GAMING NEWS, FACTS AND GAMING FAMILY

The next generation of game systems is here. Microsoft has announced the Xbox One, Sony has announced the PlayStation 4. There's still a lot we don't know about the upcoming consoles, but enough details have come out that we can get a clear picture of what the newest generation of game systems will offer.

Hardware
AMD has pulled off a coup this console generation, with its GPUs powering all three major game systems. The Wii U already has an AMD Radeon "Latte" graphics processor, and both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will have AMD chips under their hood. The PS4 has an eight-core x86-64 AMD "Jaguar" CPU and an AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next engine GPU, both of which sit on one custom chip. Microsoft is less open about its hardware, but it's been very clear AMD is the main partner it worked with to develop the Xbox One's 8-core custom CPU.

Regardless, the question of which CPU and GPU are "faster" will likely remain a continuous discussion—not unlike what we saw with the Xbox 360 and PS3's processors. Different architectures and operating systems mean benchmarking the two consoles is effectively impossible, and like all game consoles, the Xbox One and PS4's graphical prowess will only be as good as developers can coax out of it. Expect graphics performance to stay neck and neck between the two systems for the start of this generation.

Both systems will pack 8GB of RAM, a modest amount for gaming computers, but four times the amount of RAM on the Wii U and 16 times the amount of RAM on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Of course, the amount of RAM isn't the only factor. The PS4 will GDDR5 RAM while the Xbox One will use the more common and slower DDR3 RAM (the same kind found on the Wii U). According to an interview between Game Informer and Microsoft's Marc Whitten, the Xbox One will use around 3GB of its RAM for its operating system and apps, while reports estimate the PS4's OS RAM use at around 1GB. This puts the PS4 firmly ahead of the Xbox One in the memory department.

For storage, Sony is being vague, likely to leave room for multiple version of the PS4. However, it's doubtful the system will have less than a 320GB hard drive, the current high end of the PS3. The Xbox One, meanwhile, will have a confirmed 500GB internal hard drive for storage, which could prove anemic when the system requires a full hard drive installation of all games. Fortunately, both systems support USB 3.0 external storage, so you can hook up an extra hard drive if either system's internal drives begin to get tight on free space.

Online Services
Sony has been quiet about its online features besides sharing gameplay footage, but Microsoft has put Xbox Live at the center of the Xbox One. Xbox Live on the Xbox One will support cloud-based computing to enable persistent worlds in future games, and the system will have robust progress suspension and resuming features when you need to interrupt the action with a movie or an errand. However, Xbox Live will be so integrated into the Xbox One that an Internet connection will be required for games to function. Microsoft has not been clear about how online features will be required in each game, but a regular online check for the validity of a game license will be used—which is already reminding many gamers of EA's catastrophic SimCity launch and online requirements.

Sony has said even less about its online services, and measures like online digital rights management have not been announced. Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida has said that always-on digital rights management was never considered, and that the system would not require an online connection for users who do not have robust Internet access. But the exact details about how PlayStation Network and other online features will integrate into the PlayStation 4 have yet to be revealed.

For more Information, visit the Links Below.

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/console

http://www.ign.com/wikis/xbox-one/PS4_vs._Xbox_One_vs._Wii_U_Comparison_Chart