The competition between the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One has just passed the one-year mark, and sales have shown that Sony’s PS4 is more popular than Microsoft’s Xbox One with early adopters of next-generation video games.
PS4 sales have surpassed 13 million units worldwide, while Microsoft’s latest numbers indicate just 10 million Xbox One systems have been sold. However, there is still debate as to which console benefits the consumer the most and is a wholly superior product.
Longtime supporters of Microsoft’s Xbox consoles argue that their console is superior in functionality over form. They believe that the Xbox One is a console designed to be user-friendly and easily accessible, even to the novice gamer. On the other hand, fans of Sony’s PlayStation consoles have always attested to the Playstation’s graphics and gameplay being one slight step ahead of the Xbox.
Now that we have turned the corner into the future of gaming with next-generation consoles, what is the reaction of the Principia gaming community to this technological wrestling match between the two market-dominating consoles?
To explain his purchase, sophomore Ross Johnson said, “I chose [the PS4] console because we got a bundle with it where I got four games plus the console for $500.” Johnson saw the PS4 as a better bundle package than the Xbox One economically, and thought that he would most benefit from choosing the bundled games with the PS4 package.
He also expressed his take on the distinctive differences between choosing the PS4 over the Xbox One. “I think that Sony has earned my trust as a corporation more than Microsoft, and they have better customer service for their games as well. I also prefer them to the Xbox One’s bundle with Kinect. I didn’t like the way [Microsoft] handled their marketing, and I think that any company that can mess something like that up so badly doesn’t [deserve] my business.”
Junior David McClelland chose the Xbox One for a simple reason. “I was an [Xbox] 360 player, and it [was] what my friends and teams played on, so it was an easy choice,” he said.
When asked as to whether the topic of graphics came into play with his choice of buying the Xbox One, McClelland stated, “No, but console exclusives did. The Xbox One had better-looking exclusives like Halo and Sunset Overdrive. All the other large titles were multi-platform, so those [didn’t] really matter.”
Freshman Vince Lomascolo owns both the Xbox One and a PS4. As a general consensus, Lomascolo viewed the PS4 as the better overall console for a few reasons. “Overall graphics quality, the PS4 is much more powerful, there is a laundry list of games for Xbox that are only 720p at 30 frames per second that PS4 has in 1080p at 60 frames per second. My favorite feature of the PS4 has to be the game-sharing function and remote play. Videogame streaming is the future.”
Lomascolo added that the PS4 is just more enjoyable for him. “The games on PS4 have much deeper content and are significantly more fun to play.”
Freshman Ian Carlson also enjoys the PS4 compared to the Xbox One. “I have generally played on, and become familiar with, the PlayStation consoles for a couple of years now. I also feel that the PS4’s graphics are… a lot better than the Xbox One’s.”
Freshman Zach Telschow described his experience with owning both consoles, and came to the consensus that the Xbox One was a better console overall. “Its graphics are still pretty good compared to the Xbox 360; they’re just the next step up. My friends also have the Xbox One, which makes me want to play on it more. My friends having it make it a pretty big factor in me wanting to own it. I’ve always been a Microsoft guy, and I’ve always thought they had better controllers and a better Live option as well.”
Overall, there is no clear-cut favorite among Principia students. All that can be confirmed is the guarantee for continued debate in the future between next-generation gamers.
