The eighth generation of console based video games has arrived. The top three names in video games have just recently released their newest consoles and are yet again, going head to head as they have been for years. Sony released their PlayStation 4 on November 15, 2013 with Nintendo released their Wii U three days later. Last but definitely not least, Microsoft released the Xbox ONE November 22, 2013.
Succeeding the original sixth generation Xbox, and seventh generation line of Xbox 360 consoles, the Xbox ONE now includes a number of features not seen in any of its predecessors, such as the ability to also function as a BluRay/DVD player (first seen adapted into the Sony PlayStation 3), as well as being able to connect to a set-top box such as a DirecTV satellite television receiver and utilize the Kinect feature of the Xbox ONE to use motion gestures or voice commands to control user input in place of a remote. The Xbox ONE is also capable of playing at 60 frames per second (as stated at E3 upon the reveal of a next-gen Halo game), much higher than previous consoles were capable of doing. The increased frame rate allows much higher resolution games to play much smoother, to the point of appearing almost real.
Other than its improved Kinect features and higher frame rate, Microsoft has also implemented new Xbox LIVE servers dedicated solely to Xbox ONE users, allowing significantly smoother online play. New games like Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4, which were released for the seventh and eighth generation PlayStations and Xboxes, have some major differences in either generation. Seventh generation consoles are capable of supporting up to 16 players per game, but only play smoothly when the player count is 10 or lower. But on the Xbox ONE’s new dedicated servers, up to 32 players can be supported with very little to no lag at all. The previously mentioned games were made to be best played on their eighth generation consoles, but were still released for the seventh generation as well. On the eighth generation consoles, games like Battlefield 4 definitely benefit from the new capabilities, mainly the ability to support a much larger number of players as the Battlefield games contain massive multiplayer maps that are better suited for just as large a number of players.
Ever since the sixth generation of console gaming, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have been competing with each other as the three top names in video games and have created a type of rivalry. In short, Nintendo produces cheaply priced consoles with a free but quite slow online service, and does not produce any M-Rated titles, which is the majority of online gaming. Sony produces expensive consoles also with a free service, but suffer from having a very unsecured network, which has on multiple occasions, caused the entire PlayStation Network to be shut down for months at a time for repair due to hackers. And Microsoft produces moderately priced high quality consoles with a free and $60 annual premium service and has a very fast, secure network, making it the best choice. The Microsoft Xbox ONE currently retails for approximately $500.