Nearly 5 years after launch, we compared the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One - and it's a harder decision than ever
1. Price.
The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 cost approximately the same amount of money: The base level for each is anywhere from $250 to $300 in North America.
There are so-called "bundles" available for both consoles, that come with various games or extra controllers or services, which offer discounts but add to the overall upfront cost — thus the range in price. You're also likely to find sales that put the price below $250.
That's all before we start talking about the more powerful, more expensive versions of each console: The $400 PlayStation 4 Pro and $500 Xbox One X.
If you're looking for the absolute best-looking games running on the most powerful game console hardware, then you're looking at buying one of these step-up versions of the PS4 and Xbox One. Both do everything that the normal PS4 and Xbox One consoles do, but with the added benefit of making games look ever better than usual.
In the case of the Xbox One X, games are able to natively run with 4K/HDR visuals; the PlayStation 4 Pro offers a similar visual boost, though a slightly less impressive one. If you just bought a super high-end 4K/HDR television and want to see what it can do, the Xbox One X is your best option when it comes to gaming.
In general, for the average buyer, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are evenly matched when it comes to price.
2. Games.
This is where things start to divide pretty sharply: Sony's PlayStation 4 simply has more games you can only play on the PlayStation 4.
From the "Uncharted" series to "The Last of Us" and "Bloodborne," Sony has a far richer line-up of exclusive games on the PlayStation 4. Upcoming heavies like "Spider-Man" and "Death Stranding" loom large on the horizon. And major third-party games like "Call of Duty," "Assassin's Creed," "Madden" and "FIFA" all show up on the PlayStation 4 as well as the Xbox One.
It's been Microsoft's biggest problem with the Xbox One in recent years: Not enough great games that can only be played on the Xbox One. There's "Halo" and "Forza," and the occasional new exclusive like "Sea of Thieves" and "State of Decay 2," but nothing of the scale that Sony's PS4 has.
For many, understandably, the game library comparison is enough to tip the scale in favor of Sony's PlayStation 4. But look deeper and you'll find the competition is more complicated.
3. Services.
Both Sony and Microsoft offer a near-identical service, which serves as a means of accessing online multiplayer gaming as well as offering "free" games (as long as you remain a paying subscriber).
In Sony's case, the service is PlayStation Network; in Microsoft's case, it's called Xbox Live. They cost about the same amount of money ($60/year), and offer access to online gaming on their respective platforms. They both dole out a handful of free games to paying subscribers every month, yours to play as long as you continue to subscribe.
PlayStation Network and Xbox Live are industry standard services at this point, and barely compare. They're nearly identical. What makes each console stand out in the services department is their Netflix-like gaming services: PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass.
With PlayStation Now, users can stream playable over 650 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 games on a PlayStation 4 or PC. The games are running elsewhere — you just start playing. It costs $20/month, or $100/year.
With Game Pass, users can download and play over 100 original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One games on the Xbox One. It costs $10/month. Better yet: Any games Microsoft publishes show up on Game Pass at launch, including the next major "Halo" and "Forza" games. It's one of the best deals available in gaming for this alone.
Xbox Game Pass is a strong argument for owning an Xbox One, and offers a glimpse into the future of video game consoles. Instead of dropping $60 per game, $10/month offers access to a massive library that includes brand new, major games. That's huge.
4. Backwards compatibility.
Sony's biggest selling point for the PlayStation 4 over the Xbox One is a larger, better collection of exclusive games. It's a pretty major selling point, as previously noted.
Microsoft's biggest selling point for the Xbox One over the PlayStation 4 is backwards compatibility. An ever-growing list of Xbox 360 and original Xbox games are playable on the Xbox One. If you have a disc for an old game, you simply put it into your Xbox One; if you own the game digitally, it'll show up in your game library. Microsoft actually added this feature after the Xbox One launched.
It might sound ridiculous, but there's a good reason backward compatibility is so important: It's indicative of Microsoft's approach with the Xbox brand going forward.
It sets a precedent that Xbox players should expect games from previous consoles to move forward to new platforms. It shows that Microsoft sees the importance of preserving gaming history. Philosophically speaking, it's a meaningful statement about how Microsoft sees the future of its brand: Xbox as a digital platform for gaming, playable across various devices, in line with the company's "Play Anywhere" mission statement.
It's a forward-looking approach that makes the entire Xbox brand more appealing as a result.
5. Controllers.
Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have best-in-class, comfortable, extremely complex gamepads. Two thumbsticks, a directional pad, and over half a dozen other buttons — they're about as easy to pick up and learn as a computer keyboard.
But, also like a keyboard, if you've spent any time using gamepads you'll be fine with either the Xbox One or PS4 gamepad. For the millions of people familiar with traditional console gamepads, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 gamepads are perfect. For anyone else, they're a nightmare of confusion.
That aside, the question of which you prefer is one of personal preference. This Minecraft-themed Xbox One gamepad looks sweet, but is — functionally — near-identical to a PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 gamepad:
Since so many blockbuster games are made for release on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the gamepads have to be relatively similar. Any company making a totally unique gamepad isolates itself from major multiplatform blockbusters like "Call of Duty" and "Battlefield" (see: the Nintendo Wii and Wii U consoles).
6. Other stuff.
Sony's PlayStation 4 does something that the Xbox One does not: Virtual reality. Sony's PlayStation VR headset is a totally unique aspect of the PlayStation 4.
It doesn't come with the PS4, of course — you'll have to drop somewhere in the ballpark of $200 to $300 for PS VR. The headset offers a relatively high-end virtual reality experience, better than a smartphone-based headset (like Google's Daydream and Samsung's Gear VR) but not quite as powerful as a PC-based headset (like Facebook's Oculus Rift and HTC's Vive). There are even some incredible exclusives, like the ability to play through the entirety of "Resident Evil 7" in VR — a horrifying experience I'd strongly suggest.
Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have a camera/microphone peripheral — the Xbox Kinect and PlayStation 4 Camera — neither of which is widely used or required. They both have cloud-save functionality for games, and they both have relatively simple, easy-to-use interfaces. Generally speaking, they're more similar than different.
7. Cross-play.
Lately, Microsoft has led the charge in the video game industry towards a future where gamers on competing game consoles can play together.
It all started with "Minecraft."
The Microsoft-owned blockbuster is available on pretty much everything that plays games, from consoles to phones to handhelds.
Microsoft — maker of the Xbox One, and direct competitor to Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Switch — publishes "Minecraft" on Sony and Nintendo (and Apple and Google) platforms in addition to its own Xbox consoles.
More importantly, even though Microsoft owns "Minecraft," the game can be played across competing devices. "Minecraft" players on Xbox One can join up with players on iPhone, Nintendo Switch, Android, and PC/Mac — even if you're playing in a virtual reality headset!
But Xbox One can't play with PlayStation 4, and vice versa.
That's because Sony refuses to play nice with the competition — a stance that's become increasingly anachronistic as gamers turn toward the argument that games should be playable across competing platforms. Worse: If you want to play the biggest game in the world on PS4, "Fortnite," your account will be locked to the PS4. Meanwhile, if you play the game on any other platform, you can switch between platforms and play with friends wherever they're playing — except for on the PlayStation 4.
If Sony won't budge for "Fortnite," it's hard to imagine what will make the company change on cross-play.
And the winner is ... it's complicated.
The PlayStation 4 is the best console to own for playing the majority of the best games of this generation of game consoles. It's the only place you can play "Horizon Zero Dawn," the only way to play "God of War" and "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End."
It's also a blessedly simple, snappy console — even after five years of software updates. The PS4 that Sony released way back in November 2013 still feels surprisingly modern in terms of basic use. The Xbox One, while snappier than ever before, still feels muddy to use.
That said, the Xbox One game library is massive, and includes a rich history of Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. Backwards compatibility is a huge bonus, as is the ability to play multiplatform games like "Minecraft" and "Fortnite" with friends on competing platforms.
In general, Microsoft's approach to gaming with Xbox is more friendly to gamers than Sony's with the PlayStation. Though there are excellent exclusive games on the PS4, the Xbox One — and Xbox as a whole — is the platform I'm more confident in going forward.
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