Last Gen I did most of my gaming on the Xbox 360 and towards the 2nd half of the generation bought a Wii and PS3 for their exclusives. It was pretty clear from the get go that multi-platform games looked and performed better on the Xbox 360 than they did on the PS3. PS3 exclusives obviously were much better comparatively but the relative easiness developing for the Xbox 360 made sure that most if not all multi-platform were better on the Xbox.
This is not the case with the current generation of consoles. As we’ve all come to know by now the Playstation 4 so far as has the utmost upper hand as far as multi-platform games go. Games like Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag and several others are better on the PS4. This is majorly due to more powerful hardware present in the Playstation. Although both the Xbox One and PS4 feature PC-like architecture, having the more powerful hardware gives the PS4 a clear edge. Last gen the PS3 had a proprietary CELL processor which developers had a very difficult time coping with.
As far as exclusives are concerned I always consider that a personal preference. Sony undoubtedly has critically better exclusives but you may prefer Halo to Killzone or Forza to Grand Turismo and that’s perfectly fine. What concerns me is Microsoft failing to hold on to their third party exclusives. Unlike Sony who own multiple first party studios, Microsoft has to turn to third party studios for most of it’s exclusives. Games like Gears of War, Dead Rising and Ryse are developed by third party developers.
In June developers Capcom confirmed that Dead Rising 3 which was previously Xbox One exclusive at launch will be coming to PC. Recently the same treatment was given to another Xbox One exclusive Ryse, which developers Crytek are bringing to PC with 4k resolution support.
This begs me to ask the question, is the Xbox One really a worthwhile buy for a person who already owns a PC and PS4? Would a potential PC gamer trying to move into console gaming even consider getting an Xbox One? The Playstation 4 obviously seems to be a better choice, no?
I just hope Microsoft make the Xbox One competitive again on a technical scale and brings out more exclusives that will make consumers just want to throw their money at them. Competition is great, for us the consumers and for the industry.
What are your thoughts on the topic? Let us know in the comments below.
