Japanese company Sony recently confirmed it will avoid any delay on the release of the much awaited PlayStation 4. The console will be launched in Japan, UK and US this year.

Consumers feared that the release of PlayStation will be delayed in Europe but new reports claimed that Sony will stick to its plan and timeline and will ship the next PlayStation to all three of the world's major gaming markets sometime during the 2013 holiday season.

Before Sony announced the PS4 release date would be coming sometime during the 2013 holiday season, a report from Edge magazine suggested that EU shipping and distribution regulations would force Sony to delay the next PlayStation's European launch until early 2014.

Moreover, rumours also suggested that the delayed PS4 release date would also see supply shortages in several regions due to production issues and gamers will be able to get their hands on a PlayStation 4 before mid- to late 2014.

Fortunately, a new report from the UK gaming press suggests that initial concerns about a delay may have been overhyped, and that Sony sees very real value in scheduling the European PS4 release date before the end of 2013.

On the other hand, software giant Microsoft already handed out invitations for the unveiling of the next Xbox, dubbed as Xbox 720, Durango or Infinity, on May 21 at Redmond, Washington. The two will have to face stiff competition this coming holiday season.

Below are the five reasons why gamers should choose PlayStation 4 over the nex Xbox.

Greater Hardware Specs, Features - The PS4 will feature an X86 CPU, enhanced PC GPU, 8GB unified memory, local HD and GDDR 5 system memory. What that means in layman's terms is that the PS4 will be significantly more powerful than the PS3, but don't expect the same graphical leap as was experienced between the PS2 and PS3. Given the demos on display during Sony's debut, it's likely that all but the most hardcore PC gamers will be impressed by the console's initial graphical displays.

New Controllers - According to reports, the Dualshock 4 controllers have a touchscreen in the center, a share button and feature color-coded sensory bars, which will interact with a light bar to determine depth, location and more.

Social Features - There were rumours that Sony would pursue a significant social infrastructure in the PS4, and they were right. It appears to have been built from the ground up with social in mind, integrating real-world identification, Facebook and dynamic real-time sharing. Players will be able to not just quickly cut clips of recent gameplay footage, but stream live game sessions to friends, thanks to Sony's dealings with UStream.

PS2, PS3 Games Can Be Played - According to rumours, with the use of cloud and the PS4′s existing streaming abilities, that emulation of the entire PlayStation line's library of games will be possible at some point.

Remote Play - Gamers now have the ability to play their saved games remotely with the use of PlayStation Vita or smartphones via remote play feature of PS4.