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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PhatTran - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
My sincere advice is you should buy a PS4 now. Why? You can see here: http://lovingtheclassicsreviewsite.net/trend/6-rea...lilkwarrior - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
It is a shame hearing about the reported use of SATAII and the lack of 802.11ac from both consoles.Given some of the title of the game are over 40GB in size, something tells me that'll need to be addressed with the inevitable XboxOne Slim and PS4 slim models that'll come out about 2-3 years from now.
Especially Microsoft odd stance on not allowing the hard drive to be removed. PS4 wireless limitations are sort of an odd decision given the stigma of their PSN network being slower and unresponsive; any help from the hardware to be at current standards and future-proof.
Excluding China obviously, some of the fastest broadband infrastructures in the world (i.e. South Korea) are based in Asia. I would think that they would have at least took Microsoft's route to have a dual-band 802.11n connections being available to them.
It's weird that even Sony's standard phones connect and download to the internet using WiFi faster than their flagship console. It makes little sense.
Disappointed I'll have to wait this gen out for 2-3 years. By then, hopefully the ripple effect of SteamOS, Steam Controller, G-Sync, Mantle, Oculus Rift, 4K gaming, and so on will be evident enough to even consider buying either console outside of exclusives.
lilkwarrior - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
*any help from the hardware to be at least accommodate common American wireless speeds and be a bit more future-proof would have been helpful to improve the perception of PSN for Sony.vol7ron - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
In the Gravity demo, 0:02s in. It was interesting to see the difference in the astronaut falling.To me, it appeared that the 360 had higher contrast, but there were also other inconsistencies. A black bar ran across the leg of another astronaut in the scene -- I suspect this was debris -- but more notably the 360's face shield was blacked out, whereas the XB1 showed the astronaut's full face.
In terms of quality, due to the higher contrast, it actually seemed like the 360 won out there. However, as expressed, in all the other scenes despite brighter lighting, the XB1 had much better detail and noticeable edges -- the 360 was much softer and less defined.
What I don't understand is the naming convention. Why XB1? It's not the first XBox,
Blaster1618 - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
No Minecraft yet on PS4, thats a deal breaker for our family. I want to drive a Mclaren P1.blitzninja - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
All this talk about specs and even the "higher spec console loses the war" non-sense is so stupid, just stop.You guys here on AnandTech need to realize that you live in your own little bubble and while you may know a lot about the consoles, the casual consumer market (which makes up most people) have different priorities. So why did Nintendo products beat it's competitors with the Wii while having horrible specs? The experience.
Yes, there is a performance difference between the PS4 and the XO but what really matters is how the console feels and does what people want it to do. This is where the Wii comes in (the Wii U was a flop because they actually went backwards in this regard). Most of the console market is made up of casual gamers. Casual gamers like to invite their friends over and have a LAN party or party game, play with their family (this includes younger audiences), watch movies together and play music at times. The Wii dominated the market because of it's new control interface(s) that added the missing point to this market, it was extremely versatile and made playing it all that more fun than the other consoles.
This is why Nintendo didn't really beef up the Wii U, they just added the extra power to allow for more advanced and precise gesture computation.
So why isn't the Wii U dominating again? Well for starters, most people who have a Wii are satisfied with it and are not out to buy a new one, the Wii U doesn't add anything spectacular that would make the majority of it's target market want to upgrade.
The reason the higher spec console ended up losing is because when the company developed the console, they focused their resources on the performance and as a result cut back on the usability and experience aspect. But that isn't necessarily the case, it all depends on what the focus experience of the console is (the market) and how well polished that experience is.
If Microsoft want's to win the war it needs to pander to the needs of the casual market, not to say it should copy Nintendo but it has another market. The all-in-one market, that is to say make the XO a future PVR, set-top-box, media/streaming centre. Replace the HTPC with a low cost alternative. Most descent HTPCs fall into the $500-$700 market for those who want some light gaming too. The XO would absolutely destroy this market with the proper hardware and software support. Being a console for mid-high end gaming while still being a multimedia powerhouse that does a multitude of things. This includes the voice recognition, a killer feature, if done right.
If I could say "latest episode of the walking dead" or some other show and it worked, then gg Sony, you just got rolled.
@AnandTech: Fix your forum/comment software, not having an edit button is really annoying
Hixbot - Sunday, November 24, 2013 - link
The Wii dominated sales at first, they captured a market of casual gamers that otherwise wouldn't have a bought a console. That market didn't buy many games, attach rate and they grew tired of the Wii, with all the smartphone and Facebook games etc.The Wii sales slumped, and in the end, x360 and PS3 each surpassed it in total by 2012.
For us hardcore gamers who also are Nintendo fans, the Wii was bought but it then left a bad taste in our mouths. The outstanding titles were few and far between, and the rest was shovelware. True motion control never really materialized in many games, most just made use of a "waggle" gimmick.
Wii-u comes out, casual gamers have already moved on, and the hardcores are reluctant to jump into another gimmick "tablet" just for the Nintendo software.
Disclosure: As a big N fan, I bought a wii-u for the Nintendo 1st party titles. Others like me are the only people buying this thing.
Exodite - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
Thanks for the mini-review, much appreciated! Some interesting technical information no doubt.Personally I'm more keen on the PS4, primarily due to having good experiences with Sony equipment in general as well as the price. We currently have a Sony BluRay player (the BDP-470S) and I'd have loved to replace it with a gaming-capable alternative (that also does Netflix) but alas that's unlikely unless Sony can squeeze in CD, MP3 and most importantly DLNA support in the machine.
Anyway, I'm also concerned about the sound levels of the machines as I have quite sensitive ears and I find even my current BluRay player to be something of a hair dryer when playing back discs. BD discs in particular.
ol1bit - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
That was an awesome mini review! One of the best review's I've read about these new titans.'m really surprised that 8 year old 360 hardware is as close as it is! A tad old now, but a great book to read on the old hardware is "The Race for a New Game Machine". This book really shows how MS pulled some fast ones on Sony and ended up with the better plan.
This time looks like Sony really kept everything under wraps better and has at least a slight upper hand. There is no way MS can make it's hardware better/faster at this point. Good Enough? Maybe...Time will tell.
nerd1 - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
It's funny that those 'next gen' consoles are actually on par with some gaming laptops and nothing better. PC is the best gaming console again.