I know technically it's all about the 'current gen' with Xbone and PS4, but they still seem 'next gen' to me, and I guess they are since I'm still 'last gen'-ing away happily with my 360.

My dilemma is this, I'm contemplating getting a new system in the next couple of months. Maybe as early as black Friday. My means is not that great, so I am generally limited to one console per generation. They are just too expensive. Normally I already know exactly which flagship to pledge my digital allegiance to without hesitation, but this time around I have never been so torn. I've listed my reasons for wanting both systems as well as a few rants briefly, and though I know my situation and preferences are going to be different from others, any helpful input would be most appreciated. (please no fanboy-itus)

1)Out of the gate- I was leaning towards PS4. Microsoft lost me a little bit with their marketing early on. They were higher priced, too focused on cable TV connectivity(which I have zero interest in), & their games only ran at 720p. The last one irked my the most. Not so much that the resolution would suck, but that it sounded like every game was going to look better on PS4 at 1080. Granted MS has changed their tune, dropping Kinect, which allocated more processing speed to gaming and bringing the resolution up, but it still seems that most of the graphic edge goes slightly to PS.

2) The controllers- I love the 360 controller, well I hate it's Di-pad, but its still a great controller. I have never liked the PS controller, at all...... until the PS4. It seems they have turned things around. It feels much better, a lot like MS. I don't care so much about all of the gimmicks touch pad, mic, rear light, but the rest seems solid. MS on the other hand, while it's not a terrible controller, it seems like a step backwards. The size and over all feel are ok, but the sticks seem small, which is a minor gripe. Although the D-pad seems top notch and much improved, which is good because I love fighting games.

3)Xbox Live/PS Plus- This one is a big deal for me but probably not in the way you may be thinking. I have no issue paying for these services. My only issue is I already have Live which just renewed about two months ago. If I go Xbone, I'm good to go no extra charge. If I go PS4 and want to play online, I will have to pony up $$ on top of the console.

4)Smartglass/PS(app?)- I know this is a small thing to talk about. It is really nothing more than a glorified controller, but it works well and I us it often. I've talked to friends and PS does have a similar app, but I'm not sure how well it works(I hope someone chimes in on this).

5)Friends- This one makes it hard as well. I'm not just a guy who likes to just jump online and play with anyone. My 'friend' list is composed of my actual friends, and I don't accept most invites unless I personally know the person or maybe if I've had an exceptional time playing with someone new. That being said, I know a few more people with PS4's than Xbone's, but the number of friends that I think I will actually play with on a consistent basis are almost exactly the same, with the nod going slightly to PS.

6) Games- This one is in MS favor simply because I'm a Halo fan. Otherwise it would be dead even.

7) Size/style of console- I know this may be stupid to consider, but I'm fickle. What can I say? The Xbone is HUUUUUGE! But the PS4 is ugly. As you can tell I don't like the looks of either.

8)Blue Ray- This will replace our main player. It's fairly old. I've read a little info that MS put a better BR player in it's box than Sony, and even that the PS3 has the best BR player of all, which seems weird to me. I hope someone can comment on this.

I know this is a lot, and if I've lost you, I apologize. Please if you can, help me with my dilemma. I have afriend who has both systems and he tells me the PS4 is the better console by a shallow margin. What do you think?

PS3 is still widely considered one of the best Blu-Ray players you can buy - yes, that is kinda odd.

I will eventually get the PS4, but frankly there are no games out for it that I MUST have at this point and I still have a lot of PS3 games I haven't finished. I'm in no hurry.
My buddy has been a rabid MS fanboy since the original X-BOX but recently bought a PS4 because, in his words, "the X-Box One sucks". He wouldn't go into detail, but he did get his XBone at launch and has never really had anything good to say about it. Loves his PS4 though.
I'll see if I can get more details from him about what led him to become a convert.

I don't own either. But it seems to me that PS4 would be the better bet since it also acts a Blu-Ray Player and it's backwards compatible, while the XBone isn't either of those things.

PS4 backward compatibility is extremely limited - you can't just stick a PS, PS2, or PS3 disc in and fire it up. The only previous gen games it's compatible with are those you can download from their store that have been made to work with PS4.
Also, I'm pretty sure XBone plays BR - 360 didn't, but they did add that to this one.

Damn, that's some shady advertising on Sony's part with the backwards compatibility, then. When they were first going head-to-head, that was something Sony bragged about having, and XBone didn't.

YUP! Marketing, gotta love it.
They're still pushing a streaming service that's "coming soon" that will include a lot of previous-gen titles, but only first-party games they they deem worthy and third-party offerings based on which developers are willing to play ball.
Half-truths make money!

I bought the PS4 for several reasons.

1. The games dont have to be dummied down like on the xbox. Right now that isnt a huge deal, since most of the dummying down is simply graphics. However in the coming years as designers work more with the systems the games will ramp up as they did with the ps3 and 360. Right now the xbox cant handle a game built for the ps4, so in 2 years how bad will they have to modify a game to work on the xbox.

2. PS4 is about gaming, which is what I want. Xbox is trying to do the whole apple thing and make the xbox into something more, which I dont need. If I want to chat with friends then use phone, messaging etc facebook.

3. Xbox idiots. I was initially going to buy both systems but after the whole fiasco with the xbox about having to be connected etc, the removing of the kinnect when sales sucked etc. All those things just turned me off and showed that xbox doesnt really care about its customers until money speaks. Well I went and bought 2 ps4s...

Seriously? Why in the world would you buy 2 of the same system, when for the same amount you could have both and have access to both libraries?

Apparently XB doesn't have as many "must have" exclusives as they used to and, as dylan also stated, games that come on on both systems are generally much better on the PS4.
dylan's points about system capabilities are valid too (and a big part of why I'll be getting a PS4 eventually). PS4 has quite a bit more usable horse-power that can be more easily leveraged by the developers = games that come out for both systems will continue to be better (and better) on the PS4 than on XBone with the exception of games that are developed for Xbox first and then ported to Playstation (but in such cases the later version usually has added &/or exclusive content and all the bugs have already been patched...).

Once the new Batman game comes out then I'll be buying a PS4. I just prefer Playstation over XBox. Right now I have both PS3 and XBox and unless I'm replaying Borderlands or Skyrim I never turn on my XBox. I just prefer the PS controller over the Xbox's. Besides my preferences I've never had a problem out of either system.

Why? Well for some odd reason my wife and kids think they should be able to play games as well, lol. So good games we buy 2 copies and all play. IE COD zombies

Good point Xy. That does seem to be the case with many time-exclusives. There's not many titles I rush out and pay full price for anyway. So waiting is not a big deal.

But the graphics argument hasn't really been proven yet, since MS freed up processing power by ditching Kinect. It isn't looking good for MS in this department though.

Controller is a major point for me as well.
I can play Playstation (any version) for days on end with no problems. 3 hours of Left 4 Dead on the 360 with my wife last week and my hands/wrists were killing me for days. Microsoft has ZERO concept of ergonomics when it comes to gaming controllers.

I like both of those controllers, a lot. The Xbox one is perfect for FPS's and 3D platformers with where the joysticks are. But the PlayStation's D-Pad is light-years ahead of Xbox's and when you can use the D-Pad for games it is much more comfortable.

The N64 controller has to be my most hated controller. I barely play my N64 because of it.

PS4 is on my "to buy" list for no other reason than I want a PS4. I've never owned an Xbox. I'm not a Sony fanboy or anything, but none of my Playstations have ever let me down and always fulfilled the needs (DVD/Blu-Ray/Media/Games). Why fix something that ain't broke? Plus, I'm a fan of Uncharted and Gran Turismo and I'm excited for the 2 Resident Evil Games coming out soon.

Probably by the Spring I'll be buying a PS4. Still enjoying my PS3 for now.

The new Assassin's Creed bundle has me leaning towards Xbone now. Haven't seen many PS bundles I care about. Yes, I do want Destiny, but no I will not buy another white console.

My only complaint is the size - overall design is fine, but it's so small that it cramps my hands after a while.
Now I have an irresistable urge to play DOOM64.

...... & now M$ dropped $50 off the top.

smells like desperation.

Desperation is a stinky cologne...