Design
The two consoles certainly look a lot like each other. Both have angular shapes, black colouring and a combination of matte and gloss finishing.We're not particularly sold on either design, but they do both hold more than a passing resemblance to the Sony PS2 - the best selling console of all time.
The Frown:
Microsoft's move from Power PC isn't doing users any favours, as it means that it loses backwards compatibility. Sony has kept backwards compatibility, which means that its PlayStation customers' households won't find themselves with a sudden abundance of drinkscoasters.
Sony will also let its gamers share their titles with their friends, while Microsoft customers will have some hoops to jump through.
Also hoop worthy is Microsoft's insistence that its Xbox One games consoles must connect to the Internet regularly. PS4 users will be spared this requirement.
Although the public speaks against Microsoft when it comes to the next generation of gaming systems. (Here is why) You give up lots of rights that gamers had for a very long time ever since the first gaming systems were released thirty or so years ago.
- Not being able to sell games, buy used copies of games or even lend them to friends are big restrictions that benefit Microsoft and the publishers while they affect many gamers negatively.
- The online DRM is terrible for a number of reasons. First, you cannot play your games for more than 24 hours in a location with bad or no online reception even if you are playing a single player game. Second, even if you have a great online connection you may not be able to play games if Microsoft's server infrastructure goes down.
- Just imagine what a successful hacking attempt just like the one on Sony's infrastructure would have as a result. No gamer would be able to play games for weeks until Microsoft would resolve the issue. And that is not even taking into account smaller maintenance shut downs or even restarts of the server infrastructure.
- It does not stop here though and even if you do not mind a Kinect that cannot be turned off completely, you also won't be able to play any of your Xbox 360 games, provided that you own one right now. While Sony's streaming service is not here yet, it will eventually be available so that you can play PS3 games on the system.
The Same:
Both console users have a second screen option, and here Microsoft probably has the edge. It's Smart Glass app will take care of this, while PlayStation users will be expected to have a PS Vita if they want to extend their gaming onto another screen.Sony has made much of Microsoft's DRM requirements, but it is making less noise about the introduction of paid PlayStation Plus subscriptions for online gaming.
Microsoft, which offers the Gold Live tier for online gaming, was very open about this, and said that existing users will just be able to hop from an Xbox 360 to an Xbox One with ease.
Both consoles have DVR features, and each will let players upload their content for sharing with their peers.
While we expect both consoles to be out by the holiday season, neither Microsoft nor Sony has announced a release date, and the former limits its calendar to a big X across the month of November. ยต
The Hardware:
Check out the chart below for more details on the consoles' hardware
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| Click to Enlarge |
Tech Radar's editor Gareth Beavis
"It's always interesting when these things come out costing more money than you would expect, It's massively upgraded in terms of its spec. It's not just a games console, Microsoft wants it to be an entertainment hub.
It's a massive step forward from the Xbox 360, which was slowly morphing into more than just a thing to play games on. I think it's a little bit expensive but it's a premium product so I can understand why it is."
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