Xbox vs PS4: Which Is the Best Console? - Essay Sample

Introduction

Various arguments have been advanced concerning the Xbox and PS4. The most relevant element that determines the best one is a personal preference. An analysis of the number of consoles sold reveals that the PS4 is higher by a slight margin. Sony has steadily been offering the PS4 at a lower price. Also, the console has had the most and best exclusives in this group. There is another aspect of the specs of the two, which demonstrates a big difference between them and the capability to play old games. Nonetheless, selecting between the Xbox and PS4 is quite challenging. An analysis of the two reveals certain differences and unique features concerning price, online services, backward compatibility, design and hardware, connectivity, power capability and game selection.

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Price

One of the elements between PS4 and Xbox is the price. The original Xbox One has not been produced for the past three years. However, this has not deterred the Xbox One S from being low-cost. It is currently cheaper to find both consoles at a bargain price and with a wide variety of games and a substantial hard drive. The Xbox is less expensive than PS4 due to the inauguration of the One X. Also, there is PS4 Slim, which is the standard model and has a 500GB hard drive as standard. It also has other types with more significant memory variants, and the hard drive can easily be upgraded (Swider et al.).

Design and Hardware

Another relevant element between the Xbox and PS4 is the hardware and design. It is vital to note that the PS4 has a trim type and a 4K PS4 Pro while the Xbox has the Xbox One S all-digital edition, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X. The Xbox One and PS4 have diverse varieties that one can currently purchase. The PS4 has two, and the Xbox One has three. As such, this is different when compared to the past when every console existed individually and lasted a whole cohort. On the other hand, the Xbox One S enhanced the design of the original Xbox One by reducing a lot of the bulk and eliminating the large power unit. Instead, it utilized an interior power supply. The Xbox One X might be larger than the Xbox One S, but it is still extensively minor than the innovative Xbox One (Widder).

Connectivity

The connectivity of a console is relevant and depends on the way the gaming system has been organized. The Xbox One S and X have equal parts, and each of them includes two HDMI ports. One of them is for getting a response from a satellite box or cable while the other one is for input to the television. They also have two USB 3 ports, visual audio out, IR outputs, Ethernet ports, and the power cable that is well-suited with both types of the Xbox. On the other hand, the PS4 Pro and PS4 Slim have identical inputs, although they are marginally dissimilar. Each one of them has a distinct HDMI out, a separate USB port in the rear, power, and Ethernet port. The Slim and the Pro only differ in that the PRO has an Optical Audio out (Swider et al.).

Regarding the connectivity of the PS4, both types enable users to interchange out the interior hard drive with another that they desire. It is necessary to note that all the versions of the Xbox One and PS4 support 802.11 ac Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet. Therefore, no matter the console that one selects, they will not have to be concerned about net compatibility.

Furthermore, the Xbox One and PS4 lack outstanding features on the front. The left side has a Blu-ray or DVD combo drive, and it can play Ultra HD Blu-rays on the Xbox One X and Xbox One S as well their particular, low-key signs to the right. The PS4 also has a pair of USB ports that have been tucked between it, and adjacent to there, the disc drive is found (Widder).

Power Capability

The Xbox has been identified to be powerful than PS4. Its version of Xbox One X is more powerful than the PS4 Pro. The PS4 and Xbox One can increase the influence of PS3 and Xbox 360. They are also designed with smarter internal designs. Most of these upgrades have been enabled by the chip manufacturer AMD (Widder). However, the unique Xbox One and Xbox One S have a norm, 1.75 GHz AMD 8-core CPU, while the Xbox One X reduces it to a 2.3GHz 8-core chip. As for the base PS4 CPU, it has been constant at 1.6GHz and has a comparable custom AMD 8-core CPU with x86 founded architecture. The PS4 Pro reduces that clock speed to 2.13GHz (Swider et al).

The original PS4 has a teraflop GPU of 1.84 and is grounded on AMD's Radeon expertise. As for the original Xbox One visuals chip along with an AMD Radeon GPU had a channel for 1.31 teraflops. Nevertheless, this augmented to 1.4 teraflops with the Xbox One S and a further 6.0 teraflops on the Xbox One X (Widder).

Game Selection

The Xbox One and PS4 have archives with numerous games. Every console has its type of exclusives. As such, this is one of the primary retailing arguments for selecting one console over the other one. When one wants to get a console for its exclusives, then they can opt for the PS4. As for the Xbox One, it has a few essential elite games annually. It has big series such as Halo, Forza, and Gears of War, with the only exclusive being monotonous. As for the PS4, it has Dreams, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us Part 2. The PS4 also has an ample back collection of exclusives that outmatch the aids found on Xbox One (Swider et al).

Backward Compatibility

The Xbox One has backward compatibility for a specified quantity of games. The quantity has since increased since the feature was introduced in 2015. When one wants to insert an Xbox 360 game in the Xbox One, they will have a chance to download a digital variety of that title. Also, some games are accessible for procurement through the Microsoft digital store, and some come with a free digital photocopy on an older Xbox 360 game. As for the PS4, when it entails playing the old games, there is one choice, which is the PlayStation Now (PSNow). It is a streaming service that allows a person to play the PS3 games at lower costs (Widder). However, when the internet speed is low, the game performance can be sluggish due to lagging. Also, the catalog is not inclusive, and when one has a digital or physical copy of an older game, they have to pay to play (Swider et al). Therefore, in this case, the Xbox is better regarding backward compatibility when compared to PS4.

Online Services

Both Microsoft and Sony have comparable online amenities. The Microsoft Xbox Live Gold and Sony's PlayStation Plus enables users to access online gaming, discounts, free games every month, and other unique features for an annual fee. The PS4 through the PSNow enables gamers to stream a list of PS3 designations from their PS4. It is only necessary for one to have a good internet connection when they want to play the games smoothly (Swider et al). As for the Xbox, there is Xbox Play Anywhere initiative that entails select titles and enables gamers to access games on their Windows 10 PC and Xbox One at no extra charge (Widder). Thus, PS4 has more offers than the Xbox in this case.

An analysis of the Xbox and PS4 has been conducted concerning various elements. They include game selection, backward compatibility, online services, power capability, connectivity, price and hardware, and design; it has been observed that both have unique features of the elements, although some are superior to the other in some aspects. An instance is the online services where PS4 offers users more and better offers than the Xbox. However, the Xbox is better than the PS4 concerning backward compatibility. Therefore, the PS4 and Xbox have unique features that can be explored, and the most preferred one selected.

Works Cited

Swider, Matt et al. "PS4 Vs Xbox One: Which Gaming Console Is Better?". Techradar, 2019, https://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/ps4-vs-xbox-720-which-is-better-1127315/3.

Widder, Brandon. "Xbox One Vs. PS4". Digitaltrends.Com, 2020, https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/xbox-one-vs-ps4/.