Justin Davis, Campus Carrier Assistant Photojournalism Editor
After seven years of relative peace, another game console war will send electronic stores into turmoil this November, as both Sony and Microsoft release their next generation consoles a mere week apart.
Both consoles feature loads of new processing power as well as many new online and media-based features, aiming to enhance the living room experience in more ways than simply making Call of Duty look a little more realistic.
Sony announced the Playstation 4 first, promising “more to offer than ever before,” according to Michael Denny, Sony’s VP of Worldwide Sales.
The new gaming box, which will hit shelves on Nov 15, features a powerful new processor, a 500 GB hard-drive for storing up games and a brand new DualShock 4 controller.
Aside from raw power, most of the PS4’s improvements come in the form of networking and social functionality. The new controller even features a dedicated “Share” button that allows gamers to brag about their latest triumphs or joke about hilarious failures. The system will even support live-streaming their gaming session through the popular streaming service UStream.
Microsoft will have their latest system on the market it in time for the holidays, with its Xbox One going on sale on Nov 22, exactly a week after the PS4. The set-top box features a more capable processor and an upgraded hard drive. This Xbox will also get a Blu-ray drive, a first in a Microsoft system.
Microsoft’s latest showcases many new social features very similar to the PS4’s, including live video streaming.
While both consoles feature many options for non-game related content, Microsoft is more directly billing the Xbox One as an all-in-one entertainment system. It even allows users to send a live TV stream through the Xbox for an enhanced viewing experience. That said, all of the entertainment apps such as Netflix and Hulu on the Xbox One will require an Xbox Live subscription while the same sort of apps will be available for free on the PS4.
From the external design to the controllers to the silicon inside, both of these consoles are more evolutionary than revolutionary, but both Sony and Microsoft clearly want to own the living room. These systems are designed to be complete solutions for the TV rather than simple game-players. The Playstation 4 will cost $399 with the motion-capturing Playstation Eye selling separately for $59. The Xbox One will go for $499, which includes the updated HD Kinect accessory.