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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3DoubleD - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
You sit closer than 7 ft (4 ft optimal) to your 60" TV? This must be in a bedroom, office, or a tiny apartment. I live in what I consider a small apartment and I still sit 10 ft away. Perhaps you just put your couch in the center of the room so that it is really close to your TV? Either way, this is not most people's setup. Average seating distances are far greater than 7 ft. UHD TVs will need to be ~100+" for any benefit to be apparent to regular consumers.You must also live in Europe or Asia to get an internet rate like that. I pay $45/mo for 45/4 Mbit with a 300GB cap - although it's unlimited between 2am - 8am, which I take full advantage of.
nathanddrews - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
We've got three rows of seating in our home theater. 115" 1080p projection with seating at approximately 7', 11', and 15'. I choose my seating positions based completely upon my audio configuration which is calibrated to the room's acoustic strengths, not upon one-size-fits-all visual acuity seating calculators. We generally sit in the front row when we don't have guests. It's immersive without being nauseating. Pixels are visible in the back row with good eyesight, so I'm anxiously awaiting a 4K upgrade, but probably not until laser projection becomes affordable.We've got Comcast Business Class 50/10 for $99/mo. No cap and 50/10 are the guaranteed minimum speeds, unlike the residential service which has a cap (sort of) and sells you a max speed instead of a minimum. Comcast BC also has a $59 plan with no cap that is 12/3, but we wanted more speed. Still can't get gigabit fiber... :-(
3DoubleD - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
Sweet setup! You definitely have the screen real estate and seating arrangement to take advantage of 4k. I'd like a similar setup when I move on from apartment style living to a house. Awesome Internet setup too. I could get unlimited as well, and did for a while, but I realized I could pay half as much and get away without hitting my cap by downloading during "happy hours", but that takes some planning.I've been anxiously waiting for laser projection systems as well... Will they ever come or is it vaporware? Hopefully that is what my next TV purchase will be.
douglord - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
more BS from the anti 4k crowd. I'm sitting 8 feet from my TV right now. In fact it's difficult to sit further away in your standard apartment living room. For a 60 inch TV 4k resolution is recommended for anything 8 feet or closer. For a 85 inch TV its 11 feet. For a 100 inch screen its 13 feet.3DoubleD - Friday, November 22, 2013 - link
I'm hardly the anti 4k crowd. I think 4k is great, I just think it is only great when properly implemented. This means that 4k TVs should start at 60", since only very few people sit close enough to begin to see the difference. At 8ft,that is the optimal for 1080p for 60". If you really want to take advantage of 4k you'd sit at 4ft for a 60" set.A5 - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
PS3 didn't launch with DLNA support, either. I'm guessing it will get patched in at some point.As for the rest of it, I'm guessing they made a guess that 4K won't really catch on during the lifespan of these systems, which seems like a fairly safe bet to me.
Hubb1e - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
And with only 16 ROPs Microsoft has trouble even pushing 1080p gaming. It seems that they targeted 720p gaming which is fine with me since most of the time TVs aren't big enough for this to matter. Microsoft did target 4K video though and they designed the video decode blocks specifically to handle this load. It will likely be high resolution but low bitrate video which in most cases is not an improvement over 1080p with high bitrate.piroroadkill - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
2005? Well the consoles then being well specc'd? I disagree, they were mostly pretty great, but I recall very distinctly thinking 512MiB RAM was pretty poor.airmantharp - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
It was horrific, and the effects of that decision still haunt us today.bill5 - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
of course it matters. here xbox one has an edge with an awesome 204 gb/s of esram bandwidth p;us 68 gb/s of ddr bw for a total of 272 gb/s.and yes, you can add them together. so dont even start that noob talk.