Is PS4 is more powerful than Xbox One? Why Infinity Ward’s Mark Rubin can’t just tell us

One of the hottest questions as we enter the final stretch until the launch of next-gen consoles is which system is more powerful: Xbox One or PS4? The debate has raged on for months among gamers, journalists, friends, enemies and so on without a clear cut answer. The obvious solution is to ask the devs, but there's just one problem: none of them really pick a side. But there's a reason for that.

"We sign NDAs with the first parties [i.e. Microsoft and Sony – GC] and there are things we're not allowed to talk about," Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin told Metro's GameCentral when asked if console manufacturers are pressuring studios to avoid these sort of comparison questions.

Despite being the one to confirm Call of Duty: Ghosts runs at native 720p on Xbox One while native 1080p on PS4, Rubin has been unable to say if the PlayStation 4 is "definitely more powerful" than the Xbox One, something many expect to be true.

"I can't answer that," he told the interviewer. GameCentral continued to prod Rubin for answers, even asking if he couldn't answer it on a technical level or because he was being diplomatic. And again, he couldn't answer it.

The key thing is we try to focus people away from that sort of thing and try to focus them on the fact that the game is fun no matter what platform it's on," he offered. On a side note, current reviews for Call of Duty: Ghosts are for current-gen systems and the PlayStation 4; the Xbox One version is still under embargo.

With the PS4 and Xbox One both set to launch this month, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we find out the truth. But for those of you looking for blatant answers beforehand, it sadly seems that you're out of luck.