This list is just an unbiased honest comparison between the two systems. I will only be posting confirmed specifications and hardware as we have been given access to so far. I must admit, with the Hothchips event a month ago, Microsoft seems to have been much more forthcoming about alot of its hardware than Sony. That said, let us begin the comparison.
The main components being compared are CPU, GPU, RAM, and BUS. This is what we know thus far, weeks from launch:
CPU:
PS4 = 8 core Jaguar processor. 1.6 GHz. 1
thread per core, and 2 ops per thread, for a total of 16 ops according to Sony.
X1 = 8 core CPU processor. 1.75 GHz. No detailed structure thus far, but Microsoft has
confirmed that it performs 48ops total.
Point: X1, at the above specs, X1 CPU will have up to 3 Times the performance of PS4 CPU.
GPU:
PS4
= AMD SI based GPU. 800 MHz. Organized as 14:4 GPU: GPGPU split with 2 disabled CU’s. 1.84 Tflops of Raw performance.
X1 = AMD SI based GPU, 853 MHz. Again, no detailed structure thus far from Microsoft, but they have confirmed 768 ops per clock. 1.3
Tflops Raw performance
.
Point: PS4, PS4 has a 30% more raw Tflop count, as well as additional ROP’s, and
ACE’s that should aid it in rendering. X1 structure has been silent as to the GPU internals it should be noted.
RAM:
PS4 = 8 GB of GDDR5. 176 GB/s Bandwidth.
X1 = 8 GB of DDR3. 68 GB/s Bandwidth + 47 MB of ODESRAM, 204 GB/s or higher Bandwidth.
Point: TIE. X1 has gone with a cheaper, faster, but more complicated route,
the system should have no problem pushing around about 190-200 GB/s
between the pools of ram as stated on Digital Foundry interviews, but this will come at a cost of more
complicated use. The PS4 on the other hand went with a more expensive,
but easier to use single pool of fast ram with a higher latency (opposed to X1's two pools,
one extremely fast, one slow), but should be easier to develop for.
BUS:
PS4 = 3 Bus Pipelines. Onion, Garlic and Super Onion. These allow for HAS and Huma operations between processor and GPU in connection to the GDDR5 RAM.
X1 = 8 Bus Pipelines, 2x256 Bit Buses with 4 lanes each. One pipeline to the
ODESRAM, and one to the DDR3 RAM. Additional Bus Pipelines to the CPU on
both the DDR3 and the ODESRAM, as well as various Bus Pipelines to the Audio, Video, and Memory controllers and Kinect.
Point: X1, as it may be a more complicated solution with the multitude of Bus Pipelines and structures to
all of these components, however the two main Pipelines are extremely
robust: 2x4 lane 256 Bit Bus Pipelines will be able to move a MASSIVE amount of data while allowing the GPU/CPU to offload the work to the other systems like sound and memory.
OPTICAL DRIVE:
PS4 = BluRay
X1 = BluRay
Point: TIE. MS wised up and went with the most popular physical media currently.
HDD:
PS4 = 500 GB Removeable. 5200 RPM.
X1 = 500 GB Permanent. 7200 RPM. + 8GB Flash Memory HDD.
Point: TIE. PS4 HDD is removable, but slower. X1 is permanent, but faster, with an additional Solid State Flash Memory Drive.
EXTERNAL HDD:
PS4 = Will support after launch for storage.
X1 = Will support after launch for storage, game installation, HDD extentsion.
Point: X1, as game installation and ADD extension to external drive means it will actually be easier to increase disk space on the X1 than it will be removing the internal HDD on the PS4.
CLOUD:
PS4 = Gaikai Streaming, cloud storage for achievements. 12K cloud server infrastructure.
X1 = Free Dedicated Servers for all Multiplayer game developers. Unlimited storage for Gold members. Cloud compute powering games. 300K cloud server infrastructure. 700 Million invested in server technology just for gaming on X1.
Point: X1. Not very hard to see the differences here.
CONTROLLERS:
PS4 = Dual Shock 4
X1 = Xbox One updated controller
Point: TIE. Mostly a matter of preference.
CAMERA:
PS4 = Eye. 720p dual camera system with 4x directional microphone receivers. Possible voice commands. Not included.
X1 = Kinect 2.0. 1080p. 3d vision. IR blast. Tru3d heat sensor. Dark room tech (no lights required to use) Facial recognition. Voice recognition. Voice command. Internal processor. Included in every box.
Point: X1.
AUDIO:
PS4 = Dedicated audio processor with bulk of processing directly on CPU/GPU.
X1 = Dedicated audio processor capable of processing almost all Audio and Kinect functions without using CPU/GPU resources.
Point: X1.
MOVE ENGINES:
PS4 = None.
X1 = Move Engines are separate internal processing hardware that will allow the system to move data around without
using CPU/GPU resources.
Point: X1
VIDEO DSP:
PS4 = DSP
for up scaling, compression, decompression, video streams.
X1 = DSP for encode,
decode, compress, decompress, up scaling, rasterazation, and 4x swizzle
operations, as well as steaming video, all on three separate channels.
Point: X1. Upscaled resolutions will likely fair far better on the X1. This will be most visually apparent in 4K gaming in the distant future.
CONCLUSION:
Beyond the GPU raw performance argument, it is apparent that X1 has has a slight edge over the PS4 in terms of confirmed specs
overall. Since each system is designed around an APU with key differences, the raw GPU performance argument is much different than arguing GPU specs on a traditional PC. The end result is going to show up in the games being released for each system.
It's always about the games.
Thus far, both systems are showing marked achievements in games such as Killzone: Shadow Fall, Ryse, Forza 5, Killer Instinct and Infamous 3. But this is just the tip of the iceberg my friends.
These games at or around launch are just barely showing us the power in each console. They were likely developedfor the most part on hardware much different than the final specs and drivers we will see at launch.
Exciting times are ahead, and neither of these consoles should be underestimated. No matter your fancy.
THE GAMING PROPHECIES
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
XBOX ONE vs PS4: The Real Story
As I sip my herbal mint tea this
early Monday morning, once again I find myself looking across the vast horizon
of tech news feeds looking for something to grab my attention. And there they
are once again in all their infinite glory: "PS4 is 50% Faster than Xbox
One, Claim Developers" "I'd be Skeptical of Reports about PS4 being
50% Faster" "Console Wars Round Two goes to Sony" "Xbox One
wins over Families"
The console war cycle is once again
upon us, and glorious it is in my eyes. As a technophile, I consider myself
pretty up to date on the current console war. In fact for the last 9
months, I have checked daily for any news regarding either console and consume
the information with much prejudice. But with the constant influx of new
hardware information, game news, predictions, theories, and some major service
updates/changes, honestly the facts have been illusive indeed.
I thought it would be nice to have a
clear, concise CURRENT feature set for each console in one location, and a
brief discussion about the merits of each.
50% FASTER: IS IT TRUE?
Let's look at the origin of this
theory.
PS4
XBOX ONE
CPU: 8 Core
AMD/(unknown speed) 8 Core AMD/1.75Ghz
GPU: 1150
Shaders/(unknown speed) 770 Shaders/853Mhz
RAM: 8Gb
GDDR5/176Gb/s 8Gb DDR3/70Gb/s
32Mb ESRam/204 GB/s
32Mb ESRam/204 GB/s
This right here is the crux of the
argument. On paper it looks fairly skewed towards the PS4 having outright more
power, while slightly less speed. 1150 vs 770 GPU shader cores, roughly 49%
more. 176Gb/s vs 70Gb/s RAM bandwidth is a significant increase in the
information pipeline going between the processors and the RAM read/write. Xbox
One makes up for this difference with some supercharged silicone called ES RAM
that moves info at 204Gb/s. You cannot just add the two together and call it
274Gb/s vs 176Gb/s of bandwidth however, as there is only 32Mb of this RAM to
use, hardly enough for many large textures to use for the read/write pipeline,
however it does give the Xbox One an advantage in some circumstances. For
instanace one developer said "“Let’s say you are using
procedural generation or raytracing via parametric surfaces – that is, using a
lot of memory writes and not much texturing or ALU – Xbox One will be likely be
faster,”
It should be mentioned, that I'm
leaving the TFLOP count completely out of this equation. The reason being, as
the numbers we have heard in regards to both systems are completely
theoretical. Most of the numbers we have been receiving on Sony's end in
actuality are leaked info and calculations based on info that may or may not be
true. Rumors for both consoles have touted 1.8 TFLOPS for one console with 1.5
for the other, all the way up to 3 or 4 TFLOPS in a single console. Until Sony
is more forthright about their consoles 'innards' it is mostly a moot
discussion.
OTHER FACTORS
There is however much, much more to
the story in regards to the console war. When it comes to the differences in
the consoles, shaders, CPU cores, and Ghz are only the half of it.
PS4
XBOX ONE
Drivers: DX11
DX11.2
OS:
Updated
XMB
Triple OS with Snapping features
RAM use: 3.5Gb OS -
4.5Gb/games 3Gb/OS - 5Gb/games
Latency: 3x Latency of
DDR3 No Latency
Price:
$399
$499
Social:
Dedicated
app Skype
Camera: Not
Included
Kinect2/Included
HDD:
500GB removable
500GB permanent
Ext HDD: No game
installation Game
installation allowed
Wireless: Bluetooth
2.1
Wifi Direct
HDMI: HDMI
out HDMI out/HDMI in
IR Blast:
None
Powerful IR Blast/device control
Devices: Vita ($199)
Smartglass (iOS, Android, WP8)
Cloud:
15k
servers
300k+ servers
Release:
11/15/13
11/22/13
Now I'm going to clarify, the above
is just the differences between the consoles. Both consoles have a plethora of
next gen quirks and tech advances that they both tout with much resilience.
Blueray players, remote access and downloads, subscriptions, region lock free,
wifi, download as you play, all of these great services both consoles support.
The differences are where real
comparisons can start being made however.
DX11 VS DX11.2
Does that .2 mean much? It's a good
question and most haven't really given it much thought as it is such a small
number. There would probably be more clamor about it if it were a drastic
change, such as DX11 to DX12. But this is only an incremential update, one that
is exclusive to the Xbox One and Windows 8.1.
The main changes between the drivers
is explained here as Tiled Resources. "Tiled
Resources" allows for significant enhancement of in-game textures by
making it possible to simultaneously access GPU and traditional RAM memory and
create a single large buffer where large textures can be stored. This technique
was demonstrated with a model of Mars which displayed a 3 GB texture using just
16 MB of GPU memory and in Graphine’s Granite Flight Simulator that showed "a remarkably detailed
island with gliders constructed out of 64 megapixels."
Now this might seem like a
relatively minor enhancement until you factor in the Xbox One's architecture.
32MB of ES RAM that read/writes faster than GDDR5 RAM with a much higher
bandwidth. If this driver can make a 3Gb texture take less than 16Mb of
allocated memory usage, suddenly things start to make a lot more sense for the
Xbox One. Even larger textures can start making use of that supercharged
bandwidth pipeline, and the GDDR5 advantage of the PS4 starts looking smaller
and smaller, especially when factoring in the latency cost.
RAM USE AND OPERATING SYSTEMS:
PS4 and Xbox One have both shown off
their OS systems which can be seen here
and here. Sony and Microsoft have also given fairly
detailed statements on the power usage of each.
The gist of the matter is both have
very streamlined and updated user interfaces that look to be far more intuitive
than their predecessors. The look and feel debate is really just a matter of
subjective preference. However there are a few debatable tidbits that still
leave much for gamers to argue about.
PS4's OS will use up almost half of
the system RAM just to function properly, leaving only 4.5Gb of RAM for game
developers to use for their software. Sony brought up a point on this that
there may be a way for developers to access an additional gig of virtual RAM if
needed, but the process sounds a little convoluted, and is by no means clear
and concise. Xbox One's OS on the other hand will use up approximately 3Gb of
the 8Gb, leaving a hefty 5Gigs of RAM for Developers to use. That is a little
blow to Sony in regards to amount of RAM left for gaming. Especially when
looking at the 3 OS system Xbox One will be using, which is designed to be
primarily voice controlled, and also allow apps to snap view letting the user
accomplish multiple tasks at once.
The edge for intuitive design really
goes to Xbox One on this front and will likely be more apparent as time goes
on.
RAM LATENCY:
One very little talked about subject
is the inherent latency in RAM, the higher the bandwidth goes. This subject has
been debated on multiple tech threads, with most agreeing the
latency won't be a factor in gaming.
There is however a different side to
the story. The argument that GDDR5 latency (which is approximately 3 times that
of DDR3) will not effect game consoles is mostly stemmed from the fact that PC
graphics cards use GDDR5 without any problem as a game doesn't need much
compute speed to complete its tasks. PC's, even the most powerful gaming rigs
you can buy (for $14,000+ in some cases) use DDR3 RAM, with GDDR5
only accessed by the GPU. Why is this?
Well, the fact is when compute is
factored for other processes than running a game, the latency does in fact make
a difference. OS, background tasks, scripting, many things the new consoles are
starting to make use of. And this could very well make a visible difference in
the upcoming console experiences.
There was a time when all a console
was used for was popping a cartridge in and playing the bits and shaders on the
television. The consoles have evolved however, and both are touting many more
general tasks than playing games. Browsing internet pages, streaming video,
swapping services on the fly, voice activation, connecting to social media,
both consoles are planning to make use of a lot more than shader processing.
For this reason, the DDR3 set up may have an edge over the GDDR5 setup Sony is
planning.
IS THE PRICE RIGHT?
Well here we go with some real
subjectivity. $100. It's real, its a fact, and it's the "in your
face" price difference between the consoles. Kinect2 being bundled with
the Xbox One is the main point of argument on why there is such a price
difference. In fact that argument turns into "I don't even want the
camera, why are they making me pay $100 for it?" in many cases.
This however is a fallacy in logic.
Here's why.
More than half of the features Xbox
One brings to the table involve the Kinect2. Voice control, IR blaster,
Controller detection, facial recognition, even heart rate monitoring, all
involve the Kinect2. Gamer sentiment is that they hate using camera gesture
controls as a game mechanic. That is valid. But that is an argument for the
original Kinect and it's less than stellar install base and lack of supporting
games. Microsoft has repeatedly said the Xbox One is the Kinect2, and the
Kinect2 is the Xbox One. The fact that the device turns on all of your
entertainment hub peripherals at the single beckon call of your voice, really
starts to turn that argument on it's head. It is obvious the Kinect2 is much
more than a 'camera' meant to provide gesture controlled games to the masses.
It is much more logical to assume
the $100 additional price is for the Triple OS, IR Blast features, Voice
Control, Wi Fi Direct, HDMI in, along with the supercharged camera and gesture
control features for good measure. It's telling, that Microsoft is planning to
sell the Kinect2 alone for $350, roughly $150 less than the Xbox One. The $100
Kinect2 argument doesn't hold much water when you start looking at the big
picture.
SKYPE:
Who uses skype? Well, a lot of us do
already. In fact, 89% of businesses globally reported using Messenger as a
communication protocol in 2012. All of those businesses are now starting to use
Skype. My office included. It is also a very common communication app used in
the home and private sector. My family uses it almost exclusively, and I know
many others doing the same.
This is probably one of the biggest
pro's for the Xbox One in the social and communication side of the feature
list. As more and more homes begin using Xbox One and find Skype integrated, it
will become second nature for families and businesses to simply say "Xbox,
call soandso" and have a conversation right there from the home or office
with any number of mobile devices including iOS, Android and Windows. The
outreach is tremendous.
PS4 version of this is unclear. They
will likely have a dedicated app for talking with PSN friends and family, but
nothing even closely as integrated as Skype is in the current market. There are
rumors touting PS4 may get Skype integration eventually, but it seems that if
those rumors were true, Sony would have shouted this from the hills day one.
EYE VS KINECT2
There have been quite a few demos
recently featuring the uses of the PS4
Eye and the Kinect2. The demos are definitely impressive,
ranging from rangling tiny fireball shooting robots out of your controller to
full face and body scans implemented right into your game so you can play
digital versions of yourself and compete with your friends. It's all quite
futuristic and mesmerizing in a 'TRON' sort of way.
What it really boils down to here,
is an upgraded Eye camera for PS4 with two cameras for a stereoscopic 3D view
of the world in 720p, versus a behemouth upgrade to the Kinect, with a single
stereoscopic camera lens at 1080p, IR blaster, Infrared sensors that can view
you and the room regardless of light, and light sensors sensitive enough to see
your heart rate by the blood pulsing beneath your facial skin,
The potential of both cameras really
goes to infinity and beyond, but it's not much of a contest between the cameras
as to which is better currently.
STORAGE AND HDD AVAILABILITY:
At first look, it's definitely a
plus for Sony and kind of a bummer for Microsoft that the PS4 allows HD
swapping and Xbox One does not. As both systems will come stock with a 500Gb
hard drive, it seems there will need to be more wiggle room for space in the
coming digital age. But looking further into the situation, all is not as it
seems.
Xbox One devs have confirmed that
installing games to an external hard drive via USB 3.0 ports will be possible.
Essentially, this makes grabbing a 5TB external hard drive and using it to
store everything you need including game installs a piece of cake. Run out of
Terrabytes? Go get another.
PS4 on the other hand, when asked if
this type of functionality would be availble for PS4, Yoshida simply tweeted
"No". Apparently the entire internal hard drive will need to be
replaced once the 500Gb cap is reached (which in this day and age can be
reached quite fast). Once again, making PS4's boon a little more of a bummer
than in the case of Xbox One.
BLUETOOTH VS WIFI DIRECT:
One of the most mind boggling
aspects of the next gen console decisions is Sony's opt in to stick with last
gen's gadget connection bandwidth. Bluetooth has made some tech advances leaps
and bounds better than where they were last gen. Regardless, PS4 is coming with
Bluetooth 2.1, an almost 10 year old technology, to connect wireless headsets
and controllers. Xbox One in contrast will be using Wifi Direct technology for
the same purpose. Right around a %350 increase in connectivity for control and
wireless voice.
This coupled with the fact that both
consoles will include headsets for game chat, PS4 with an ear dongle with
reportedly low quality, and Xbox One with a more traditional style headset and
mic with supposedly better quality than last gen's headset, may make waves once
the consoles are actually released and gamers get a sense of what kind of
quality difference they will have between the consoles chat function.
HDMI IN AND OUT:
HD is the current consumer
benchmark, and most consumers have an HD flatscreen sitting in their living
room or den. That's not to say better quality monitors are not available, with
4k and SHD on the horizon. But as for the here and now, HD is where it's at.
Both consoles offer the HDMI out as a standard feature for entertainment
display.
The hidden gem within Xbox One's
side of the console war however is the HDMI IN port. This feature is designed
mostly to allow the connection of your television cable/dish network to connect
directly through the console and allow television to be streamed directly
through a single device without having to find another controller, change
inputs on your television, and then use a separate controller to find what you
want to watch. Everything, seamlessly integrated into one device, the Xbox, and
controlled by your voice or hands. No switching inputs, no controller diving,
all of that put behind us as very distant 'manual analog controller' past. I
can see this becoming quite catchy as a feature.
There is more though. A lot of us,
my family included, have moved on from the old cable network television
watching. We watch videos on demand, Netflix, HBOGO, Hulu, Amazon Prime, almost
any content worth watching is found in places other than a Dish Network, and
with little to no commercials to boot. What good does that HDMI IN port do for
us? Well, apparently any device with an HDMI out will work with the Xbox One
via the HDMI IN port.
Xbox One is going to make it so your
old PS3, 360, or HPC is not irrelevant and tossed to the wayside. Want to play
your Playstation Network library of games without switching inputs? Just say
"Xbox, playstation" grab the PS3 controller and your on your way.
Want to keep your 360 digital library accessible? Plug it in. Maybe you just
want to get on steam and play some of your old titles that haven't been ported
to the Xbox One. Well, it's an option, all thanks to that little slot in the
back of the box that says "IN". This could be a big deal, especially
with 360 and PS3 titles really ramping up in the next couple of years while
Xbox One and PS4 titles are more scarce.
IR BLAST:
Everyone needs this. At some point
in the future, this is going to be a must have feature for every home. One
device that turns on everything in the media hub. How clunky and clumsy it is
to fumble through a stack of asymmetrical round edged controllers sitting up on
a shelf, or on the coffee table, or have to go 'diving' for that missing link
that's hiding under the couch, or in the toybox, or in the kitchen that's the
only thing keeping you away from your entertainment module of choice.
With a powerful IR Blaster
integrated into the Kinect2, Xbox will be able to turn on all your media hub
devices, and control inputs, volume, power, and even change the channel from
Syfi to Spike TV, all without lifting a finger. In fact, it will be much more
akin to talking to the computer in Star Trek, your living room becoming your
own personal captains deck on the Enterprise.
VITA VS SMARTGLASS:
It's no secret that the next gen
gaming consoles will feature second screens. Wii U included it with every box.
PS4 is really pushing it's PSVita, as an amazing machine capable of stunning
graphics and streaming gameplay from the PS4, and Xbox One has Smartglass.
The devil in the details here is the
price of the Vita vs the Price of Smartglass. Approximately $199 vs, well, free
- if you already own a mobile device with iOS, Android, or WP8. Chances are,
you have a smartphone like most of the tech world now, and it runs one of the
most popular mobile OS on the market. Since the marketshare is into the
billions, it's safe to say most of us will have a device, phone, or tablet
capable of running Smartglass.
What this entails for actual gaming
purposes? It's really yet to be seen how far developers can go with the
technology. But it is an exciting prospect to keep an eye on.
THE POWER OF THE CLOUD:
It's almost a running gag the
statement Microsoft has been making about "the power of the cloud".
On gaming forums and tech sites alike, gamers have been calling Microsoft out
on this so called 'power' and haven't really been able to grasp anything
tangible.
Mostly, it is looked upon like a
fabled mystical sorcery that will somehow make the Xbox One games graphically
better than PS4 or even PC, for years to come.
Technophiles from all sides have
come to a consensus that internet bandwidth is just not there yet, so there is
no way for the 'power of the cloud' to increase performance graphically to
games without major rubberbanding or ping suspension hickups. Despite claims
from developers at Respawn entertainment (Titanfall) and Forza 5 Developer, Dan Greenwalt, that the
Microsoft Azure server cloud really making a difference in the AI, scenery and
even looks of the game, gamers seem mistified to buy into this theory.
Personally, I think the fact that MS
has invested in 300k servers for gaming, and Sony only about 12 to 15k servers
at this point, is going to make a major difference in user experience. It seems
best explained by eurogamer in that the technology is there, but
bandwidth needs to catch up.
Cloud is just a buzz word for Server
Farm really. Azure uses it to power corporate offices, PS4 will use theirs to
power Gaikai and stream games, Xbox One will use theirs to add power to games,
including AI, online worlds, and eventually compute and display purposes when
the tech allows. It's not an impossibility, just a gradual progressive
technology that won't change things overnight.
Heaven knows, Microsoft have
invested heavily into it. Reportedly $700 million heavy. That is nothing to scoff at.
RELEASE DATE:
At long last, our dreams and wishes
of a next gen gaming future are about to come true. November 14, in the
case of the PS4, November 22, for anyone looking at buying an Xbox One.
Will a week of difference make or
break the system? Although there are articles aplenty spelling doom for the system for
waiting a week beyond Sony, My cards are on "NO", and it seems most
gamers feel similarly. Microsoft actually made an interesting launch point in
the console equation. In the US, it releases on the exact birth day of Xbox
360. A sentimental approach that puts it one week later than the PS4. In the
UK, it releases one week prior to the PS4. So any headway actually made
by that additional week in the states, Xbox One now has the same headway
outside of the US.
This is an interesting proposition,
as the majority of the Xbox fanbase is already in the US, and those loyal to
the brand won't be changing for the most part, since friends, family and
subscriptions all carry over. Waiting an additional week won't be changing
those kind of minds.
On the other hand, those sitting on
the edge of fence for the Xbox One or PS4, might be swayed with the waves of
hype that will inevitably coincide with the launch of the consoles. PS4 being
first in line may pick up the wishy washy in the US, while the Xbox One could
do the same in the UK and outlying countries.
Indeed, exciting times are coming in
the very near future.
GAMES:
One of the biggest factors in the
console vs console argument, is the list of titles that come packaged with a
neat little bow attached to that console. Games matter. Thats the fact of it.
This time around, it really looks like Xbox One has the lead here. Luckily for
all Gamers, a nice list of amazing looking multiplatform titles is going to be
available:
MULTIPLATFORM:
- Watch Dogs
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
- Wolfenstein New Order
- The Crew
- The Division
- Battlefield 4 (DICE)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward)
- Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft)
- Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions)
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games)
- FIFA 14 (EA Sports)
- Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports)
- NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts)
- NBA Live 14 (EA Sports)
But what about the games that really
make the console shine? At launch, there will be several for each, though this
is where Xbox One starts to show its colors:
PS4
XBOX ONE
Drive
Club
Forza 5
Killzone: Shadowfall Dead
Rising 3
Knack
Killer Instinct
The Play
Room
Ryse: Son of Rome
Crimson Dragon
Fighter Within
Then of course there are smaller
'Indie' games that look very promising for each:
PS4
XBOX ONE
Blacklight: Retribution Loco Cycle
War Thunder
Peggle 2
Resogun
Powerstar Golf
Warframe
Zoo Tycoon
Personally, to me, the most exciting
prospects are the 'LAUNCH WINDOW' titles, that will likely come around
Christmas or early 2014.
PS4
XBOX ONE
Infamous Second Son Titanfall
Kinect Sports Rivals
Project Spark
And then later a few other games have been announced.
PS4
XBOX ONE
The Order 1886 Halo Xbox One
Deep Down Dance Central Xbox One
Sunset Overdrive
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare
Now, we know of course there are
games coming that have yet to be announced. A next gen Media Molecule title is
confirmed in the works (Next Gen Sackboy), Quantic Dream and Naughty Dog (Heavy
Rain, Uncharted) have yet to announce their next gen titles. And let's not
forget the Next Gen HALO that is in the works.
WHO WINS?
What does it all mean? Well, some
have boasted the power difference between the consoles being varied as much as
1080p at 60fps on one console with 720p at 30fps on the other, to as little as
4 to 5% difference in frames per second in any situation. But as always in the
non confirmed spec's point of view, we will have to wait and see.
Who wins? Well as all matters of
opinion, that is entirely subjective. There are differing opinions going both
directions from gamers and developers alike. Even the Legendary John
Carmack stated that according his own experience developing thus far
on each console, they are nearly 'identical'.
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
The one true source that all of us
as gamers are going to need to look to, is time. Only time will tell how much
variance in power the consoles really have. And that doesn't mean 'November'.
5, 7 or 10 years down the line, the consoles will likely be in a position very
similar to current gen consoles - Neck and Neck. Who will be ahead is anybodies
guess.
Analysts keep telling us gaming
sales are going down and mobile gaming will take over. Personally, I think the
increased pre-sales of consoles compared to last gen is very telling. Mobile
gaming in my opinion isn't closing the door to traditional gaming, it is in
fact the opposite. It looks more to be paving the way for new casual gamers to
learn to appreciate the gaming universe in ways they hadn't considered before,
opening up doors for millions to accept and traditional gaming. Such has been
the case for my own wife, to my delight lol.
Personally, I will be getting both
consoles as I am very excited for Exclusives that will be announced in the
coming years for both. I will likely plug my PS4 into my Xbox One, so I can
tell everything to turn on at once with the Kinect2 IR Blaster, and play my
next gen Uncharted game with the simple voice command of "Make it
so". Fun times ahead :)
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