From PS4 to Xbox One
If you were looking for an article about the Nintendo Switch, I admit the title was slightly misleading. This is about making the change from the two competing gaming consoles on the market today. Of course, PC gaming is the only REAL way to game (eyeroll). The Playstation 4 and Xbox One are the two major consoles in traditional gaming. Nintendo looks to have a gold mine the Switch, however they are in a category all their own. No, this is an article about my switch from Playstation 4 to an Xbox one (S).
First you’ll need a brief (I promise) breakdown of my gaming system. I grew up like everyone born in the late 80’s with Nintendo consoles through the N64. Once I became a teenager, I made the jump to a combination of Playstations and Xbox’s. As a matter of fact, I’ve had every iteration of both devices. So I come from a position of experience. The Xbox 360 was released in 2005 and was a major jump from the previous version of both systems. I enjoyed the Xbox 360 and their cool style. The homepage felt soft, welcoming, and had a cool new layout for the different things you could do. I enjoyed it very much until I experienced the 360’s downfall; The Red Ring of death. By this time, after other various corners of the red ring, I had enough.
The Playstation 3 was released in 2006 and by all reports did not have any rings of any color. I jumped over to old reliable. The PS3 served me very well during some of the most important games of my gaming “career” including the Mass Effect series, Red Dead Redemption and many others. So naturally when it came time to upgrade, I stayed true with the Playstation 4. Much like the PS3 the Playstation 4 served me for years. After being released in 2013, it was a strong system with literally no issues in the entire time I used it as my primary system. Which made my next decision that much more difficult. Making the console switch again.
In December 2016 I was looking to upgrade my television to 4K and HDR technologies, not only for movies and TV, but also for gaming. Which means I needed to get the new Xbox One S or PS4 Pro. Now there are many sites that can give a great breakdown in specs between the two systems if you have an understanding of the technologies. If you’re like me, you just want to know what it’s like to go from one to the other. I made the decision to switch to the Xbox One S for a few different reasons. I always liked the interface of the Xbox. The user experience was always more inviting and easy to use. It was always more inviting and felt like home. This was definitely something I missed compared to the more businesslike feel of the PS4. It was also $100 cheaper but that didn’t come into play as much because I already had a nice library of PS4 games and had to start fresh with the Xbox One S bundle (I went for the Battlefield 1 bundle if anyone is curious). The other aspect was the upcoming Microsoft release of Project Scorpio and the promise of a trade-in trade-up deal. Touted as the system closest to PC gaming graphics (I get it, PC gaming is better) Project Scorpio was an intriguing factor.
The biggest adjustment has obviously been the controller. It only took about a month for my hands to get used to the feel of the Xbox controller. The Playstation controller is smaller and easier to handle, but the giant Pad in the middle would go off easier. I like the heft of the Xbox controller. All in all, I believe it comes down to whichever controller you play with the most. Although the Playstation controller takes the cake when pretending to use it like a gun. The Interface was very easy to adjust to and is my favorite upgrade over the PS4. Being able to jump easily between apps and customize, to an extent, the layout of these apps makes for a much smoother user experience. I love the community section being able to easily watch videos friends have made. The store is also better than the PS4. Having my card saved (yes, I live on the edge) and being able to purchase with one button as opposed to adding funds to my wallet makes it dangerously easy to purchase new games and DLC. Lastly, the social party system is much easier and straight forward to create a group. Playstation was always a mess and I ended up with multiple invites just trying to get in the same group.
Last but certainly not least, was the incorporation of a 4K Blu-Ray player. As I was purchasing this at the same time as my TV upgrade, this was important to me. The Xbox One S costs $100 less AND included the built in 4K Blu-Ray player. In the end, it was a tough decision but after 5 months of making the switch, I’m pleased with my decision. I’m not here to sell you one system vs the other, or bash one at all. (should bash both because, you know… PC GAMES RULE). The truth is, both systems are great and function very similarly… the PS4 Pro is a slightly more powerful machine, from those articles about specs I pretended to understand, but the Xbox is more user friendly. Either one will give you the adventures, frustrations, sadness and joy that comes from gaming. I am currently on team Xbox but I consider Playstation an ex that I’m on good terms with.