Although at this point the PlayStation 4 Pro is a better buy than the Xbox One X, that doesn’t mean Microsoft doesn’t do a better job than Sony in a number of aspects. The Xbox brand is not dead by any means and they beat Sony in some key areas. While previously we talked about how the Xbox One is in trouble at the moment, we’re going to focus here on what they do right. They have every chance to make a huge comeback, and they have the infrastructure to do it. It’s just a question of when they will.
Backwards Compatibility
This is one of the biggest things that the Xbox One has going for it that the PlayStation 4 doesn’t. The Xbox has the ability to play some of the best games the 360 had to offer (which was a superior console to the PlayStation 3, despite sales). All of your previous DLC also transfers over, which is wonderful. You don’t have to pay again. You can still play online. These games include hits like the Mass Effect Trilogy, Gears of War games, Lost Odyssey (one of my favorites), Halo 3 &4 and the Halo 1 remaster, and one of the greatest games of all time, Red Dead Redemption. There are currently 452 games that are backwards compatible on the Xbox One, including a select few original Xbox games, like Knights of the Old Republic(!).
What’s even better is you don’t even need to have the original versions; you can buy them on the Xbox Store (360 games included). There are six Xbox One X enhanced games as well, including Gears of War 3 and Fallout 3.
Another really cool thing is that compatible games that were bought on the Xbox Store from the 360 carry over to your Xbox One. I was surprised to see The Walking Dead Season One and The Walking Dead Season 2 sitting there waiting to be installed in my list of games, but there they were. Given how extensive the PlayStation library is, it’s a shame you can’t do the same.
Cross-Console Play
The Xbox One allows players on PC and the Xbox One to play with each other in games such as Rocket League, Minecraft, Gears of War, and other titles. The infrastructure is there to allow cross-play between the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, Sony just won’t allow it. According to Microsoft, “We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into our united ecosystem as well.” Microsoft has said that if Sony removed their blocks, “would be up and running in less than an hour all over the world.” There’s no reason this should not happen.
The ironic thing? Nintendo, of all companies, who is lauded as the most stubborn gaming company in the world, has cross-play on Rocket League with PC and the Xbox One on the Nintendo Switch. Sony went on about protecting children, but Nintendo is the most protective and family-friendly company there is. It’s a joke Sony won’t allow this and if Microsoft and Nintendo can form an alliance with cross-play going forward in the future, they could severely damage Sony’s credibility.
Xbox One Dashboard, Controller, and Xbox Live
Sony’s online service were subpar compared to Xbox Live on the PlayStation 3, and although it’s better now, Xbox Live is still king. Avatars are awesome and the dashboard is superior to the PlayStation 4. Achievements are way better than trophies with your gamerscore, which feels like the standard in the industry. Allowing players to make their Xbox home background based on their achievements is one of the best ideas Microsoft came up with for the Xbox One. There’s also the fact that the Xbox One controller (based off of the 360 controller) is still the industry standard. Essentially all PC games give you the option of using a 360 or XB1 controller instead of the keyboard/mouse if you prefer. Comparing the two, the PlayStation 4’s controller just doesn’t feel right. The triggers never feel quite right.
Nintendo has even based their Pro controller for both the Wii U and the Nintendo Switch off of the Xbox One controller. It’s very well made and does compare in terms of quality, although it doesn’t quite top it. It has a battery life of up to 40 hours which is fantastic. The Xbox One still uses standard batteries if you don’t have a battery pack, which is okay, but at least it’s not the PlayStation 4’s controller, which has maybe eight hours of battery life. I personally have rechargeable AA batteries and a pack of Duracells from Costco that have lasted me over a year, so it’s not a huge issue for the Xbox One.
Given the fact that the controller is so much better, it makes playing third-party games so much more enjoyable. This is why I play all my third-party games on the Xbox One, especially competitive ones like Overwatch or Call of Duty: WWII (only Call of Duty as of late I enjoy). In fact, I requested the Xbox One version of WWII from Activision for this very reason.
They Can Easily Do It
I still believe the Xbox One X needs more exclusives to differentiate themselves from other consoles and they need games fully optimized for tthe X. That will happen. I still think they need to get into VR as soon as possible to compete (and VR is not just something applicable to gaming). But it is not all “doom and gloom” for Microsoft and the Xbox One like some PlayStation 4 fans would have you believe.
Microsoft has all the infrastructure to turn this around, and I believe they will. The Switch is more of a threat to Sony than Microsoft, as the Xbox is an American console with an appeal to a very different audience. If the Switch overtakes the Xbox One in sales, and it probably will by next year, the system will be in serious trouble.
Hopefully, Microsoft will pull it together (I expect they will), starting with Halo 5 and Gears of War 5; one of the two must come out next year or their woes will continue.