Serious Question: Why would anyone buy an XBONE over a PS4?

[bikingjahuty]

To preface, no, this is not a flaming thread where I want people to spew vitriol for the XBONE. I actually want to know people's reasoning for deciding to drop hundreds of dollars on an XBONE over a PS4.


So I currently own 4 XBONE games despite not owning the actual console to play them on. It has been my intention to someday buy an XBOX One so I can play these games and any other exclusives that I want to pick up at some point. However, two questions remained; how many more XBONE games are there that I'd actually be interested in playing and also how much money would I be willing to pay for an XBONE console someday? The answer to the first question shocked me.


I went into my XBONE collecting prospects with fairly low expectations; I know the console didn't have a lot of exclusives, but I at least expected it to be somewhat on par with the 360 in terms of your standard first party exclusives and then about 30 or so third party exclusives that were worth checking out. Including the 4 XBONE games I currently own (one of which is a multiplat), there are only 13 XBONE games I have any desire to ever own...


Keep in mind none of the Gears games are included in this since Gears has never appealed to me, and only Forza 7 is included from that franchise, but even with all that factored in I have to guess that less than 2% of the XBONE's entire game library are actual console exclusives. I am of course completely ignoring the fact that many of the XBONE's "exclusives" are on the PC as well, but I will give the XBONE the benefit of the doubt here. Factoring in all of this, my top dollar on an XBONE is probably $50, I am completely serious. There is such a profound lack of incentive to own one that I legitimately cannot understand why anyone would buy one over a PS4, or hell even a PC right now.


Beyond the obvious that some people are huge Halo, Gears, and/or Forza fans, why the hell would anyone buy one over the PS4? Would especially be interested to hear from people on here who prefer the XBONE.

[kamikazekeeg]

I know people like the backwards compatibility of it and that the game pass is a pretty good for gaming with all the available games it has.  That's mostly the notable aspect of the Xbone.  Otherwise the PS4 has a lot more big exclusive games.  I own a PC and PS4, there's almost nothing the Xbone has that I would need, other than Rare Replay, but I still think that'll come to PC or even Switch in the future lol

[courtlyhades296]

I only bought it for a way to play 4K Blu-Rays.

[aliensstudios]

As someone who was never sold on Xbox, even during the 360's heyday, I find it almost unbelievable that the Xbox One has even competed today.  I won't ever say any of Microsoft's three systems weren't impressive or didn't have any good games, but at least the original system and the 360 had a lot of great exclusives. For the Xbox One, I think the only games I was slightly intrigued by was Rare Replay, Sea of Thieves, Cuphead and maybe Killer Instinct. Other than that what titles does it have that the PS4 doesn't? My older brothers both swear by the system because of it's online gaming I guess, but I don't know how anybody could prefer it over the PS4. From a collector's standpoint, the PS4 simply gets more titles on disc, whether it's something like what Limited Run Games does or just smaller budget releases, plus it's got a plethora of exclusives and big AAA titles as well. I like how it has backwards compatibility because although I don't own many Xbox or 360 titles, it would be great to have one machine that could play them all, but it doesn't sound like the library of backward compatible games is all that great at the moment.

Considering Microsoft's biggest and greatest achievement in 2019 was letting Nintendo use Banjo and Kazooie for Smash Brothers, I think it'd be hard to justify owning the Xbox One, a PS4, a Switch and a Wii U, it would never get used and just collect dust on my shelf.

[weirdfeline]

Here's the current list of games that can only be played on Xbox One:

Crimson Dragon - Digital only
Forza Motorsport 5 - Annual series
Halo 5: Guardians - I believe one of the modes is on PC but the full game has yet to make it.
Powerstar Golf - Digital only
Rare Replay - Compilation of previously released games.

Dance Central Spotlight - Digital only Kinect game
Fighter Within - Kinect game (23 on Metacritic)
Fru - Digital only Kinect game
Kinect Sports Rivals - Kinect game
Shape Up - Kinect game

You've got to be kidding yourself if you don't see the value!!

[afroyoshi]

The only reason I bought the Xbox One over the PS4 when it first came out was simply to play Sunset Overdrive.

[kamikazekeeg]

Here's the current list of games that can only be played on Xbox One:

Crimson Dragon - Digital only
Forza Motorsport 5 - Annual series
Halo 5: Guardians - I believe one of the modes is on PC but the full game has yet to make it.
Powerstar Golf - Digital only
Rare Replay - Compilation of previously released games.

Dance Central Spotlight - Digital only Kinect game
Fighter Within - Kinect game (23 on Metacritic)
Fru - Digital only Kinect game
Kinect Sports Rivals - Kinect game
Shape Up - Kinect game

You've got to be kidding yourself if you don't see the value!!

Powerstar Golf or Bloodborne...I know what we'll all pick...

[pacgamer89]

I bought one because i already had a ps4 and a switch and i really love State Of Decay. I know State Of Decay can be played on pc but honestly last i played it on pc, it was a terrible mess and difficult to play. im going to keep buying xbone exclusives i want to play and some games on xbone that feel weird playing on any other system than a xbox and some games here and there to save room on my ps4.

[NickAwesome]

I greatly favor PS4 over xbone but I will admit that game pass has gotten me to play my xbone quite a bit more recently.  I was able to convert my existing live membership to add a free year of game pass and it's pretty fun having access to hundreds of games.  I've been playing Outer Wilds, Descenders and a few others and really enjoying them. 

With a little shopping around, you should be able to find a xbox one on the local marketplace for $100, for that price, I think it's totally worth it.  Are there a lot of exclusives, nope, but I think it's better than what a lot of people give it credit for. 

With that said, I don't think there is any rational reason to buy an xbone over a ps4 unless you REALLY like game pass.  I think gamers should own both.   Also Games with Gold is better than Playstation Plus free games usually. 

[Cartagia]

I greatly favor PS4 over xbone but I will admit that game pass has gotten me to play my xbone quite a bit more recently.  I was able to convert my existing live membership to add a free year of game pass and it's pretty fun having access to hundreds of games.  I've been playing Outer Wilds, Descenders and a few others and really enjoying them. 
[...]
With that said, I don't think there is any rational reason to buy an xbone over a ps4 unless you REALLY like game pass.  I think gamers should own both.

All of this, plus the few exclusives.  I’m definitely PS4 over the XB1 in general, but Game Pass has got me spending more time of that console.  But over the PS4?  Nah.

[emporerdragon]

The controller is one of the biggest reasons for me. The dualshock, in all its iterations from the PS1 onwards, have always been extremely uncomfortable in my hands. The Xbox controllers on the other hand, just feel right; I can use them for hours straight with little to no issue.

I do also find the One performs better in a side-by-side comparison with the games I have played on both systems. The PS4 does look a bit better, but the One feels more stable and consistent.

Another minor thing is achievements. While Playstation does have trophies (now), they just don't feel as valuable as Gamerscore. I can't exactly quantify it, but it does make me prefer to play a multiplatform on the Xbox over the Playstation or Switch.

[oldgamerz]

Here's the current list of games that can only be played on Xbox One:

Crimson Dragon - Digital only
Forza Motorsport 5 - Annual series
Halo 5: Guardians - I believe one of the modes is on PC but the full game has yet to make it.
Powerstar Golf - Digital only
Rare Replay - Compilation of previously released games.

Dance Central Spotlight - Digital only Kinect game
Fighter Within - Kinect game (23 on Metacritic)
Fru - Digital only Kinect game
Kinect Sports Rivals - Kinect game
Shape Up - Kinect game

You've got to be kidding yourself if you don't see the value!!

also there is an exclusive Xbox One  different game series called Halo Wars 2. If  I could afford a PS4 and a Xbox One I would buy both . The main reason why I would also get an Xbox One is because it is mostly backwards compatible and besides I have 2 Xbox One games but no PS4 games.

Powerstar Golf or Bloodborne...I know what we'll all pick...

LOL hey Golf is still kinda fun if you can't do it for real, why not play a video game

[wartoy]

I do use the X box one more than my ps4 in fact yesterday was the first time I turned on my ps4 in over a year.I still like my ps4 but not to fond of the controller, I recently bought a controller styled after the x box controller so thats no longer a issue.Thier are more exclusives on x box than pepole give it credit for. I know it's not even close to the tons of exclusive titles on ps4 but just saying.I do prefer achivements over trophys even though that's not a big deal. Also the dashbord seems easier to navigate for me.Backwards compatibility is also a strong point for the x box it's realy just depends on what you prefer both systems are great.

[Cartagia]

Here's the current list of games that can only be played on Xbox One:

Crimson Dragon - Digital only
Forza Motorsport 5 - Annual series
Halo 5: Guardians - I believe one of the modes is on PC but the full game has yet to make it.
Powerstar Golf - Digital only
Rare Replay - Compilation of previously released games.

Dance Central Spotlight - Digital only Kinect game
Fighter Within - Kinect game (23 on Metacritic)
Fru - Digital only Kinect game
Kinect Sports Rivals - Kinect game
Shape Up - Kinect game

You've got to be kidding yourself if you don't see the value!!

also there is an exclusive Xbox One  different game series called Halo Wars 2. If  I could afford a PS4 and a Xbox One I would buy both . The main reason why I would also get an Xbox One is because it is mostly backwards compatible and besides I have 2 Xbox One games but no PS4 games.

Reread the post - weirdfeline says that the XB1 is the only way to play those games, not that they are console exclusives.  Every other game is also playable on PC, and that includes Halo Wars.

[bikingjahuty]

I own a PC and PS4, there's almost nothing the Xbone has that I would need, other than Rare Replay, but I still think that'll come to PC or even Switch in the future lol

If Rare Replay does get a physical release on the Switch there is a real chance I might scrap my ambitions of eventually buying a XBONE console. That compilation is at least half the reason why I want an XBONE even though most of the games are readily available on other consoles, albeit not in HD for the most part.