PS4 VS Xbox One: Can Xbone And PlayStation 4 Updates Fix The Design Errors?

The PS4 VS Xbox One console battle continues to be waged on the internet, but we think both Sony and Microsoft could have done better. Both companies focused on avoiding having their systems become huge loss leaders, but to the detriment of gamers. Could future Xbone and PlayStation 4 updates fix the hardware design errors?

In a related report by The Inquisitr, in part 1 of this series we discussed how the both PS4 and Xbox One GPU should have been faster based upon a cost comparison to previous generations. In part 2, we analyzed how the Xbox One and PS4 hard drives could have been much faster and yet not have cost very much at all. For part 3, we considered how the Xbone and PlayStation 4 controllers could have been improved.

For good or worse, the hardware is here to stay. But it’s possible both companies will eventually come out with a console “refresh” similar to Xbox 360 redesign and the PS3 Slim. So what should be on our wish list for a PS4 Slim and Xbox One+ (or whatever it gets called)?

Upgradeable Internal Hard Drive

Personally, I found the next generation a big step backwards in regards to hard drives since upgrading the Xbox One HD yourself requires Linux knowledge and voiding your warranty (not so with the PS4, although accessing the HD is not as easy as the PS3). Right off the bat, the 500 GB hard drives in both systems only give about 400 GB to work with. This space is consumed quickly because all games are fully installed to the hard drives mostly due to the performance requirements of loading high resolution textures. This is also a big issue since hard drive failures are fairly common in all computer hardware. So a console refresh needs to make internal hard drives easily accessible.

Faster GPU

Everyone talks about how the PS4 GPU can handle 1080p at 60 FPS while the Xbox One cannot. The thing is, that’s not entirely true. When tests have been run on various PS4 games the actual framerate tends to fluctuate between 30 FPS and 60FPS, which can make for an inconsistent gaming experience. So a hardware refresh could include AMD shrinking the die size of both the Xbox One and PS4 APU with the 14 nanometer production process, which could potentially have a higher clock speed.
Games would still be designed with the hardware limitations of the original design in mind, but this could help the framerate be more consistent. In the case of the Xbox One GPU, it’s possible a higher speed could allow 1080p in newer games. This would function similar to the Nintendo 64 RAM upgrade back in the day, where games would detect the hardware version.

PS4 Controller Battery Life

All the reviews comparing the new designs have noticed one glaring flaw with the PlayStation 4 controller: it’s battery life is pathetic in comparison to the Xbox One or even the PS3. Quite frankly, Sony should just increase the backing of the plastic ever so slightly in order to wedge in a bigger battery. I’d also suggest allowing us to turn off the nifty blue light bar and also give us more USB cables with controller purchases (it’s $60 already!).

Media Remotes And DLNA Streaming

Why don’t media remotes come standard with both systems? Nuf said.
In this day and age it seems odd we don’t have DLNA for streaming videos and music. But I’m just glad the Bluetooth support includes wireless headphones for my late night gaming sessions.

Voice Recognition

While I’m glad Sony decided to give us voice recognition akin to the Kinect 2.0, the way it’s implemented leaves a lot to be desired. The mono headset is the only way to input voice commands and I really don’t like using it. So why couldn’t the controller just have a microphone built in? The same goes for the Xbox One. When my 18-inch sub is booming out explosion communicating with the Kinect becomes troublesome, so Microsoft should copy Sony in a refresh of the Xbox One controller design.

PS4 Cloud Based Saved Games

On the PC side Steam has been allowing gamers to back up their saved games onto the cloud for safe storage for years. Even if it’s part of PlayStation Plus I think most gamers would love to have the security of knowing their saves won’t evaporate when their console (eventually) bites the dust. Also, the local saved games and the cloud copy need to be synchronized automatically instead of keeping them separate. Since Microsoft managed to get this right with the Xbox One you’d hope Sony would follow suit.

Software Issues

Regardless of hard issues, Microsoft has been trying to fix the software issues with regular Xbox One updates, but there’s also issues with PlayStation 4 user interface. While in some ways it’s an improvement on the PS3 it still resorts to rows of icons which can’t be organized or pinned for common usage. I’d also like to see touchpad support for the web browser added. It’s also very limited on organizing files, download management, and even the background theme can’t be tweaked at all. Both companies also didn’t bother to enable full software support for the eSATA port for hard drives. Also, Sony currently does not allow us to save our game files to USB drives.

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‘Assassin’s Creed 5’ Location: Could Russia’s Ukraine Situation Force A Change In ‘AC 5’ Release Date?

The Assassin’s Creed 5 location may be Russia, but given current real world events, we have to wonder if there might a change needed in the game just to avoid political unrest. Russia has always been proud of its national heritage, and might not take kindly to a story about rebellion in its history so close to potential war. Considering the situation with Ukraine, Ubisoft may need to postpone the setting and possibly scavenge what they have for another location.

The claim over the Crimea peninsula has led to raised tensions and possibly Naval war, as previously reported by The Inquisitr. Nuclear warheads have reportedly been prepared, and ICBMs fired in response to what appears to be a serious political tug of war. Revisiting a political struggle so soon after such conflict could land Ubisoft in some international trouble. At the least it could get the series banned in Russia, a rather large market for video games.

Retooling a game of that magnitude takes time, as Ubisoft has shown us with Watch Dogs‘ development time, and developing for more powerful consoles could require more time in general. If Ubisoft is forced to change the location, it could postpone the AC 5 release date to 2015.

Assassin’s Creed 5 location: Feudal Japan denied, Ancient Egypt likely http://t.co/wv86ustBYb
— Product Reviews (@productreviews) February 24, 2014

The rumors surrounding the Assassin’s Creed 5 location have been flying for a while now, ever since Black Flag had become a series reviving success. One statement from a Ubisoft representative seems to point away from Russia as the Assassin’s Creed 5 setting, though. They told the public that there would be big hints in the Black Flag spinoff Freedom Cry, a game about slavery in Port au Prince. That game had nothing to do with Russia.
While rumors of feudal Japan and the US Civil War have been counted out at this point, nothing is known of where they could bring the series in the future. Given the architecture in the background of a recent piece of fan art, the AC 5 location could also be set in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This would make more sense given the slavery scenario used heavily in Freedom Cry. We could easily come across Aladdin in a much more realistic setting, with his lamp being a Piece of Eden.

There is a also a leaked screenshot showing a possible ancient Egypt location for assassin’s creed 5.
— Noah Murphy (@Murphyverse) January 20, 2014

Again, this is mostly speculation, but if the situation between Russia and Ukraine hasn’t calmed down by the planned Assassin’s Creed 5 release date, Ubisoft could be forced to change the game’s location for political reasons. Things like this have happened before. Castle Wolfenstein was required to have all of its Nazi imagery removed for home games, for example.

Do you think tensions between Russia and Ukraine could change the Assassin’s Creed 5 location? Could Ubisoft be forced to postpone the AC 5 release date if the current rumors are true?

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‘Titanfall’ Release Date Early For Some, ‘Good Guy’ Respawn Doesn’t Ban Them

The Titanfall release date struck early for some lucky gamers who received a legitimate copy of the game a few days early. Unlike Microsoft, however, Respawn isn’t “banning” these early gamers for playing it before the game is officially released.

When the Xbox One was shipped early to some lucky Target customers back in November, Microsoft banned them from Xbox Live until the day the console was supposed to be released. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Microsoft even took down YouTube videos from people who posted footage of the working console ahead of time. It appears that Respawn doesn’t want to repeat that upset and anger its gamers.

‘Titanfall’ release date hits early for some, Repawn doesn’t ban them

If anything, those lucky recipients of the early Titanfall release date may experience occasional server issues as Respawn works out some of the anticipated problems so it works better when the game officially launches. They won’t stop you from trying to play, though. Just be aware that the servers may be down for pre-emptive maintenance and you might not be able to play as a result.

Unfortunately PlayStation owners won’t be part of the festivities, and it’s not because of rumors of Microsoft buying out Respawn’s game like they did with Gears of War. If they had bought it out, we could be sure that those who experienced an early Titanfall release date would definitely be banned until the game launched.
Titanfall PS4 may not be happening, but that doesn’t mean that Sony’s console won’t see Titanfall 2.

Hopefully by then, Respawn will have released single player DLC allowing gamers to play without needing to be online. PlayStation 4 and single player Titanfall gameplay aren’t likely any time soon though.

We can expect Titanfall server problems similar to those of Grand Theft Auto 5 as they finish smoothing out the gameplay and get everything working properly. If you got your copy of the game ahead of the official Titanfall release date just a couple of days from now, feel free to play it. You have Respawn’s blessing.
Just don’t expect a smooth Titanfall gameplay experience until the game is officially public.

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Titanfall Release Date A ‘Halo Moment’: Will Xbox One Sales Catch Up To The PS4?

The Titanfall release date for the Xbox One and PC is little more than a day away and some analysts are wondering if this could be Microsoft’s “Halo moment” that could help catch up the lofty PlayStation 4 sales numbers.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, a Titanfall PS4 port is unlikely to the exclusive deal between Microsoft and Electronic Arts, but even if it happens it might be too late for PlayStation 4 fans.

Sony recently let it out that worldwide PlayStation 4 sales numbers had already surpassed six million units sold. This is quite impressive considering Sony originally had only projected they were going to sell around five million by the end of March. Microsoft had also estimated they’d hit the five million mark by month end, but so far estimates put the Xbox One sales numbers somewhere above four million.

Yusuf Mehdi, chief marketing and strategy officer for Microsoft’s devices and studios, agrees that Titanfall may be instrumental in the short term success of the new gaming platform:

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of Titanfall to the Xbox One release this year. For us, it’s a game changer. It’s a system seller.”

So at this point what Microsoft needs to catch up is a Halo moment. This writer clearly remembers when the original Xbox came out and how Halo: Combat Evolved was the killer app of the time (admittedly, I was also a Bungie fanboy when they were still a Mac-only game developer producing gaming classics like Marathon and Myth). So when I bought my original Xbox I literally called it my Halo box.

The Titanfall Xbox One bundle has the potential to be this Halo moment since it essentially gives the game away for free. This may make the $100 price difference between the PS4 and Xbone more acceptable since the standalone PlayStation 4 costs $400 and doesn’t include a game (and that’s assuming you can find a PS4 in stock for less than $500). At the same time, the Titanfall release date for the Xbox 360 is just around the corner and there’s also the PC version, as well. So it’s not like gamers are forced to buy a Xbox One in order to satisfy their titan-sized cravings.

Do you think the Titanfall Xbox One launch could signal a turning point in the PS4 vs Xbox One battle?

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