My degree was in computer science and I've worked in IT for 10 years.  I could care less about a tech pissing contest, that's just to give myself some credibility.  This thread doesn't need to be highjacked with a back and forth about tech specifics nobody else may care about, so I'll just throw a broad response.  We can peacefully agree to disagree or share some common ground, either is fine with me, but let's not do a back and forth "I know more about tech than you" discussion.  That's not productive.

The bandwidth of GDDR5 memory is much higher than DDR3 (176 GB/s versus 68.3 GB/s).  Crysis 3 on the PC only requires 4gb of DDR3 RAM because they're not going to build to require specs so high to make it inaccessible to gamers who might not pour thousands into their PCs for gaming--it's still a business.  When you have more, more objects can be instantiated in memory.  When it's faster, those objects can load faster and be more complex without compromising the performance of the game.

There are too many factors to consider when comparing PC versus console gaming.  On a dedicated console, you have a generally minimal OS--though Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have different approaches here--and a static set of specs to develop for.  When putting out that PS4, XBox One, or WiiU game, you know exactly what that person is going to have and can really max it out.  First party developers always do this, but for third parties, it's usually which system they'd rather develop for gets the best version, the others get ports.  As for which console developers would rather develop for?  Developers have already showed support for Sony's approach such as the Super Stardust team:

"These include obvious as the graphics display with higher resolution textures or more sampling and filtering for visual effects - such as volumetric lighting and global illumination in real-time," he said. "Also processor cores and CUs use the same memory - calculation results can thus be easily shared between them. This will make it easier to distribute some demanding calculations from the processor to the CUs."

Source: http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/15259/article/super-stardust-dev-ps4-s-gddr5-is-an-advantage-over-xbox-one/

Or we could ask a developer of Crysis 3 (Tiago Sousa):

"8 GB unified mem as baseline for next tech iterations makes me very, very happy. Fun times coming ^_^"

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/crysis-3-developer-responds-to-ps4-s-inclusion-of-8-gb-gddr5-ram

I'm not saying it decides the next console generation.  I'm saying you can't deny it's faster, and if utilized properly, could make a big difference.

The other big factor will be how much memory each OS requires.  Last rumor I heard was 1 GB for PS4's OS and 3 GB for that of XBox One.

I just want to share a little even that just happened with one of my friends. Myself and him are 32 years of age and he has a son who is 7. We texted back and forth and this is the gist of our conversation.

Me: The new Xbox is going to be $499
Him: Is it supposed to be good?
Me: Yeah, a lot of new games announced.
Him: Does it play 360 games?
Me. No
Him: That's bullshit! It better have Halo.
Me: They announced Halo and it is coming out Fall of 2014.
Him: That sucks. I'll probably get one around Christmas.
Me: It comes with Kinect so your son would probably like that.
Him: Yep. I'll get one at Christmas.

He basically introduced me to Halo. I had a PS2 and he had the original Xbox back in the day and myself, him and two other friends would play hours of split screen Halo. He is probably what you consider a casual gamer because he only plays Halo and sports titles. He doesn't play COD or any modern shooters. He has never had a Playstation system and he doesn't want one. He has no idea about the now defunct DRM policy. The thing is he isn't the only one like this. There are a lot of people who will go to the store when the system is out and see a new Xbox and buy it because it is new. They won't know about the shitstorm that was taking place in the past. It is impossible to pick a winner of a console generation already. I know everyone likes to talk sales but we won't know who will win until many years from now.
The voices online are a minority. It's a casual market out there.

I agree with most things you've said except the conclusion. The Xbox One won't dominate in any market, especially not in the UK where it is much more expensive than the PS4. Also, the PS4 being $100 cheaper will give it a huge advantage. Of course if Microsoft drops the Xbox 1's price below the PS4, then I could see the Xbox One winning North America but no other market.

weren't you one of the guys defending the DRM till the end and blaming all the whining on Sony fans. ''Huh. Interesting how someones core principles can change in an instant''

what about games,i think microsoft will pump more money into exclusive games this time round which can only help sales too

Oh, I'm with you on that.  Soccer moms and people who don't frequent video game forums will go "oh, it's the new one, okay" and buy it.  You'll also have some that just by default buy the one that's cheaper, the consumer that's swayed by the store employee, and you absolutely have people who have no idea that Call of Duty is on PlayStation too.

LOL, it's actually frustrating as a hardcore gamer being in a store and hearing employee BS and just shaking your head.  I've actually chimed in before, but that's typically frowned upon by the store employee.

Back on topic...having name recognition actually helps XBox immensly, you're right.  In pop culture for the longest time, the uninformed said "playing Nintendo" referring to playing any video game.  Then it was "playing PlayStation", now it's "playing XBox" (in the US).  I'm not saying that overnight the casual, uninformed consumer is going to jump camp to XBox.  What I am saying is...(opinions, not necessarily fact unless cited)

• PS4's memory is faster (fact) and their overall hardware design is more geared towards gaming (my opinion based on facts)
• PS4 will be the console of choice for third parties and [in time] this will result in better multiplats on PS4
• PS4's first party exclusive games will be better than XBox One's in both variety and quality.
• The PlayStation brand currently owns outside of the United States and will continue to do so
• The PlayStation brand will gain ground in the United States
• The PS3 has sold more than the XBox 360 worldwide despite launching a year later (fact) and it's in Sony's favor that both consoles are launching at the same time this time around
• The Dualshock 4 may not become the favorite controller, but will be seen more favorably than the Dualshock 3
• PSN's offerings will continue to improve.

Some of these are vague, others pure opinion, but the bottom line is that I don't currently see a market will the XBox will gain ground, but I see areas where PlayStation will.  It may be gradual and you always have uninformed consumers, but I see the uninformed saying "playing PlayStation" again in a few years.

If they're pumping money into developing quality first party studios, long term success.  If they're pumping money into paying off third parties for timed or XBox-only exclusives, short term success.

Do you know that data streaming has not been a major  issue for game coders  for quite some time?

a bit of both i'd imagine,balance is the key to everything

The damage is done. You people who luv xbox i'm happy for ya. I'm just glad I have stayed with sony. Through all the up's downs sony has never ever said anything close to what Microsoft crapped out in may and e3. I would not trust them and really have never trusted or liked Microsoft. They are a monopoly they have there good points but also a lot of bad. You want to give the cow more money go ahead. They will suck the life out your wallets sooner or later! Life is bad enough but what this company is trying to do with its customers goes way beyond greed. It borders on insanity when a company that rich is trying to muscle it's own customers out of even more money. I guarantee you they will just figure another way to get those fees out of it's customers in a different manner!