Updated to include noise levels and power usage
The Xbox One and PS4 next-gen consoles are almost here, or available right now if you live in the US. Most UK stock has already been sold to pre-order customers, so we know that a lot of gamers have already made their decision in time for Christmas, but both companies have said that there will definitely be consoles in shops for those eager to queue for them.
If standing in the cold doesn't appeal, putting in a pre-order now will be too late to get hold of either console in time for Christmas. However, you should still be among the first to receive one in the second, or third, wave of devices to hit our shores.
Whenever you plan to buy, we want to make sure you make the right choice based on all the information currently available. It can be a lot to take in if you're fresh to the "which is best" debate, so we've split the decision into several main categories - or just skip to the end for a summary.
The new rumble motors in the triggers made an immediate impact on us
Microsoft found a number of improvements to make on the already great 360 controller for the Xbox One. The headline feature has to be refined vibration control, with extra rumble motors for the left and right triggers providing fingertip feedback linked to in-game actions, such as pulling a trigger or squeezing the accelerator. It really works and gives you useful feedback rather than just fairground-esque effects. The rest of the controller is great, especially the improved D-pad, but we're not yet sold on the redesigned shoulder buttons or slightly smaller analogue sticks.
The touch pad sounds cool but we've yet to see a killer app for it
The PS4 controller, DualShock 4, has certainly come on leaps and bounds from its predecessor. It's more comfortable to hold, the sticks are much improved with greater resistance and precision, plus the triggers feel more responsive than the spongy messes on the DualShock 3. The stand out feature on the PS4 pad is the small touchpad. This will allow for touch controls in games, swipes and the like, plus easier navigation when using a cursor (web browsing for instance). The whole pas also acts like a button and can be clicked in four different directions. A light bar on the back lets the PS4 camera detect multiple controllers too.
BEST FOR YOU? - It's partly down to what you're used to, but the Xbox One controller has the edge for us with a proven design and those new rumble motors
A new console is at least a five year investment, so picking one on price alone today isn't a great idea. With both consoles going for the all-black look, with differing glossy and matt bits, it would be pretty arbitrary to decide on looks as well - if we really had to pick a winner we would opt for the 'edgier' looking PS4 with its raked angles.
However, the Xbox One's larger, boxier shape looks to be better designed for cooling those internal components. Inside, a single large fan sits above the core chipset and blows air through a vent directly above it. We can't think of a more simple or straightforward way to get rid of heat and do it quietly.
This video from Wired finally show us inside the PS4
Based on Wired's PS4 teardown video, above, it uses a smaller 85mm centrifugal fan pushing air outwards around the edges rather than straight up. We aren't engineers, but we've built and cooled a lot of PCs in our time, and complexity is rarely a good thing when it comes to cooling.
Thanks to Eurogamer, we now have power usage and decibel figures for both consoles. The Xbox One is reported to have peaked at a power usage of 125W, significantly below the 140W of the PS4. This was also reflected in noise levels, with the PS4 proving to be noticeably louder, both close up and at a distance, plus it pushes out hotter air than the Xbox One. The PS4's cooling system looks to be doing a good job then, but the more powerful hardware, drawing more wattage and so creating more heat, looks to make it the louder console - though not by much.
Until we see a detailed Xbox One teardown it's impossible to know how easy it will be to repair or upgrade, but according to iFixit the PS4 will let users upgrade their hard disk for a larger capacity disk, or faster SSD, simply by removing a few screws. These are regular screws too, so you won't need specialist Torx equipment to get inside the console. Hopefully Microsoft will follow suit, but we won't know until closer to launch.
It's a draw for now, until we get both consoles side-by-side for heat and noise tests, but if you absolutely must have a console on day one, rather than wait for the reviews to come in, and noise is a big deal to you then our money is still on the Xbox One.
BEST FOR YOU? - The PS4 looks cooler and has no power brick, but the Xbox One is likely to run quieter. Take your pick
One of the most surprising things about the next-gen battle is how much we knew, and how long ago we knew it. The earliest sketchy leaks of the specifications of both machines were largely accurate, and has now been proved by revelations from developers working on both platforms.
What we know now, as we did some time ago, is that the PS4 has a significant horsepower advantage over the Xbox One. It has 50% more GPU compute units, allowing for greater parallel processing power which can either be used for onscreen fidelity, or for in-game effects like real-time physics. It also has a simpler memory system with a single lump of 8GB of fast GDDR5 memory, compared to Xbox One's DDR3 memory and 32MB high-speed cache. Simple is always good when it comes to console architectures, with some developers already criticising Microsoft's design and some multi-platform games being forced to run at a lower internal resolution than on Sony's hardware.
This video shows the kind of next-gen eye-candy that's available from the PS4 at launch
Microsoft has tried to catch up by bumping the CPU and GPU speeds by small amounts. However, according to developers it has dedicated a small but significant amount of resources to its quick-switching between apps and Kinect device - resources that are much needed.
Both the big shooters to be launched this Christmas, Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4, have suffered as a result. Both games run at 1,280x720 (720p) on the Xbox One, but at 1,920x1,080 (Full HD) and 1,600x900 respectively on the PS4. This makes the PS4 version noticeably crisper and sharper. Such a disparity in graphics at launch is a surprise and gives the PS4 a big jump on its rival.
BEST FOR YOU? - A clear cut advantage here for the PS4, only the most ardent TV viewers should give up the extra horsepower for the TV capabilities of the Xbox One
Every Xbox One will ship with a Kinect camera sensor. It will sign you into your console based on facial recognition, which is great for multi-user households. It knows where you are in a room, can read your facial expressions, the force of your movements, your centre of gravity as you move and can even work out your heart rate from the flush of blood in your cheeks.
That's all great, but we're still waiting to see how it improves gameplay in core gaming genres and it's also something else that needs setting up, with cabling to run to the Xbox One. Given that the Xbox One costs more because of its inclusion, Microsoft needs to convince us it was worth forcing it on to gamers. In comparison, Sony's PS4 camera has barely merited a mention from the company, and for good reason.
Both consoles have been trumpeting their support for second-screen gaming, where you use a tablet or smartphone to add extra capabilities to a game. It's a nice idea and there are certainly applications, Battlefield 4 being a good example, but developers have been wary to date of putting too much effort in as they don't know how many players will try it and the games have to stand up without such extra features.
This video shows the PS4 interface and PS Vita Remote Play
Sony takes remote play away from the main console with the PS Vita handheld. With it, you'll be able to play PS4 games streamed over a Wi-Fi (or potentially mobile) network. This means you'll be able to keep on playing even when others want to use the TV. Another option, not yet announced for UK release, will be the PS Vita TV micro console, which plugs into another TV in your house and lets you stream games to play on that screen.
BEST FOR YOU? - Motion controls vs Vita Remote Play, though you'll have to pay for either one way or another. We imagine most buyers won't bother with either
The Xbox One and PS4 next-gen consoles are almost here, or available right now if you live in the US. Most UK stock has already been sold to pre-order customers, so we know that a lot of gamers have already made their decision in time for Christmas, but both companies have said that there will definitely be consoles in shops for those eager to queue for them.
If standing in the cold doesn't appeal, putting in a pre-order now will be too late to get hold of either console in time for Christmas. However, you should still be among the first to receive one in the second, or third, wave of devices to hit our shores.
Whenever you plan to buy, we want to make sure you make the right choice based on all the information currently available. It can be a lot to take in if you're fresh to the "which is best" debate, so we've split the decision into several main categories - or just skip to the end for a summary.
CONTROLLER
The controller is arguably the most important part of a games console. And the Xbox 360 controller was arguably the best of the current generation consoles. In our opinion it was more comfortable to hold and with better analogue sticks than the PS3, and the fact it also worked brilliantly with PC games was a bonus. The success of the first-person shooter genre on consoles can probably be attributed is small part to Microsoft's joypad design team. Both companies have made improvements to their controllers for the next-gen, but whose looks to be the best?The new rumble motors in the triggers made an immediate impact on us
Microsoft found a number of improvements to make on the already great 360 controller for the Xbox One. The headline feature has to be refined vibration control, with extra rumble motors for the left and right triggers providing fingertip feedback linked to in-game actions, such as pulling a trigger or squeezing the accelerator. It really works and gives you useful feedback rather than just fairground-esque effects. The rest of the controller is great, especially the improved D-pad, but we're not yet sold on the redesigned shoulder buttons or slightly smaller analogue sticks.
The touch pad sounds cool but we've yet to see a killer app for it
The PS4 controller, DualShock 4, has certainly come on leaps and bounds from its predecessor. It's more comfortable to hold, the sticks are much improved with greater resistance and precision, plus the triggers feel more responsive than the spongy messes on the DualShock 3. The stand out feature on the PS4 pad is the small touchpad. This will allow for touch controls in games, swipes and the like, plus easier navigation when using a cursor (web browsing for instance). The whole pas also acts like a button and can be clicked in four different directions. A light bar on the back lets the PS4 camera detect multiple controllers too.
BEST FOR YOU? - It's partly down to what you're used to, but the Xbox One controller has the edge for us with a proven design and those new rumble motors
DESIGN
A new console is at least a five year investment, so picking one on price alone today isn't a great idea. With both consoles going for the all-black look, with differing glossy and matt bits, it would be pretty arbitrary to decide on looks as well - if we really had to pick a winner we would opt for the 'edgier' looking PS4 with its raked angles.
However, the Xbox One's larger, boxier shape looks to be better designed for cooling those internal components. Inside, a single large fan sits above the core chipset and blows air through a vent directly above it. We can't think of a more simple or straightforward way to get rid of heat and do it quietly.
This video from Wired finally show us inside the PS4
Based on Wired's PS4 teardown video, above, it uses a smaller 85mm centrifugal fan pushing air outwards around the edges rather than straight up. We aren't engineers, but we've built and cooled a lot of PCs in our time, and complexity is rarely a good thing when it comes to cooling.
Thanks to Eurogamer, we now have power usage and decibel figures for both consoles. The Xbox One is reported to have peaked at a power usage of 125W, significantly below the 140W of the PS4. This was also reflected in noise levels, with the PS4 proving to be noticeably louder, both close up and at a distance, plus it pushes out hotter air than the Xbox One. The PS4's cooling system looks to be doing a good job then, but the more powerful hardware, drawing more wattage and so creating more heat, looks to make it the louder console - though not by much.
Until we see a detailed Xbox One teardown it's impossible to know how easy it will be to repair or upgrade, but according to iFixit the PS4 will let users upgrade their hard disk for a larger capacity disk, or faster SSD, simply by removing a few screws. These are regular screws too, so you won't need specialist Torx equipment to get inside the console. Hopefully Microsoft will follow suit, but we won't know until closer to launch.
It's a draw for now, until we get both consoles side-by-side for heat and noise tests, but if you absolutely must have a console on day one, rather than wait for the reviews to come in, and noise is a big deal to you then our money is still on the Xbox One.
BEST FOR YOU? - The PS4 looks cooler and has no power brick, but the Xbox One is likely to run quieter. Take your pick
SPECS
One of the most surprising things about the next-gen battle is how much we knew, and how long ago we knew it. The earliest sketchy leaks of the specifications of both machines were largely accurate, and has now been proved by revelations from developers working on both platforms.
What we know now, as we did some time ago, is that the PS4 has a significant horsepower advantage over the Xbox One. It has 50% more GPU compute units, allowing for greater parallel processing power which can either be used for onscreen fidelity, or for in-game effects like real-time physics. It also has a simpler memory system with a single lump of 8GB of fast GDDR5 memory, compared to Xbox One's DDR3 memory and 32MB high-speed cache. Simple is always good when it comes to console architectures, with some developers already criticising Microsoft's design and some multi-platform games being forced to run at a lower internal resolution than on Sony's hardware.
This video shows the kind of next-gen eye-candy that's available from the PS4 at launch
Microsoft has tried to catch up by bumping the CPU and GPU speeds by small amounts. However, according to developers it has dedicated a small but significant amount of resources to its quick-switching between apps and Kinect device - resources that are much needed.
Both the big shooters to be launched this Christmas, Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4, have suffered as a result. Both games run at 1,280x720 (720p) on the Xbox One, but at 1,920x1,080 (Full HD) and 1,600x900 respectively on the PS4. This makes the PS4 version noticeably crisper and sharper. Such a disparity in graphics at launch is a surprise and gives the PS4 a big jump on its rival.
BEST FOR YOU? - A clear cut advantage here for the PS4, only the most ardent TV viewers should give up the extra horsepower for the TV capabilities of the Xbox One
ACCESSORIES
Every Xbox One will ship with a Kinect camera sensor. It will sign you into your console based on facial recognition, which is great for multi-user households. It knows where you are in a room, can read your facial expressions, the force of your movements, your centre of gravity as you move and can even work out your heart rate from the flush of blood in your cheeks.
That's all great, but we're still waiting to see how it improves gameplay in core gaming genres and it's also something else that needs setting up, with cabling to run to the Xbox One. Given that the Xbox One costs more because of its inclusion, Microsoft needs to convince us it was worth forcing it on to gamers. In comparison, Sony's PS4 camera has barely merited a mention from the company, and for good reason.
Both consoles have been trumpeting their support for second-screen gaming, where you use a tablet or smartphone to add extra capabilities to a game. It's a nice idea and there are certainly applications, Battlefield 4 being a good example, but developers have been wary to date of putting too much effort in as they don't know how many players will try it and the games have to stand up without such extra features.
This video shows the PS4 interface and PS Vita Remote Play
Sony takes remote play away from the main console with the PS Vita handheld. With it, you'll be able to play PS4 games streamed over a Wi-Fi (or potentially mobile) network. This means you'll be able to keep on playing even when others want to use the TV. Another option, not yet announced for UK release, will be the PS Vita TV micro console, which plugs into another TV in your house and lets you stream games to play on that screen.
BEST FOR YOU? - Motion controls vs Vita Remote Play, though you'll have to pay for either one way or another. We imagine most buyers won't bother with either
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