14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the Xbox One change in terms of used games DRM and online requirement, the PlayStation 4 still has the upper hand on Microsoft's next-gen device, largely thanks to the lower price and the popularity it earned after E3 2013.
Sony practically won E3 last week when it confirmed that its PlayStation 4 home console will support used games and won't force players to go online every 24 hours, like Microsoft's Xbox One.
Microsoft retorted this week when it confirmed that the Xbox One will no longer require 24-hour Internet checks and that it will, in fact, support used games without any limitations or restrictions.
While the announcement was great for Xbox fans, Ascendiant Capital Markets analyst Edward Woo told Edge that the PS4 still has the upper hand in the next-gen console race.
"I think this is a big move by Microsoft," Woo said. "They obviously felt that things were turning badly against them and now they don’t have a choice but to match Sony. While this levels things more, I still think Sony, with the $100 price advantage and goodwill from the Microsoft mess, still has the upper hand."
Even with the support for used games and no online requirements, the Xbox One has tough job ahead of it in order to convince customers that the extra 100 USD/EUR is a good investment, according to Woo.
"I think the consoles are very similar so the $100 price difference will now be very important," he said. "Microsoft will have to explain why the $100 is worth the price. I don’t know if they will be successful, though they do seem to have a slight edge with more exclusive software right now."
Woo speculates that both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will sell 2 million units in 2013 during their launch periods.
In 2014, however, Woo predicts that the PlayStation 4 will sell 10 million consoles, while the Xbox One will move just 5 million.