The Good Microsofts Xbox One offers impressive graphics and can integrate and control live TV with Kinect (which will drive the price up by $100). The Xbox One has a slightly better roster of exclusive games going into 2015 compared to that of the PS4. Xbox Live Gold is no longer required for basic streaming apps and synced game-saves, and the Microsoft console has a slightly better selection of those media apps than PS4 at the current time. The Bad Xbox Ones interface isnt as smooth as PS4s. Kinects live TV integration is fraught with frustrations: Kinect voice commands dont always work, and the system lacks full DVR integration. PS4 generally delivers slightly better installation times, graphics and performance on cross-platform games so far. Xbox One also lags behind the PS4 in its selection of indie games. The Bottom Line While the PS4 remains our overall preferred choice in the next-gen console race, the Xbox Ones significant first-year course corrections -- including a welcome holiday price drop -- make it a better deal than ever, and a much better bargain than when it first debuted. Its been a year since Microsoft and Sony unveiled their new generation consoles, the Xbox One and PS4, which means its time to reassess their places in the market. Whats new? What has changed? And of course, which exclusive games are out or headed to the console? Without a doubt, the Xbox One has gone through the most significant metamorphosis of the two consoles since its release last November. Even before its launch, Microsoft had begun changing the messaging philosophy of the platform, going from a console that heavily relied on DRM to an unshackled experience where owners can trade in and play used games. That was followed up by the end of the Xbox Live tax -- the premium gold tier is no longer required to do basic media streaming -- and the unbundling of the Kinect as a required part of the system (the no-Kinect bundle is now the default entry-level model). Meanwhile, a lot has been fine-tuned under the Xbox Ones hood -- particularly the firmwares functionality, which, from a performance standpoint, is still playing second to Sonys impressively smooth interface. Xbox Ones dashboard is still peppered with frustrations, whether it be a lack of transparency or just functional ineptitude -- but more on that later. When the Xbox One and PS4 both debuted, we recommended holding off on a purchase to let the platforms mature. That evolution has finally started to ripen and will only get better as we move into 2015. With that in mind, we now think Xbox One and PS4 are ready for your living room. But which one? To be clear, both consoles are very closely matched. Both offer a growing library of third-party games -- mainstays like the Call of Duty, Assassins Creed and Madden series, as well as newer titles like Destiny. And both double as full-service entertainment systems, with built-in Blu-ray players and streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and Hulu Plus. In our opinion, the PS4 still maintains an edge, with slightly smoother gameplay and a much more straightforward interface. But Xbox delivers a slightly more mature media app ecosystem in the US (it has HBO Go, which is still lacking on the PS4, for instance) and a decent list of exclusive titles. For those who prefer Microsofts platform and have been waiting to buy a new Xbox One, the holiday-only price cut seals the deal. (Just make sure you give the PS4 and even the Wii U a fair shake first.) Editors note, November 21, 2014: Weve reformatted our review of the Xbox One so that we can make updates more often and keep up with the constant evolution of the console. As of this update, weve also raised the overall rating of the Xbox One from a 7 to a 7.5. This review also includes the latest software updates Xbox One has received.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 19:03:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015