The time has come; both PS5 and Xbox Series X are only few days away from release. As most details about both of these next-gen consoles are out, we have to answer a difficult question: Which one should you get, a PS5 or an Xbox Series X?
More players than ever before are asking this question since Sony and Microsoft seem to be implementing different strategies this year on their next-gen consoles. If you are unsure which next-gen console you should get, we prepared a small guide to answer your questions.
What are PlayStation 5 and Xbox One X?
PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are the next-gen consoles of the two tech giants Sony and Microsoft, respectively. For the first time, the next-gen consoles will also come with their digital versions. PlayStation 5 will have a Digital Edition, which will remove the Blu-ray disc drive and cost $100 less. Xbox Series X, on the other hand, will have a smaller brother, Xbox Series S. On top of lacking a disc drive, it will be generally weaker and cost $200 less than Xbox Series X.
What can I play on them?
Sony seems to be continuing its working strategy as PlayStation 5 will keep getting many exclusives like before. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be released simultaneously with PS5, and we will get our hands on the highly-anticipated Horizon Forbidden West in 2021. Demon’s Souls remake will also be available along with PS5.
On top of these, Final Fantasy XVI, God of War: Ragnarok, and Gran Turismo 7 were also revealed during the PS5 Showcase Livestream. Of course, almost all of the major triple-A releases will also be available on PS5, such as Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and Resident Evil Village.
Looking at these titles, it seems like PS5 will have a much stronger release than its predecessor. But what about Xbox Series X?
Microsoft will use a different strategy for this generation. Unlike Sony, Microsoft won’t rely on console-exclusive games. Instead, they will bring all future Xbox Series X and S titles to PC. Also, all Microsoft-published games will be available on Xbox Game Pass, which means Xbox Series X and Series S owners will be able to access more than a hundred amazing games with just a Game Pass subscription.
This means that Microsoft is trying to make their games available to as many players as possible with Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass. While this may make Xbox Series X less competitive, it will provide immense value to the players.
Like PS5, most of the upcoming third-party games like Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla will be released on Xbox Series X. Xbox Games Studios will also publish exciting titles like Halo: Infinite, Fable, and Psychonauts 2 in the future.
PS5 and Xbox Series X release dates
The Xbox Series X and S will be launched on November 10. PS5 will launch first in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea on November 12. The rest of the world gets it on November 19.
What will PS5 and Xbox Series X cost? Are they worth the money?
The next-gen consoles will see a noticeable price increase. PS5 will cost $499, which is $100 more than PS4’s launch price. If you need a more budget-friendly option, PS5’s Digital Edition will be available at $399, which only removes the Blu-ray drive.
Xbox Series X will also cost $499 like PS5, but its digital-only brother Xbox Series S will have a significant price drop and cost $299.
Seeing these higher price tags, most players are questioning whether they are worth it or not. The short answer is: Yes, they are. PS5 and Xbox Series X will bring much more raw power, accessibility, and convenient features than their predecessors. Both will support resolutions up to 8K and framerates as high as 120 FPS, and SSD storage will make your system and games load super-fast. Plus, both PS5 and Xbox Series X will have comprehensive backwards compatibility support, which means you will still get to play most of your favorite PS4 and Xbox One games on the next-gen consoles.
Should I get the digital versions or standard versions?
It depends on the method you get your games. Nowadays, every video game is available on online stores, so the physical retail copies are gradually losing their importance. If you like collecting the physical copies of your games or are planning on using the Blu-ray disc drives of your consoles for other purposes, you will need to get the standard versions of the next-gen consoles.
Of course, if you mostly download your games from online stores, digital versions will make more sense since they are noticeably cheaper. Keep in mind that Xbox Series S will be weaker than Xbox Series X and won’t support 4K resolution, so if you have a 4K monitor or TV, getting an Xbox Series X will be more sensible even if you mostly use digital stores.
Does PS5 have stronger performance than Xbox Series X?
PS5 and Xbox Series X are largely similar in terms of power, but Xbox Series X seems to have slightly stronger specs. For example, both of them will feature an 8-Core Zen 2 CPU, but Xbox Series X will have a higher clock speed of 3.8 GHz compared to PS5’s 3.5 GHz. Similarly, both next-gen consoles are powered by an AMD RDNA 2 GPU, but while PS5’s GPU has 36 CUs and 10.28 TFLOPS, Xbox Series X’s GPU has 52 CUs and 12 TFLOPS. These small differences likely won’t translate to any noticeable performance differences, but it’s useful to keep them in mind.
When it comes to the digital versions, though, things change. Xbox Series S has less RAM, and its GPU and CPU are weaker than its big brother, Series X. Since PS5 Digital Edition has the same specs as PS5 except for its lack of a disc drive, it is noticeably more powerful than Xbox Series S. This comes with a price, of course, as PlayStation 5 Digital Edition costs $100 more than Xbox Series S.
I own the previous version of Xbox, is the new PS worth trying?
The new PlayStation 5 will be a great choice if you haven’t owned a PlayStation before. You will get to play the exclusives that will come to PS5 while also having access to PS4’s exclusive games, thanks to backwards compatibility. Since Sony is famous for its highly-successful exclusives, there are many excellent games that you can play on PS5, from God of War, Uncharted 4, and Spider-Man to Bloodborne and The Last of Us.
I have owned previous version of PS, is the new Xbox worth trying?
Likewise, getting an Xbox Series X is a sensible choice if you have a PS4. Xbox Series X will have much more comprehensive backwards compatibility support as you will be able to play every Xbox One game that doesn’t require a Kinect on Series X. It will also support more than 600 Xbox and Xbox 360 games if you want to try out some of Microsoft’s older exclusive titles.
On top of this, Xbox Game Pass is getting bigger every day. While it is also available on PC, Xbox Game Pass’ library is significantly larger on Xbox consoles. This means you will be spending a lot less money on your games with an Xbox Series X.
Our Opinion
Since there is no clear winner of the competition between PS5 and Xbox One X, it isn’t easy to give a clear and general answer for every gamer. This means the ultimate decision will largely depend on you.
If you have a powerful gaming PC and never owned a PlayStation before, getting a PlayStation 5 makes the most sense. You will be able to play the exclusive games of PS4 and PS5 while still having access to the future Xbox titles from your PC, which gives you the best of both worlds.
If you don’t have a gaming PC but want to access the vast library of Xbox Game Pass, then an Xbox Series X will provide you with more value. Also, if you do not have a 4K monitor or TV, getting an Xbox Series S is going to be a much more cost-effective decision since it runs games on 1440p.
Other than that, the most significant criteria here will be your game taste. Even if Xbox Series X comes out on top from every angle, if you like PS5’s games, it will make more sense to get a PS5. It is essential to decide based on what you like and not fall into the tribalism that infects console wars every generation.
Signing off, we have to admit that this generation’s console war is much more interesting than the last one as both companies will use different marketing strategies to appeal to the players. While this fierce competition makes the decision-making process harder, it also means better games, services, and products for gamers.
For those of you who are still unsure about which console to get, we hope that our guide helped you decide. We are excited to see how the PS5 vs. Xbox Series X competition will turn out, but looking at the information we have, one thing is sure: The next generation of gaming will be a good one.
