Microsoft and Sony preparing for console launch

The Playstation 4 and Xbox One launch close to the end of the year is taking up a lot of headlines and while it would be fair to say that Microsoft botched up their prelaunch in many ways, it seems they are back on track to claim a lot of sales on launch day.

The news that Microsoft will not be launching universally on the same date has thrown a spanner in the works for many people, but the company claim that this is due to the high demand. Not much consolation for the gamers in various countries that will have to wait until 2014 however. Sony on the other hand seem to be allowing anyone to pre-order, but according to Amazon in the UK, if you preordered after August 6th then you may need to wait a little longer for availability.

Both Microsoft and Sony have confirmed their launch line up games, although both companies will be staggering their titles. Both Xbox One and Playstation 4 will launch with 23 titles, with the PS4 lineup growing to 33 titles between November 15th launch and December 31st end of year. The Xbox One will get an extra 6 games before March 2014.

Most of the major titles will be released on both consoles such as Watch Dogs, Assassins Creed IV, Battlefield 4 and Call Of Duty: Ghosts.

The Playstation 4 gets exclusives such as DC Universe Online, Killzone: Shadow Fall, DriveClub, Knack and inFamous 2.

The Xbox One gets Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, Killer Instinct and Titanfall.

We will imagine that the larger gaming publications worldwide will be running the AAA titles released for both consoles, analysing some side by side screenshots and video content to distinguish any quality, or frame rate differences.

While the games are the main focus for many people, both consoles are designed to be more than just gaming machines. The Xbox One name for instance means it is the ‘One' or only device you will need for a media centre at home.

Both systems have very different user interface designs. The Microsoft Xbox One will feature a version of the Windows 8 Metro interface which has been negatively received by many enthusiast desktop users, although for the mobile space it has made a lot more sense. The UI divides the content into ‘Games', ‘Movies & TV', ‘Music' and ‘Apps'. Microsoft want users to control the console by voice commands, switching between games, or even recording video and snapshots.

The Playstation 4 UI looks a little like their current version on the Playstation 3, which is not a bad thing, as it is both responsive and intuitive.
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaPoLJyDZmM'] This interface has actually already been highlighted by Sony President Shuhei Yoshida, who gave a wordless demonstration. Not the most riveting video to watch, although it does show the UI in the last known state.

Which will sell better? which interface will get more attention? Which console will produce better games? All these questions need answered, but we will need to wait until next year before we can answer that!

Kitguru says: Playstation 4 or Xbox One, which for you?

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