13 November,2016 10:50 AM IST | | Jaison Lewis
With two new versions of old consoles out, answers have now become complicated. Here’s a guide at simplifying things and making an informed decision
Microsoft and Sony have launched their updated consoles for the US holiday season, the Xbox One S and the PlayStation 4 Pro. With five versions of the top two consoles available in the market, buying one can be very confusing.
So, let us make it easy by breaking down all the information at hand, to help you make an informed choice.
What are my choices?
There are two in Xbox One and three in PlayStation 4s. If you ignore the storage sizes.
Xbox One has the classic console that was first released in November 2013 and the latest one the Xbox One S which was launched June this year.
PS4 has three versions out right now, the classic PS4 which was launched in November 2013 just like the original Xbox One, PlayStation 4 Slim which was launched in September this year and the latest PlayStation Pro which was launched on November 10.
Buy the PS4 Pro or Xbox One S?
The Xbox One S is essentially the same console in a compact box, minus the brick power supply. It can do 4K content, plus 4K game scaling with HDR, provided you have the TV to go with this set up.
The PS4 Pro is another beast. At its core it is still a PS4. You can play PS4 games, the controllers still work and everything works as it should, but now you can do 4K gaming. This is possible because on the inside the PS4 Pro has got a significant upgrade to its hardware. It can produce 4.2 Teraflops of processing power, the original PS4 and the current Xbox One S is capable of 1.5 Teraflops.
Microsoft execs have come out and said that 4.2 Teraflops is not enough for 4K gaming, claiming 6 Teraflops minimum is required. Which is true, but it is still a new more powerful console, when compared to the other options out there. Sony is already patching older games to take advantage of the better specs. There are around 40 games that have been patched and more on the way out by the end of the year. Microsoft's Project Scorpio, which will feature true 4K gaming, will only be available next year around November.
This clearly gives an edge to PlayStation 4 Pro, but the console is far from perfect. For one it doesn't feature a 4K Blu-ray drive, which is silly since Sony owns the format. The Xbox One S on the other hand has this feature. The second problem, is there are no exclusive titles that will run only on the PS4 Pro, every title that is out will also run on your existing setup. The only difference is, provided you have the right display, the jagged edges will be lower on a PS4 Pro as compared to a PS4. The performance on PlayStation VR is also significantly better. The only reason you would want to buy one of these is if you have a 4K HDR TV or you have invested in the PSVR setup.
So, which should you buy in the end? If you don't already own an Xbox One, it may be better to pay a little more and go in for the S version, however, if you already own one we would recommend you wait till next year and buy the Scorpio. God knows when we will see a 4K Blu-ray movie available in retail here.
The PS4 Pro decision is a little more complicated than that. Given a choice between the Xbox One S and PS4 Pro we would opt for the later simply because of the specs.
We would still pay extra for the newer console if we didn't already own a PS4. The Pro is not a console that we would get alongside the older PS4 like Sony claims and we would also prefer a Pro setup if the aim was to power a PSVR setup.
Where should one buy it from?
Since we are in India, our official buying options haven't been expanded yet to meet international standards. But as resourceful as we are, things will trickle in through other channels soon enough, you can already buy an Xbox One S for Rs 30,000 from sellers on eBay. It won't be long before you see a PS4 Pro.
