Over the past few days, Xbox One fans have been delighted that their console finally outshines the Playstation 4 in at least one department. I’m of course referring to the streaming service, which seems to be superior on the Xbox One. Xbox One streaming done through Twitch supports resolutions of up to 1280x720p, while the Sony counterpart is only capable of doing 960x540p. Is this difference noteworthy? Definitely, for now. It’s no hidden secret the Xbox One is more multimedia oriented and focuses more on the TV aspects of the console, whereas Sony’s console relies heavily on hardware superiority and better gaming performance. Is this difference enough to tip the scale towards Microsoft’s advantage (or at least even things out sale-wise)?
Well, probably not. While Microsoft’s streaming service is better (we have to give credit where it’s due), console users are far from reliant on streams, at least for now. The most popular streams come from competitive games and PC exclusives (such as League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DayZ, etc.), and consoles have a lot of catching up to do in this regard. Not many people will boot up their Xbox One or PS4 to watch streams. Sure, the option is there, and some might enjoy this, but let’s face it, if you really want to see a high-definition Titanfall stream, you’ll just watch it in 1080p on your PC anyway. 720p is a lot better than 540p, no doubt, but then again, 1080p is far superior to 720p too, so if you want high-quality streaming, consoles won’t cater for your needs anyway.
In the grand scheme of things, Microsoft’s small victory won’t do much for the battle that will most likely last years. It’s safe to assume Sony will feel the pressure and up its game when it comes to streams, just in order to stay competitive in every aspect. Both the Xbox One and the Playstation 4 have just begun their long-lasting life-cycles, so we’re sure to expect an upgrade in Streaming quality from Sony soon. Both consoles stream at 30 FPS currently, which is perfectly for viewing anyway. And, unless you have a huge and impressive TV set in your living room, you won’t care too much about the resolution difference. Neither are 1080p, and while there is a visible difference in quality between the Xbox One streams and the Playstation 4 streams, it’s probably not enough to make a huge difference.
There’s also the point of content and games. Are players really interested in watching other players go through inFamous or Ryse? It’s doubtful. Perhaps it’s useful when you’re stuck in a certain part of the game, but let’s face it – console games often focus on the singleplayer experience, and most people don’t want to spoil their enjoyment of a game by watching others play it. There isn’t a lot of content to stream right now, and by the time there will be, both services will likely be upgraded. So does the quality in streaming affect the Playstation 4? Not really, at least not in the long-run. It’s great to see Microsoft stepping up their game, and fans of the Xbox One will be glad to have something to boast about, but overall, this difference is relatively insignificant in the long-run. Streaming on consoles hasn’t caught up to PC streaming just yet, and when it eventually will, the difference between the two consoles will most likely be hard to notice anyway.