If you go with the Xbox One, you won't have to start over, your progress will go with you. Since your friends are about a 50/50 split, I would say it comes down to a few items of preference: 1. Which controller do you find more comfortable? For shooters, I prefer the Xbox, but for fighters, I prefer PS. 2. Which exclusives are you more likely to enjoy? Halo/Gears/Fable etc, or God of War, Last of Us, Uncharted? If you go with an Xbox One, DEFINITELY get one with 1TB hard drive, or one of those USB 3.0 3TB hard drives, my xbones 500gb internal hard drive fills up way too quickly. I also have a 500gb PS4, and have yet to run out of space. Since I have both systems, I use each for different games: Xbox One - Destiny, Dragon Age (most recent games I've played) PS4 - Arkham Knight, MK X, GTA 5, Destiny