Xbox One controversy reaches its climax as Sony twists the knife
If a quick poll around the
Verge newsroom is any indication, things are looking up for Sony. The PlayStation 4, while perhaps a more conventional product, appears to beat the Xbox One in just about every area that counts.
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The company [Microsoft] may have reached too far. The demand for the Xbox One's new software features — like Skype video calls on the side of your screen while you're watching live TV — is unproven, and yet Microsoft is asking a mainstream audience to pay five times the price of an Apple TV. Without much focus on its media functionality, the PS3 quietly became the
most popular device for Netflix streaming last year. The PS4 will offer at least as many options, and that might be enough for most prospective buyers.
Even with the US success of the Xbox 360, Microsoft will have a much tougher sell on its hands this time around. The advantages of the Xbox One are less clear to the type of customer that lays out several hundred dollars on a video game console. The 360 built its lead and won all-important early adopters with a reasonable price, gamer-friendly features, and a steady stream of core titles that often looked better than their PlayStation 3 counterparts. But when both next-generation systems see release this holiday season, those same early adopters may well find more to like in the PlayStation 4.