Going through the various forum posts, message boards, and online articles, you can see that there's a lot of vitriol for any type of criticism or unkind words spoken about the latest and greatest consoles: the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (even on this site). Thankfully, the top brass of the companies behind the consoles are a bit kinder. On the surface at least...
Speaking with OXM, Microsoft Studios Corporate Vice-President Phil Spencer is quite respectful of the challenge that Sony and Nintendo are giving his company. Speaking with the outlet, Spencer praised Nintendo's library, saying, "their first-party is such an amazing asset...Their first party studios and IP can lead what they do as a company and the platforms are almost in service to the IP - not in a bad way."
Spencer talked about building on the company's legacy, adapting one of Nintendo's most celebrated fighters for the Xbox One's own purposes.
"When we go back and do something like Killer Instinct, a little bit of the history of your franchise can actually be important part of people feeling connected. Obviously the history of Killer Instinct isn't a history on Xbox, but it's Rare's history and I think the reaction when we announced it on-stage at E3 showed that playing to the people's heart, I think Nintendo does that as well as anybody in terms of hitting the franchises and having huge success with them."
Spencer also spoke quite highly of Sony as well, saying he respects the company for its "focus on investing in new things and creative things, what they've done with David Cage and Quantic Dream around Beyond [Two Souls] and Heavy Rain; they stay committed to franchises even if they don't sell 10 million units, they'll stay committed to things."
"I think that long-term commitment to franchises is important, where it's easy to pull off the Band-Aid and move onto the next thing [if it doesn't sell]. I respect their 'stick-to-it-iveness'. I'll say, they've done a nice job with PS4 [...] When I think about their announcement, their clear focus on a customer, leading with the value proposition of what they're trying to do, staying true to a vision, I think they've done a nice job in how they defined the PS4."
Despite that the companies are seemingly respectful of each other, it's still a numbers game, and Sony and Microsoft are both trying to get the edge over the other. Sales numbers from the massive shopping holidays haven't come in yet. Last we heard, the numbers given from Microsoft and Sony had the next-gen console sales at "over" 2 million and 2.1 million respectively.
Under the hood, the PlayStation 4 boasts Supercharged PC architecture, X86 CPU, Enhanced PC GPU, and 8GB Unified Memory according to the official specs.
It supports the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PlayStation 3. However, a Plus subscription is required for online multiplayer games, but not for additional media services like Netflix. Sony has also updated the Dual Shock controllers with a touch screen and improved shoulder triggers, and bundles the console with a headset.
Available titles for the system include Killzone: Shadow Fall, Knack, Resogun, and more. You can check out a complete list of launch titles' prices and install sizes here. It currently retails for $399.
In the opposite corner, Microsoft's Xbox One claims an 8-core x86 processor and Microsoft hopes it will take the place of the family room cable box by letting you watch Blu-ray movies and TV through the console, in a "seamless transition" that lets players switch from playing games to watching shows and/or movies. It will come fully loaded with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.
The console's exclusives include Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct, Ryse: Son of Rome, and more. You can check out a list of the install sizes for all of the launch games here. The Xbox One retails for $499.
Be sure to keep checking back with Gamenguide for more of the latest updates.
