The Xbox One - Mini Review & Comparison to Xbox 360/PS4
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 20, 2013 8:00 AM ESTFinal Words
More so than last time, it seems like this next generation of console wars will boil down to a few key questions: exclusives, online, extra features and personal preference.
If there’s an exclusive IP that you will sink a ton of time into, the rest really doesn’t matter. For Microsoft that could be Halo, for Sony that could be Uncharted. I feel like Microsoft might have the stronger lineup out of the gate this generation, but that’s not saying much as neither platform appears to have anything that’s a must have at this point. I can’t help but wonder how different this launch would’ve been had there been a Halo 5 or Uncharted 4 (or Last of Us 2) available on day one.
The online story is going to take some time to flesh out. Microsoft held the clear advantage there last generation for online multiplayer, but Sony is intent on closing the gap this round. I’m going to say it’s still wait and see on this one as neither console is going to have enough users to make for a great online experience for a while to come.
In the extra features category, Microsoft is really hoping to win users over with things like their TV integration and Kinect. I couldn’t be further from the right demographic to talk about the former so I’m going to avoid saying much there. On the Kinect front, I know people who are interested in the Xbox One solely because of Kinect. I’m not one of those people but I can definitely see the appeal there. If Sony’s price tag didn’t nerf the PS3 last round, it’s entirely possible that Microsoft’s Kinect bundle and resulting price hike won’t do the same for the Xbox One this time.
Finally, there’s an element of personal preference in all of this. Look, feel, ecosystem, company loyalty all fall into this category. There are also things like controller preference that fit here as well. I can’t help much in this department.
If you’re looking at the Xbox One as a successor to the Xbox 360, I think you’ll be very pleased. It’s a much better console in every way and a long overdue upgrade.
It's interesting to me that the performance/image quality differences that exist between the Xbox One and PS4 ultimately boil down to a difference in memory interface rather than an interest in optimizing down silicon cost. In this case Microsoft has the bigger die, but the smaller GPU in order to accommodate enough eSRAM to offset the use of DDR3 memory.
If all you play are cross-platform games, then the PS4 will give you better looking titles at a lower console cost. For those of you that are particularly bothered by aliasing, the PS4 will definitely reduce (not eliminate) that. However I would argue that if all you play are cross-platform games then you might want to look into buying/building a PC instead. I’m also unsure about how much cross shopping actually happens between these two platforms. I can understand for first time gamers (e.g. parents buying the first console for their kids), but otherwise I feel like your friend group and prior experience is going to ultimately determine whether you end up with a Xbox One or PS4.
I need a Halo box, but I also like to play Uncharted. Unfortunately I don’t know that there’s a good recommendation one way or another, other than to wait for a bit. Being an early adopter of a next-gen console is rarely a fun thing. Literally all of my friends are on Xbox 360s or PS3s, meaning online multiplayer with people I know is pretty much out of the question for at least a year or so. The launch lineup for both platforms is reasonable but could be a lot better. Having just played Grand Theft Auto V and the Last of Us, I’m going to need more than CoD or NBA 2K14 to really draw me in to the Xbox One or PS4. This is how the story goes with any new console launch.
One thing is for sure - this generation was long overdue. I remember being at E3 in 2005 and wondering what the Xbox 360 and PS3 would do to the future of PC gaming given how well specced both systems were. This time around I’m less concerned. Everyone seems to have gone more conservative with GPU choices, even though the resulting APUs are anything but small. If anything the arrival of both consoles, targeted the way they are, is likely going to make things better industry wide. As both sell in good quantities we’ll see developers target a higher class of system, which will be good for everyone.
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F00L1Sh - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
I found this explanation very helpful.beefgyorki - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
Anand, when MS initially talked about the Xbox One OS design from their description it certainly sounded like the Xbox OS (i.e. the gaming OS) was just a VM running on top of a hypervisor. Given that, then in theory that VM could be modified to be made runnable on say a Windows Desktop PC or potentially even a Tablet.With one in hand now, is there anything that can be done to shed some light on that possibility?
To me the most intriguing aspect of XB1 is the OS if it truly is just a VM because that could open up some really interesting possibilities down the road.
flyingpants1 - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
What do you mean "just a VM", don't you realise the Xbox 360 OS was running in a VM too?Elooder2 - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
This. Was Xbox360 on an x86 CPU? No. But Xbone is. Therefore it seems logical to consider that if there is a possibility of somehow "extracting" the actual VM from the XBone, it could be made to run on a normal Windows PC with much less modification and hassle than the Xbox360 VM because there's no need to worry about the difference in architecture. Basically, I perceive that the biggest deterrent to making an "emulator" of the XBone (via a VM) is some form of software or hardware DRM. The Mac has a similar mechanism in Mac OS which will not let you install that OS on a regular PC because the regular PC doesn't have some extra chip that the boot code of the OS install disc looks for. As we all know, this was quite successfully cracked and Hackintoshes are plentiful. Ok, so Microsoft is not Apple and they may go down on anyone releasing an XBone emulator, but it doesn't mean it can't be done. It would seem much easier to produce an emulator for a console that uses, basically, almost, off-the-shelf parts.PliotronX - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
Good lord the Xbone falls short. The embedded SRAM is irrelevant, trading outright strength in 3D for faster operations tied to the subsystem is a failing strategy dating back to the PSX and Sega Saturn.Teknobug - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
Looks like PS4 wins not only in hardware specs, but graphics visuals. The only difference maker between the two seems to be game titles. I would have bought the Playstation 4 if Gran Turismo 6 was coming out for it but nope they released it for the PS3, bummer. I have Forza 2, 3, 4 for X360 and will not get Forza 5 after how Turn10 turned Forza 4 into a cash cow with DLC cars.warezme - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
Exactly, it is huge failure on the MS side and I suspect many a game developer will eventually reveal just how limiting their decision has been. Overall for the two consoles that I would consider to be a modern investment of 3 to 5 years, these are pretty pathetic hardware examples. Current gen PC's are already way ahead and the difference will only continue to surpass these consoles.Homeles - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
Actually, what's wrong with you? It's pretty common knowledge that ROPs are huge consumers of memory bandwidth in a GPU, and with the Xbone having half of them, memory bandwidth becomes far less of an issue.Get educated.
Spunjji - Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - link
Less of an issue at a given performance level. Your performance becomes gated by the ROPs instead, so it's still a bloody stupid design decision for a "next gen" console.Sabresiberian - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
Frankly, I'm disappointed in both of them In an age where PCs are moving to 2560x1440 as a standard, 120Hz, and G-sync. These consoles are simply already dated, even more so than at the release of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Good on the upgrades, but I simply can't see buying one over a PC I can build for around $500. (To be fair, it would cost you closer to $700 if you buy pre-made, but I'll point out that almost every one already has a PC. $500 for a PC and $400 for a console means spending more money, not less, for less capability; it only makes sense if you need 2 different pieces of hardware so one person in the family can use one while the other uses something else.)The only thing consoles offer is existing community. If all your friends play on an Xbox, or Playstation, it is hard to buy a PC instead. However, that isn't a plus, it is a minus because it sets apart gamers that want to play together. It polarizes those gamers that are emotionally attached to one or the other, and that is just bad for everyone. Good news is that Microsoft is talking about making it so PC players can play with Xbone players - but how is that going to effect the quality of the PC versions? Are they going to have to be capped in terms of game responsiveness and frame rates in order to level the playing field?
Don't get me wrong; I'm not bashing console players themselves. And, I get the attraction to cool hardware, I'm even tempted a bit myself, just cause "cool hardware" despite the limitations involved. And, there's the whole playing with others thing, havng both consoles would mean I didn't have to exclude people I want to game with. But, I'd feel like I'd be supporting a part of gaming that I really believe is bad for gamers in this day and age, so I won't be buying a console.
(And, don't give me any freakin tired, old arguments about controllers and a "different experience". It simply is not true, you can use any console controller on a PC. There is absolutely, categorically nothing you can do on a console that you can't do on a PC, except connect with exclusive communities and play exclusive games. Exclusive communities are bad for gamers as a whole, exclusive games are bad for gamers, too. Crappy hardware is bad for everyone.)