First of all, the most important part of any console other than it's games, the potential power. So lets take a look at the specifications of all three Eighth Generation consoles.
Specs |
Xbox One |
PlayStation 4 |
Wii U |
| OS | Windows custom kernel and a hypervisor | Orbis OS | Wii U OS |
| Media | Blu-ray, CD, DVD | Blu-ray Disc, DVD | Wii U Optical Disc |
| Storage | 500GB Hard Disk Drive | 500GB Hard Disk Drive (user upgrade-able) | Internal flash memory, USB storage drives, SD/SDHC card |
| Online | Xbox Live | PSN | Nintendo Network |
| Controller | Xbox One controller, Xbox One Kinect, SmartGlass | DualShock 4, PlayStation Move, PlayStation Vita | Wii U GamePad, Wii U Pro Controller, Wii Remote (Plus) |
| CPU | Custom 1.75 GHz AMD 8 core APU (2 Quad-Core Jaguar modules) | Semi-custom 8-core AMD x86-64 CPU | 1.24 GHz Tri-Core IBM PowerPC "Espresso". |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR3 | 8 GB DDR5 | 2 GB DDR3 |
| Graphics | 853 MHz AMD Radeon GCN architecture | Semi-custom AMD Radeon GPU | 550 MHz AMD Radeon "Latte" GPU |
| Sound | 7.1 surround sound | 7.1 surround sound | 5.1 Linear PCM, Analog stereo |
| Backward compatibility | No | Cloud support planned | Wii, Virtual Console |
| Motion Sensor | Kinect camera | PlayStation Camera | Wii Remote |
| Display | 4K, 1080p, 1080i,720p | 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 4K | 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11n, Ethernet, 3 × USB 3.0, HDMI 1.4 in/out, S/PDIF out, IR-out, Kinect port | 802.11 b/g/n Wireless, Bluetooth 2.1, USB 3.0, Ethernet 10/100/1000, HDMI | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 4.0, 4 × USB 2.0, HDMI |
| Camera | 1080p Kinect camera | 720p PlayStation Camera |
1.3 Megapixels (On Wii U GamePad) |
Out of the three consoles, Wii U has the lowest specifications, along with the lowest price. While the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are mostly the same, except some minor differences. The only notable differences, which aren't about specifications but features, would be in their Operating Systems and media features.
Now, lets talk about the most important part of any console, the video games.
Nintendo Wii U
After this, it appears that the aim of the console audience has shifted back to "whoever interested", as they have been release more of their exclusive titles compared to it's earlier titles, such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Wario, Luigi, Zelda, and Super Smash Bros. and other family titles. If you look at the current titles, they also consist mostly of family titles rather than titles that can be considered "hardcore", save for the exclusive upcoming Bayonetta 2.
Xbox One & PlayStation 4
Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have just launched a few days ago with a decent number of launch titles, respectively.
| Xbox One | PlayStation 4 |
| Call of Duty: Ghosts | Call of Duty: Ghosts |
| Ryse: Son of Rome | Trine 2: The Complete Story |
| Xbox Fitness | Warframe |
| Zoo Tycoon | Super Motherload |
| Zumba Fitness: World Party | Sound Shapes |
| Skylanders: Swap Force | Skylanders: Swap Force |
| Killer Instinct | Resogun |
| NBA Live 14 | NBA Live 14 |
| LEGO: Marvel Super Heroes | LEGO: Marvel Super Heroes |
| Madden NFL 25 | Madden NFL 25 |
| NBA 2K14 | NBA 2K14 |
| Need for Speed: Rivals | Need for Speed: Rivals |
| Powerstar Golf | PlayRoom |
| LocoCycle | Knack |
| Battlefield 4 | Battlefield 4 |
| Crimson Dragon | Flower |
| Just Dance 2014 | Just Dance 2014 |
| FIFA 14 | FIFA 14 |
| Just Dance 2014 | Killzone Shadow Fall |
| Dead Rising 3 | Angry Birds Star Wars |
| Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag | Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag |
| Fighter Within | Flower |
| Forza Motorsport 5 | Contrast |
| DC Universe Online | |
| Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition | |
| Blacklight: Retribution | |
| Total Titles : 23 | Total Titles : 26 |
These are just the 'Day 1' launch titles only, there are many more to come soon after!
Both consoles have a strong launch library, but they might not appeal to all kinds of audiences, but there are more to come so everyone will see games of their interests sooner or later. However, the sensor-related games seem to be the same as the previous generation. The Kinect games are, like always, not well received by gamers and critics, for instance the "Fighter Within" has been reported to have bad/unresponsive controls and not having much to offer. As with the PlayStation Camera titles, we are yet to see how they are going to be as none have launched so far. Both consoles are competing fiercely against each other, and so are their fanbases(but that's not important right now).
Although the upcoming games are interesting, we all know it comes down to the main console-exclusives. Those which make a person by a console itself for. Such as with Xbox the gamers are expecting titles like Halo and Gears of War, while with the PlayStation the gamers are expecting titles like God of War and Uncharted.
How the generation eventually turns out to be for the gaming industry and gamers alike, can only be seen in the future. However, we know one thing that the Wii U might get left behind as the games that take full advantage of the hardware of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 come out.
How do you see the future of gaming with the Eighth Generation? What do you like and/or dislike so far or expect to see from it? Share your thoughts with us!
Muhammad Junaid
Muhammad Junaid is the writer of Entertainment Ghost. He writes articles, reviews, previews and entertainment news about gaming, technology, the media and so on. You can follow him on Twitter @Mr_MJunaid and Facebook MJunaid
