Xbox enthusiasts around the country were queueing at midnight and early this morning to pick up the Xbox One: the new Microsoft console released today. They've been talking about why they bought the new console:
Sony’s Playstation 4, meanwhile, pipped the Xbox to the post in the U.S. by a week. Sony has said they’ve already sold an impressive one million units. Irish owners (at least those who pre-ordered it well in advance) will get their consoles next Friday, the 29th November.
After an extended lifespan for the consoles’ predecessors, the next generation of hardware has finally arrived. Both consoles are significantly more powerful than their predecessors, and both Sony and Microsoft will be looking to emerge on top in what is already looking like a very close race indeed.
The consoles
The Xbox One is retailing for €499, and includes a Kinect camera. The PS4, meanwhile, is €100 cheaper, albeit without the console’s camera accessory. Both offer a 500 GB hard-drive as standard, although closer to 400 GB when OS and apps are pre-installed. It seems large, but almost all games will require hefty mandatory installations on both consoles, with some games already requiring 40 GB plus installs. Luckily, the storage is expandable - external drives will work on 360, while PS4 owners can update the internal HDD relatively easily. Still, you might find yourself deleting installed data sooner rather than later.
You’ll still require a paid Xbox Live account to access many of that new console’s features, while Sony have changed their policy significantly by requiring all console owners to sign-up to the once-optional Playstation Plus subscription service to play online. However, the latter service has become increasingly popular on PS3 and PS Vita for its generous selection of free downloadable games every month - a model Microsoft has been attempting to emulate with, so far, limited success.
Both consoles offer significantly revised controllers, and the ability to capture and upload gameplay footage to the web. Not all features will be available immediately, though, and owners of both devices will need to download sizeable updates when they first take their new consoles online in order to access many key features.
Microsoft is positioning its latest console as an all-in-one entertainment device, with a strong focus on television and other multimedia apps. After announcing some extremely controversial policies earlier this year - such as an ‘always on’ Kinect and tough restrictions on second-hand game sales - the company has mostly backtracked on some of the most divisive features, and the One in its final form is significantly less restrictive than it was when first announced. The console has the advantage of many popular exclusive franchises such as Halo, alongside well-equipped newcomers such as Titanfall - the latest big-budget effort from former Call of Duty developers (although the game will also have Xbox 360 and PC versions).
Sony, meanwhile will also support many of the key entertainment apps, but they’ve repeatedly emphasised the PS4 as a gaming box first and foremost. Reports suggest their console is the more powerful of the two, and easier to make games for after the infamously complex PS3. One of Sony’s main efforts has been the courting of independent developers, with a huge amount of smaller game-makers already pledging their exclusive support to Sony (although Microsoft has countered strongly by announcing all retail Xbox Ones will soon be able to be used as game development kits). Sony isn’t forgetting about its most popular franchises, though, and are already teasing the arrival of latest entries in series such as Uncharted.
The biggest controversy in the 'console war' so far is perhaps is with Call of Duty: Ghosts. While the latest entry in the wildly popular series runs in full ‘1080p’ HD resolution on PS4, the Xbox One version only outputs in 720p (upscaled to 1080p) - backing up the frequent speculation that the One is the more difficult console to optimise releases for. As for PS4, there have been reports from the U.S. that a small but notable amount of consoles have stopped working, in a problem dubbed the ‘blue light of death’. So far, it’s estimated this is affecting significantly less than 1% of consoles, but it is worth bearing in mind after the expensive hardware failures that plagued the last generation of consoles on original release.
The games
What about the games? Unfortunately, neither console is boasting a particularly stellar launch line-up, as is par-for-the-course with new gaming hardware. With the PS4, the arcade-style Resogun - which is free to download for Playstation Plus subscribers - has received the most positive reviews, while the much-hyped Killzone: Shadowfall has earned middling to positive feedback. Dead Rising 3 and Forza 5 are looking like the Xbox One releases of choice.
However, critics have largely been disappointed by other console exclusive releases, such as Xbox’s Ryse and Crimson Dragon, and PS4’s Knack. Familiar multi-format titles such as Battlefield 4 and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, have been mostly positively reviewed for their next gen updates. New console owners, though, will be waiting at least several months for the definitive next-gen experiences to start arriving, with big games such as Watch_Dogs, Destiny and Xbox One’s Titanfall due early next year.
For many fans, this Christmas’ gaming won’t be defined by the new consoles at all. Nintendo - who have stressed the Wii U is not intended as a direct competitor to Xbox One and PS4 - is releasing two of the best reviewed games of the year in the form of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (a direct sequel to the SNES classic A Link to the Past) and Super Mario 3D World (which many critics are calling the Wii U’s first great game). They’re released today and next Friday, respectively.
Sony’s struggling Vita portable, meanwhile, has attracted renewed attention thanks to the release of quirky & creative platformer Tearaway, again receiving critical acclaim eclipsing any of the new consoles’ releases. It’s the Xbox One and Playstation 4 that are attracting all the media attention, but dedicated gamers are likely to find most of the year’s best new games somewhere else entirely.
2014 and beyond though? That’s going to be the fun part.
