FACEOFF: Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 at E3

Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s Playstation 4 consoles’ comparison

Sony came out on top on the first day of Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Media and Entertainment Summit – the gaming industry’s annual US trade show, not by showing off a more impressive line-up of games, but by answering a few simple questions the right way

After being criticized last month that the Xbox One launch was skewed for entertainment rather than gaming, Microsoft was first to take the stage for their handful of updates including the next Halo franchise which is due next year and some titles that are exclusive to Xbox One. Xbox One will be available this November for $499. Microsoft also announced a new, slimmer version of Xbox 360 that went on sale today.

And then there’s Sony with their impressive press conference, both in terms games and hardware for their Playstation 4. While Microsoft certainly wins the number of game titles exclusive to them, Sony, otherwise, immediately won the hearts of the audience with their thunderous applause when they announced the market price for their next generation Playstation 4, which will sell for $399, a $100-dollars cheaper than the Xbox One. And to further hurt Microsoft, Sony announced that it won’t require offline gamer to “check in” online periodically and it won’t stop working if you haven’t authenticated in 24 hours. They will also impose no restrictions on DRM (Digital Rights Management) for used games, something that Microsoft has been largely criticized of.

We won’t see the “real” winner in this console battle until we see the sales figure later this year / early next year but people from Sony will definitely have a good night sleep. And of course, the show wouldn’t be complete without some live presentation hiccups *grin*. Head past break for the full presentations for both Microsoft and Sony.

Microsoft’s Xbox One Full Press Conference at E3