The End of the Console Wars

Feature

By Jon May

Husky Herald Reporter

   
  There was a recent race happening around the world that has just about come to a close, with one thing pulling out in front. The recent console war has supposedly come to an end with one system “winning”, the PS4.

   I say supposedly because how do we really determine how a system “wins” a console war?

While interviewing a few students, they gave me a couple insights on what it takes to truly be on the top of the console wars.

   TJ Ruedisueli (’14) said, “I can see why people would want to buy the PS4 it’s cheaper than the Xbox One.” This is the common belief on why the PS4 is a better choice which may have ultimately led to it being the most sold console of the new generation of games.

   To back up what TJ said, overall the PS4 has sold around 2 million more units than the Xbox One. That’s roughly $840,000,000 more profit that Sony (the developers of the system) has over Microsoft. They are sold for a mere $400 whereas the Xbox one is sold for $500.

   However price and units sold are not the only things that determine whom exactly is the winner of a console race. Another Key factor is the amount of games sold.

   An insane 13.7 Million games have recently been sold by the PS4 with those numbers rising. A single game can impact the amount or kind of console that is being sold.

   Brian Tomiuk (’14) a PS4 owner has a say on this, “I bought a PS4 so I could play the new ghosts. I’m also looking forward to the new Watchdogs game. It’s one of the main reasons I bought the PS4.”

   Tomiuk is an exact proof that one game can lead to the sudden rise of a console being sold. The same can be said for the Xbox One.

   Titanfall a FPS that came out on March 11^th 2014 has drastically increased Microsoft’s sales. It increased the sales of the Xbox one by 96%.

   Tom Coop (’14) says, “Titanfall is my favorite game for the Xbox One. I have been waiting for the release of Titanfall ever since the One came out.”

   So what console has truly won the console wars? Well both consoles are still brand new with hundreds more game franchises still waiting to release. For Xbox it’s the new Halo Game, for PS4 it’s the new 1984. 

   There is no true way to determine a winner for these console wars. As long as video games exist there will be a continuing controversy on which one is better, but for that question to be answered you will have to see for yourself.

Xbox One vs. PS4

Feature

By Jon May

Husky Herald Reporter 

   Every decade, brings new inventions to the world before us. Two inventions this year would include the Xbox One and the PS4, the new generation of gaming consoles; the 8^th generation to be exact. Although there is a third console in this race, it will not be included in this article.

   The PlayStation 4, or PS4 for short, was released on November 15^th 2013 by a foreign company under the name of Sony. Microsoft, an American company, released the other console of the 8^th gen, the Xbox One.

   The PS4 has 3 predecessors’ the PS3 released in 2006, the PlayStation 2 released in 2000 and the PlayStation released in 1994. Its competitor also belongs to its own family of pre-2013 consoles including the Xbox 360 released in 2005 and the Xbox released in 2001.

   Both companies have competed back and forth to determine which company truly runs the console wars of 2013. As of Jan 8^th 2014 the PS4 has sold approximately 1.4 million more units than the Xbox One.

   Both consoles have many differences but one thing that remains the same is how they are put together. The technical properties between both are closely related.

    The PS4 costs $399.99 and the Xbox One is $499.99 and includes a Kinect camera. Each has their own brand of games, including major franchises like Halo (Xbox exclusive) and a new independent game Watchdogs (PS4 exclusive).

    What does the general public think about these two consoles? Brian Tomiuk (’14) recently got a PS4 for Christmas. “My favorite thing about the PS4 is how amazing it looks”.  “It looks like real life” said Tomiuk.

“My mom actually thought it was a TV show when she saw it”

    Tom Coop (’14) chose the other console, the Xbox One.  His decision towards getting one was very unique.

“My Xbox broke right before the new consoles were released, so I got extra money towards a new Xbox One.” I asked him what he treasured most about his new console and he said “I enjoy the Xbox exclusive games and the multitasking function.”

    So what does this mean? Should one get the Xbox One or the PS4, well that would depend on what a person enjoys the most, if they enjoy to be social and American-made projects then they are leaning towards the Xbox One. However, the PS4 also has its own brand of very unique game and is less expensive.

   To see an exact specification comparison of both consoles look at the chart below. 

Feature	PlayStation 4	Xbox One
Price	$399.99 [1]	$499.99 [2]
Release Date	US: 11.15.2013 EU: 11.29.2013 [3]	11.22.2013 [4]
Optical Drive	Blu-ray/DVD [5]	Blu-ray/DVD [6]
Game DVR	Yes, PS+ subscription not required [7]	Yes, with subscription to Xbox Live Gold [8]
RAM	8GB GDDR5 [9]	8GB DDR3 [10]
CPU	Single-chip x86 AMD "Jaguar" processor, 8 cores[12]	8 Core Microsoft custom CPU[13]
GPU	AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next engine w/ 1152 shaders [15]	853 MHz AMD Radeon GPU w/ 768 shaders[16]

Live Streaming	Yes	Yes
Reputation Preservation	Trophies will be ported	Achievements will be ported[54]
Web Connection	Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi [55]	Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 & 5Ghz)[56]
BlueTooth	Bluetooth 2.1 (EDR)[57]	No*
Wi-Fi Direct (for Device Connection)	No	Yes
A/V Hookups	HDMI output (4K Support [59]) Optical output [60]	HDMI input and output (4K support), Optical output[61]
IR	No	IR out, IR Blaster (Kinect)
Power Supply (PSU)	Internal	External (power brick)
Near Field Communication (NFC)	No	No
Region Locked	No	No [62]

GPU	AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next engine w/ 1152 shaders [15]	853 MHz AMD Radeon GPU w/ 768 shaders[16]
Peak GPU Shader Throughput	1.84 TeraFLOPS/s[18]	1.31 TeraFLOPS/s (estimate)[19]
Storage	500 GB 5400 RPM SATA II hard drive [21]	500 GB Hard Drive [22]
External Storage	No [23]	Yes, USB [24]
Removable Hard Drive	Yes, must be at least 160 GB, thinner than 9.5mm [25]	No [26]
Cloud Storage	Yes [27]	Yes [28]
Play As You Download	Yes [29]	Yes [30]
Remote Download	Yes	Yes
Account Access from Multiple Consoles	Yes	Yes
Mandatory Game Installs	No	Yes
Required Internet Connection	No	No, but required for mandatory day one update.
Used Game Fee	No	No
Digital game sharing or gifting	No	No
Feature	PlayStation 4	Xbox One
Backwards Compatibility	None	None
Cross Game Chat	Yes	Yes
Controllers	DualShock 4 (included)	Xbox One Wireless Controller(included)
Controller Batteries	Rechargable (built-in)	AA (2). Rechargable battery packs (sold separately)
Motion Control	DualShock 4, PlayStation 4 Eye (not included), PlayStation Move (not included)	Kinect 2
Second Screen	Vita (not included) [45] Playstation App[46]	SmartGlass (devices not included) [47]
Voice Commands	Yes (scope, TBA)[48]	Yes [49]
Subscription Service	PlayStation Plus[50]	Xbox Live [51]
USB	USB 3.0 (2 ports)[52]	USB 3.0 (3 ports)[53]