My family and I conspired to get my husband a PS4 this Christmas. So far he's really enjoyed Battlefield 4, but we haven't explored it too much outside of that. I want to get the camera for it to play with the included mini-games, and maybe to get a fitness related game. Though right now it looks like the only one that is out is Just Dance 2014. We went with PS4 over XBone mostly due to a bunch of deal-breakers with the XB like the always-on camera/kinect, and just a general preference for Sony. We do have a 360 but it doesn't get used nearly as much as the PS3, so PS4 seemed like the natural choice. There also weren't any games exclusive to the XB that we cared about.

I've had both since launch. Both are solid consoles, both have limited titles right now (but with many more to come very soon), both are comparable in terms of performance and graphics, and both have sought-after features that are in the pipeline to be supported by their respective companies.

I got the PlayStation Camera for the PS4 for Christmas, so both now have cameras (in fact, the PS4 camera sits on top of the Kinect camera on my entertainment center.) I don't find the notion of them being on to be overly intrusive, but for what it's worth both consoles run just fine without the camera connected if you're concerned about privacy. Or you could always just drape a dark cloth over the camera(s), either way would work.

If it comes down to an either/or and you don't have any console-specific exclusives you're looking at (i.e., inFAMOUS: Second Son on the PS4 or Titanfall on the XBO), then go ahead and get the PS4. Very easy to use, $100 cheaper (unless you buy the camera for it), and plenty of quality titles coming to keep everyone happy.

PS4 here. Xbox One when it's a sensible price. From what I've played (about 3 hours of Resogun, 5 hours of Killzone, 4 hours of NFS Rivals and 15 hours of FIFA 14) and lots of messing around with the UI it's a very nice machine. Online functions are much improved, streamlined UI is lovely and the controller is superb. But I got a bit hooked on Saints Row IV for the whole of December so I've not really used it as much as I should've.

I think with either of them, it's going to boil down to what exclusive content you enjoy more, for instance, Uncharted vs whatever is exclusive to Microsoft lol.

Can't go wrong either way, just wish there was some sort of backwards compatibility.

Xbox one here. It is a little bit more expensive than the PS4 (in my country anyway) but I think the xbox is well worth the buy. I like being able to pause or rewind with voice command and it works well nearly every time for me if I speak in a clear voice. There isn't too much in the way of games yet, but that seems to be the same with both consoles. The only complaint I have about the XBOX ONE is that it doesn't come with a connector charge cable for the controller. I was hemorrhaging batteries for a little bit but that can be fixed by buying a plug and play kit. Now if they would just confirm a Fallout 4...

Regarding backward compatibility: Both Sony and Microsoft have said (in very vague terms) that they intend to support some sort of streaming support of older games in the future. I'm not at all sure how solid this relatively new technology is going to work, but it's slated for both consoles. There are many unanswered questions, such as: if I already own a disc version of the game, will I get to play the game for free or at least at a greatly reduced cost? Should be interesting to see where this goes.

Thanks BigVic! I was not aware of the fitness app. Just downloaded it and I am excited to try it!

Thanks BigVic! I was not aware of the fitness app. Just downloaded it and I am excited to try it!

It's what I use primarily as of right now, not enough titles that catch my attention yet.

And yes, backwards compatibility would be a dream, I think that Sony and Microsoft would sell more consoles in that case, but they are always thinking about digging their hands in our pockets long term.

I suspect they were more thinking about how exactly they were going to emulate a tri-core PPC or a Cell in software on a low-power x86. Nintendo manage it by using the same main architecture every time with a bit more power. That wasn't a practical option for the other two unless they wanted to carry on the tradition of either having an impossibly difficult to develop for machine or one that was prone to spontaneously melting. It would be nigh on impossible for it to work on a technical level.

...Nothing is really hidden and you are not smashed in the face with a bunch of social media.

I hear that! That, and the ads. One thing that drove me up the wall with the XBox 360 was the pervasive ads. If I'm paying for service, I don't wants ads. Make your service free, then you can ad me to death...