Sony unveiled their latest gaming system, the Playstation 4 Monday night. So far, the PS4 received rave reviews.
Sony announced that the PS4 will cost $399. That is $100 cheaper, and according to SF Gate, 20 percent less than the XBOX One. Sony has not yet announced a specific release date, but it is expected to be released this holiday season. The XBOX One will be released in November.
Unlike the XBOX One, Sony will not require an online connection to play its games. Microsoft is requiring its XBOX One users to authenticate by checking in online once every 24 hours. However, there is a catch. Sony announced that in order to play online, Playstation 4 owners will now have to pay a fee. According to the Los Angeles Times, A Playstation Plus Subscription will cost $49.99.
Perhaps what the gaming community appreciated the most from the PS4 unveiling is that SONY will not place restrictions on reselling or buying used games. The Los Angeles Times said Sony continued to take jabs at Microsoft by showing a sarcastic training video on how to resell your games. According to Matt Peckham of Time, this announcement by Sony received the loudest E3 press conference applause he has heard since “Microsoft handed out free XBOX 360 slims in 2010”.
In addition, Sony said they will have original programming as well. Similarly, Microsoft will have a Halo series. Sony has not yet announced what game or games their programming will be based off of. According to SF Gate, the gaming console will also feature the movie services of Flixster and Netflix.
The XBOX One will be an amazing gaming console. In fact, these gaming systems have evolved into home entertainment systems. With the XBOX One, you can surf the web, watch movies, watch TV, talk on the phone, and you can multitask. This means you can watch the Super Bowl and order all of your party needs with the XBOX One. It also has voice command, which makes logging in instant. However, you cannot deny Sony has gained ground on Microsoft. The Playstation 4 is a legitimate alternative. It is hard to say if one is truly better than the other until you see them in action. I guess it just depends what your needs are.
