Xbox Live vs PlayStation Plus
Both PS4 and Xbox One owners can enjoy their systems without their corresponding subscription services. However, outside of the games and a few apps, not signing up can make for a rather two-dimensional experience. For PS4 users, there’s the PlayStation Plus service, while Xbox One gamers subscribe to Xbox Live Gold. Both services offer gamers two free games a month and access to online multiplayer for titles that support that feature.
PlayStation Plus gives subscribers discounts on selected content in the PlayStation store. Another Plus perk offers up to 1GB of space for game saves in Sony’s Online Game Save Storage cloud. Gamers who leave their console on in Standby Mode can also take advantage of automatic game downloads.
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Xbox Live members can access GameDVR, the video capture service. There’s also the SmartMatch system, which Microsoft claims will provide faster, smarter matches for online multiplayer games such as “Dead Rising 3” and “Battlefield 4.” OneGuide lets you see not only what’s on TV, but displays what shows are trending in the Live community.
Plus is the cheaper of the two services ($9.99 a month, $17.99 for three months and $49.99 for a yearly subscription) compared with the One’s Xbox Live Gold service ($9.99 a month, $24 for three months and $59.99 for a yearly subscription).
Winner: Draw
Each subscription service has some pretty appealing perks. PS Plus’ built-in discounts and allotted game storage space are attractive options, but we love the automatic patch download feature. While we’re not fans of sequestering features such as Game DVD and OneGuide behind a paywall, Xbox Live still offers some robust benefits, particularly with the Live TV integration.