHANGERS
We review the new Xbox and Playstation 4
Whilst there are some gamers who feel the eighth generation began back in November of last year with the release of Nintendo’s admittedly impressive Wii U, the majority of fans out there believe the next generation of consoles will commence with the successors to the two biggest consoles of the last generation.
Don’t get me wrong, the Wii itself was a huge runaway success that not many people saw coming but sadly it wasn’t the true HD gaming experience that many gamers had begun to expect from the seventh generation. The Wii U itself still feels like it has one foot in the past and the other in the future, whilst on the one hand we finally have a lovely HD Nintendo experience and some cracking games.
Sadly, it all feels a bit too little too late as this is what many gamers believe the Wii should have been like! So even though the Wii U was the first console out of the gate most gamers have been waiting with bated breath for Microsoft and Sony to announce their new machines; which brings us nicely to the PS4 and Xbox One.
Both consoles on the outside are beautiful to look at and will easily slip into anyone’s entertainment set up. The Xbox One may be a little on the bulky side but its weight and presence help make it the focal point of your entertainment experience. On the other hand, the PS4 is a machine whose sharp angles and pulsing blue wraparound light ooze subtlety and sexiness as well as looking great underneath your HD TV.
The two consoles admittedly have many things in common: both systems run games off a Blu-ray disc (meaning Microsoft can now compete in the arena of Blu-rays); they each have some very impressive specifications so that the visual and audio outputs are truly stunning; and each comes with at least 500 GB of storage space.
Both consoles are also heavily into recording and sharing your greatest or worst moment with friends, family or just the general public. This is most evident on the PS4 whose Dual Shock 4 controller has a button titled “share” which is there to do just that; the PS4 automatically records the last 15 minutes of gameplay so you can never miss a moment that you want to share with the world.
Originally the Xbox One had various policies when it was unveiled to the public back in May of this year. Things like mandatory integration of the Kinect hardware, the fact that the console always needed to be on even in standby mode and the ambiguous description that games cannot be resold or shared with friends or family – a restriction that would put an end to the sale of pre-owned games.
As you can imagine, there was a bit of an uproar from the gaming community and thankfully Microsoft listened and in response to these criticisms went back and claimed how they were dropping all of the above planned features, a move that was praised by the gaming community. On the opposite side of the coin, the PS4 was praised when it was revealed to the public as the above features that Microsoft went back on have thankfully never been part of the PS4’s makeup and general features.
Whilst both consoles offer many fantastic features, exclusive games and raw power I know exactly what you’re thinking: which system do you splash your cash on?
Well, it all depends on what you want from your shiny new console. If you want a system that is leaning more to the all-in-one entertainment system then go for the Xbox One. It’s powerful, plays all of your games and Blu-rays and is more than a worthy competitor to other home media devices like Apple and Google TV.
If you want a console that is all about the games then stick with the Playstation 4: Sony are pushing their system to be all about the games and it truly shows how dedicated they are by providing stellar titles from both big publishing names and the indie developers alike. And at £349 the PS4 is £80 cheaper than the Xbox which costs £429 because it comes with the Kinect camera hardware included in the box.
Whichever system you decide to go for you won’t be disappointed. The future is now and it’s an exciting place to be!
The Xbox One is released on 22 November and the PS4 follows one week later on 29 November.