Xbox One's 500GB HDD swapped for bigger, faster drives, and tested for performance

The Xbox One arrives with a 500GB HDD built-in, and in contrast to the PlayStation 4's easily-accessed storage, it's not meant to be accessed or replaced by the user, ever. While we'll probably leave ours in place to keep from voiding the warranty or risk a ban from Xbox Live, a few folks have already cracked open the console to see what else will fit. iFixit noted during its teardown that there's an off-the-shelf 2.5-inch Samsung HDD inside connected via SATA II inside, and swapping that out isn't much of an issue. Brian Williams has already tried out the system with two alternate drives: a 500GB Samsung EVO SSD, and a Seagate 1TB hybrid SSHD. As you can see in his video (embedded after the break) boot time from off to the dashboard only improved slightly, with the SSD loading in 46.1 seconds compared to 50.5 stock. A test with Call of Duty: Ghosts revealed similar results, with the SSD loading up in 27 seconds and the hybrid drive close behind in 27.7, compared to 33.5 seconds stock. We'll need tests with more games to be sure, but so far it's not showing the improvements seen after swapping the PS4's hard drive out for speedier options. The folks at Tested report doing so improved level load times in Killzone: Shadow Fall from 60 seconds to 39 seconds.
So, if it's not a ton faster, why would you want to take the chance of prying Microsoft's box open? To get more space. Brian's drives were simply copies of the original transferred by Clonezilla, but an individual named Juvenal1 has already worked out how to get the system to actually recognize and make use of drives bigger than 500GB. By copying files from your original drive and using their Linux-compatible tool to repartition the new HDD, you can be up and running with more capacity after just a reboot or two. Of course, this carries significant risks and we don't recommend it for most, as Microsoft's Albert Penello has already revealed support for external drives is coming in a future update, along with the ability to do crazy things like see how much storage you actually have left. Still, if you just need to live on the edge (or store every game released so far and record hours of clean Upload Studio clips) the instructions can be found here.
Update: If you're interested in performing the upgrade, Brian Williams has followed with a video walkthrough for the process of properly formatting a larger hard drive, even if you're not familiar with using Linux.





 

Source

Read More

Xbox One Scores Big on Black Friday Surpassing PS4 and Others

Ladies and gentlemen, the next generation console wars has begun. Like the game Risk, there are multiple factions: Nintendo with its Wii U console, Sony and its PlayStation 4, and Microsoft with its Xbox One system. Up to date, the Wii U has struggled to reach the kind of sales Nintendo was hoping, while both the Xbox One and PS4 surged past the starting line by notching more than a million unit sales in the first 24 hours. Will either one prove more popular than the either?

It's still very early for these two newcomers, but based on Black Friday sales, the Xbox One looks to be the early favorite. According to InfoScout's tracking data, the Xbox One outsold every other living room console at Walmart and Target, notching 31 percent of sales. The Xbox 360 was close behind with a 30 percent share, meaning 6 out of every 10 consoles sold was an Xbox One or Xbox 360. Well played, Microsoft.


Source: InfoScout

It seems pretty clear that the Xbox One, and Microsoft's ecosystem as a whole, are the early favorite despite the former being the most expensive console on the list, but there are other factors involved. For one, finding the PlayStation 4 in stock was no easy task during Black Friday. Secondly, Walmart marked down the Xbox 360 to '$99 for the occasion.

At the same time, we don't want to overstate these factors. Without questioning the buyers, it's impossible to know how many Xbox One consumers wanted a PS4 but were willing to 'settle' for Microsoft's console because it was in stock. We don't doubt that would explain some of the sales, but it probably doesn't explain the Xbox One outselling the PS4 at a 2-to-1 ratio.


Source: InfoScout

The primary purpose of owning a console is to play games, and with that said, 85 percent who bought one said they plan to also purchase at least 2 video games during the holiday season.


Source

Read More

Best For Music: PS4 or Xbox One?

Let's get one thing out of the way: Nobody buys a gaming console for music. Yes, modern consoles increasingly run all kinds of non-game apps — especially the entertainment kind — as the manufacturers of just about every type of consumer electronics aim to be the primary interface between people and their favorites 1s and 0s.

These are gaming machines, but they are also music machines, a fact that takes on a heightened importance because not every gamer has decided between Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. Similar third-party games are available on each platform, and in fact, the hardware contained by each is so similar as to be considered standardizedfrom the point of view of game developers (although differences exist).

The idea of playing music on these systems might not make sense to non-gamers. But these consoles are often connected to powerful stereo or, even better surround sound speaker systems — besides, both offer the ability to play your music alongside your games, rather than enduring the usual nu-metal (or whatever) jams that occupy gaming soundtracks. Finally, to a gamer, picking up that controller (or their smartphone) in order to queue up music on their console is not foreign. Many of these people are going to be watching television on their consoles too.

It's only natural to play music on these consoles, and both Sony and Microsoft offer bespoke music subscription services, plus other ways to play music on these machines — although not as many as perhaps they should have. Let's see how the PS4 and Xbox One stack up against each other music-wise.

Your Music Inside Actual Games

Let's start with the coolest feature for music fans: the possibility of listening to your own music as you play a game. Both companies have the potential to let you play the music of your choice inside games, instead of offending your refined musical palate with whatever nu-metal anthems the developers have included in their games. The PS4 has the clear edge on this one.

PS4

If you subscribe to Sony Music Unlimited, you can play any of its 22 million tracks in your games, instead of the game's own background music, as part of a $10/month music subscription, which also puts music on your computer and smartphone. This is huge, and it also lets you keep the sound effects of the game if you want. (This feature might require a system upgrade, depending on when you buy your PS4.)

"The number one thing that [gamers we surveyed] asked for was they wanted to just listen and play at the same time," Sony vice president and general manager, global digital video and music services Mike Aragon told Evolver.fm at a demo in Manhattan. "Because it's integrated at the system level, you don't have to keep hopping out of the application. I just hit the PS button, and [he cranks up the volume] and I go right back to playing my game."

But do you get the sound effects from the game, even though your own music is playing?

"You can," replied Aragon. "You can adjust that." He then demonstrated how the volume level of the game sound effects can be tweaked against the volume level of whatever music you are playing from Sony Music Unlimited.

In the future, Sony might even expand this feature by putting the music into games algorithmically, in addition to letting the user choose.

"If you're driving a car in a game, why not have your own playlist — and the game [would be] just pulling your playlist in the background, and using its own algorithms to say, 'Okay, you're driving through the Italian countryside, let's give you that kind of music.' You have 22 million tracks to choose from, instead of this finite number. [It could also work with] dance games — those types of integrations are all things that we can do because [Sony Music Unlimited] is integrated at the system level."

Xbox One

Microsoft offers a "snap" feature that makes it easy to toggle back and forth between your games and apps, including Xbox Music. It's nicely branded, but it doesn't do what the PS4 does, which is play the music of your choice in a game without killing the game's sound effects.

"On Xbox One you will be able to play music during other activities, including gameplay, using the Snap feature," confirmed Microsoft Xbox One spokeswoman Amanda Barry by email. "While you will need to choose between listening to the game sounds and soundtrack or your music, in-game chat will work with both."

So there you have it: If you want to achieve the gaming music fan dream of putting your own music into games, PS4 is the better choice today, and could get even more interesting tomorrow. However, if you go with the Xbox One for other reasons, you'll at least be able to play your own music while playing, but without the game's sound effects.

Audio Outputs

Both boxes have optical audio outputs. That means that, with a single wire, you can get glorious, uncompressed stereo or surround sound out of the console and into your relatively modern sound system — or, if you're a serious audiophile, into your standalone DAC (we like this one because it's also a portable music player). It also means that neither will work with your ancient sound system (i.e. one that lacks an optical input).

Even if you're not an audiophile, the optical output is nice, because it only needs a single thin cable to deliver any number of stereo or surround channels. However, it's not quite as simple as it sounds, due to variation in each system's support for surround sound. (If all you want is stereo sound, there is no difference between the two systems here.)

PS4

The Sony PlayStation 4 supports Dolby Digital 5.1, among other formats, through its digital optical output.

Xbox One

The Microsoft Xbox One does not support Dolby Digital 5.1, unless you have an open HDMI input in your sound system, and it won't work with most surround-sound gaming headphones.

"The only thing coming out [of the Xbox One's digital optical input] is Dolby DTS," said Jesse Johansen, videogame developer and former videogame-crazed roommate of the author. "So if your receiver only does Dolby 5.1, it outputs in stereo. HDMI does surround, but your receiver has to support HDMI. Also, all 5.1 headsets use Dolby Digital through optical, so none of them work — well, they work, but they only get stereo."

This isn't the end of the world from a music perspective, but it's worth knowing from a gaming perspective — and if you're looking to use your gaming console for surround-sound music formats in the future — for instance live music, like this Xbox app for watching concerts — it's a bigger deal.

Bundled Music Services

Both companies offer options to let you subscribe to unlimited, on-demand music on the console and your other platforms for one monthly fee: Sony Music Unlimited and Xbox Music.

PS4

Sony includes a 30-day free trial to Sony Music Unlimited, a Spotify-like music subscription; after that trial period, like Spotify, it costs $10 per month. It runs on PS4, iOS, Android, and the web,and looks like this:

Expand

Xbox One

Microsoft includes 15 free song plays on Xbox Music, also a Spotify-like service that puts music on your PS4, iOS, Android, Windows, and the web. After that, it too costs $10 per month, and looks like this:

Expand

USB, Hard Drives, & Wireless

Both of these consoles fall down flat right out of the gate when it comes to giving you access to your own music downloads, in addition to the music on their subscriptions services. Both companies reportedly hope to remedy this situation, but here's how things stand now:

• Both machines come with a 500GB hard drive that you won't want to use for music, because that's where your games go, and they take up a lot of room. Neither supports an external hard drive today, either.

• As of today, neither manufacturer lets you store your MP3s or any other downloaded/ripped music on that hard drive.

• Neither machine lets you connect a USB stick to it in order to play music (come on!).

• Both devices are somewhat hobbled a lack of wireless connectivity for music. Both manufacturers dropped full support for DLNA — the handy wireless standard that lets you zap music from PCs, smartphones, and tablets to the Xbox — although with the Xbox One, you can actually use another device to push music via DLNA, rather than browsing your music with the gaming console and deciding what to play, the way you could with Xbox 360. Gamers are up in arms about this (as well as about the lack of MP3 support), so we expect software fixes on both platforms soon. However, don't expect either one to add support for Apple AirPlay (as nice as that would be for both iOSand Android users).

Remote Controls

The most basic way to deal with music on a gaming console is with the gaming control, but that's not the only way to play music on these consoles.

PS4

The PlayStation App for iOS or Android functions as a second screen for the PS4, which comes in handy when searching for artists, songs, or albums, because you don't have to type in the names with a cursor on the TV screen. (Note that the PS4 doesn't support the Blu-ray remote that worked with PlayStation 3.)

Xbox One

You can use your voice to control Xbox One, but it it's a bit clumsy to use, so you're probably better off using the controller or SmartGlass app (for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8.1) to control your music, if you'd prefer not to use the controller. As with the PS4′s app, use of SmartGlass makes searching for artists and songs much easier.

For now, SmartGlass acts as a remote control for music and other media playback. Eventually, we suspect it could contain "companion" material for music, the way it already does for movies and games, such as biographies and the other users who are listening to that artists.

Third-Party Apps

There's really almost nothing to speak of here, so for now, if you want to play music on one of these consoles, you'll need to run their official apps on your console, rather than, say, Spotify or Rdio. Both have app platforms (PS4 apps | Xbox One apps), where third-party music apps could ultimately appear.

Source

Read More

Xbox One vs. PS4: How They Stack Up Today

Two new gaming consoles. Both very powerful. Both very ambitious. Both about to meet head to head... and do battle for your time, money and attention, as well as the fate of the universe!
Two weeks ago we reviewed the PlayStation 4. Last week we reviewed the Xbox One. Now that we've had a decent chunk of time with both consoles, let's bang them together and pretend they're fighting.

A Few Notes

Sorry, no Wii U. The Wii U is a cool console, a fact we noted when we re-upped our review just yesterday. We still don't think it's a must-own, but there are more good Wii U games than ever. That said, the purpose of this article is to compare the two recently released, similarly spec'd gaming consoles. We don't hate the Wii U. But it's not really a part of this particular article.
About the "Edges." Each category below will have an "Edge" given to the console that's out front. Let's not get too worked up about it. Both consoles have their strong points, and both have their shortcomings. Both will probably be considerably improved and evened out over the next six months to a year. This isn't the sort of thing that can be assigned a score, and there's no need to tally which console "wins" more edges. The idea here is to give a broad sense of how the consoles are similar and how they're different, and what their respective strengths are.
Ready? Let's begin.

PS4: The PlayStation 4 is a nice size, and almost feels an inch or so smaller than it "should" be. Not a bad thing! It's equally comfortable sitting flat or standing on end, and I've found that I don't need a stand to put it on its end. The parallelogram shape is more pronounced than I was expecting. The tiny power and eject buttons were a lot for me to get my head around; before I bought my PS4, I joked with Stephen about his article showing readers how to find the power button. After I got mine, I'm no longer joking. It took me a couple of days to remember, "Bottom means eject, top means power." (There's probably a dirty joke in there somewhere, but I'm not quite finding it.)


Xbox One: The Xbox One is a big-ass chunk of black plastic. I actually quite enjoy its retro VCR design. There's something cool about being brashly uncool, I guess. But the console is also quite large, and has completely overtaken a shelf in my entertainment center. I understand that Microsoft wants their console to be, along with my cable box, the only entertainment unit I need. But that just isn't the case, so the Xbox One's size winds up feeling a little bit inconsiderate. I really like the console's disc tray, and think that of the two consoles, it has by far the most intuitive and easy to use disc-eject button. (How strange that something so small could still feel worth noting!) However, I don't like the touch-sensitive power button, as it's much too easy to accidentally turn it on while I'm moving the console.
Edge: PS4. The Xbox One is just not as good-looking a box, though it almost makes up for its homeliness with confidence. If the Xbox One were about 30% smaller, this'd be more of a toss-up.

The Media Integration

Xbox One: The Xbox One's middle name might as well be "media integration." It would sign checks and wedding registries Xbox "Media Integration" One. It's designed to be more than just a gaming console. Sure, it lets you watch Netflix and Amazon Video and the like, but it can also take in your cable box's A/V signal and let you switch straight to your TV without pressing your TV's "input" button. If you watch a lot of TV, the ability to immediately call up your favorite channels is quite nice, and the Xbox One's OneGuide tool is a smart idea that keeps all of your favorite shows—be they downloaded, streaming or on live TV—in one place. All that's missing is an on-board DVR, which will hopefully come in the future. The Xbox One also has DLNA media server compatibility, letting you stream media directly to the console. All of that is wrapped up in nifty multitasking functionality that makes it possible to flip between a game, a Netflix movie and a TV show without losing game progress. It's far from perfect: It's difficult to tell what apps are currently running, you can't adjust the volume while running two apps at once, and the Xbox has a worrying tendency to unceremoniously close games without warning. But hopefully that stuff will be fixed in future software updates.
PS4: The PS4 handles non-game media about the same as the PS3 did. You can open up apps like Netflix and the like, but there's no broader concept underpinning it all. The console also can't multitask all that well—if you open up Netflix, you'll have to close the game you're playing, and vice versa. It's nice to be able to access the menus and adjust settings without closing your game, but that's as far as the PS4 goes. (Update: Nicely, it turns out you can in fact suspend Netflix playback to play a game then go back without losing progress in either. Good show, Sony.) The PS4 is also notably missing DLNA compatibility, though Sony has said they're looking into adding it post-launch.
Edge: Xbox One. Microsoft has clearly gone whole-hog on the idea that the Xbox One will be more than a gaming platform, and their dedication shows. They haven't nailed the execution yet—the multitasking has some significant deficiencies and Kinect isn't quite reliable enough to replace a controller or remote—but they're pushing forward, full-steam ahead. Xbox One will likely double down on media stuff in the years to come, particularly if Microsoft inks deals with cable providers to turn the Xbox One into a subsidized, double-duty cable box. The PS4 seems unambitious by comparison, but then, Sony has their own set of priorities.

The GIFs

Xbox One: When the Xbox One launched, NeoGAF gave us Terry Crews:

PS4: When the PS4 launched, NeoGAF gave us Antonio Banderas:

Edge: Draw. We all win.

The Controller

PS4: The PS4 has an excellent controller. The ergonomic aspects of the DualShock 4 are designed to accomplish two things: Pitch your hands slightly forward and keep them in place. The textured underside of the grip lets my back three fingers grab hold in a pleasing way. The hooked triggers catch my index fingers and give them purchase. The cups on the thumbsticks give my thumbs somewhere to rest. I was genuinely startled by how great the controller felt the first time I used one.
The speaker and headphone jack are also nice; very cool of Sony to make it so easy to pipe game audio out through the controller to any set of headphones. Some have complained about the placement of the Options button, but I actually don't mind it and have quickly adjusted. The touchpad, however, doesn't seem to respond quite like I expect a touchpad to and it's awkwardly placed. I'm reserving judgment until some game or other makes real, substantive use of it. The light-bar is the only big WTF from me; it reflects in my TV annoyingly and doubtless lowers the controller's already-short battery life. I'm surprised there isn't a built-in option to at least dim the light-bar, since I'd rather not put electrical tape on my new controller (and that wouldn't help the battery life anyway). Hopefully that will come at some point in the near future.

Xbox One: The Xbox One controller stays close to the design of the Xbox 360 controller, which is good, because the Xbox 360 controller is a darn good controller. I find myself questioning some of the changes Microsoft has made—I don't immediately love the new triggers, which feel mushy, or the longer thumbsticks, which make my thumbs feel like they're on stilts. The shoulder buttons are also weirder than I'd initially thought, and I'm not really a fan. I've played more first-person shooters since when I wrote my review, and haven't yet warmed to the sticks or triggers—my thumb has so much farther to travel with each movement that it makes my aim feel looser. The triggers, too, don't provide much by way of resistance, which makes it tricky for me to tell when my on-screen character is actually going to fire.
So, still not loving the Xbox controller, though I've seen plenty of other people saying they prefer the softer triggers. The removal of the exterior battery pack makes switching the batteries more difficult, but the controller itself has outstanding battery life—my primary controller is still on its first two batteries with no end in sight. Controller trigger-rumble is cool, but hasn't been used in enough games to tell me whether it'll be the way of the future or just another gimmick. Still, none of those niggles take away from what is fundamentally a well-designed controller.
Edge: PS4. The Xbox One controller is a very good controller. But Sony has gotten so much right with the DualShock 4—the feel, the shape, the triggers, the headphone output and speaker, even the as-yet-untested touchpad—that it's easy to forgive what they've gotten wrong (the light bar and battery life). I recently found myself looking up ways to hack my PC to let me play my Steam games with the PS4 controller instead of the Xbox 360 controller I normally use. That kinda says it all.

The Camera

Xbox One: Much has been made of the Xbox One's Kinect 2.0 camera. And much should be made of it; it's a substantial living-room presence, an interesting piece of technology and an integral part of the overall Xbox One experience. It may not work all the time—or, as it sometimes feels, most of the time—but when it does work, the new Kinect can make the task of cycling through the Xbox One's menus much easier. There's nothing quite like sitting down with a sandwich and a beer and, while getting myself situated, talking my Xbox into setting up the movie I want to watch. That said, there's also nothing quite like fruitlessly saying "Xbox pause. Xbox pause. Xbox. Xbox pause" over and over in a "bad dog" voice while everyone else in the room looks on in mild mortification.

PS4: The PS4 doesn't come bundled with a camera, but it can use one: A shiny little number that reminds me of a package of black-licorice Starburst. I was surprised at the PlayStation Camera's small form factor, and at how easily it mounted on the top of my TV screen. It immediately recognized me and told me it would sign me in by my face. And then... I basically forgot I had it. It forgot about me, too, and I'll probably have to spend more time training it to recognize me. With significantly limited more limited voice controls and almost no meaningful game integration, the PlayStation camera currently feels inessential.
Edge: Xbox One. I'm less convinced than ever that our bright technological future will involve people around the world all yelling at their TVs in a tone of voice normally reserved for misbehaving pets, but the Xbox One's camera still feels much more confidently designed than the PS4's. It's mostly software—Microsoft has really doubled down on their camera, and the short-term result is that Kinect feels more relevant to their console. The long term result could well be that we're all looking back chuckling about how Microsoft thought voice control was going to change the world. Or perhaps we'll be shaking our heads that we ever doubted it could work. We'll see.

The Games

PS4: The PS4 hasn't gotten very much credit for its launch lineup of exclusive games. Which to a point is fair: Knack is charming enough but feels retrograde. Evan didn't like the sci-fi shooter Killzone Shadow Fall though it's slowly growing on me, despite the fact the writing is beyond terrible and the enemy AI is at times startlingly thick. (Maybe they just can't see me that well through those gas masks they wear?)
But the PS4 has a few more weapons than those in its arsenal: Third-party games and smaller, downloadable exclusives. I'm impressed by how downloadable games like Contrast, Flower, Trine 2, Super Motherload, Sound Shapes and the show-stealing Resogun serve as more than just caulk between the PS4's larger on-disc games—they're all great experiences in their own right. And third-party games like Assassin's Creed IV, Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts all look better on PS4 than their Xbox One counterparts, some—ACIV and Ghosts in particular—considerably so. Put that all together and the PS4's lack of a killer big-budget game is significantly softened. Our review round-up of all of the PS4's launch games can be found here.

Xbox One: The Xbox One is in a near-opposite situation from the PS4. The big-budget exclusives are all good: Dead Rising 3 is a fun, massive game that I'll be playing for months to come. Ryse: Son of Rome is awfully simple, but is a lot more fun than its detractors give it credit for. And Forza Motorsport 5 is a gorgeous-looking car-lover's game. But the smaller downloadable games fail to fill in the holes in the same way as the PS4's downloadables do. LocoCycle and Crimson Dragon are ho-hum at best. Killer Instinct is fun, but as Evan put it, feels "half-strength even when you buy everything." There aren't any pure, simple pleasures like Resogun, no lovely rehashes like Flower, no oddities like Sound Shapes. And aside from the coming release of Peggle 2, there won't be many more for a while.
Meanwhile third-party games like Assassin's Creed IV and Call of Duty: Ghosts all look and play fine on Xbox One, but the fact remains that some of them look slightly jaggier and lower-res than their PS4 counterparts. (Because, in the case of AC IV, BF4 and Ghosts, they are in fact running natively at a lower resolution on Microsoft's box.) Our review round-up of all of the Xbox One's launch games can be found here.
Edge: Draw. Xbox One has more high-quality big-budget games, but the PS4 has the graphically superior version of almost every multiplatform game and Sony's console has a superior collection of downloadable games and interesting indies. Between them, the two consoles have everything a gamer could want: First-person shooters, racing games, open-world games, old-school character action games, twin-stick shooters, art games, and so on. The good news is that whichever console you get, you'll have some worthwhile stuff to play on it.

The Game Cases

PS4: PS4 game cases are reminiscent of Vita cases, but a bit larger. They're thin and blue, with rounded corners that feel good in your hand. Pretty standard stuff.

Xbox One: Xbox One cases are a substantial change for Microsoft. They're still green (bleh) and very thin—thinner than a PS4 case. Their box art color is a bit bleached-out looking, and pops out with less contrast when placed on a shelf spine-by-spine. But in the craziest change, Microsoft now puts the game disc on the left side of the case with the booklet and other documentation to the right. What madness is this? I don't even know where I am anymore!
Edge: Xbox One. Okay, sure, both cases are fine. But I like that Microsoft basically said, "Fuck it, it's next-gen, LET'S PUT THE DISC ON THE LEFT SIDE." Being right-handed, it actually makes it a touch easier to open the case, hold it in my left hand and remove the disc with my right... oh who am I kidding, they're basically the same.

The Games of the Future

Xbox One: The Xbox One has a bunch of games coming, starting next year with Bungie's multiplatform Destiny and the Xbox One/360/PC exclusive Titanfall. There are also exclusives like SWERY's D4, Remedy's Quantum Break, Project Spark, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and of course, a new Halo game, but it's less clear when all of those are coming out. Find a complete list of announced Xbox One games here.

PS4: The PlayStation 4's big upcoming exclusive is the open-world superhero game Infamous: Second Son, which will join Destiny, their racing game Driveclub and Jonathan Blow's timed-exclusive The Witness to fill out the first half of next year. They've got a ton of indie games with timed exclusivity on their platform, which should give people plenty to do while they wait for the more substantive games like The Order: 1886 and Uncharted 4 to come out. Find a complete list of announced PlayStation 4 games here.
Edge: Draw. It's difficult to say that either console has the better upcoming games, since we know so little about most of the games and when they'll be coming out. It looks like Sony's going to have a more complete-feeling lineup in the short term, but once the timed exclusivity on their indie games is up, Xbox One will probably get a lot of the same games. In 2014, both platforms will also have lots of great multiplatform games like Dragon Age III and Watch Dogs. At this point, the future's a draw. We'll see as we go.

The Ability to Play The Games You've Spent Eight Years Collecting

Xbox One: The Xbox One is not backward compatible.

PS4: The PS4 is not backward compatible.
Edge: For fuck's sake, guys. Make your consoles backward compatible.

The Operating System

PS4: The PS4 operating system keeps things very simple... too simple, sometimes. I like how easily I can flip through the games I've been playing, but I hope that in the future, we'll get a more meaningful way of organizing our libraries and "sticking" more apps and games to the dashboard. The PlayStation 4 operating system feels like a basic foundation, and I'm hopeful that Sony will (tastefully!) build on it in the future.

Xbox One: Microsoft knows a thing or two about operating systems, and while their opening gambit for the Xbox One doesn't quite feel finished, it's a pretty good start. It's nice-looking, mostly well-organized and makes it easy to keep a handle on your favorite games, apps and folders. I'd love to be able to manually rearrange my pins like I can on my Wii U or 3DS home screen, since "move to top" becomes much more complicated when I've got a dozen apps pinned. And I wish the "settings" menu were a little easier to find and access. But generally speaking, it's a strong start. And hey, three cheers to Microsoft for not larding up their homescreen with McDonalds ads. Well, yet.
Edge: Xbox One. Microsoft has embraced their best OS habits (clean presentation, flexibility, pleasing aesthetics) and ditched their worst ones (ads everywhere). The PS4's spartan menu options aren't exactly unwelcome, but they're a tad underdeveloped compared with the rest of the console. Microsoft seems to have a very clear idea of where it's going with the Xbox One's OS, and are well on their way to getting there.

The Social Stuff

PS4: The PS4 comes with built-in Facebook integration, which the console uses to power its real-name social network. It's really just a Facebook overlay on the existing PSN, but it's surprisingly cool in practice. I love seeing my friends' real names attached to their profiles, and while most of my PSN friends don't yet have PS4s, I'm looking forward to the day when every one of my gaming friends is a real name and a photo. Sony's implementation could be better—wouldn't it be nice to be able to send friend requests and name requests at the same time?—and the actual social timeline is awfully overcrowded and difficult to parse. Some filters would be nice, and it'd be great to have more control over what I see and post. It's a good start.
Xbox One: Microsoft seems to have pared their social functions back to hit their launch date—Twitch streaming and the real-name ID system both didn't make it in in time for launch. Microsoft promises they're both coming soon. But for the time being, Xbox One's social functionality is more or less indistinguishable from Xbox 360. Though the "followers" concept is cool, and new—if I add someone as an Xbox Live friend but they haven't added me back, I can still "follow" their account for public updates, similar to following a Facebook profile.
Edge: PS4. Sony's social stuff needs some fine-tuning and pruning, but they've gotten more of it into their box at launch than Microsoft has. The Xbox One has some catching up to do, and hopefully can launch social apps that are already on the same level as Sony's no-doubt-by-then more refined ones.

The Sportsbros

Xbox One: The Xbox One Sportsbros are very disappointed in you.

PS4: The PS4 Sportsbros are also very disappointed in you.

The Video Sharing

PS4: Sony has made sharing very easy via the "share" button on the console, and it's remarkably simple to save a few minutes of video game playback and post it to Facebook. (They say YouTube is coming.) Twitch streaming is also very nice, as is the ability to grab and tweet screenshots and tweet them. But they haven't made it possible to get access to your raw video files or screenshots, which is a bummer for those who would prefer to edit their stuff away from the PS4. It's a double-bummer because for the time being, PS4 has HDCP copy protection on all gameplay, meaning that it's not possible to use an external capture box to get game footage. Sony says they're going to remove HDCP from the console's games. Please do, Sony!
Xbox One: Xbox One's Upload Studio allows users to edit and post their videos onto Microsoft's own service and, neatly, simultaneously post the raw video file onto their SkyDrive for editing elsewhere. The videos are highly compressed and nowhere near the quality you'd get if you used a dedicated capture box, but because the Xbox One also doesn't have HDCP copy protection on its game signal, those who care about quality can just use capture boxes. It'll be nice to see the Xbox One's sharing grow to support more services direct from the console, particularly integrated Twitch livestreaming, but allowing users to access their own raw files is a good fail-safe.
Edge: Draw. Both consoles' sharing features are in-progress, and both have strengths and weaknesses. Sony's dedicated share button and Twitch support are terrific, and useful. The lack of HDCP on the Xbox One's video output is a nice sign of respect for players. It's good that Sony is planning to remove HDCP from the PS4. The sooner the better. For now, both consoles make it easier to share gameplay footage than ever, but neither one has quite nailed it.

The Second Screen

Xbox One: The Xbox One SmartGlass app is well-designed and helpful; it lets you easily navigate your Xbox's home screen and menus, and gives useful options like "Don't put the phone to sleep while the app is active." There are both phone and tablet versions of Smartglass, and some games, like the Xbox One-exclusive Dead Rising 3, come with nifty companion apps that automatically start running when you start the game. The whole thing is very slick.

PS4: The PS4 has a couple of second-screen options. There's the PlayStation app, a relatively bare-bones phone-only app that can connect to your PS4 and double as a keyboard for inputting codes and messages. Then there's the Vita handheld, which can do all the things the phone app can do plus it can act like a Wii U screen and play PS4 games remotely. It really only works with no lag if you're near your PS4 and your router, plus the remapping of the thumbstick and shoulder buttons is a bit of a nuisance. But it's still pretty darned cool when it works. Hopefully Sony will improve Remote Play performance and make the thumbstick/shoulder mapping work better (maybe give us the option of putting the touch-spaces on the front screen?), as well as make a tablet version of the PlayStation app.
Edge: Draw. Xbox Smartglass has got the PlayStation app beat handily, but the PS4's ability to beam games to the Vita is awfully cool. I'm not yet convinced we need this second-screen smartphone stuff in games, but I'm ready to be. Convince me, video game people.

The Music

PS4: The PS4 comes preloaded with placid new-age menu music that, as perfectly described by The Onion A.V. Club's John Teti, "sounds like waiting-room music at a Japanese spa." It may be pure cheese, but it serves a function: It's there for when we first open up our new console. We turn the console on and navigate the menus, awash in the soothing future-tones of the menu music. "Welcome to PS4," it tells us in a voice that sounds like a calming amalgamation of Allison Janney and Tommy Lee Jones. And we feel welcomed. Then, at some point, we finally turn it off. Because enough already.
Xbox One: The Xbox One doesn't have any persistent menu jams, but its startup/shutdown songs are their own sort of music. Tiny compositions that maybe, just maybe, tell us something more about the Xbox One. Does the extra note signify the Xbox One's added features? Only the composer knows for sure.

Edge: Xbox One. For most users, the PS4 music will eventually have to go. The Xbox One startup sound will be with us for years to come. It will likely become iconic, a mini-melody that will be heard by millions of people millions of times. That's pretty cool.

The Ability To Play Mario and/or Zelda

PS4: You cannot play Mario and/or Zelda on a PS4.
Xbox One: You cannot play Mario and/or Zelda on an Xbox One, though if you don't mind a little lag, you can snap a Mario or Zelda game through the Xbox One's HDMI input.
Edge: Wii U.

The Support For Your Existing Accessories

PS4: Sony has done a fine job of supporting existing hardware, with a couple of glaring omissions. As they've done in the past, they let you plug the power and video cable from your PS3 into the new console. The PS4 accepts any USB headset and immediately ties it to a user profile and makes it usable for chat. The optical output works with high-end gaming headsets, and it's even possible to do chat and audio using simple iPhone headphones. All very cool. The two glaring omissions are: The controller won't accept the PS3 controller cable, and the lack of backward compatibility, which we've already covered.

Xbox One: Microsoft appears to be focused on getting users to buy into their own product infrastructure. The Xbox One requires a proprietary headset to have any chat functionality outside of the Kinect mic. (Hopefully we'll get adapters soon.) You can't use your existing power supply; you'll have to put the Xbox One's power brick next to the Xbox 360 power brick behind your TV. The Xbox One can't output optical Dolby digital audio at launch, so high-end gaming headsets won't get full surround sound. Like the PS4, the Xbox One is also not backward compatible, and you can't swap battery packs with an Xbox 360 controller. On the plus side, the Xbox One is entirely compatible with capture boxes that worked on 360, so your Elgato should make the transition seamlessly.
Edge: PS4. While it's a damned shame that neither console is backwards compatible (Look at your cousin the Wii U! Learn from his example!), at least the PS4 works with a fair amount of your existing equipment.

The Hardware Failures

PS4: At launch, a small number of PS4s have been affected by what's come to be known as the "Blue Light of Death." The console shows a pulsing blue line and becomes inoperable. Sony says it's affected less than 1% of all purchasers. That's still a lot of consoles.

Xbox One: The Xbox One, meanwhile, has had an issue of its own—the awful, grinding "Disc Drive of Doom." We're still not quite sure how widespread the issue is, but the more we write about it, the more people write in to tell us about it.
Edge: Blue Light of Death, Disc Drive of Doom... in this case, there is no "edge." Everyone who loses, loses. Both companies are playing it very close to the vest with the actual number of failed units, and it'll likely take a good long while to tell whether either console is having a problem on the scale of the Xbox 360's three red lights. For now, if you get a new console, just hope it isn't a lemon. We can only hope both companies are being prompt about swapping out damaged hardware for new consoles, though hey, at least Microsoft is giving free games to make up for it.

The Verdict

Both the Xbox One and the PS4 received "Not Yet" verdicts in our reviews. Are they must-have systems? Are they essential? Not yet. Wait and see.
But say you're definitely going to get one or the other. "Kotaku," you say, "I'm buying a PS4 or an Xbox One. I want a new console. It's happening. Which one should I get?"
Again, let's not get too bogged down in tallying the "edge"s from the comparisons listed above. The categories we chose are all pretty broad and far from definitive, and some were just for fun. Think of those comparisons as more of a guide, because our final recommendation is a bit different depending on who you are.
With that in mind, our recommendation:

If you mostly just like to play games, get a PS4. The PlayStation 4 is the stronger console for playing games. It is, more or less, a last-gen console that's been improved in every way you'd expect. The reworked controller finally brings Sony up to Microsoft's level in terms of input, which removes a substantial advantage the Xbox 360 had over the PS3. Its slightly superior hardware gives it the best-looking version of most multiplatform next-gen launch games, and its library of indies and downloadable games already provides a welcome way to spend time while waiting for next year's big releases. Sony has given every indication that their primary focus will be to deliver the best games possible. If you mostly just like to play games, get a PS4.

If you want a game console that does a lot of cool-but-unproven non-gaming stuff, get an Xbox One. The Xbox One is something different. It's the most ambitious gaming console ever released, mostly because it wants to be so much more than just a gaming console. If you watch a lot of movies and streaming TV, and want the ability to smoothly control all that with your voice, the Xbox One is the way to go. If you want the most futuristic living room of all your friends, go for the Xbox One. Ditto if you want a workout helper, or something to let you seamlessly flip between your TV, your streaming services and your video games. Microsoft may not have Sony's laser-focus on games, but they've still got plenty of fun stuff to play at launch. And while the Xbox One versions of multiplatform games generally don't look quite as high-res as the PS4's do, they still look pretty good.
With that said, the Xbox One feels like a bit more of a gamble. With the PS4, you know what you're getting—you're getting a gaming console. The Xbox One could well wind up being a really useful new way to unify your entertainment center… or it could never quite get there. If you want a game console that does a lot of cool-but-unproven non-gaming stuff, get an Xbox One.
There you have it. Two new consoles, two different philosophies of what a game console could and should be. It may feel as though we've reached something of a finish line—at last, the next generation of gaming is fully underway! But in reality, we've only just left the starting line. Both consoles—as well as their Nintendo counterpart the Wii U—have many years and many games ahead of them. Things are about to get really interesting.


Source

Read More

Got a Defective Xbox? Here’s How Microsoft Will Make it Up To You!

As with all new console launches, especially when so many units in total are sold, a fair number of defective models have found their way into unlucky buyer’s hands, and in the case of the Xbox One, the symptom is a Blu Ray drive that makes a horrendous grindy noise, and in most cases with said noise, the inability to play physical copies of games.
While things like 1 year warranties exist for this exact reason, the fact of the matter is situations like this are rough near launch time due to such high demand and low supply of systems, and thankfully Microsoft has taken steps to make it up to those few unlucky customers the best way they can for the time being: Free digital games!


Anyone with a defective system and has been in contact with Microsoft Support is being given their choice of one of four digital games, meaning they can play them without the need of their defective disc drive for the time being, until the unit can be properly fixed/exchanged. Available choices include Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5, and Zoo Tycoon, all of which are currently exclusive titles to the system. While getting a defective system in the first place of course is terrible, it’s good to see Microsoft taking steps to insure that their loyal day one purchasers are still able to play and enjoy their system right away.
Source: Tech Spot 

Read More

Microsoft giving a free game to owners of Xbox Ones with hardware problems

While Microsoft has sold a ton of Xbox Ones, not all of them are functioning as their owners hoped they would. It turns out that some of the consoles are having problems with their optical drives -- some eat discs, while others reject them while a series of ominous sounds emanate from within. The good news is, should you be among those unfortunate souls, Microsoft is aware of the problem and is doing its best to make amends, including giving some affected parties a free game. Polygon reports that Xbox customer care has offered a game as recompense for some faulty consoles, and will let folks choose to download Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome or Zoo Tycoon for free. We reached out to Microsoft about its generosity, and here's what the company has to say on the matter:

While a replacement console is on its way, we want to ensure our advance exchange customers can stay in the game. We will provide each of them with a free digital download of one of the launch titles published by Microsoft Studios.

Via: Polygon Windows Phone Central

Read More

9 Things You Should Know Before Buying an Xbox One

Another next-generation release is about to rock the gaming world: The Xbox One debuts Nov. 22 in 13 countries, including the United States.
Microsoft hasn't released a game console since the Xbox 360 arrived in 2005, and a lot has changed in the world of gaming in the past eight years.

See also: What Does Your Game Console Say About You?

If you're still deciding whether to buy a console, or if you've made a choice and still want more information, we want to break down some interesting facts about the Xbox One for you right here, right now.

1. What's in the Box?

The Xbox One console comes with an Xbox One controller, Kinect camera, HDMI cable, power cable and power brick. It also comes with a chat headset, which Microsoft almost left out, for a grand total of $499.
The Xbox One, like the PlayStation 4, only works through HDMI. Unlike the PS4, which has an internal power supply, you'll need space on your shelf for the One's power brick.

2. Day-One Update

The Xbox One will require at least one day-one update to play. Gamers must get the patch before doing anything else with the console.
Microsoft has not commented on the size of the patch, only that it will probably be a "15 to 20 minute download."

3. Digital Downloads and Storage

Gamers can purchase nearly all Xbox One titles digitally on the release date. Microsoft confirmed the Xbox One can interface with external hard drives to boost its internal 500 gigs of storage, an ability that will be unlocked with a patch download eventually, the company said.

4. 21 Games Available at Launch

There will be 21 games available to purchase either in stores or digitally on Nov. 22 when the console launches in North America. Some of those games are console exclusives published by Microsoft: Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome and Crimson Dragon. Two Microsoft-published titles, Lococycle and Killer Instinct, are digital only.
The cross-platform blockbuster titles available on the One include Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Skylanders: Swap Force, Need for Speed: Rivals, Just Dance 4, Lego Marvel Super Heroes and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Sports fans will get plenty as well, with Madden 25, NBA 2K14, Fifa 14 and NBA Live 14 available at launch.
Other titles include Zumba Fitness World Party, Fighter Within, Powerstar Golf, and Zoo Tycoon.

5. Cable Box Integration

The Xbox One has an HDMI in, so you can plug in your cable box and run your TV experience through the console. This will allow players to quickly switch between games, live TV and other on-demand entertainment through the One, and even run separate activities on the side.
The console has its own programming guide, called OneGuide, which supersedes your cable provider's setup. It allows you to favorite your top channels and use Kinect voice commands to access them quickly. Certain apps will also tie into OneGuide, allowing you to view your Hulu Plus queue along with live TV.
One caveat: To watch TV, your Xbox One must be on.

6. The Kinect Has New Tricks Up Its Sleeve

The Xbox team has stressed that the motion-capturing camera Kinect, which is bundled with every Xbox One, is a much more sophisticated device than its predecessor. The camera can see a lot more of what is happening in the room; it can sense the number of people, see their skeletons, monitor heartbeats and even recognize faces.
The Kinect will now be able to log players in to Xbox Live as soon as they come into view, even logging multiple people onto one console. It also knows who is giving orders and can tailor its requests to the speaker.
Some of the Kinect's advanced features will be on display in the Xbox One's built-in Xbox Fitness app, which can monitor not only the body's pose, but also weight distribution and exertion. The app boasts workouts from well-known trainers, including Shaun T's Insanity workout, and each segment provides feedback based on the player's performance.

7. The Dashboard Comes With You

The Xbox One dashboard is more closely associated with your Gamertag than ever. Players customize the color scheme of their dashboards, along with up to 25 pins — apps, games, shows or movies they want to easily access.
The customization comes in handy when you visit friends, as the dashboard will appear on any Xbox One you signed into or any instance of SmartGlass you run on a smartphone or tablet.

8. Xbox One Is Better for Windows 8 Users

It's no secret that Microsoft has been positioning the Xbox to have a closer relationship with its desktop and tablet operating system. If you have Windows 8 devices at home, you'll get more out of your Xbox One when it comes to media sharing.
Xbox One has a SkyDrive app that can bring your pictures and videos easily over to the console. While the app can work on all operating systems, Windows 8.1 has the cloud storage app integrated into the Metro dashboard. Microsoft provides seven gigs of storage for free, and users can even view their photos and videos in the Xbox OneGuide.
The other Windows-only benefit is a service called "play to," which allows users to stream video and music directly to the Xbox One from Windows machines on the same network. These are the only media server capabilities available on the Xbox One, and they are definitely more restricted than previous consoles.

9. Video Chat With Skype

The Xbox One has Skype built in natively, thanks to Microsoft's acquisition of the company. You can receive calls via audio or video while playing a game or watching TV. You can also answer with the Kinect.
Skype uses the Kinect camera for video calls, too. Although the Kinect cannot pan and zoom manually, it can digitally zoom in and pan out as it follows your body on screen. It will even widen the shot as more people enter the frame.

Source

Read More

Xbox One controller cost over $100 million to develop, smell-o-vision and built-in projector were considered

While Sony was content to toy with radical designs for the PlayStation 4's controller, it turns out Microsoft took a more conservative approach when building the Xbox One's gamepad. GamesBeat scored a look at the controller creation process and discovered that Redmond was reluctant to tweak the Xbox 360 controller at all since it considers the hardware "best-in-class." After some pressure from Zulfi Alam, Xbox's general manager for accessories, Ballmer and Co. decided to explore what changes could be made, and invested over $100 million throughout the course of the effort.
Despite the firm's aversion to rocking the proverbial boat, it still wound up with more than a few unconventional prototypes -- some of which packed built-in displays and cameras. One of the strangest versions included a cartridge for emitting smells, and another featured a built-in projector that could throw out visuals reminiscent of illumiroom. Ultimately, the wackier iterations gave way to the traditional kit that's heading to stores, as the adventurous features drained battery life too quickly or the company's "core base didn't appreciate them," according to Alam. While we wouldn't have expected the Xbox One to usher in the age of smell-o-vision, we can't help but wonder what that future would have looked smelled like.

Source

Read More

Kinect to blame for Xbox One launch titles only being 720p

Despite most gamers being unable to tell the difference between 720p Xbox One games upscaled to 1080p and native 1080p games on the PS4, the Internet has exploded with rage over the subject. If you’re looking for a place to point your pitchforks, folks, look no further than that camera bar staring up at you from your entertainment center.
It has been suspected for a quite a while now that Microsoft was going to be a bit behind Sony when it came to the launch of the Xbox One. Sony’s console has only slightly better specs, but it has never been considered enough to create a noticeable difference betwene the two machines.
As we got closer to the console launch dates, it began to leak out that some of the Xbox One titles would be playing at a lower resolution than the PS4. Just about every site has a title about 720p vs 1080p on some of the top launch games, which is enough to upset anyone eager to get their hands on an Xbox One. If the consoles are so similar, why are we seeing this performance drop?
The answer is actually in multiple parts. Currently, game developers are struggling to get their games shipping with the console launch, so optimizing for the hardware isn’t a priority or luxury they have. In a recent interview with Infinity Ward’s executive producer Mark Rubin, he explained that they put new technology into Call of Duty: Ghosts before they even had the consoles. Now that they have the consoles, they can start to optimize things. This doesn’t help Call of Duty: Ghosts fans, but the next iteration of the franchise will benefit from this polish instead.

It’s not all on the developers, though. Even those who had very early access to the consoles were dealing with versions of the OS that were far from complete. Several developers complained that Microsoft was way behind on updates for the hardware in the Xbox One, and that platform agnostic builds of games would run at noticeably lower resolution with a dramatically decreased FPS count on the Xbox One during development.
It was widely suspected that these delays were why Microsoft was still using high end PCs to show off launch titles at gaming conferences. As a result, developers weren’t really able to optimize their games as much as they could with Sony’s console.
The biggest perpetrator to the performance dip on the Xbox One, however, is itself. More specifically, the mandatory accessory for the Xbox One that activates some of the really cool controller free features that have helped define the Xbox consoles over the last few years. The Kinect is an undeniably cool accessory, but the performance hit the Xbox One takes in order to power one isn’t cool at all. In order to be constantly awake for things like skeletal tracking and voice recognition, the Kinect currently consumes 10% of GPU time at a minimum.

The good news, at least as good as it can get under the circumstances, is that all of this is the result of the launch rush. Microsoft will optimize the processor consumption of the Kinect with a software update, as well as make sure their drivers are more polished, and game developers will have more time to focus on optimizing their games for this future experience.
Unfortunately, this means that the launch titles for the Xbox One will be similar to the launch titles for almost every other console launch ever. Fortunately, because the games are scaled to 1080p (in some cases even at 60fps) it’s not like the experience is really all that different to begin with.

Read More