The Xbox One - Mini Review & Comparison to Xbox 360/PS4
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 20, 2013 8:00 AM ESTImage Quality - Xbox 360 vs. Xbox One
Before I get to the PS4 comparison, I wanted to start with some videos showcasing the improvement you can expect from launch day titles that are available on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. I turned to Call of Duty: Ghosts for this comparison as it’s broadly available on all platforms I’m comparing today.
Note that cross platform launch titles, particularly those available on previous generation consoles, end up being the worst examples of what’s possible on a next-generation platform. For the most part they’re optimized for the platform with the larger installed base (i.e. prior-gen hardware), and the visual uplift on new hardware isn’t as much as it could be. I’d say my subjective experience in playing a lot of the launch titles on Xbox One and PS4 mirrors this sentiment. Basic things like not having accurate/realistic cloth physics in games like CoD: Ghosts just screams port and not something that was designed specifically for these next gen systems. Just as we’ve seen in prior generations, it’s likely going to be a good 12 - 24 months before we see great examples of games on this new generation of hardware.
Now that I’ve adequately explained why this is a bad comparison, let’s get to the comparison. I’ve captured HDMI output on both consoles. They were both set to full range (0-255), however I had issues with the Xbox One respecting this setting for some reason. That combined with differences across Ghosts on both platforms left me with black levels that don’t seem equalized between the platforms. If you can ignore that, we can get to the comparison at hand.
All of these videos are encoded at 4K, with two 1080p captures placed side by side. Be sure to select the highest quality playback option YouTube offers.
The first scene is the intro to Ghosts. Here you can see clear differences in lighting, details in the characters, as well as some basic resolution/AA differences as well (Xbox 360 image sample, Xbox One image sample).
The second scene is best described as Call of Duty meets Gravity. Here the scene is going by pretty quickly so you’re going to have to pause the video to get a good feel for any differences in the platforms. What’s most apparent here though is the fact that many present day users can likely get by sticking with older hardware due to the lack of titles that are truly optimized for the Xbox One/PS4.
Now getting to scenes more representative of actual gameplay, we have Riley riding around wanting badly to drive the military vehicle. Here the differences are huge. The Xbox One features more realistic lighting, you can see texture in Riley’s fur, shadows are more detailed and there seems to be a resolution/AA advantage as well. What’s funny is that although the Xbox One appears to have a resolution advantage, the 360 appears to have less aliasing as everything is just so blurry.
Speaking of aliasing, we have our final IQ test which is really the perfect test case for high resolution/AA. Once again we see a completely different scene comparing the Xbox One to Xbox 360. Completely different lighting, much more detail in the environments as well as objects on the ground. The 360 version of Ghosts is just significantly more blurry than what you get on the One, which unfortunately makes aliasing stand out even more on the One.
Even though it’ll be a little while before we get truly optimzed next-gen titles, there’s an appreciable improvement on those games we have today for anyone upgrading from an older console. The difference may be more subtle than in previous generations, but it’s there.
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bill5 - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
It doesn't matter if you aren't concerned, the EPA is.Vote against Democrats if you dont like it.
Seriously from what i understand particularly regulations in the EU influenced these boxes, and I'm sure a power hog machine was out of the question due to the general climate of "green" propaganda nonsense.
A5 - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
The 360 got so hot it melted its own solder pads, despite sounding like a damn jet engine.There are plenty of engineering reasons to reduce power consumption.
JDG1980 - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
Exactly how will voting against Democrats in the US stop the European Union from imposing additional energy regulations?blitzninja - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
He sounds like he is either A. a retard or B. he is talking out of his ass or C. trolling. Either way, ignore him.The power consumption regulations are there for more than just "green". We currently have a problem of growing energy needs and where we're going to get that power form is a big question.
What people don't realize is that the power grid's infrastructure is designed with a peak load in mind and due to implementation and cost limitations you can't just "build more" as most Americans seem to think about it. 1 millions consoles sold at launch, think about that in terms of power consumption and remember, this legislation doesn't just apply to consoles.
Also, I don't understand why the whole "anti-green" view, I don't see how it's bad, even if you don't think global climate change is real (which it is btw, it's fact in every meaning of the word), do you really think dumping all that exhaust fumes in to the atmosphere is good for you or something? How would you like to weak a gas mask/air filter when you go outside? See whats happening in China right now (smog) because of the massive amounts of coal being burned.
tl;dr Power consumption affects more than "green" it affects infrastructure durability and limitations and a large upgrades are extremely costly and time consuming. So please do some research instead of trying to act like a 'smartass'. Also burning lost of fossil fuels can make you sick, see China smog issue.
blitzninja - Saturday, November 23, 2013 - link
Some typo corrections, typing on my phone:"...going to get that power from and how it's going to be transported are big questions."
"...Also, I don't understand the whole "anti-green" view,..." deleted 'why'
"...you like to wear a gas mask/air filter when you go outside?"
evonitzer - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
I think Anand is covering it more as a curiosity. High power PC's with much better capabilities consume similar amounts at idle, so a specifically designed piece of hardware should be optimized MUCH better. But it isn't, and neither is the PS4. Odd.Da W - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
My only issue is WHY Microsoft DID YOU KILL MEDIA CENTER and throw all your focus on the Xbox??? I would kill to have an HTPC with an HDMI-IN and voice command.althaz - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
If the XBox One had a tuner (or four) and more codec support, it would be an amazing media centre. As it is it's a bit inconsistent.A5 - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
Yeah. Not being able to do DVR stuff on the XBone makes it kind of a deal-killer.andrewaggb - Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - link
I was genuinely surprised they didn't integrate a set top box+pvr in at least one sku of the one and market it to cable providers