Looking at purchasing a PS4 Pro over Xbox One X

[Outlooking_Chimp]

Hi All

I am looking at purchasing a PS4 Pro but I have some questions about the console as I know nothing about it.

Also the specs/resolution do not enter this, I am only playing at 1080p.

 

So I am looking at the PS4 Pro with the ideal use of PSN which I believe is has similar functionality to Xbox game pass (certain games downloaded via subscription) and was wondering if this is first worth it? as this will be a primary method of playing games.

Secondly I want to play older games like PS1/2/3 similar to how Xbox backwards compatability works, and is the game library as good as xbox ones?

What other differences are there between the PS4 Pro and Xbox, again specs do not enter this I am looking at pure gaming.

 

Many Thanks

[Stefan Payne]

3 hours ago, Outlooking_Chimp said:

Hi All

I am looking at purchasing a PS4 Pro but I have some questions about the console as I know nothing about it.

Also the specs/resolution do not enter this, I am only playing at 1080p.

PS4 PRO has a Super Sampling mode that lets the Console render at ~4K and scale it down to the 1080p screen. So even with a 1080p screen you see an improvement with the PRO.

 

3 hours ago, Outlooking_Chimp said:

So I am looking at the PS4 Pro with the ideal use of PSN which I believe is has similar functionality to Xbox game pass (certain games downloaded via subscription) and was wondering if this is first worth it? as this will be a primary method of playing games.

No, completely different thing. PS Plus is equal to XBox Gold, including the free games (wich are Mafia3 and Dead by Daylight).

What you want to look at is Playstation NOW, but that's a Streaming Service right now...

 

People mentioned that you can download the PS4 Games onto your PS4 in a future Update...

3 hours ago, Outlooking_Chimp said:

Secondly I want to play older games like PS1/2/3 similar to how Xbox backwards compatability works, and is the game library as good as xbox ones?

You have to get the Games within the PSN Store. There are a couple of old PS1 and Two classics that run on the PS4 PRO, but tbh, if you want to play PS3 Games, you have to get the PS3. Except for a hand full of remastered games like the Uncharted Series, God of war, Gravity Rush and The last Of Us.

 

The XBox Backwards Compatibility might look good on paper but in reality it is not as most of the games you can play are the usual PC Hype Games like Call of Duty, Medal of Honor and others. I made a List once and came up with ~60 Games that fall into this Category. And most of the Rest are Casual games like Peggle, Zuma's Revenge and so on.

In the end its only a hand full of games you can play on the XBox One that make sense. And w/o one X Enhancements they don't even look that much better, if at all.

So that only leaves a couple of games that make sense. But then again, without the X Optimization it doesn't make soo much sense to play them on the One anyway...

And I'm talking about some Halo Games, Gears of War, Blue Dragon and Lost Odysee. That's about it on exclusives...

 

To make matters worse, you need a credit card to buy 360 Games on the one!! 

So to be blunt:

If you want to play XBox and XBox 360 games, get a 360! 

The Backwards Compatibility on the 360 looks pretty neat, while it is rather small on the one.

 

The Point is that if you have a Gaming PC from ~5 Years ago or so, you'd rather Play the Games on the PC anyway.

Especially since many of those Games run like shit on the older consoles...

 

Another Thing to consider:

You can just replace the Harddrive of the PS4!

So if it dies or you want a bigger drive, you need a PH1 Screw Driver, screw out one crew, remove the HDD from the Caddy (another 4), reverse that.

Then you need to download the New Installation PS4UPDATE.PUP from the Website (it is way down and a seperate file, kinda hidden), a USB Stick, AFAIR 4GiB or more, insert a µUSB Cable, connect it to the Controller, insert the USB Stick and follow the Instructions...

While it is possible to replace the HDD in the XBox One, you need more tools, it is possible to destroy/damage the console in the process and you need a Torx T10 as well as a T9 (or was it T8??).

 

But then again, the most interesting games like Zoo Tycoon, Gears of War 4, you can play on a modern Game PC.

3 hours ago, Outlooking_Chimp said:

What other differences are there between the PS4 Pro and Xbox, again specs do not enter this I am looking at pure gaming.

The UI of the XBox is unintuitive, you need more steps to navigate your Games, while you get the Games on the main screen on the PS4 (and you can add folders as well).

The XBox Store isn't that great because you need a credit card (or other stuff like that) for some things to do

Backwards Compatibility is more of a marketing joke than actually useful as most of them are the usual PC-Shooter Style games you want to play with Mouse and keyboard anyway (but can't on console)

And the XBox doesn't have much Exclusives as most of them also are available for PC, so that only leaves Halo and not much more...

While for the PS4 PRO you have God of War, Horizon zero Dawn and a bunch of other Software. Some of it is also available on PC but NOT XBox. For example ni no Kuni 2.

 

 

So there isn't really a competition.

If you want to play older games, you have to get the Older Consoles! Or the Playstation Now service, for wich you don't even need a PS4, just a PS4 Controller.

[Majinhoju]

Xbox: Forza series, Gears of War Series, Halo series etc..

It has backward compatibility but since it's emulation it doesn't support every game, but it does continue to grow.

Check this list and see if you see anything you like: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-06-27-xbox-one-backwards-compatibility-list-xbox-360-games

Game pass list: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-08-01-xbox-game-pass-games-list-price

Note that with game pass, it's like netflix, games will come and go each month but Xbox promises to bring out new games onto their game pass on release (like Forza Horizon 4, Crackdown 3, Gears of War 5 etc..)

Xbox Play Anywhere:  These titles will play on your xbox or your PC, they're crossplay as well.  For example, me, the wife and 2 online buddies play Horde mode together on Gears of War 4 once in a while.  3 of them play on Xbox, I play it on PC.  More games are supporting Xbox Play Anywhere, so if you already have a decent gaming pc, you might want to consider playing these on PC instead.  I've currently been jumping between playing Forza Horizon 3 on my Xbox One and PC depending if I'm playing in the living room, or downstairs on my PC.

 

Ps4: Exclusives like: Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted, God of War, Last of US etc...

For classic games you can stream them through playstation now subscription service or you'll have to use the classic consoles.  Keep in mind PS4 has a bunch of classic titles as HD re-releases.

Boost mode:  Don't quote me on this but I think the ps4 pro will give a slight boost even to non ps4 pro enabled titles.

 

 

[Paddi01]

1 hour ago, Majinhoju said:

Boost mode:  Don't quote me on this but I think the ps4 pro will give a slight boost even to non ps4 pro enabled titles.

Yes, it basically prevents frame drops and will make FPS more consistent in some games (locked frame rate).

[JZStudios]

The PS+ is required to play games online, same as Xbox Gold or whatever. It does currently have more exclusive titles... primarily Japanese so that depends on you.

I can't attest to the PSN PS1/2 games, but I doubt there's very many, and any PS3 games need to have a port, so there's very few. Not as convenient as the Xbox's back compat.

[ono]

If you plan on playing a game that uses online features, even for a game that's largely single player like Bloodborne, then PS Plus is worth it. I wouldn't get it for the "free" games though. I just see that has a bonus as they typically aren't that great. Another bonus is that PS Plus sub also gives you some cloud storage for save backups. A bit lame since you get that for free on Xbox One (but not 360).

 

PS Now is a game streaming service with a library of PS3 and PS4 games. This is the only way to play original (not ports) of PS3 games. So depending on where you live in relation to Sony's servers, the input latency may be unbearable. There is a trial for you to give it a shot. Just remember to cancel before it ends if you don't like it.

 

As already noted, older games are even more minimal than Xbox One. There have been digital PSN releases under the name "PS2 Classics" but I think it's been a long time since the last release that I think Sony and other publishers have abandoned this so I wouldn't count on more in the future. As far as I know there are no PS1 games. Getting a PS3, even if it isn't the ones with PS2 compatibility since you get a better digital PSN PS2 selection there.

 

I guess the only other optional feature of possible interest is PS VR. Granted that's a separate purchase but VR is something Xbox One doesn't support.

 

 

Edited August 3, 2018 by Crunchy Dragon

[Stefan Payne]

2 hours ago, JZStudios said:

The PS+ is required to play games online, same as Xbox Gold or whatever.

That is not a true statement and wrong.

It is not needed if you use the Infrastructure of the Game Developer. For example Square Enix for Final Fantasy XIV. YOu do not need PS+ for that!

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/309002-Playstation-Plus-do-I-need-it-to-play-FF-XIV-on-PS4

 

You need PS+ or XBox Live Gold for Games that use the Sony/M$ Infrastructure. Not for all online games!

 

2 hours ago, JZStudios said:

Not as convenient as the Xbox's back compat.

And for a new user, that doesn't have an existing libary of 360 or XBox Games, that is absolutely irrelevant and not in any way less convenient.

 

And yes, there are a couple of PS1 and PS2 Classics for the PS4 out.

 

Here some of those games:

https://store.playstation.com/de-de/grid/STORE-MSF75508-DISCOVERPS2ONPS4/1

 

You are overrating the XBox One Backcompatibility thingy totally, again.

It might be nice, if I come from the XBox 360 and have a couple of games that are supported, but for someone who is new to consoles, it doesn't really matter at all.

And even if you have an existing 360 libary, the backwards Compatibility is also rather disapointing because of my Libary, only the Gears of War Series , some Lego Games and Lost Odyssee are supported on the One while the rest, like Tales of Vesperia, Magnacarta 2 and a whole bunch of other Games are not supported.

And I have like 35 Games or so (not a big libary though because I stopped using Consoles for a long time until August last Year)...

 

As for the Credit card:
It is for @Outlooking_Chimp to know that there are some actions in the Store where either a Credit Card or Paypal is needed, even if you use prepaid cards. And we have to tell him that that is the case.

 

 

 

PS: As for Backwards Compatibility, I think Far Cry 3 Classic Edition makes my point:

 

 

The 360 Version on XBox One looks the ssame as on the 360, wich was far from the PC Version at the Time, while the native One Version looks closer to the initial PC Version.

 

And you can assume the same for all the multi Plattform games that were available on PC as well. You'd want them on PC, if possible, because higher detail levels.

 

 

[Majinhoju]

I believe some free to play games, and of course, any subscription game like FFXIV won't require ps+ to play online.  The rest will though.

[Stefan Payne]

1 hour ago, ono said:

If you plan on playing a game that uses online features, even for a game that's largely single player like Bloodborne, then PS Plus is worth it. I wouldn't get it for the "free" games though. I just see that has a bonus as they typically aren't that great. Another bonus is that PS Plus sub also gives you some cloud storage for save backups.

And in some cases also some additional rebate for games.

Usualy it is between 5 or 10%. And sometimes they have a sale with double rebate for PSPlus members. 

Ie 25% for normal users and 50% for Playstation Plus.

 

1 hour ago, ono said:

PS Now is a game streaming service with a library of PS3 and PS4 games.

Not only that, also PS2 Games

https://www.playstation.com/de-de/explore/playstation-now/ps-now-games/

 

But then again, if you use Playstation now, you don't really need a Playstation 4. All you need is a Playstation 4 Controller and device wich supports the Playstation APP. Like a PC:

https://www.playstation.com/de-de/explore/playstation-now/ps-now-games/

 

But that's not cheap at ~15€/Month (Single Sub) or 100€ per Year...

1 hour ago, ono said:

This is the only way to play original (not ports) of PS3 games.

Without a Playstation 3

But a PS3 Console isn't that expensive, though more than the 360.

For a good PS3 you usually pay something between 50 and 100€.

The 360 is a bit cheaper.

 

As for Backwards Compatibility of Playstation 3 Devices:
All Playstation 3 can play Playstation One games.

But most can't do Playstation 2.

 

1 hour ago, ono said:

There is a trial for you to give it a shot. Just remember to cancel before it ends if you don't like it.

But you need, you guessed it, a Credit Card for that...

Well, at least Sony is honest and tells you that you need one at multiple points...

 

1 hour ago, ono said:

Getting a PS3, even if it isn't the ones with PS2 compatibility since you get a better digital PSN PS2 selection there.

Well, yeah. That in general isn't a bad idea.

But keep in mind that you should only use the Playstation 3 for Playstation 3 Exclusives. If there is a version of the game you want to play on other consoles or plattforms, you should prefer that. Because Multi Plattform games tend to run not that well on the PS3.

 

Sorry, but I had to add this information to you, Ono. 

I hope you don't mind.

[ono]

2 hours ago, Stefan Payne said:

But then again, if you use Playstation now, you don't really need a Playstation 4. All you need is a Playstation 4 Controller and device wich supports the Playstation APP. Like a PC:

https://www.playstation.com/de-de/explore/playstation-now/ps-now-games/

 

But that's not cheap at ~15€/Month (Single Sub) or 100€ per Year...

I forgot about PC support. There used to be TV support as well, but they pulled the plug on that, at least in my region. The trail requires a credit card, but I hear you can pay for the 1-month, 3-month, etc. passes with gift cards via funds in your wallet. Another PS Plus benefit is occasional discounts on the passes. I did a 1-monther at 50% off recently to see if it got better than when it first launched. Better selection but bad latency for someone who lives in a Pacific island far from any Sony servers. No latency and being 50% cheaper is why I prefer and sub to Xbox Game Pass. So sad physical game rentals is dead where I live.

 

I have to say my opinion of the PS4 has shot up this year. I've been down on PS4 since I didn't care for the exclusives much (not a fan of Naughty Dog's style or open world :P) and when I built my first PC last year, I thought that was the last nail in the coffin. But then God of War. First PS4 exclusive I really enjoyed (can't count last year's Persona 5 since that's on PS3 also). Then I got PSVR, taking a bit of gamble after liking my Vive room scale experience. A gamble since I didn't know if I could handle seated VR (I largely can't). I don't have the real estate for room scale and wanted a cheaper gamble as I don't have the real estate for room scale. Luckily the PSVR has some smaller standing/walking experiences (Arkham VR) and sitting games without too much sickening movement (Moss). Lastly, I just recently found my favorite PS4 game, exclusive or not, with Bloodborne. OMG I've been missing out, dismissing this game after not liking Demon's Souls. Gonna have to revisit the Souls series now, but that can be done on PC (other than Demon's).

 

Random thing I've learned from Bloodborne: I should not buy a 144Hz monitor. I almost quit on Bloodborne since it runs at 30 fps with frame pacing issues, even with PS4 Pro boost mode on. Too used to stable 60 fps now that it took half an hour with Bloodborne for my eyes/mind to adapt and see it as smooth. I guess I didn't notice with God of War since I picked performance mode that targets 60 fps, albeit not stable. It would totally suck more if 100+ fps was my standard!

[Majinhoju]

I think Xbox One X now supports over 60hz.  Up to 120hz i think?  I'm not sure what games actually run at over 60fps though.

 

I hear ya with 30fps.  I mostly game on my 144hz monitor and it seems like the quick response of the monitor makes the 30 fps much more noticeable.  When I game on my older 60hz lcd tv, it's like the slower response masks the slower framerate with blur, lol.

[Mira Yurizaki]

On 8/2/2018 at 2:39 AM, Outlooking_Chimp said:

So I am looking at the PS4 Pro with the ideal use of PSN which I believe is has similar functionality to Xbox game pass (certain games downloaded via subscription) and was wondering if this is first worth it? as this will be a primary method of playing games.

The selection is random, so it's hit or miss what you'll get. But it looks like popular titles from yesteryear crop up every so often. The caveat is that you need to maintain a PS+ account to use them. You don't lose them if you let the sub lapse, though. Also if you're diligent about sales and stuff, you can usually find a year subscription for $40-$50 so you don't necessarily have to pay $60.

 

Do note that PS+ does also give you discounts for other games as well, which the selection is also random. But at least with that, if you buy the game, it's yours regardless if you let your subscription lapse.