The main difference that’s mentioned in reviews and articles of multi-platform games in this console generation is that, many times, the PS4 is capable of running a title at 1080p while the Xbox One is forced to compromise by displaying at 900p in order to compete performance-wise. Sony’s console seems to be slightly more powerful, or easier to develop for, as shown by its consistently stronger visuals and greater frame rate.

These differences aren’t exactly huge, though. Comparison videos and screenshots between the two consoles, using titles such as “MGS V: The Phantom Pain,” only show slightly increased clarity and computing power on the PS4 version. Typically, one would need to zoom in on these certain details in order to truly see the difference, and even then without a side-by-side display, the difference is negligible.

When it comes to PS4 games vs Xbox One games, besides slightly superior visual and mechanical performance on the PS4, the two consoles have extremely similar features. Both allow for streaming of game play to sites like Twitch, and soon Youtube Gaming, along with online gaming, the ability to take in-game screenshots and play different media.

The debate of PS4 games vs Xbox One games becomes more worthwhile when you focus on what titles are exclusive to the two consoles. The Xbox One has franchises such as Halo, Gears of War, Forza and Titanfall. The PS4 has exclusives like Uncharted 4, Infamous: Second Son, Bloodborne, Driveclub and Killzone: Shadow Fall. Overall, it seems the Xbox One focuses more on shooters and action games as exclusives while the PS4 has more RPGs, indie titles and cinematic games exclusive to it. The Xbox One also gets much less support from Japanese developers, to the point where Japanese Xbox One titles are rare, while the PS4 has a greater variety of developers contributing titles to its library.

Currently the PS4 is outselling the Xbox One by a wide margin, with Sony having sold over 22 million consoles while Microsoft has sold a little under 13 million. When it comes to PS4 games vs Xbox One games, the differences are small but definitely in Sony’s favor. Consumers have spoken. The PS4 wins.

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These days, the lines are more blurred. On the one hand, Nintendo’s Wii is tailored to a degree to families and younger audiences, and the Xbox One still has a strong focus on things such as competitive online multiplayer and racking up “gamerscore” points. But on the other hand, you can get some Call of Duty games on the Wii U, and Microsoft has ceded the “hardcore gamer” ground to Sony, instead emphasizing multimedia use with the Xbox One.

If it comes down to your having to choose between Xbox One and the Wii U, your game and use preferences will definitely take you to one console or the other. Fans of first-person shooters, sports games and those that want their console to act as a living room multimedia center will get more mileage out of the Xbox One. Gamers who want a dedicated gaming console, portability and Nintendo’s more casual and family-centric exclusive first-party content will do better with a Wii U. But each system has a wide enough range of games you can put together a good game library no matter which one you chose.

Xbox One vs. Wii U: Hardware Differences

* The Xbox One gives you the ability to play Blu-rays and DVDs, but the Wii U does not.

* The Xbox One also boasts significant technical advantages, with considerably more RAM and stock storage space, as well as a more powerful CPU and GPU.

* The added power of the Xbox One comes at a cost: it uses about 100 more watts of power than the Wii U does.

* The Wii U has robust backward compatibility with Wii games. The Xbox One is just beginning to roll out Xbox 360 backwards compatibility, and then only with select titles.

* The big hardware gimmick of the Wii U is the gamepad, which has a small screen and acts as a portable streaming handheld system that can be taken to other parts of the house.

* The included Xbox One Wireless Controller also requires AA batteries, unless you buy a rechargeable battery pack. The Wii U stock gamepad is rechargeable right out of the box, though the Wii Remote does require batteries.

* The Wii U has Bluetooth 4.0 support, while the Xbox One is yet to have any Bluetooth support.

Xbox One vs. Wii U: Online Access

* The Xbox One is more robust when it comes to online access. It offers cloud storage, the ability to play games while downloading, remote download, online chat while playing different games and the ability to access your account from different consoles.

* If you don’t really care about online access, however, the Wii U has one big advantage — it never needs to be connected to the Internet to run, while the Xbox One needs to be connected when it is first set up even if you never go online with it again.

* The Wii U does not have a subscription service like Xbox Live, but users can connect to the Wii Shop to purchase downloadable games and content.

You can see from these features that gamers who frequently socialize online with other gamers are probably better served by the Xbox One. Gamers who prefer to play solo and offline may prefer the ability to play anything without online access and the extra range of games that the backwards compatibility of the Wii U provides. Either way, they’re both great consoles that are comparable in price.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts

One of the most popular and highest sought after games for the Xbox One is “Call of Duty: Ghosts”. Released on November 19th, 2013, this game has been described by critics as a huge step forward for this popular franchise. In this game, players have the choice of either a single player campaign or multiplayer, which is an outstanding feature of the game. Furthermore, players can also create squads of up to six people who will be able to work together in battle. This is one of the main highlights of the game. Overall, players tend to give a lot of praises to both the maps and weapons in this game and highly recommend it for fans of the COD franchise.

Dead Rising 3

Another highly popular and certainly one of the best Xbox One games now available is “Dead Rising 3”. This game was released just days following “COD: Ghosts” but has a much different premise. In this one, you will be placed into the city of Los Perdidos, CA and forced to contend with hordes of zombies that only want to kill you. This is a game that takes the idea of a zombie apocalypse to a whole new level and the highlights of the game are state of the art. For instance, there are more zombies than ever before, you can make your own weapons and the open world is something that you have not seen before now.

Madden NFL 25

For more than two decades, the Madden games have been a staple for gamers everywhere. The newest game, “Madden NFL 25” for the Xbox One is no exception to that rule. This is a very highly rated game and one of the top recommendations for owners of the Xbox One. Some of the new features that you will see include top notch animations, realistic and dynamic action, more challenges, and innovations like “War in the Trenches”. This is a feature that allows players to identify the mike easily, target other players post-snap and an upgraded “block and release” feature. If you love the Madden franchise, you won’t go wrong with this one.

Best Xbox One Games: Notable Upcoming Releases

Finally, it is worth it to mention some of the notable upcoming released for the Xbox One that are already making waves. The first is “Titanfall”, which will be released on March 11, 2014, and the second is Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes which will be released soon after on March 18th, 2014. Both of these games can be pre-ordered and are expected to join the ranks of the best Xbox One games on the market.

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The Processor

The PS3 had an advanced processor made up of seven “cells” that was to act as “threads” to handle different pieces of a game at a time. This is theoretically better than a single-celled processor in that developers did not have to pile all of the instructions onto the shoulders of a single unit. It ran at 3.2 GHz and did an excellent job most of the time, but it was a notoriously difficult device for which to program. The PS4 has a new 64-bit AMD processor with eight cores each running at 2.0 GHz each. This does what the cellular processor did but in a more traditional way, so developers who worked on PC games in the past will feel more at home with the PS4’s architecture. Additionally, having eight individual processors is heaps faster than a single processor with seven cells, so you can expect up to a 600 percent increase in processing power.

The Graphics

The PS4 vs PS3 graphics performance is night and day. The PS3 had an NVIDIA chip that put out 400 GFlops with 256 megabytes of memory; the PS4 has a custom AMD chip that can put out 1.8 TFlops (almost five times the PS3) with 1 gigabyte of memory (four times the amount on PS3).

Memory

On PS3, there were technically 512 megabytes of available system memory (separate from graphics memory), but it was arbitrarily split so 256 megabytes were allotted to music and video while the rest was allotted to game memory, so a lot of memory that could have been used in games was wasted. On PS4, there are eight gigabytes (sixteen times PS3!) all available in one big pool for any system needs, so nothing goes to waste. This means your next-gen GTA will remember cars you have wrecked on the other side of the map. Hundreds of thousands of NPCs could be instantiated and go about their daily lives in your RPGs. In addition, it is GDDR5, which means it is made for graphics operations. Bigger, sharper textures and higher-than-ever-resolution video!

Games and Media

The games library on PS4 vs PS3 is a different story, though. As a new system, you are unfortunately going to experience a short drought, and games purchased on PS3 will not be playable on PS4 currently due to different internal system architecture. However, the excellent games that are available are top-tier, and even games that were released for PS3 look leagues better on PS4.

The Verdict: PS4 vs PS3

If you are looking for a future-proof next-gen experience, PS4 is absolutely the way to go. However, the PS3 has a large library of breathtaking gaming experiences at a cheaper price. Going forward, we will see less games released for PS3 as the industry moves on to the PS4, so taking the plunge is not a bad idea.

More Reading

• PlayStation 4 History
• Differences Between PS4 and Xbox One

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Kinect 2

Some of the most unique Xbox One features come in the form of the Kinect 2, bundled with the Xbox One at purchase. The new Kinect features updated facial and vocal recognition software, that is capable of recognising who is holding the controller when multiple players use the console. It will also update high scores and other information appropriate to whoever is using it at the time(even if you pass the controller off mid-game). The Kinect 2 can recognize up to six different users, and can even register facial expressions and heart rate to determine the users’ emotions.

Online Community Updates

Additionally, the Xbox One features a lot of updates to the online gaming community to make multiplayer gaming an easier and more comprehensive experience.

Party Scout Feature:
The new Party Scout feature allows you to search for other players based on their age, language, skill level, or even what downloadable content they have. While your Xbox searches available players to match you up with the perfect opponent, it leaves you free to do other things like watch TV or search the web.

Troll-Blocking Feature
The new multiplayer system also includes a troll-blocking feature; users who are consistently obnoxious can only be matched up with one another.

Gamertags
Just like the Xbox 360, the Xbox One features gamertags, and you can keep your gamertag, achievements and friends list from your old console if you upgrade to the Xbox One.

Other Online Updates
The Xbox One allows you to sign into any console and access your digital games, and even features streaming play, so you can start playing your favorite games right away without waiting for a lengthy download. The Xbox One dashboard shows achievement progress, so you can track how close you are to your goals, and also see how close your friends are.

Audio Features

The new Kinect included with the Xbox One features updated audio technology, and is excellent at picking up your voice commands, even with background noise. No need to shout, the Kinect can hear you just fine over the sound of the game, your friends, and any other ambient noise that may interfere. The console also comes packaged with a convenient headset. The Xbox One itself runs much more quietly than previous generations, and the hardware can hardly be heard, even in a quiet room.

Other Xbox One Features

In addition to all these great features, the Xbox One launched with 20 exclusive titles, for a complete gaming experience that kicks off the new generation in style.

Related Post
Differences Between PS4 and Xbox One
Xbox One Update Planned to Fix Social Features

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Physical Characteristics and Cost

Technically, both have 500GB hard drives, custom AMD graphics processors, the ability to play Blu-ray, and eight-core processors. If size and bulkiness matter to you, the Xbox One weighs a little bit more and is bulkier than the PS4. One of the differences between PS4 and Xbox One is PS4’s internal power supply while Xbox One has a bulky external power brick.

Games

For some, choosing a console will come down to the games that each one offers. Games that will be released exclusively for the PS4 include Knack, Killzone: Shadow Fall, DriveClub and inFAMOUS: Second Son. Games for Xbox One are currently Dead Rising 3, Project Spark, Halo, Sunset Overdrive and Titanfall. But both consoles are expected to release Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, FIFA 14 and more.

Gaming and Entertainment Experience

Even with similar tech specs, current reviews by gamers conclude that the PS4 is slated to be more powerful of the two in terms of Compute Units for graphics. However, the architecture for the Xbox One covers the performance of much more than games, such as other entertainment and MS platforms.

Of course, one of the biggest differences between PS4 and XBOX One is the voice commands, where it seems that the PS4 have a very limited set of voice commands versus the One. The Xbox Kinect 2’s voice commands and notion controls interact with games and the myriad of entertainment options on the Xbox dashboard, making for a unique experience versus the PS4.
The PS4 will also offer Music Unlimited: a cloud-based streaming service for subscribers to listen to music while playing the PS4. However, you cannot stream music or movies from a computer any longer, or play CDs and Mp3s on the PS4.

Other Differences Between PS4 and Xbox One

Other differences between PS4 and Xbox One include access to other applications. While apps like Hulu Plus and Netflix will be free to access on the PS4, the Xbox One provides access through the Xbox Live Gold subscription.

Remote Play via PS Vita allows you to play PS4 games, streamed over a wireless network. Similarly, The Xbox One will support second screen play through tablets and smartphones via SmartGlass.

In conclusion, there are many different advantages and disadvantages between these next-gen consoles, but both offer very strong experiences overall.

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An Official at Microsoft (early in the year) had also confirmed that a similar feature is being planned for the Xbox One but it appears it will not make the launch of the System.

The idea by PS4 to allow gamers use real name online have so far have been received with mixed feelings while some people like the idea of it helping them find their friends and their friends find them on places like facebooks others feel horrifyed  at the potential problems this may bring to a user online.

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Assassin’s Creed 3: Finally the series breaks away from Ezio and Desmond drops into the footsteps of Conner, a new assassin this time living during the American Revolution. Visit Boston and New York when they are little more than villages and roam the wild Frontier killing Templars. The redesigns makes the game more engaging.
Borderlands 2: The breakout success of 2009 finally gets a sequel. It is bigger, better, louder, and funnier, but retains the gun-hunting loot frenzy that is the major impetus for progression. The five character classes are arguably all more distinct this time around, changing up the gameplay.

Journey: Journey is a downloadable title from the Playstation Store. The game offers a much shorter experience than a normal retail game, but the experience however is powerful and difficult to convey properly without playing it. A lonesome pilgrimage to a distant mountain across amazing vistas and through terrifying caverns might be joined by another human player on the same journey. Never knowing their name and with no way to communicate other than how you each move, you nonetheless tend to grow closer to your silent companions in Journey than in most other cooperative games, securing its spot as one of the top ten PS3 games 2012.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown: The game is a re-imagining of the cult classic from the ‘90s. Faced with fighting back an alien invasion, players must also satisfy each of the 16 countries funding the project or risk them pulling out – along with their much-needed cash. You need to be tactically astute to play this game as you never have the money or time to buy and research what you need to outfit your soldiers properly and once in the field, a soldier that dies due to your tactical negligence is dead for good.
The Walking Dead: This is another downloadable title that makes it into the top ten PS3 games of 2012. It plays somewhat like an interactive television show with most of your gameplay centering on choosing what the main character, Lee, should say or do in any particular situation. Over the course of the 5 episodes, you will find yourself becoming attached to Clementine (a little girl Lee took under his wing earlier on)  as they fight off invasion from zombie hordes.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted: Of the two major racing games that came out this year, Need for Speed is the more arcade-inspired option, with Forza opting for a more realistic simulation angle. Both games are solid, but Need for Speed personally offers a bit more adventure.
Spec Ops: The Line: Spec Ops is uniquely a single-player focused FPS unlike most games in this genre which are multiplayer based. It boasts a gripping narrative with plenty of twists that highlights the horrors of war better than any other video game in recent history. Unfortunately, the game sold relatively poorly despite its quality – but that means you can pick it up now for a heavy discount.
Darksiders II: The sequel to the surprisingly fun first game, described often as a “mature Zelda,” Darksiders II is bigger and better and almost every way. The Zelda comparison remains most apt, in that the player will venture across beautiful landscapes and alternately fight and puzzle their way through satisfying dungeons. The best new addition is a Diablo–esque loot system for upgrading weapons. 

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It has been reported that the lock-ups and freeze issues are experienced when:

•Entering a public multiplayer lobby and observing a system lock-up
•Entering a public multiplayer lobby and receiving the error, “An error occurred while trying to find a session, please try again”

The patch will be installed as soon as gamers have signed in online to play the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 game.

However the patch appears not to work for everyone. Activision in a press release has said
“we are aware that some customers are still experiencing PS3 lock-ups after installing the patch and we are doing everything we can to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible”.
 
“Our entire team… will continue to work tirelessly to get this issue resolved and get you back in the game,”

The Call of Duty: Black Ops2 game was launched on November 13, 2012.

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With the conclusion of the original trilogy built on the first three games, the next game is hoping to explore new ideas while still retaining the heritage developed over the years. In Yanick’s words “You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.”

Mass Effect 4 is expected sometimes in July.

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