The Xbox One has been unveiled. It's not, as previously thought, called the Xbox 720. But is it better than the Sony PS4, which has also been officially announced? We put them head-to-head to find out.
Xbox One – 10 per cent larger than 360, 'big black box' design
PS4 – Slanted design
The Xbox One design was revealed a way before the PS4. Both had unveilings before the E3 press conference – a traditional launch pad for games consoles – but at the PS4’s early showing, we didn’t get to see the box. It was only shown off fully at E3, on 10 June.
What do they look like? The Xbox One is significantly larger than the PS4. It’s a chunky black mammoth that’s 10 per cent larger than the Xbox 360.
The Sony PS4 is relatively petite, with a slanted design that’s quite unlike the curved bods of the various PS3s, past and present. It can stand either flat or on its side, and it is significantly more lounge-friendly than the Xbox One – even though the Xbox has more lounge-centric features as a more ‘entertainment’ led console.
PS4 - £349, “holiday” 2013
We now know almost everything about the Xbox One and PS4. Including that the PS4 will be significantly cheaper than the Microsoft console - £80 less.
The Xbox One will go on sale for £429 in November, and the PS4 is scheduled to hit shelves in during “holiday” season of 2013. To translate that from American-ese, it’ll go on sale before Christmas, most likely around the same time as the Xbox One.
There are several reasons why the Xbox is more expensive than the PS4. Perhaps the most significant is that it comes with the Kinect sensor as standard, as it is required to operate the console. It’s not down to the core system components, though, as the PS4 is actually a little more powerful than the Microsoft console.
PS4 - Final Fantasy XV, Uncharted
The most important question with any games console - which has the best games? Most of the franchises that were exclusives in the last (or current) generation, will remain as they are. Halo will only come to the Xbox One, console-wise, and Final Fantasy/Uncharted 4 will stick to Sony's PS4.
Uncharted is one of the games Xbox gamers would like to get hold of, but as developer Naughty Dog is a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, that simply isn't going to happen. Important franchises that are coming to both consoles include Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Need for Speed.
PS4 - AMD 8-core Jaguar CPU
The next Xbox and PS4 use extremely similar CPUs, made by AMD. Both use an APU setup, which links together both CPU and GPU into one package.
They’re 8–core chips using ‘Jaguar’ cores – a term picked by their maker AMD to denote their chipset generation. Although it’s yet to be officially confirmed, the PS4 chipset is expected to be clocked slightly higher than the Xbox’s at 2GHz rather than 1.6GHz.
The difference in core processor power isn’t likely to be that great, though, and that both consoles use x86 architecture will make life much easier for developers – simplifying the porting process.
Xbox One –Comparable to Radeon HD 7000-series, 8GB DDR3 RAM with 32MB eSRAM
PS4 - Comparable to Radeon HD 7000-series, 8GB GDDR5 RAM
The PS4 and Xbox One both use an APU processor that combines the CPU and GPU into a single unit. And both are made by AMD.
At first glance it seems like their GPUs may be identical, but they are not. The PS4 graphics processor is 50 per cent more powerful, with 1152 shader processors against the Xbox One’s 768.
Having extra processors will let the PS4 perform more tasks simultaneously – which should in theory allow for more impressive visual effects.
A more impressive GPU is matched with more impressive-sounding RAM. The PS4 uses GDDR5 RAM, while the Xbox One has more conventional DDR3 memory – and both have 8GB of the stuff.
GDDR5 has much higher bandwidth than DDR3, designed for intensive applications such as in graphics cards, while DDR3 is ‘bog standard’ system memory.
If DDR3 was all the Xbox One had, it’d be in serious trouble. But it also has an eSRAM buffer that should help to bridge the 100GB/sec bandwidth gap between the two RAM types. It has a 32MB chunk of eSRAM that will function as a frame buffer.
The question is – will it really mitigate the speed gap between DDR3 and GDDR5? We’ll have to wait to see what the game devs working with the hardware say.
With a more powerful GPU and, seemingly, faster memory, the PS4 is clearly out in front on graphical specs.
Quite what level their power is at is a point of contention, though. Many have compared the consoles to the 7000-series cards from AMD, which tend to cost around £150 with 2GB of memory on-board.
However, EA’s chief technology officer Rajat Teneja claims that the consoles are a whole generation ahead of the top-end PCs on the market. To some that’ll seem like a ridiculous statement when top-end gaming PCs cost thousands of pounds, and these consoles will cost a few hundred.
What’s less contentious is that the Xbox One and PS4 are around 8-10 times as powerful as the previous-gen Xbox 360 and PS3. However, let’s not forget that an increase in graphical fidelity requires an exponential increase in power – so we won’t be looking at games that look 8-10 times as good.
But you can bet they will look a ‘whole lot’ better.
PS4 – PlayStation Move
Microsoft has thoroughly re-worked motion sensor Kinect for the next-generation Xbox One. It’s now a mandatory part of the Xbox experience, and comes bundled with the console.
Xbox One Kinect, previously dubbed Kinect 2.0, is also much higher-fidelity. It uses 1080p cameras where the first-generation Kinect has a much lower-res VGA sensor. Even budget phones use higher-res cameras than that.
The new Kinect also uses an IR sensor to more reliably discern depth of images – making it much more accurate at judging the distance between the Kinect and objects.
Its field of view is also much larger, making it easier to setup and use. Kinect is programmed to discern all joint movement, and even separates thumbs from your fingers. It’s far more powerful than the Xbox 360’s Kinect.
The PS4 stays using Move, the motion control system used by the PS3. However, Move is now built into the controller.
There’s a move light on its back, used by the PS4 console to judge its position, while harvesting accelerometer data from the controller’s insides for higher-fidelity motion-sensing.
Sony hasn’t fully lifted the lid on all the updates to Move in the next generation system, but it sounds as though the new Kinect is a much more sophisticated and interesting system.
PS4 - Streaming services inc. Netflix, LoveFilm
Both consoles will offer a wide array of streaming services at, or just after, launch. Their US launched flaunted a bunch of familiar logos, suggesting among these we’d see Netflix and Hulu – the two biggest streaming services stateside.
Having Netflix is a big boon for us in the UK too, but we’re just as concerned with getting BBC iPlayer, 4OD, LoveFilm, Demand 5 and ITV Player. These UK-centric services are yet to be confirmed by either manufacturer, but as most feature in the current-gen consoles, their appearance in the next batch is only likely to be down to sluggish moves by the respective TV/streaming operators.
To date, Sony has been much quicker at adopting these new services. However at present Sky’s services are available through the Xbox 360, and not the PS3. No Sky deals with the next-generation consoles have been announced, yet.
The Xbox One’s big multimedia win is the use of HDMI pass-thru with ARC to let the console control your television. At the console’s launch Microsoft showed off asking your console to search for TV programmes using the Kinect’s voice recognition.
However, some of the Xbox One’s TV functionality will not be in the UK – at launch. Microsoft’s idea is that the Xbox One will become the centre of the living room, by making you do your TV watching through the console.
Find out where you can place an Xbox One pre-order
PS4 – Blu-ray
In the previous generation of consoles, the PS3 went for Blu-ray and the Xbox 360 dipped a toe in the HD DVD water, with an optional HD DVD player accessory. The HD DVD format died a death, although thanks to the relatively small storage needed by this generation’s games, it could make do with DVD.
For this generation, DVDs won’t be good enough. Unless we’re going to start having games with 10 discs.
Some have suggested that this generation’s consoles will do without optical drives, this is premature. Both consoles use a Blu-ray drive, with discs capable of storing up to 50GB a piece.
Xbox One – Minor re-design, Kinect redesign
PS4 – Moderate re-design, integrated Move
Sony has given the Sixaxis a fairly significant redesign with the PS4. There’s now a lot more control packed into the pad’s body, with a trackpad that sits between the D-pad and the buttons.
There’s also a Move light on the controller’s rear, letting it function like the Move motion control ‘sticks’ available today. The final – slight - change in direction comes with the share button, which lets you quickly share moments of gameplay.
There are some pretty serious changes here, but it shouldn’t feel too different in the hand. The controller’s shape is much the same as the current-model.
The Xbox One controller is a lot closer to the current edition, but Microsoft does claim that more than 40 improvements have been made. What's new?
Most of the changes relate to ergonomics, but the new controller also has an integrated battery compartment, Wi-Fi Direct and new triggers.
Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Design
Xbox One – 10 per cent larger than 360, 'big black box' designPS4 – Slanted design
The Xbox One design was revealed a way before the PS4. Both had unveilings before the E3 press conference – a traditional launch pad for games consoles – but at the PS4’s early showing, we didn’t get to see the box. It was only shown off fully at E3, on 10 June.
What do they look like? The Xbox One is significantly larger than the PS4. It’s a chunky black mammoth that’s 10 per cent larger than the Xbox 360.
The Sony PS4 is relatively petite, with a slanted design that’s quite unlike the curved bods of the various PS3s, past and present. It can stand either flat or on its side, and it is significantly more lounge-friendly than the Xbox One – even though the Xbox has more lounge-centric features as a more ‘entertainment’ led console.Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Price and Release Date
Xbox One - £429, November releasePS4 - £349, “holiday” 2013
We now know almost everything about the Xbox One and PS4. Including that the PS4 will be significantly cheaper than the Microsoft console - £80 less.
The Xbox One will go on sale for £429 in November, and the PS4 is scheduled to hit shelves in during “holiday” season of 2013. To translate that from American-ese, it’ll go on sale before Christmas, most likely around the same time as the Xbox One.
There are several reasons why the Xbox is more expensive than the PS4. Perhaps the most significant is that it comes with the Kinect sensor as standard, as it is required to operate the console. It’s not down to the core system components, though, as the PS4 is actually a little more powerful than the Microsoft console.
Xbox One vs PS4 - Key Launch Games
Xbox One - Halo, Ryse, Forza Motorsport 5PS4 - Final Fantasy XV, Uncharted
The most important question with any games console - which has the best games? Most of the franchises that were exclusives in the last (or current) generation, will remain as they are. Halo will only come to the Xbox One, console-wise, and Final Fantasy/Uncharted 4 will stick to Sony's PS4.
Uncharted is one of the games Xbox gamers would like to get hold of, but as developer Naughty Dog is a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, that simply isn't going to happen. Important franchises that are coming to both consoles include Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Need for Speed.
Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – CPU
Xbox One – AMD 8-core Jaguar CPUPS4 - AMD 8-core Jaguar CPU
The next Xbox and PS4 use extremely similar CPUs, made by AMD. Both use an APU setup, which links together both CPU and GPU into one package.
They’re 8–core chips using ‘Jaguar’ cores – a term picked by their maker AMD to denote their chipset generation. Although it’s yet to be officially confirmed, the PS4 chipset is expected to be clocked slightly higher than the Xbox’s at 2GHz rather than 1.6GHz.
The difference in core processor power isn’t likely to be that great, though, and that both consoles use x86 architecture will make life much easier for developers – simplifying the porting process.
Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – GPU and RAM
Xbox One –Comparable to Radeon HD 7000-series, 8GB DDR3 RAM with 32MB eSRAMPS4 - Comparable to Radeon HD 7000-series, 8GB GDDR5 RAM
The PS4 and Xbox One both use an APU processor that combines the CPU and GPU into a single unit. And both are made by AMD.
At first glance it seems like their GPUs may be identical, but they are not. The PS4 graphics processor is 50 per cent more powerful, with 1152 shader processors against the Xbox One’s 768.Having extra processors will let the PS4 perform more tasks simultaneously – which should in theory allow for more impressive visual effects.
A more impressive GPU is matched with more impressive-sounding RAM. The PS4 uses GDDR5 RAM, while the Xbox One has more conventional DDR3 memory – and both have 8GB of the stuff.
GDDR5 has much higher bandwidth than DDR3, designed for intensive applications such as in graphics cards, while DDR3 is ‘bog standard’ system memory.
If DDR3 was all the Xbox One had, it’d be in serious trouble. But it also has an eSRAM buffer that should help to bridge the 100GB/sec bandwidth gap between the two RAM types. It has a 32MB chunk of eSRAM that will function as a frame buffer.
The question is – will it really mitigate the speed gap between DDR3 and GDDR5? We’ll have to wait to see what the game devs working with the hardware say.
With a more powerful GPU and, seemingly, faster memory, the PS4 is clearly out in front on graphical specs.
Quite what level their power is at is a point of contention, though. Many have compared the consoles to the 7000-series cards from AMD, which tend to cost around £150 with 2GB of memory on-board.
However, EA’s chief technology officer Rajat Teneja claims that the consoles are a whole generation ahead of the top-end PCs on the market. To some that’ll seem like a ridiculous statement when top-end gaming PCs cost thousands of pounds, and these consoles will cost a few hundred.
What’s less contentious is that the Xbox One and PS4 are around 8-10 times as powerful as the previous-gen Xbox 360 and PS3. However, let’s not forget that an increase in graphical fidelity requires an exponential increase in power – so we won’t be looking at games that look 8-10 times as good.
But you can bet they will look a ‘whole lot’ better.
Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Motion Control
Xbox One – Mandatory Kinect (2.0)PS4 – PlayStation Move
Microsoft has thoroughly re-worked motion sensor Kinect for the next-generation Xbox One. It’s now a mandatory part of the Xbox experience, and comes bundled with the console.
Xbox One Kinect, previously dubbed Kinect 2.0, is also much higher-fidelity. It uses 1080p cameras where the first-generation Kinect has a much lower-res VGA sensor. Even budget phones use higher-res cameras than that.
The new Kinect also uses an IR sensor to more reliably discern depth of images – making it much more accurate at judging the distance between the Kinect and objects.
Its field of view is also much larger, making it easier to setup and use. Kinect is programmed to discern all joint movement, and even separates thumbs from your fingers. It’s far more powerful than the Xbox 360’s Kinect.
The PS4 stays using Move, the motion control system used by the PS3. However, Move is now built into the controller.
There’s a move light on its back, used by the PS4 console to judge its position, while harvesting accelerometer data from the controller’s insides for higher-fidelity motion-sensing.
Sony hasn’t fully lifted the lid on all the updates to Move in the next generation system, but it sounds as though the new Kinect is a much more sophisticated and interesting system.
Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – TV and Multimedia
Xbox One – HDMI pass-thru for TV operation, streaming services inc. NetflixPS4 - Streaming services inc. Netflix, LoveFilm
Both consoles will offer a wide array of streaming services at, or just after, launch. Their US launched flaunted a bunch of familiar logos, suggesting among these we’d see Netflix and Hulu – the two biggest streaming services stateside.
Having Netflix is a big boon for us in the UK too, but we’re just as concerned with getting BBC iPlayer, 4OD, LoveFilm, Demand 5 and ITV Player. These UK-centric services are yet to be confirmed by either manufacturer, but as most feature in the current-gen consoles, their appearance in the next batch is only likely to be down to sluggish moves by the respective TV/streaming operators.
To date, Sony has been much quicker at adopting these new services. However at present Sky’s services are available through the Xbox 360, and not the PS3. No Sky deals with the next-generation consoles have been announced, yet.
The Xbox One’s big multimedia win is the use of HDMI pass-thru with ARC to let the console control your television. At the console’s launch Microsoft showed off asking your console to search for TV programmes using the Kinect’s voice recognition.
However, some of the Xbox One’s TV functionality will not be in the UK – at launch. Microsoft’s idea is that the Xbox One will become the centre of the living room, by making you do your TV watching through the console.
Find out where you can place an Xbox One pre-order
Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Optical drive
Xbox One –Blu-rayPS4 – Blu-ray
In the previous generation of consoles, the PS3 went for Blu-ray and the Xbox 360 dipped a toe in the HD DVD water, with an optional HD DVD player accessory. The HD DVD format died a death, although thanks to the relatively small storage needed by this generation’s games, it could make do with DVD.
For this generation, DVDs won’t be good enough. Unless we’re going to start having games with 10 discs.
Some have suggested that this generation’s consoles will do without optical drives, this is premature. Both consoles use a Blu-ray drive, with discs capable of storing up to 50GB a piece.
Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Controller
Xbox One – Minor re-design, Kinect redesign
PS4 – Moderate re-design, integrated Move
Sony has given the Sixaxis a fairly significant redesign with the PS4. There’s now a lot more control packed into the pad’s body, with a trackpad that sits between the D-pad and the buttons.
There’s also a Move light on the controller’s rear, letting it function like the Move motion control ‘sticks’ available today. The final – slight - change in direction comes with the share button, which lets you quickly share moments of gameplay.
There are some pretty serious changes here, but it shouldn’t feel too different in the hand. The controller’s shape is much the same as the current-model.
The Xbox One controller is a lot closer to the current edition, but Microsoft does claim that more than 40 improvements have been made. What's new?
Most of the changes relate to ergonomics, but the new controller also has an integrated battery compartment, Wi-Fi Direct and new triggers.
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