It's fine to be down on the Xbox One. I'm down on it. Most of the people I know who are into games are down on it. Microsoft followed one of the best consoles of all time with an underpowered, overpriced, oversized box that lost out to the PS4 from before day one. I wouldn't recommend anyone buy an Xbox One over a PS4. The PS4 has more games and it runs multi-platform games better. It is, quite rightly, the default console to own this generation.
But I think it's now worth owning an Xbox One too.
If you're already starting to type something along the lines of, 'Just buy a PC,' fine, you have raised a wonderful point no one else has ever considered before. Give yourself a pat on the back and consider your job overseeing comments threads on the internet done for the day. The fact is, though, that PCs are more expensive and often a massive chore to use. I used to play PC games all the time, upgraded my machine all the time, and spent ages tweaking settings all the time. I've got a degree in Software Engineering and even I can't stand the bloody things. Consoles make playing games easier, so the PC argument just doesn't cut it for most people.
Anyway, take a look at the list at the bottom of the page. You'll find a selection of games out now or coming in the next year that aren't currently available on the PS4. These are good games: in fact some are really, really good. Some are actually game of the year material. I can honestly say that I've enjoyed Ori and the Blind Forest, Halo 5 and Rise of the Tomb Raider more than any other games this year. Even though I'm playing them on a console that isn't as powerful as I wanted it to be.
I play all multi-platform games on PS4, but since buying the Xbox One last Christmas I feel happier about games in general. I'm no longer looking enviously at the Xbox One line-up. I can pick and choose exactly what I want to buy and play, and look forward to what seems like the most diverse Xbox lineup ever in 2016.
If you're Mr or Mrs or Ms or Lord OneConsole, you'll be fine with just the PS4. It's a great machine with loads of excellent games and a tonne coming down the line. But if you're reading this article, you're probably somewhat like me. Gaming is one of your primary pastimes. If you're into games this much, why deny yourself all the best games available? If you think Microsoft is an evil corporation desperate to exploit gamers in order to line their own pockets, then I doubt I can say anything to sway you, but the PS4 isn't made by the family run business down the street, is it.
Microsoft absolutely screwed the Xbox One, the console painted in such a negative light that even absolute gems like Rise of the Tomb Raider (a game from a huge franchise) are struggling to sell. They only have themselves to blame, but that's no reason you shouldn't enjoy some of the best games around.
Hopefully Microsoft looks back on the Xbox One as a massive misstep that it learns from, and there's already evidence this is the case: the interface has been overhauled, the price is dropping, Kinect has been binned, and talk is very much centred on games once again. After two years of stumbling, the console finally feels ready: less a hastily patched up PS4-alike shorn of its original purpose (always online, digital-focused) and lumbered with unnecessary peripherals, and more a product gamers can enjoy.
Buy an Xbox One now
Buy a PS4 now
Xbox One exclusives out now
Xbox One exclusives coming in the next year
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