I plan to buy a PS4 rather this year or next year. Ever since the PS2 and GameCube days, I always had a traditional console combo. Sony and Nintendo exclusives.

But now that the PS4 requires PS+ to play online, I'll pretty much be buying an Xbox One minus the kinect. Has it came to the point where these consoles are truly identical except the exclusives and that what sort of annoyed me about this generation of consoles, too much of the same. I can understand its good to have the option to buy a certain on the console of your choice, but for some reason this bug the hell out of me.

IGN Game Scoop

http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/06/20/game-scoop-if-we-could-only-get-one-next-gen-system

huh?

Yup, they will be essentially the same minus exclusives, except one has a high tech camera attached. Whether or it it is worth that extra $100 is up to you.

Arcturus: I'm aware the full year subscription of PS + is 10 dollars cheaper and better value.

What I mean is that Xbox have Xbox Live and Playstation have PS Plus, both service look pretty similar on paper.

The ps4 doesn't cost $400, that much is clear. You pay for PS+ to subsidize the cost of the actual console. If sony had said the system was $600, we would all be bickering. Even if online MP was free, most of us would be complaining but it is actually cheaper that way. Remember ps3's launch?

If you don't like the ps4/X1 direction, get a Wii U but I'm pretty sure Ninty will probably charge for online after wii U as well after seeing both M$ and Sony pull it off. Right now, part of the reason they can't charge is that their network is still in what's essentially "beta" from what I hear and there isn't much to convince people to even pay to play online.

If you don't like consoles just because of this, get a PC but I promise, that platform has it's own problems.

There's no perfect system, you get what best suits your needs. If you want perfection, you'd best start finding a different hobby.

How can they charge for online multiplayer they don't have?

Sorry, I misread what you had originally written. I thought it said "Now that PS4 requires PS+ to play online, I'll be buying an Xbox One minus the Kinect.", lol

I was talking about the near future when they do get games that have an online MP component

minus the kinect?

Well, granted that you have a sly avatar I would hope that you already have a ps3 and ps+, so that part is out of the way, if not, then your first difference is clear.
1. Lots of free games on ps3/vita/exclusive ps4 access
Another difference would be the games.
2. PS4 has a strong lineup, though probably not as strong as xb1, but also is backed by every major indie dev and through self publishing, will see more and more unique content that isn't blockbuster fps games. Sony has also stayed consistent with its publishing through the ps3 years, and while their big titles sell slightly less, they have a bigger catalog. So this one is 'blockbuster AAA games' vs 'a few less blockbuster AAA games and a lot more variety'.
Another difference is in the camera
3. Kinect 2 vs optional psEye3.0. Both will likely function similarly.
Price.
4. 400$ vs $500. and the difference in multiplayer cost over the gen is roughly a brand new game.
Another difference is the controller
6. Trackpad and share button vs rumble triggers.
This is really just your call. Easy functionality and new control mechanism as opposed to new feedback.
A lot of other things are going to be the same:
Cross chat
Tablet devices coming out
Cloud and streaming access
Media stuff like Hulu, netflix
Used games
Digital Sharing
Video upload (sharing)

The only other difference is what the consoles look like and their relative size.