Console Wars: PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One Showdown Infographic

The days until the official start of the next console generation continue to fall off the calendar and bring gamers closer to November 15 and November 22, when the PS4 and Xbox One release, respectively. Console enthusiasts who plan to pick up either (or both) may have already secured a pre-order, but plenty of gamers are still weighing the pros and cons of each system. A fair share of bad press and rumors about the Microsoft console facing pre-launch problems has given Sony fans plenty of ammo to use against the Xbox One army, but some analysts still suggest that the Xbox One has a slight edge over the PS4 – which we recently found out can’t play MP3s or upload YouTube videos – in terms of prospective sales.

Consumers still coming to a decision on which console to side with have plenty to consider. It’s undeniable that the Sony console has had a much more successful series of pre-launch press releases and announcements, while Microsoft has continued to stumble through the summer and live up to the less than flattering “Xbone” nickname. Savvy shoppers who are interested in looking beyond name-calling and getting down to a heads-up comparison of the two consoles to help make their decision have a new tool thanks to Xpango.

A detailed infographic (shown below) posted by an admin account on Xpango illustrates side-by-side comparisons of the two new consoles on everything from tech specs to online multimedia services. The infographic may weasel out of offering a decision on which console will reign supreme, but it is full of stats and information that will be useful to shoppers. Take a look…

It’s nice to see that gamers on both sides of the fence will be equipped with a powerful enough processor and enough RAM to deliver a noticable difference in performance compared to the aging current gen consoles, but the upgradable PS4 HD is a big perk for gamers that like a little extra control. 500 GB sounds like more than enough for now, but if this upcoming console life cycle is really going to last for a decade, the potential to upgrade seems like a valid selling point to us.

The infograph also bring up some good points about aesthetics and controller design. I don’t think anyone is arguing that either console is very pretty, but the PS4 is slightly less of a potential living room eyesore. We’ll reserve judgement on the controllers until we’ve put in a respectable about of hours on each, but at first glance, the Xbox 360′s offset joysticks and tried and true layout may seem more appealing, especially for shooter fans. That said, the folks at Sony do have research to support the decision to stick with the symmetrical stick layout which they believe is better.

The neck and neck nature of nearly every category will likely bring the decision down to exclusive launch titles for most consumers. Options for exciting new games aren’t quite as uncommon as they were when the Wii U launched last November, but there still aren’t enough highly-anticipated exclusives to make the choice easy. Titanfall (releasing next year) and Dead Rising 3 (a launch title) are likely to win over a fair number of buyers for Microsoft, while Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack will be the big draws for the PS4.

How are you making your decision on which console to pick up this holiday season (assuming you’re lucky enough to find one) or is it better to wait for lower prices, more games, features and potential bug fixes? Sound off in the comments.