~Note: I type this on my Galaxy S6 Edge plus, so please excuse any possible typos that may or may not arrise~

A while back I had a few requests to make a true comparison thread on all 3 current gen consoles.  I decided to wait a year before doing so in order to further evaluate my stance on the X1.  Sorry to make you wait, but I feel the time was needed in order to be truly accurate.

First, first those that don't know me, let me tell you a little bit about myself as a gamer and where my favors tend to sway.  Rest assured however, I will not be making any bias decisions and will lable my personal opinions as such in the extent of the evaluation.

As many of you know, I support Sony more than any other platform for the most part.  This is not blind fanboyism, but mearly my personal preference.  I started as a gamer who constantly jumped back and forth between Sega and Nintendo, though my love for Sega ran out before the Dreamcast so this was a console I skipped out on.  I was not always a Playstation guy.  In fact I was a devote Ninty fanboy with my N64.  It wasn't until the release of Chrono Cross for the PS1 that I made the jump.  The following PS1 games (MGS, Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 9, Resident Evil 1,2, and 3, Wild Arms 1 and 2, etc) that actually made me change camps.  With that said I shifted with the release of the PS2 and have always enjoyed Playstation more than any other platform.  Now I could go on and on about how I tried to jump to XBox to no avail several times due to hype just to end up disappointed, but that is another discussion for another time as I can feel myself beginning to ramble off topic.

And now for the topic at hand....

First we will start with my personal favorite console of the gen, the PS4.  Infact, I will directly compare it to the X1 due  to them being so similar. The pros of the PS4 are obvious, slightly better performance and visuals on most console releases, go to platform for indies (love them or not, more is better because options are nice), and the most diverse games lineup of 2016.  Now lets take a look at the history of the console/brand exclusive games offered in the past by both consoles.  At launch, the X1 and PS4 were pretty even.  With PS4 sporting Warframe (timed), Killzone Shadowfall, Knack and resogun versus the X1 with Ryse, Forza 5, Killer Instinct, and Dead Rising 3 things were pretty equal.  However given that the X1 was the only console with a current gen racing sim at the time, I give X1 a slight nod.  The next to come to the battlefield were the two spring releases to follow.

I loved Infamous Second Son, in fact I got the plat for it which would require at least two playthroughs with one of them on Hard.  The gameplay was smooth, fun, and I really liked the overall plot (not to mention it was the best looking console title at the time visually as well).  Up against it was Titanfall.  Now I did not have an X1 at the time, but I got the digital delux edition as one of my first games when I did.  This game was fun, fresh, and I still go back to it from time to time.  HOWEVER it does get stale fast with lack of SP and basic game modes that are no different than any other shooter, even if the concept was fresh overall.  All in all, I have about 8 hours clocked on this game.  With that in mind, the PS4 gets the nod with Second Son alone.  When you factor in other full retail options like Final Fantasy 14, Last of US Remastered, and MLB The Show 2014, it only further secures the PS4 win for this time.

Now for holiday 2014...the X1 had the better line up.  It was nothing super special, but the MCC with incredible value, Sunset Overdrive, and Forza Horizon 2 was much more appealing than INITIAL RELEASE Driveclub, Littlebigplanet 3, and Guilty Gear Xrd.  Now the PS4 games offered were not bad, but not up to the same standard as what X1 offered at the time.

However this was a somewhat shallow victory in the long term.  Right into the 1st quarter of the new year came two true PS4 exclusives, while X1 had...screamride.  Now say what you want about The Order, but it kicks the crap out of screamride.  The Order was a decent game, but there just was not enough of it.  Now you can get it for 20 bucks new, and having platted it, I can say it is well worth the 20 bucks (even if 60 seemed high due to actual content offered).  What really puts the PS4 ahead here however is Bloodborne, another game I got the Plat for and the current highest rated exclusive between the two platforms.  As the year continued PS4 owners also got Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment, MLB The Show 2015, and the sleeper hit Until Dawn.  For the first 3/4 of the year, PS4 had it locked down with no real competition at all.  The X1 has rare replay, which is a great value, but it failed to really offer ANYTHING new.

Now for the most recent controversy in the clash of opinions...holiday 2015.  The X1 came out STRONG with Halo 5, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears Remastered, and Forza 6.  Big names I know, but there are some catches here.  Halo 5 sported a short campaign leaving the multiplayer to carry the game (now people will say that the multi is what matters, but most fans wanted more from the SP).  Good game, but left something to he desired.  RotTR was fantastic, but it is timed and will make its way to the PS4 next year (likely with DLC included).  No one is going to buy an X1 for this game alone if they have a PS4.  Forza 6 is basically a reskin of 5 with prettier graphics, but this was to be expected.

Now on the PS4 side we had Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection (Gears had a bigger graphical overhaul while this collection offered much more content), Tales of Zesteria, Dragon Quest Heros, Sword Art Online Lost Song, Disgaea 5, and I am giving honorable mention to Driveclub PATCHED.  Driveclub is a game that has become a success against all odds from the initial release, through dev support that has only been matched by CD Project Red.  They Fked up, but they owned that fk up and made it into something great.  Many will say it is better than Forza 6 after having played both, however I will leave that as a toss up to opinion due to differing gameplay elements.  Now here is where it gets tricky, I have played RotTR and Halo 5, but neither have hooked me.  However I find myself going to Tales of Zesteria and Dragon Quest Heros (60 plus hours in both ) with both of the X1 big hitters sitting right there in front of me.  I don't care which combo is more popular, I care about good games.  They are all 4 on par with each other in their own respect.  I can acknowledge the quality of RotTR and Halo 5, but I cannot bring myself to follow a clueless media that they are better than Zesteria or Dragon Quest Heros.  Having bought ALL exclusives for BOTH consoles, but play MUCH MORE with my PS4 titles, I will be calling this a draw based on personal preference.  There are other Japanese games available on the PS4 as well for the holiday, including the best turn based strategy game available on current gen consoles in Disgaea 5.  But these all cater a different audience than the X1 offerings, so I will not be using this to put things in favor of the PS4.  So again, holiday 2016 is a DRAW based on personal taste.

2016 looks to be a year for gamers  in general.  On the X1 side of things we have Quantum Break coming at the end if the first quarter.  Later on should be Recore, Gears 4, Halo Wars 2, and probably another Forza Horizon game.  If these are the titles that interest you, the X1 is not a bad console to snatch up.  However so far it looks like the PS4 will take the win for most to look forward to this year.  With SFV right around the corner and Uncharted 4 soon to follow, Sony is already shaking things up.  Throw in later releases like Horizon Zero Dawn, Gravity Rush 2, Nier 2, a new Valkyria Chronicles game, Tales of Berseria, Persona 5, Ratchet and Clank, and The Last Guardian, it becomes clear that the PS4 has more to offer with something for just about everyone.  And if you factor in every retail Japanese game coming to the west, the X1 line up does not even come close.

Now lets look at UI and features.  I am not a fan of the X1s UI.  It is even harder to navigate than the previous one and just seems bland to me.  Overall the PS4 offers a much faster and more smooth experience overall.  Everything is right there and it is easy to find what you are looking for.  Also install times on PS4 are still WAY faster than the X1.  UI goes to the PS4.  Now multi media functionality is another story.  Hooking your cable through the X1 has many benefits in of itself such as screen in screen and controling your TV through voice commands.  I have not done this however because it seems like nothing more than a gimmik that most smart TVs can already do, but for the sake of the X1 I will assume it works as advertised.  Other than that they are pretty similar however.  Both have a means if streaming music, playing MP3s, cloud storage for photos and video through whatever service they are using, and many media based apps for TV.  However it is worth noting that while the PS4 has more than enough apps to satisfy TV related needs and continues to grow, the X1 offers more in this department as of this point in time.  There is also PS Vue, but it is still in early stages and not available everywhere.  The PS4 does make a good multimedia machine overall, but the X1 does it better here.

Now for gaming features.  Really the only advantage the X1 has is BC, which is great and a huge plus.  This is something I feel Sony is dropping the ball with as MS method of doing it could easily be done the same way with PS2 classics or even use of PS Now for PS3 games you own.  Sadly for PS4 owners however, this is not the case.  What the PS4 does have however more than makes up for it though.  Remote play with the Vita is a godsend for parents with young kids for example.  The X1 can also do something like remote play by way of game streaming through Win10 as well, so they are evenly matched as far as that is concerned.  Shareplay is fantastic and works very well for what it is meant to do.  This type of feature however is not available on the X1.  Furthermore you have Now which offers a huge library for full PS3 game streaming, and it works quite well if you want to play some PS3 games you missed out on.  While both can take screenshots and record videos, I find the PS4 to offer a more smooth implementation by use of the share button.  Both can stream and suspend gameplay as well as the other.  All in all, where the X1 shines in multimedia, the PS4 shines in features actually made for gamers overall mainly due to shareplay and the near future implementation of VR taken into consideration.

Now for the WiiU.  This was separate from the other two because it can't compare to the other two.  It is a Nintendo console that plays Nintendo games, that is it.  For some, like my wife, this is more than enough and actually a preference.  For most, like myself, it just is not enough.  I don't see Nintendo going anywhere anytime soon, but they will never be back on top either.  They will make enough to get by and be healthy, and that is fine.  I can't give them an advantage in exclusive games either because for every exclusive title they have, there are 5 multiplat titles that they do not.  You either like their games or you don't, and that is about it.  Not a great place to be, but they are not doomed by any means.  Even their pluses come at a cost.  For example free online at the cost of the community features found on the X1 and PS4.  One thing worth mentioning though is that the game pad offers the same benefits as remote play out of the box for local sessions, which is nice.  I expect the NX to be similar, but much more portable in a sense.  How they will do that, I don't know.  In the end the WiiU is the perfect side console.  It has many great games not found on the other two, but lacks the sheer numbers and variety of the other two to truely be a good primary console (unless you are like my wife and prefer them so much that it doesn't matter)

So there you have it...

PS4 is the best game console with the biggest and most  diverse game library this gen that can also do multimedia...

X1 is the best multimedia console that also offers some great games as well...

The WiiU is a console that plays Nintendo games and is the perfect SIDE console...nothing more...nothing less...

I am out of time so I will cover predictions of the future another day.  I hope you found this a good read and look forward to reading any comments you may have.

Wow not one reply? I somehow thought this thread would do a little better than this lol

1. Too much text

2. Too little WiiU

3. The PS4 has already won

1. Was afraid of that.

2. Thats all there really is to say about it 

3. Fair enough, but this is not a comparison of sales but a comparison of quality and overall experience.

Well quality wise when it comes to games I would say the WiiU is way ahead overall, but that doesnt mean anything to anyone except me. You gave your opinion on the matter, but theres really nothing to discuss here. We cant say you are right or wrong, since its based on your experience.  

I just wanted to say that I'm a little impressed that you "typed" all that on a phone. That would be torture for me.

Their is something I really want Sony and MS to start with and would mean a lot. Basically the ability to play every game that you bought on the next consoles atleast digitally. We are living in a world where is possible for PC's but now also with smartphones, it is time that consoles should follow. I only see a win-win situation and don't see why someone should be against it. Imagine if you buy a PS5 and you can play the games you bought on PS4 aswell for gamers it is great especially the ones that didn't own a PS4 and for Sony/publishers it would raise their income.

If sony would announce it today that I can buy digitally ps3 games and play them on PS4 I would go to the store and get a bunch of PSN cards to buy games. Sure I could buy a second hand 100 Euro PS3 but that is 100 euro lost for me and for Sony/Publishers.

And that is your opinion.  As I said, their are people out there like you and my wife that only like Nintendo games.  However it would still be a better side console for most as most gamers want more than what Nintendo has to offer and with little 3rd party support, they cannot compete.  If this was not a fact this gen would have gone very differently as a whole.

I dont only like Nintendo games. All I said is that I think the WiiU has more quality titles than any other console as of now.

This I agree with 100%.  Digital purchases should be carried over from console to console and just consider that part of the PSN or XBL service as a whole.  It boggles my mind how this has not happend, even if the physical disks cannot be played.  And even then, the X1 has shown how digital can be used to give value to old physical purchases as well.

I know it is all about the money, but the amount of support that would be gained from this could be much better long term IMO.  So much wasted potential.