PS4 vs Xbox One: 8 Point Comparison To Determine Which Console Is Better For You?

At first glance - and maybe even after a few follow-up glances - Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One consoles don't seem all that dissimilar. And that's because they kind of aren't. But, much as it was like during the Console Wars of the 1990s™, it's not always financially possibly, much less responsible, to own more than one gaming console. If you hadn't noticed, those things are kind of expensive.

So, with the holidays upon us, we've taken a look at both of these systems and judged them on eight different criteria. While we don't dare to judge an overall winner - because a) these things are always subjective and b) we're cowards - hopefully, you can use these thoughts to make a decision of your own.

And before you begin to ask why we didn't include the Nintendo Switch in here, we have to say that this is a very, very good question.

Anyway, let's get started...

#8 Exclusive games

When it comes to comparing systems, people who do that sort of thing like to say "it's all about the games". Which is fair enough, but how do you use that to compare systems when the systems all seem to have the same games? If all you want to play is Madden or Call of Duty, does it really matter what system you get? Well, yes, but we'll get to that later.

However, if a system is going to be successful in the marketplace, it needs to have a number of games you simply can't play on any other system. This current generation is no exception. And when it comes to those exclusives, Sony simply has Microsoft beat.

Not only does the PS4 simply have more exclusives, but they also arguably have ones that are better. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the fact that a good number of the Xbox One exclusives were designed with the Kinect in mind, but it's still true.

And while Halo, Gears of War, and the Forza games are great in their own right, Sony's got Uncharted, Marvel's Spi/der-Man, Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War, Persona 5, Yakuza... have we made our point yet?

Winner: PS4

Also, read PS4 vs PS4 Slim: Why You Should Buy PS4 Original?

#7 Overall games library

So, while the size of a system's game library doesn't necessarily coincide with its quality (you go ahead and insert a "that's what she said" joke, because I ain't gonna do it), the law of averages clearly states that the odds are your chances of having good games increases the more games you have. I think. I was never really very good at math.

With Microsoft making Xbox One backwards compatibility a priority since 2015, the simple fact is that the Xbox One just has more games to choose from. Sure, you can play Red Dead Redemption 2 on either system, but if you want to play the previous game (without having to stream it), you can only play it on an Xbox One.

And just as a personal note, Red Dead Redemption looks and plays sick as hell on the One S and even sicker than hell on the One X.

Not every 360 and original Xbox game plays on the Xbox One but that number is rising every month and, let's face it, it's still way more than the number of PS3 games you can play on PS4.

By the way, here's a great video explaining how backwards compatibility works:

Winner: Xbox One

Also, read:

Top 5 Cheap Xbox One Games Available (Single Player)

Top 5 Cheap Xbox One Games Available (Multiplayer)

#6 "Gold"/"Plus" services

Ever since the mere concept of online multiplayer on consoles, gamers all over the world could agree one simple fact "we're eventually going to have to pay money for this s#*@ someday". And they were right. These days, if you want to get online with Grand Theft Auto V, Madden, or any of the Call of Duty games, you better have a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription.

Over the years, however, both Microsoft and Sony have gone to various lengths to make these services appealing to other users who may not be interested in playing online. Which is why both services offer discounts on items on each system's online stores and even offer a handful of free games a month to subscribers.

While there are slight differences between the two, considering they both cost exactly the same, there's no real winner between the two.

Winner: Tie

Also, read 10 Best Open World Games You Can Play in Xbox, PS4 & PC

#5 Game subscription services

"The Netflix of Gaming". Call it the White Whale of the video game industry. Netflix offers a huge library of movies and TV shows, all of which stream on a multitude of formats, for a monthly subscription price. While this works great for movies, games are a different animal. But that hasn't stopped both Microsoft and Sony from giving it a shot.

Sony's offering, PlayStation Now, has a lot going for it. For starters, it has a library of over 600 games. In fact, other than rereleases or remakes, PS Now is the only way to play any PS3 games on the PS4 at all. It also gives you the option of playing these games on your PC as well, although the game's performance will depend on both your Internet connection and your PC specs.

And, that's been the biggest downfall of the PS Now service - until very recently, it's been a streaming-only gaming service. Still, while subscribers can download PS2 and PS4 games, PS3 games have to be streamed. And, it's a subscription of $20 a month.

The Xbox One, on the other hand, has two different services available. First, there's Microsoft's Game Pass, which offers over 100 games that subscribers can download onto their hard drives and play whenever they want.

These games include original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles, as well as a number of Xbox One games. Most importantly, Microsoft announced that all future first-party Xbox One titles will be available for launch on Game Pass. Game Pass costs $10 a month.

EA Access is a similar service from... well... EA, that allows the downloading of a wide variety of games from the Electronic Arts catalog. Along with this, Access also allows subscribers to try out upcoming and newly released EA titles, and saves their progress if the subscriber decides to purchase the full game later. The price is $5 a month or $30 a year.

Winner: Xbox One

Also, read How Xbox can dominate the next generation

#4 Non-game apps and services

Ever since the PlayStation 2 gave owners the ability to play DVD movies, the gaming console has been the focal point of living rooms for years. Not only can we watch physical copies of our favorite movies through our gaming device, but we can even use streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime on them. Heck, if we can even watch live TV through our consoles now. Live TV! Can you imagine? It's like we live in the future.

As with PS Plus/Xbox Live Gold, there's not much that separates the two systems in this regard. I also don't want to get into the nitty gritty between the two when it comes to 4K/Ultra HD video because a.) that's sort of coming up in a bit and b.) I'm by no means anything remotely close to an expert on the subject. But there's a couple of things to mention.

If you use your console to access your live TV streaming cord-cutting service, which console you have is important. Sony currently has their own live TV service, PlayStation Vue. While this is neither the time nor the place to discuss the quality of said service (I mean... it's OK), it's the only service available on any Sony device.

Inversely, that means if you have a PS Vue subscription you, obviously, can't access it on an Xbox One. At least, not easily, I suppose. I'm sure you hacker types probably have figured something out.

On the other hand, Xbox One gives you access to Hulu live TV (you can still access Hulu's on-demand library on PS4), Sling TV and more. You can also run your traditional cable TV's HDMI feed into the Xbox One and access it that way. The One also has some streaming apps - such as the kick-ass CuriosityStream (hi guys!) - that you can't find on the PS4.

So, to sum up, if you want the usual - Netflix, etc. - you can't go wrong with either. However, simply because of more options, the Xbox One edges out the PS4 just barely here.

Winner: Xbox One

#3 "Enhanced" Console Versions

When the PS3 and Xbox 360 launched, HDTV wasn't commonplace, but it was on the way - and on the way quickly. Which is why both systems were designed with HD in mind (just consider how hard it was to read the text in Dead Rising, for example). With the current crop of systems, it's almost like 4K TV snuck up on them, because all of a sudden, we have a handful of different versions of each system.

A lot of this - and, again, I'm just psyched my TV is a rectangle and hangs on my wall, so I'm hardly an expert here - depends on if the game you're playing is in native 4K or not. If you have a 4K TV, both the Xbox One S and X will upscale your 1080p games to 4K. If the games are natively 4K, you'll need a One X to play it in 4K. The PS4 Pro will do both of these - the basic PS4 will not.

I don't even know what to tell you about 4K video.

When it comes to overall power, the Xbox One X is, without a doubt, the most powerful home console on the market right now. That doesn't mean it's going to suit your particular needs, but there you have it.

Winner: Xbox One

#2 User Interface

Oh, man. This isn't even close. The UI for the Xbox One is absolute garbage.

I mean, it's not unusable, and you can get around it easily enough, I suppose. But, it's ugly and it's unorganized and it's just... ugh. Seriously, Microsoft. Did you let some intern's nephew design this so you could save some money? Windows 3.1 was easy to navigate than this thing.

The UI for the PS4, however, builds upon the UI introduced on the PSX (not the original PlayStation, but a Japan-only version of the PS2 that also included a DVR). It's easy to navigate, it's slick, and it lends itself to the various different themes available for the main menu. It's not perfect, but it seems to get better with every update.

Or, more to the point, I don't dread a PS4 UI update like I do an Xbox One UI update.

Sorry, MS. I think I've been pretty fair to you so far, but your UI sucks.

Winner: PS4 (by a friggin' landslide)

Also, read The 10 Best Open World Games on PS4

#1 Price

OK, so this is kind of the most basic category but - let's be fair - for well over half of us, this is the criteria we're going to use to eventually pick what system to buy. After all, if money were no object, we'd just buy all the systems. Including the Nintendo Switch. Which just got YouTube, by the way, which is cute.

So, I'm just going to lay out the prices for each system and let you decide. Also, these are in US dollars, because that's where I live and, comparatively, the systems could cost differently where you live and if that's the case, I suck and I'm sorry.

These prices are from each company's website and are just the systems themselves. Different bundles are available and, obviously, different stores will have them on sale at different times. This is just for comparison's sake.

The Xbox One

Xbox One S (1TB) - $299.99

Xbox One X (1TB) - $499.99

The PlayStation 4

PlayStation 4 (1TB) - $299.99

PlayStation 4 Pro (1TB) - $399.99

So, that's our take. What do you think? Give us your thoughts in the comments below and happy holidays!

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram