PS4 vs. Xbox One (2013): Which Console Wins?

By Sherri L. Smith
published

The launch smoke has cleared and gamers have officially entered the era of next-generation gaming. In one corner, you have the $499 Xbox One, a gaming console that wants to be the center of your living room experience. Complete with live TV integration,

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.

MORE: How to Set Up an Xbox One Profile

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.

Sherri L. Smith
Sherri L. Smith

Sherri L. Smith has been cranking out product reviews for Laptopmag.com since 2011. In that time, she's reviewed more than her share of laptops, tablets, smartphones and everything in between. The resident gamer and audio junkie, Sherri was previously a managing editor for Black Web 2.0 and contributed to BET.Com and Popgadget.

53 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Lin Zhao
    This article doesn't mention the specs difference on GPU at all, and it's one of the most important factors to rate a gaming console. PS4's GPU is about 50% more powerful. As a result Xbox One needs to run COD Ghost and bf4 at a lower resolution than PS4.
    Reply
  • xxsk8er101xx
    And the reason why the PS4 is faster is because it uses GDDR5 vRAM verses xbox one's DDR3 RAM. The extra bandwidth in the GDDR5 for PS4 makes the overall system faster. The controller is better on the PS4 - I have it and I like it better. I could care less about the camera/kinect thing. I completely disagree on entertainment as I have a TV for that. The only thing I agree with is the games. There aren't that many games out as promised for the PS4.

    Other than that the PS4 is better. Games will come out for it especially now that they are off the cell architecture and on a standard x86 architecture that everyone knows. You'll see games flooding in.
    Reply
  • xxsk8er101xx
    And the reason why the PS4 is faster is because it uses GDDR5 vRAM verses xbox one's DDR3 RAM. The extra bandwidth in the GDDR5 for PS4 makes the overall system faster. The controller is better on the PS4 - I have it and I like it better. I could care less about the camera/kinect thing. I completely disagree on entertainment as I have a TV for that. The only thing I agree with is the games. There aren't that many games out as promised for the PS4.

    Other than that the PS4 is better. Games will come out for it especially now that they are off the cell architecture and on a standard x86 architecture that everyone knows. You'll see games flooding in.
    Reply
  • jryder
    I agree. The two systems are very close in terms of power, but the Xbox One offers minority report like Kinnect 2.0 with voice commands and Cable integration. The small difference in GPU power is basically irrelevant to me. No console can compete with a modern PC in terms of graphics power. Arguing about which console is slightly more powerful is like arguing about who is the smallest dwarf.
    Reply
  • scottinks
    This is one of the worst comparison article I've seen in a long time.
    Reply
  • Brian Ghattas
    How much is Microsoft paying you for this example of propaganda, Sherri?
    Reply
  • kiniku
    Two great new consoles that cater to different folks. For those that don't already have smarter TV's the One is a great choice. For those that have all that elsewhere, TV or receiver and want more of a gaming focused product the PS4 is a great option.

    I find it interesting the change of direction of both Microsoft and Sony. The 360 a more x86 design and also a low cost to entry device that sold add ons where the PS4 was a more the complete definitive home media device with its introduction of Blue Ray media and its streaming capabilities. Now they go off in opposite directions. Was there possibly collaboration between the two? Who knows.

    But as it stands now they both designed distinctively different consoles that will cater to the different needs of consumers. A win for everyone.
    Reply
  • Matt Vandermolen
    something something butthurt PS fanboys.
    Reply
  • honsonic
    toms hardware as a regular reader to your webpage I am greatly disappointed in this article, you have inaccurate information to favor the xbox one. performance wise on paper ps4 beats the xbox one and by far the plus account is way better than live (the benefits are clear, compile the list of benefits and see for yourself). as a gamer i don't a crap with the kinect. i will buy a console primary for my gaming. guys just go to reddit, tomshardware have being bought by MS
    Reply
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    if you need a job try this site JOBS61 (dot)¢øm. Dan does it at home and makes $25.95 hourly just sitting and typing stuff all day...No experience needed too
    Reply