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Online platform and social features
Given Microsoft’s traditional strength in online services as well as its mighty Azure cloud computing infrastructure, this category should have been an easy win for the Xbox One. But Sony’s online platform has taken great strides forward in the new console generation, closing much of the gap that existed in the PS3/360 era.
Both consoles make it fairly simple to get online, chat to friends using voice, and form parties for playing multiplayer games. The PS4 represents a great improvement over its predecessor here, featuring a unified party and voice chat system that stretches over different games.
Sony’s infrastructure also appears to be more stable than it used to be — outages are rare, even when a big game like Destiny launches. Download speeds are noticeably zippier on the PS4 than on the PS3. Microsoft’s online infrastructure is still somewhat more dependable than Sony’s, however.
Sony’s progress has come at a cost. You need to pay a PlayStation Plus subscription fee to play multiplayer games on the PS4, with the exception of free-to-play titles like Warframe. Free multiplayer was a big selling point on the PS3 for casual gamers, who didn’t mind doing without the Xbox Live bells and whistles.
That said, PlayStation Plus is better value for money than Xbox Live, which is required to play multiplayer games on the 360 and the One. PlayStation Plus users get to download two games a month as part of their multiplayer subscription — yours to keep as long as you remain subscribed.
So far, most of the games have been indie titles with niche appeal, but they are often new releases. They’ve included some of the most highly rated games on the platform, such as Resogun, TowerFall and Don’t Starve. Xbox Games for Gold offers fewer games of more variable quality as a bonus to Xbox One customers.
The PS4 and Xbox One offer a range of social media sharing features. PS4 owners can stream gameplay video using Twitch or Ustream as well as share screenshots on Twitter and Facebook. Twitch on the PS4 allows the audience to interact with the game player in some limited but interesting ways. Dead Nation, for example, lets viewers of a stream mess with the player by spawning more zombies or be more helpful by generating ammo.
Watch video: PS4 exclusive Bloodborne is destined for cult classic status
The Xbox One has a good Twitch app, but no Ustream. It also allows you easily upload games videos to YouTube. The next PS4 firmware update has YouTube uploads on its feature list, and a couple of new online features that differentiate the console from the Xbox One are also inbound.
These include SharePlay — a feature that will let another Internet-connected PS4 owner jump in and play a multiplayer game with you, even they don’t own the title. You could, for example, play a couch co-op game like Towerfall together. If you’re stuck at a nasty boss fight, you could let a more skillful friend take control of your game so that you can progress at last.
The future will be interesting to watch. Sony has conducted extensive beta testing of PlayStation Now, a games streaming service. It will allow users to rent PS3 games and stream them to the PS4 (among other devices) — an elegant way of bringing backwards compatibility to the system. There’s no news of a local launch, but the service is expected to go commercial in 2015.
Microsoft, meanwhile has promised that it will make more use of the cloud for processing games functions such as artificial intelligence (AI) and physics in years to come. Early examples such as the “drivatars” in Forza and the grunt AI in Titanfall haven’t exactly impressed, but are a proof of concept for the technology.
Games that make use of Azure for dedicated servers are not as common as one would imagine. Perhaps the likes of EA and Activision prefer to keep some control over their infrastructure and users. Will this change in time? We’ll see.
Winner: A tie — the two machines have different strengths and weaknesses
Next page: Interface and user experience
