Xbox One X vs PlayStation 4 Pro the battle rages on
The war to win the living rooming has never been as fierce as it today. With the growing popularity of 4K TVs and the price point becoming more affordable each day, both Microsoft and Sony have released premium 4K capable versions of their home consoles—the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro.
Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro released back in November 2016 and was the first home console to offer 4K gaming. Not to be outdone by Sony, Microsoft announced that they were working on a 4K capable console. On November 7th, 2018 Microsoft released the Xbox One X and has been touted as the world’s most powerful console ever since.
What’s the difference between the two consoles? Which one is right for me? These questions are probably some of the things might be going through your mind. Today we are going to look at each console and break it down by hardware specs, games, and services offered.
Hardware specs
Just by looking at the raw numbers below, you can see that Microsoft’s Xbox One X is more technically advanced than the PlayStation 4 Pro. In addition to the increased graphical processing power, one of the most notable differences is in the amount of RAM available for game developers to use. The PlayStation 4 Pro has 5.5 GB of RAM available and the Xbox One X has 9 GB of RAM available.
Usually you will see games that are Xbox One X enhanced run at a higher resolution than the same game on the PlayStation 4 Pro at the same or a slightly higher frame rate.
Xbox One X specs
• Integrated AMD graphics with 6 teraflops of performance running at 1172MHz
• 12GB GDDR5 RAM
• 326GB/s of memory bandwidth
• 2.3GHz 8-custom x86 cores
• 4K UHD Blu-ray optical drive
• Full 4k 2160p resolution with HDR and wide colour gamut
PlayStation 4 Pro specs
• Integrated AMD Radeon based graphics with 4.2 teraflops of performance running at 911MHz
• 8GB DDR5 RAM
• 218GB/s of memory bandwidth
• 2.1GHz x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU with 8 cores
• Blu-ray/DVD optical drive
• Native 4K support for select games at a native 2160p resolution HDR and wide colour gamut
Size and weight wise, the Xbox One X measures 30cm x 24cm x 6cm and weighs 3.81kg. In contrast the PlayStation 4 Pro measures 32.7cm x 29.5cm x 5.5cm and weighs 3.3kg. Both are extremely small considering the amount of power each possess.
Games
So now that we have looked at hardware specs, let’s take a look at the games. The main reason for owning a home console is to play games. Both Microsoft and Sony have first party studios and partners that produce some of the best games on their respective consoles.
Microsoft Xbox One X
Microsoft first party studios include 343 Industries, The Coalition, Turn 10 Studios, Rare, and Mojang. These studios have released many AAA games including Halo 5, Gears of War 4, Forza Motorsport 7, Sea of Thieves, and Minecraft.
Moreover, partner studios include Undead Labs, StudioMDHR, and Sumo Digital. Games such as State of Decay 2, Cuphead and Crackdown 3 are produced by these partners and can only be played on Xbox. If you are looking to play some of your favourite games from the Xbox 360 and Xbox era, you are in for a treat.
The amazing job Microsoft has done with BC games is simply amazing. Games such as Red Dead Redemption, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Conker: Live & Reloaded, Crimson Skies, Forza Horizon, and the Gears of War series look simply stunning. Each game looks superior in almost every way than it did when it first launched.
Sony PlayStation 4 Pro
On the other hand, Sony has a plethora of first party studios that include: Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studios, Bend Studios, Sucker Punch, San Diego Studios, Guerilla Games, Media Molecule, Polyphony Digital, Japan Studio, and more. These studios have produced some highly rated and highly anticipated games including: Uncharted 4, The Last of Us, God of War, Days Gone, Infamous, Ghost of Tsushima, MLB The Show 18, Horizon Zero Dawn, Little Big Planet, Gran Turismo, and Shadow of the Colossus.
As you can see, when it comes to first party and third party titles, Sony’s PlayStation platform is unmatched. However, last November Xbox chief Phil Spencer noted that Microsoft would be investing in studios to make more first-party games. Needless to say, I am excited to see what both Microsoft and Sony have to show us at E3 2018 next month.
Third party support
As far as third party support is concerned, the PlayStation 4 Pro is unmatched. The Xbox One X gets the biggest third party games such as Far Cry 5 and Monster Hunter World. That’s not to say that non AAA third party games don’t come out on Xbox One X, it’s just no where near as many as you see on the PlayStation 4 Pro.
Sony’s machine excels is Japanese 3rd party games. Games like Bandai Namco’s Ni no Kuni II, Sega’s Yakuza series, and Team Ninja’s Nioh are just some of the PlayStation exclusives.
Services
In today’s gaming market, services play a big role. Let’s take a look at what both consoles have to offer.
Online multiplayer and digital media delivery
First and foremost, both Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro offer online multiplayer and digital media delivery service in the form of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Both give you the ability to play online games with friends and also to download new games and demos.
Additionally, both services allow you to stream movies from various different companies such as Netflix. Both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network offer free monthly games to subscribers. These games range from Rayman Legends, to Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, to Sunset Overdrive on the Xbox One X.
PlayStation Plus members saw great games such as Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, infamous: Second Son, and Just Cause 3. As you can see, each service offers a great amount of content through different interfaces.
Xbox Game Pass
In June of 2017, Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass. You can think of it as a Netflix for video games. You pay a nominal monthly fee to get access to download hundreds of games. The service has games from a wide range of publishers such as SEGA, Capcom, WB Games, Namco and Microsoft Studios.
What really sets this service apart from others is that fact that brand new Microsoft Studios games are available on launch day on Xbox Game Pass. So that means games such as Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Crackdown 3 are available for play when they launch. If you were to buy these games separately they would cost well over $240.
You can get a year’s subscription to Xbox Game Pass for just under $140. That’s over $120 savings and you get access to hundreds of other games!
PlayStation Now
Sony took a different approach with their PlayStation Now service. For a monthly fee you can stream hundreds of PS4, PS3 and PS2 games onto your PlayStation 4 Pro. Or, you can rent games individually for 4-hour, 3-day, 30-day, and 90-day time periods.
Unlike Xbox Game Pass where you download the game to your hard drive, PlayStation Now streams the games using your internet connection. You should have at least a 5Mbps internet connection for good performance. Games you can play on this service include Yakuza 5, Until Dawn, Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted 3, God of War III Remastered, and The Last of Us.
Final thoughts
So, as you can see, both the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro are similar. Yet, they offer different experiences and each their own type of games. The Xbox One X is a monster when it comes to technical specs—there is no other console as powerful as it.
The PlayStation 4 Pro excels when it comes to first party and third party games. The Xbox One X offers out of the box BC with Xbox and Xbox 360 games that look jaw droppingly gorgeous. Both offer online multiplayer and digital media delivery content.
Xbox One X has Xbox Game Pass that is a fantastic service for a very affordable price. Add in the fast that Microsoft Studio Games come the service the same day the games launch, and it’s a no brainer that the service is a must have.
So now that we have looked at hardware specs, games, and services—you can decide which system is right for you. Armed with this knowledge, you can go out and make an educated purchase based on what is right for you. Let me know in the comments section below, which system you choose and why.
