Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare console showdown: PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One

By Adam Rosenberg Published November 11, 2014

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is here! But why play it when you can stare at videos of other people playing it on different consoles, then compare those videos underneath a magnifying glass? Video games!

Related: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare review

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For this console showdown, we’re looking at a side-by-side comparison of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game. The footage comes from the first minutes of the game’s opening mission, the same content that Activision showed off at E3, on the Normal difficulty setting. It’s not strictly spoiler-free, but there’s nothing here that you wouldn’t pick up at the start of the game. Mostly because it is the start of the game. Pay no mind to the difference in reload speeds between the two consoles; the XB1 runthrough comes from a save file in which multiple upgrades have been purchased, whereas the PS4 play is a fresh save.

Related: Here are some tips to help you survive in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare‘s campaign

As you can see, the PS4 and XB1 versions are basically identical. There are differences in the brightness that could be accounted for by a slight variance in in-game settings. And it’s worth noting that the PS4 is at a slight disadvantage in terms of overall performance. Both games run at 60 fps, but the PS4 release is more prone to occasional (and extremely brief) stutters. And yes, the XB1 version runs at some resolution that’s less than 1080p (which the PS4 maintains), but we couldn’t see the difference on a 50-inch LG LED TV.

If you’re trying to figure out which version of the game to go with, don’t base that decision on performance. Go wherever your friends are.

Former Gaming/Movies Editor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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