The official countdown to the E3 2013 will start this weekend, when the month officially starts until the three-day event.

It is also the tradeshow where most people are anticipating clarification and confirmations on all the other issues about the two next generation consoles, Xbox One (the then-called Xbox 720, for those who have not yet heard) and PlayStation 4.

Here's a rundown of the face0off that's been happening since Sony's reveal last February and Microsoft's reveal last May. You be the judged on which console you prefer.

Hardware and components

Right off the bat are the specs, as Social Steak gives a rundown of the numbers of the two consoles.

For Microsoft's Xbox One, you have an 8 Core CPU, DRD 11.1 chip, 32 MB embedded memory for graphics processor, a 500 GB HDD memory, and the option of a Blue-ray/DVD drive.

For Sony's PlayStation 4, you have a single-chip custom x86 AMD Jaguar processor with 8 cores, a 1.84 TFlops, AMD Radeon Graphics Core, 8 GB GDDR5 of memory RAM, and Blu-Ray/DVD drive capabilities. To date, the memory storage has not yet been announced.

Both have motion controls, with the Xbox One having the second generation Kinect camera, while the PlayStation 4 has the PlayStation Eye dual lens.

Storage and memory

Recently, the Xbox One has been touting its cloud power over the competition, putting the Xbox One on a higher level with its three consoles' worth of cloud power devoted entirely for gaming.

CNet reports that this will allow gamers more storage space online for games, as well as other entertainment files that they may now have, thanks to the Xbox One's integrated system.

However, this does not mean that the PlayStation 4 will be left behind. Though there are no concrete plans yet for any cloud support for Sony in terms of storage, but it is already relying on cloud-based features.

According to The Verge, some of Sony's new features like Play While You Download and uploading and social sharing of gameplay videos already make use of the cloud. Perhaps the question for Sony is when it will try to extend the features to include cloud storage, rather than asking if it will tap any cloud-based features.

Indie Support

Sony has been very vocal and aggressive when it comes to the indie scene. In fact, at its February 20 event, it had showcased niche games like Knack, as well as having several indie titles already in line for its launch.

However, following reports that Xbox One will require indie gamers to either publish with Microsoft or partner with a third-party publisher to get their game on the Xbox One platform, it seems that Microsoft has heard the backlash and aimed to remedy the situation.

Kotaku reports that Microsoft Interactive Entertainment chief Don Mattrick has promised that it will give support for independent developers instead of making it harder for them to get their game on Xbox One.

"We're going to have an independent creator program," said Mattrick in a statement quoted by Kotaku "We're going to sponsor it. We're going to give people tools. We're going to give more information."

"Indie creators exist right inside our ecosystem," Mattrick adds. "There's no way we're going to build a box that doesn't support that."

Social connectivity and sharing

As far as sharing gameplay is concerned, PS4 has been all about social connectivity, making the gaming experience a social one for all gamers, to create a community online.

In fact, this is potentially one of the PS4's main advantages over the Xbox One, because even with social streaming and connectivity taking up its main thrust, it does not deviate from gaming the same way that the Xbox One is doing.

The only damper for the PS4 is that developers may have control on what can be shared by the PS4. An earlier report in Develop states that developers may have the power to control which parts of the gameplay can be shared.

"There will be parts of a game that the maker does not want people to be able to see," said Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios.

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