Ever since Sony and Microsoft announced their mid-gen upgrades, the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, competition has been at an all time high. Sony took the lead earlier on by releasing the PS4 Pro back in 2016, before the Xbox One X was even unveiled. But now it seems like the tables have turned, because the Xbox One X has turned out to be more powerful than the PS4 Pro, with native 4K usually touted as being a prominent feature from the Redmond based giants.
Microsoft has gone all out with their upcoming 4K console, trying to regain all the ground they lost to the PS4. One of the Xbox One X’s features is that every single game will be downsampled. This is big news for fans that haven’t bought a 4K TV yet and are considering buying a Xbox One X. True this is a news that has been known for some time however it can be another important distinguishing feature which may further the cause of the Xbox One X as being a superior product than the PS4 Pro.
To put it simply, downsampling improves game graphics and makes it look much better. So if you were to hook your Xbox One X up to a 1080p TV, any game you played on it would look way better compared to a standard Xbox. This may not seem like much to many of you, but the difference can be startling across different games (considering many older Xbox One games run at 900p). To put it crudely despite not having a 4K TV you can still have breathtaking graphics. This is thanks to super sampling which makes the images appear smoother than a standard Xbox One on a 1080P TV screen.
This feature also gives Microsoft an edge over Sony. The PS4 Pro also downsamples games, but this is not a universal feature available for all games. There are currently 24 titles on the PS4 Pro that don’t downsample, and 126 that do. That may not seem like much of a difference now, but the 24 titles that don’t downsample include fan-favorites such as The Last of Us, so this could be a potential deal breaker for many players. Gamers that haven’t yet upgraded to a 4K TV could also be more inclined to buy a Xbox One X rather than a PS4 Pro due to guaranteed downsampling across all games, not just select titles.
Console wars are at the moment at an all time high, and having a competitive edge over your rival no matter how small is of utter importance. Although the Xbox One X is a premium console , but think of it as this way, an average user who is buying his first console wont necessary have to spend big bucks to get a 4K TV. Granted that the 4K TV would vastly improve performance , but at the same time getting one is not really a necessary endeavor.
Furthermore, this also tells us that Microsoft have started listening to their fans and are now catering to every sector of their fanbase, be it users with high-end tech like 4K TV’s or players that haven’t upgraded and don’t plan to anytime soon. It seems Microsoft has learnt alot from the Xbox One’s disastrous launch and are looking to set things right.
The way I see it is this . Is Xbox One X a premium gaming console? Most definitely yes, but it has something to offer to the average gamer as well, it’s altogether another matter whether its price point is justified and whether it does or does not have enough games.
So will you be getting yourself a Xbox One X? Let us know your opinions by commenting in the comments section below!
