OT: PS4 or XBOX ONE

[Chuck]

Sorry for the OT during basketball season, but this is a life or death decision! OK, it's not, but I don't want to shell out $350 for the wrong platform. I currently have PS3 and my 9 year old son is bugging me for the upgrade for his birthday in a few days. He also has a twin sister so we can make the big purchase as a combined gift. I was originally planning on going PS4 because I thought you could use the PS3 games on PS4. I now see I'm wrong, and it's only xbox one that allows that (for xbox 360 games). The pros/cons list has me torn. Here's my understanding:

• Power / graphics: PS4 wins every review. I assume this is for DVD/Blueray, as well as games. Advantage PS4.
• Size: The xbox one is a huge box. PS4 is smaller and better looking. Advantage PS4.
• Exclusivity of games: Bit of a push. They both have some exclusives, but the bulk of games are on both platforms. My son is a big FIFA fan and I hear that's better on xbox one (because of Legends access). Advantage: Push
• Other entertainment: Seems like xbox one wins here. Kinects seems to have died out, but it's better than the Sony version. The xbox integration with your cable box sounds cool. Advantage xbox.
• Online gaming: PS4's power helps, but the key is what your friends have. My son seems to think his friends have xbox, but PS4 sells 2 to 1 so I'm not sure I trust my 9 year old.

Conclusion: PS4 sounds like the better gaming console, but we aren't huge gamers. My son (and daughter) play games and I like some of the entertainment integration. I used PS3 for DVDs/Netflix/Amazon (but I can now do the latter through my tv). If it was just for games I'd go PS4, but I like the other xbox stuff. Any recommendations!?

 

[Leebo]

I'm pretty sure your TV, not the device you use to play the discs, is going to be the limiting factor in how good DVDs or Blu-rays look. I wouldn't put any stock into that portion of the equation.

 

[3rdbass]

I would go PS4 all the way since all xbox exclusives you can play on PC now for the most part. Plus, you can get your son to play Uncharted series which one of the best games out there. The PS4 is more powerful but that is solely due to a better graphics card and nothing to do with Blu-ray discs(which both of them use this gen). You can also purchase a Virtual Reality headset and see where the future of gaming is going. PS4 is starting to kill XBOX 1 in US and UK(which last gen the PS4 got destroyed). The rest of the world is all PS4 so in the long run there will be more online users on the PS4. I guess if your son's friends all have xbox's you might go that route but the One is not worth it from my point of view.

 

[KembaStepback]

PS4 is great. Big upgrade from PS3. I agree about Uncharted. Amazing series. I agree the lack of reverse compatibility is stupid, but since you still have the PS3 it's not a huge deal. I know PS4 also has some good free content (Warframe for example is a solid game and it's free!)

 

[DSquiz]

I can't really talk about the PS4 as I don't know anyone who owns one but I do own an Xbox One and love it. I use the Kinect/cable integration all the time to turn on my system (saying 'Xbox on' turns on the xbox, TV, and surround), change channels (say 'watch CBS Sports' will switch to TV and turn to wherever you find that horrible network) , open apps etc, all with my voice.

Games look great and the ability to run two apps at once is awesome on football Sundays. For instance you can be playing Tomb Raider while the Patriots game plays in the corner. On top of that Cortana (Microsofts Siri) is coming in the next few months. So those seem to be the perks over PS4.

From what I've heard everything else except the game exclusives is pretty much the same. They are both great consoles.

 

[Fishy]

Basically, get whatever your son's friends have. He's the one using it and you'd rather he play friends instead of strangers.

We have an XBox only because that's what family and friends already had. I find no utility in these things whatsoever outside of the ability to play games online against my nephews, etc.

 

[August_West]

I find no utility in these things whatsoever outside of the ability to play games online against my nephews, etc.

 

[gampelcrazies]

I own a PS4 and love it. I think its better than the Xbox One. But if his friends Xbox Ones then thats what you should get.

 

[UconnAlum04]

Exactly what @Fishy said, you're going to want to base this purchase on what systems most of his friends (people he wants to play with have).

Per your bullet points...

• Graphic Power - Yes PS4 wins, but the graphics on the XB1 are still amazing. Plus, to be able to see the difference on the graphics..you would need to setup the 2 systems side-by-side, with the exact same game in, on the same quality tv...you get my point
• Size - Yes, XB1 is larger but that never really deterred me as long as you have space on the shelf/entertainment center for it. Kind of a set it and forget it deal
• Game Exclusivity - exactly what you said. Most popular games are available on both systems, ie COD, Fifa, Madden etc..., so what will sway you one way or the other if a "particular game/series is a MUST HAVE" for you. If so, then get that system. For me, it was Halo....though I do play more COD nowadays
• Other entertainment - I can't speak for PS4, but being able to connect the cable box directly do the XB1 then controlling it by Speaking commands of "Xbox, Watch TV", or "Xbox, Watch ESPN" is pretty cool. Also, being able to SNAP TV (which places a smaller tv screen to the right of your gaming screen on the TV) is really useful. I can watch sports while simultaneously playing Call of Duty.
• Online Gaming - as I said, this should be a HUGE part of your decision. Nothing will anger you more than paying $400+ for your new system, only to find out that you can't play with that one person (most important?) because he/she has a different console

Hope this helps!

 

[Chuck]

Exactly what @Fishy said, you're going to want to base this purchase on what systems most of his friends (people he wants to play with have).

Per your bullet points...

• Graphic Power - Yes PS4 wins, but the graphics on the XB1 are still amazing. Plus, to be able to see the difference on the graphics..you would need to setup the 2 systems side-by-side, with the exact same game in, on the same quality tv...you get my point
• Size - Yes, XB1 is larger but that never really deterred me as long as you have space on the shelf/entertainment center for it. Kind of a set it and forget it deal
• Game Exclusivity - exactly what you said. Most popular games are available on both systems, ie COD, Fifa, Madden etc..., so what will sway you one way or the other if a "particular game/series is a MUST HAVE" for you. If so, then get that system. For me, it was Halo....though I do play more COD nowadays
• Other entertainment - I can't speak for PS4, but being able to connect the cable box directly do the XB1 then controlling it by Speaking commands of "Xbox, Watch TV", or "Xbox, Watch ESPN" is pretty cool. Also, being able to SNAP TV (which places a smaller tv screen to the right of your gaming screen on the TV) is really useful. I can watch sports while simultaneously playing Call of Duty.
• Online Gaming - as I said, this should be a HUGE part of your decision. Nothing will anger you more than paying $400+ for your new system, only to find out that you can't play with that one person (most important?) because he/she has a different console

Hope this helps!

Does the cable box integration only work with Kinect? Or is it just the speech recognition feature?

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Honestly they're both great options and corporate loyalty is silly. PS4 has slightly better specs but I think you can find the Xbox One a bit cheaper. But really, I think they're fundamentally both really good options and neither has such exclusives that you couldn't miss them (though I was very happy to play Last Of Us on PS3).

So for me, the question comes down to: What does your kid's friends have? Cause that's what's going to matter. People want to play with their friends, so you're best off getting whatever their peers have. Most of my friends had already bought PS4's, so that's what I got.

 

[DSquiz]

Does the cable box integration only work with Kinect? Or is it just the speech recognition feature?

Cable integration works without (the console itself has an HDMI in and out) but no voice recognition or camera stuff (it has facial recognition to sign you in/Skype and gesture control to browse menus without a controller) without Kinect.

 

[TheRealKBuks]

Very happy owner of a PS4, plus PS4 VR is coming out soon too

 

[rip7774]

PS4, and we have an Xbox One. More/better games and MLB the Show.

 

[kris1]

PS4- Don't have Xbox One, but we have had Xbox 360 (w/Kinect) since it came out. Hate the constant system updates every time we turned the console on. PS4 can be left in "Rest Mode" allowing ALL updates to happen while the console is asleep. The one plus for Xbox is the Watch ESPN app, PS4 doesn't offer it. If you or your son are baseball fans, MLB's The Show is the most realistic baseball game out there. Xbox lost their rights to produce MLB content, so you'll never see another baseball game on the system the can compete with PS4.

If it helps, my son who's 12, prefers PS4. He's played Xbox One at a friends. His current favorites on PS4 are Star Wars Battlefront, The Show, and Lego Marvel Avengers.

As far as your old PS3 games go, if you're going to keep the console he can still use them. You can also subscribe to a PlayStation Now account. You can get more info on how that works here. A third option is trade-in the PS3. We had a Wii console (along with Xbox Kinect) for years. When we bought the PS4, we traded in the Wii console and 50 games at GameStop. They gave us $152 in store credit. Not a lot, but my kids used it toward new games for the PS4.

Good luck, either way you can't go wrong. Your son will enjoy either system.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Go with the advice pointing to what his friends have.

 

[NotADimeBack]

I have a ps4... No regrets
Xbox's forte is more on the entertainment side, like you said.
But my ps4 plays HBO go and everything else just fine. Depends who the system is for more... You or your kids