The Playstation Press Conference last night, along with reactions and feedback on social networking sites such as Twitter, made it painfully clear where the popular vote lies concerning the preferred eighth generation console.
The PS4 boasts a price of $399 — a shocking $100 less than the Xbox One — with no added fees for things like used games. One of the most notable differences between the PS4 and the Xbox One are the restrictions gamers will face. Sony was more than happy to point out that, as far as restrictions go, the PS4 doesn’t have any. Users have free reign to share games, sell games, play offline or online as they please, and choose whether or not they install a game. The Xbox One, however, is not so appealing in this regard.
As a plus for Microsoft — which are few and far between — it has been confirmed that many exclusive games will be available for both consoles. The downside to this comes with another new Xbox feature.
Aside from the restrictions on offline gaming, selling games, and sharing games, the most shocking feature of the Xbox One may be the negating of the tangible game disc. Because of the mandatory online checks and the heavy restrictions on offline gaming, the disc itself becomes virtually useless. So, to add onto the $499 fee for the console, gamers will only be buying overpriced activation disks. Without the online verification, the usefulness of the discs themselves will be reduced to the imaginations of DIY fanatics (in short, shiny frisbees).
Nintendo seems to be on the outskirts of this whole debacle, as the release of the Wii U was months ago and the promotions for the system were spent at E3 2012. Sales were less than projected and names like EA don’t even have plans for the system. Nintendo plans to focus on existing franchises, adding new content to classics like Super Mario Bros. and the LEGO series.
For a side-by-side comparison of the eighth generation consoles, click here.