7 Things Xbox One Does Better Than PS4

The Xbox One rarely gets a fair rub of the green, though it never really helped itself with some very shaky foundations. You could argue that as soon as Microsoft revealed that the Kinect was bundled with the system and had plans to limit the ability to play used games, the damage had already been done and no amount of backtracking could fix it.

Four years have passed since that calamitous misunderstanding of common sense and the Xbox One is still getting by, infrequently releasing exclusive games and new updates to the way it works. It certainly has a large audience, but one that’s easily dwarfed by Sony’s PlayStation 4 and shows no signs of overtaking it – this generation belongs to Sony with Microsoft constantly playing catch-up. The Xbox One X is their final roll of the dice until the next generation, but it’s certainly split opinion. It’s going to be an interesting next couple of years to see how the future of Xbox shapes up.

It’s not all bad, though. While the PS4 may boast the best games and most exciting new IP, the Xbox One has plenty of other plus points. Games will always make or break a system, but these things the Xbox One does make it that much more inviting and make the long wait between new exclusives almost a little easier to stomach. Sort of. But not really.

 

1. Subscription services

Sure, nobody wants to dole out extra monthly fees as they all add up eventually, but what the Xbox One offers are value for money. EA Access, an exclusive service for the system, gives players access to a vault of EA games for a small fee each month. The games include Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 amongst countless others, offering plenty of discounts when based against retail prices.

There’s also the Game Pass, which is still in its infancy but again offers value. PlayStation Now, on the other hand, is a little hard to recommend, even with the recently introduced PS4 games. Whereas Now only allows streaming of the games on the service -limiting the amount of people who should realistically consider signing up – Game Pass is download-only, which is more suitable for a broader range of gamers.

 

2. Quality control

In every generation of consoles, there are games with the sole use of providing content fodder for YouTubers to ridicule for years to come. Since it became easier for anyone to make a game, however, the likes of Steam have started overflowing with the liquid manure known as shovelware. Sadly, someone must have forgotten to put a lid on it as the same shoddy mobile ports and low-effort bilge have somehow started leaking onto the PS4.

Seemingly in an effort to get as many games sold to as many people as possible, Sony have opened the floodgates and effectively started letting any old trite in. The infamous Life of Black Tiger is the posterboy for this, but the list of the worst PS4 games is an ever-increasing one. The Xbox One may not have the best games of the two, but it certainly doesn’t have the worst.

 

3. Building a community

Microsoft knew they needed to work on their PR early after the catastrophic Xbox One reveal. It’s helped by Major Nelson, who acts as the “face” of the brand. His blog is constantly updated with new game announcements, deals, and frank discussions about what they’re trying to do as a company – Sony don’t really have anyone quite like him in their corner.

Since the console’s launch, they’ve been more and more open with the community, listening to feedback and implementing a lot of it. They even recently announced big changes are coming to one of the most integral aspects of the Xbox experience.

 

4. Achievements

It may be more satisfying to hear the ding of a Platinum trophy, but Xbox One makes it far easier for completionists to keep track of where they’re up to on the hunt for achievements. The tracker provides a decent indicator of progress with collectibles and the like, as well as allowing friends to more easily “battle” against each other to see who can reach the highest gamerscore over the course of a month.

Microsoft are also keen to keep updating the system they have in place, recently announcing that they would highlight gamers that specialise in one game:

“We can do a lot more to reflect and let people show their gaming history and their status. Whether it’s somebody who only plays multiplayer in Halo 5 at a professional level, maybe they only have 2,000 Gamerscore, you want to be able to celebrate that person.”

 

5. Apps

It’s hard to argue that the Xbox maybe slightly overdoes it with apps, making you download apps for things that should really just be a part of the experience from the second you booted up the console for the first time. Aside from Microsoft’s micro-management of player engagement and boosting installation statistics, however, the Xbox One also has a much broader range than what you’ll find on PS4.

Every time the PS4 gets a new app, it’s like a solar eclipse – they don’t come around that often. When the Xbox One gets something new, though, it’s just a normal day. Plus, and you didn’t hear this from me, you can download apps to stream the latest Game of Thrones episodes and it must be “okay” because clearly Microsoft wouldn’t allow it otherwise, right?

I was never here.

 

6. Better “free” games

Perhaps the last couple of months have belonged to Sony, but it’s hard to deny that the Games With Gold’s offerings have more or less wiped the floor with what PlayStation Plus has provided over the last two years. Plenty of AAA games have been handed out alongside some smaller indie fare – more or less every month has offered value for money.

It recently took on a new complexion with the introduction of backwards compatibility, too. Alongside Xbox One games, Xbox 360 titles have also been bundled into the package, meaning that some stone cold classics have been available for the past year. PlayStation has cross-buy, but a lot of these are for smaller and less appealing titles.

 

7. Backwards compatibility

This is arguably the biggest thorn in Sony’s side and the shiniest diamond in Microsoft’s crown. When gamers were clamouring for PS3 titles on PS4, Sony gave them Now: a flawed service that doesn’t take into account already owned PS3 games. When gamers were clamouring for 360 titles on the One, however, Microsoft worked very hard to make it happen at no extra expense to the player.

With the introduction of a slowly-expanding collection of backwards compatible games, Microsoft showed that they were listening to what fans wanted – it’s been such a success that they’re even in the process of bringing back original Xbox games. Sony could learn a lot from Microsoft but are instead trying to squeeze every last cent that they can out of the last generation and even those that came before it with PS2 Classics.