New console - opinions on PS5 vs Xbox Series X ?

[surfnode]

Hello all,

I am looking to purchase a new console and whilst I was initially steering towards PS5, I am now wondering whether the Xbox Series X would be more beneficial?

I currently game with my PS4 and Nintendo Switch. I have several PS4 disc and digitial titles and used to have a PS+ subscription, however since they yanked up their prices last year I decided not to renew for 2023.

Considering how many titles are on Xbox game pass vs PS+ I am feeling swayed towards Xbox, however there are a number of PS4 games that I have on disc that are not available on Xbox game pass, most of which are COD games.

I also have a 4K Dolby Vision TV with a separate LG Dolby Atmos sound bar so am able to achieve the higher-end specs the consoles are able to deliver.

Thoughts and considerations welcome!

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Allow me to offer an alternative to both. May I present: The Valve Steam Deck

This is a gaming PC in a handheld console form factor that uses SteamOS 3, a Linux distro with a gaming mode in which the device functions just as a console would. You have access to the entire Steam library with nearly every Steam game available playable on the device, and it can be hooked up to your TV using the official dock or any USB-C dock you want, then when you're out and about you can take the device with you. I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk on this bad boy and it's been fantastic. Plus Sony and Microsoft put their games on PC, even making sure they work on Deck, so you can get the best of both worlds from the two major console makers on your Deck. And since it's a PC should you so choose you can enter desktop mode to do some under the hood stuff to add more fun stuff, like dualbooting Windows so you can access Game Pass

Steam Deck

Available now.

www.steamdeck.com

 

[powerbook911]

Hello all,

I am looking to purchase a new console and whilst I was initially steering towards PS5, I am now wondering whether the Xbox Series X would be more beneficial?

I currently game with my PS4 and Nintendo Switch. I have several PS4 disc and digitial titles and used to have a PS+ subscription, however since they yanked up their prices last year I decided not to renew for 2023.

Considering how many titles are on Xbox game pass vs PS+ I am feeling swayed towards Xbox, however there are a number of PS4 games that I have on disc that are not available on Xbox game pass, most of which are COD games.

I also have a 4K Dolby Vision TV with a separate LG Dolby Atmos sound bar so am able to achieve the higher-end specs the consoles are able to deliver.

Thoughts and considerations welcome!

I like xbox series x and own one, but there's not a lot to play on it.

I would get the PS5.

 

[surfnode]

I like xbox series x and own one, but there's not a lot to play on it.

I would get the PS5.

Bit the bullet and bought a PS5!

 

[powerbook911]

Bit the bullet and bought a PS5!

I think you'll be impressed and enjoy it!

 

[maflynn]

I know I'm a little lates since the OP already made his choice but here's my $.02.
I've owned both the Xbox X and PS5, but prior to the current gen consoles, I've been firmly in the playstation camp.

My opinion is that I prefer the dual shock controller over the Xbox's, the UI of the PS5 is better and more importantly the game selection. What the Xbox has going for it, is the gamepass subscription, its clearly better then what sony offers. With that said I found that I really didn't use the xbox as much as I thought I would, conversely, I use the PS5 all of the time

 

[Macalicious2011]

What games do you enjoy playing?

As 3 year Series X owner, I would probably buy a PS5 as the platform has more cool and fun exclusives. The main reason that I own an XSX is because of flight simulator and through it I have become an airplane buff. PS5 and Switch will unlikely ever get a similar game.

Gamepass is a big attraction. Think of it as Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime. Each over a wide choice of content but if you don’t enjoy the content, you are wasting your money. I only dip into Gamepass for 1 month if there are new game releases that I want to try.

90% of the titles are not great and you are financially better off not subscribing and simply buying games that you like.

Other than that PS5 and Series X are graphically matches. I play on an LG C1 with Samsung Q950 Dolby Atmos sound bar with rear speakers. Dolby Vision gaming is mind blowingly gorgeous!!!

 

[maflynn]

What games do you enjoy playing?

Mostly RPG type games, along with First Person Shooters, and I'm largely a Bethesda fanboy. I find their games to be very entertaining - so that was the reason why I opted for an xbox, since MS now owns Bethesda. Yet for me, I really didn't use that console, and while I got used to it, I think the controller was inferior to that of PS5s

What seems to work for me, is a mixture of playing on the PC for games like Starfield, and the PS5 for Sony Exclusives.

 

[Ledgem]

Decision was already made but here are my thoughts.

I have a PS5 but want to get an Xbox Series X so that I can play The Witcher 2 on it. (Can't run it on an Apple Silicon Mac and it's not on PlayStation.) I can't justify an entire console for one game, though. I figured that I'd be able to find others, but the games I'm interested in are either not on Xbox at all, or on both systems. So for now, I remain without the Xbox. If I have been looking for reasons to buy one and come up empty, it makes me wonder why someone would choose it over Playstation at all. (Maflynn's reason is a good one, for what it's worth, but it also says something that he also admits to not using it much.)

Sony also seems to be doing a lot more with Playstation than Microsoft is with Xbox. The DualShock controller's haptic feedback isn't necessarily revolutionary, but it is very interesting; Microsoft seems to have stuck with a traditional controller for their latest generation. Sony also offers their second-generation PlayStation virtual reality headset (PSVR2), which isn't a must-have but allows you to access more gaming options with the PlayStation. Microsoft has no answer to that. Basically, it looks like Sony is trying to expand what the gaming experience is like with each generation, while Microsoft is just upgrading the hardware and maintaining the status quo.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Decision was already made but here are my thoughts.

I have a PS5 but want to get an Xbox Series X so that I can play The Witcher 2 on it. (Can't run it on an Apple Silicon Mac and it's not on PlayStation.) I can't justify an entire console for one game, though. I figured that I'd be able to find others, but the games I'm interested in are either not on Xbox at all, or on both systems. So for now, I remain without the Xbox. If I have been looking for reasons to buy one and come up empty, it makes me wonder why someone would choose it over Playstation at all. (Maflynn's reason is a good one, for what it's worth, but it also says something that he also admits to not using it much.)

Sony also seems to be doing a lot more with Playstation than Microsoft is with Xbox. The DualShock controller's haptic feedback isn't necessarily revolutionary, but it is very interesting; Microsoft seems to have stuck with a traditional controller for their latest generation. Sony also offers their second-generation PlayStation virtual reality headset (PSVR2), which isn't a must-have but allows you to access more gaming options with the PlayStation. Microsoft has no answer to that. Basically, it looks like Sony is trying to expand what the gaming experience is like with each generation, while Microsoft is just upgrading the hardware and maintaining the status quo.

I picked up an XSX recently. It has a few things going for it. Game pass. Quick resume, IMO is fantastic and I don't think Sony has an answer to. Basically it will save state (no reloading though) or snapshot a game so you can easily swap between multiple titles and be exactly where you were. For offline games it's amazing. Then of course there's backwards compatibility. Pretty awesome that stuff like Timesplitters 2, DoA Ultimate, Morrowind, CoD Black Ops etc. still work and are often boosted in res, better framerates.

There's a few other little things. I use it as a media center player. I like that it has an IR receiver and it works really well with my universal remote and it also plays CDs.

I didn't like the DS4 and the DualSense seems like more gimmicks mixed with an even bigger design. The touchpad is so pointless (and guzzles batteries) with how its placed that I'm mystified why they kept it. The Steam Deck does trackpads in an actually genuinely good way that are useful that it actually felt like an improvement on controller design for the first time in 20 years. So hopefully Sony is taking notes. Better rumble is IMO not worth making controllers even more expensive. One benefit of Xbox's more traditional design is that they are cheap. Regularly on sale for $50 CAD, never seen a DualSense less than $70.

 

[George Dawes]

I had an x box for a few days and suffered the dreaded hdmi black screen of death , I found the interface a backwards step over the old 360 series and returned it for a refund

I’ve now got two ps5’s , I think that says it all tbh

 

[Ledgem]

I picked up an XSX recently. It has a few things going for it. Game pass. Quick resume, IMO is fantastic and I don't think Sony has an answer to. Basically it will save state (no reloading though) or snapshot a game so you can easily swap between multiple titles and be exactly where you were. For offline games it's amazing. Then of course there's backwards compatibility. Pretty awesome that stuff like Timesplitters 2, DoA Ultimate, Morrowind, CoD Black Ops etc. still work and are often boosted in res, better framerates.

There's a few other little things. I use it as a media center player. I like that it has an IR receiver and it works really well with my universal remote and it also plays CDs.

I didn't like the DS4 and the DualSense seems like more gimmicks mixed with an even bigger design. The touchpad is so pointless (and guzzles batteries) with how its placed that I'm mystified why they kept it. The Steam Deck does trackpads in an actually genuinely good way that are useful that it actually felt like an improvement on controller design for the first time in 20 years. So hopefully Sony is taking notes. Better rumble is IMO not worth making controllers even more expensive. One benefit of Xbox's more traditional design is that they are cheap. Regularly on sale for $50 CAD, never seen a DualSense less than $70.

This is probably one of those things where we all have different needs and wants. I was hopeful to read over your post and get some more reasons to buy an Xbox, but none of those worked for me.

GamePass is the huge draw that most people talk about with Xbox. Because I was out of gaming for a few years, my wishlist has games from 10 years ago on it. I wait for a game on my wishlist to hit 75% and then buy (unless there's a game I'm really excited about, or if I want to support the developers). I can play for about an hour per night, on average; a game like Horizon: Zero Dawn took me three months to complete. I complete 4-6 games per year, depending on which games I'm choosing. I estimate that if I didn't buy any more games, the current games I've already purchased on sale will take me 3-5 years to complete. In other words, a subscription service like GamePass makes no sense for me: I'd be spending more money on it than I do buying steeply discounted games, and I'd feel pressured to keep up to "get my money's worth" (one of the downsides of having anything on a subscription service).

The media center thing is neat, but gaming consoles lost the media center battle a while ago. Apple may be fumbling the Apple TV a bit, but they have other hardware and service capabilities that make it much more compelling as a media center. I don't think I own CDs anymore...

The Dualsense has a lot of potential, but in some ways it comes off more as a gimmick. The adaptive triggers are probably the coolest feature that does contribute a bit to in-game immersion. The rumble feature felt amazing the first time I experienced it in Astro's Playroom but I haven't encountered other games that utilized it well. As for battery life, I recently had a day where I gamed for six hours (out sick and no kids with me - haven't pulled off a gaming streak like that in close to 20 years). The battery showed one more bar of power when I decided that was enough and I had other things to do. I haven't forgotten being in my teens and gaming literally all day; I could imagine how the battery life would be irritating in that situation. Doesn't seem too terrible overall, though.

 

[Macalicious2011]

In other words, a subscription service like GamePass makes no sense for me: I'd be spending more money on it than I do buying steeply discounted games, and I'd feel pressured to keep up to "get my money's worth" (one of the downsides of having anything on a subscription service).

This is the same reason why I don’t subscribe to Disney Plus. iTunes regularly does amazing deals on movies - including Disney ones. I figured out that it’s cheaper to buy content that you actually like than subscribe to 90% of content that you won’t watch or enjoy.

All you need to do is to be a bit patient and wait for discounts. However I might dip into either Gamepass or Disney Plus one or two months a year to binge on “Hot” content. I’ did so when the latest Forza and Halo games launched close to each other. Played them to death for 3 weeks and then unsubscribed.

I also found that when I purchase a game, I’m more focused on enjoying and completing it versus gamepass that makes me jump from game to game.

 

[MacRazySwe]

I'm a casual gamer these days. I don't have the time to complete campaigns, but do enjoy a nice multiplayer session of Call of Duty, or the odd racing game.

Game Pass have completely transformed gaming for me personally. Having a full library of great games available at a (very) reasonable cost is great. Microsoft Flight Simulator has been a proper "Next Gen" experience which I've come to enjoy massively. This month we're also getting the new Forza Motorsport available on day one.

Also, the multiplayer experience with Xbox Live has always been better than the Playstation counterpart, and I much prefer the controller. So I'm team Xbox.

 

[Macalicious2011]

I'm a casual gamer these days. I don't have the time to complete campaigns, but do enjoy a nice multiplayer session of Call of Duty, or the odd racing game.

Game Pass have completely transformed gaming for me personally. Having a full library of great games available at a (very) reasonable cost is great. Microsoft Flight Simulator has been a proper "Next Gen" experience which I've come to enjoy massively. This month we're also getting the new Forza Motorsport available on day one.

Also, the multiplayer experience with Xbox Live has always been better than the Playstation counterpart, and I much prefer the controller. So I'm team Xbox.

Yes. Gamepass is great for expanding your horizon. I have used it to try, play and love games that I would otherwise not purchase

 

[Kung]

IMHO, it really comes down to what you want to do with your console, and what games you play. In my case, 99% of games I play are RPGs, and specifically JRPGs as well as the FF series. For that, for the *most* part, PS5 wins it.

With that said....I did find that I wanted to play a lot of older RPGs, and the Xbox Series X/S has a few more of those (at least up until the FF Pixel Remaster dropped). For that I just waited for a huge deal on a Series S to come along.

 

[Macalicious2011]

With that said....I did find that I wanted to play a lot of older RPGs, and the Xbox Series X/S has a few more of those (at least up until the FF Pixel Remaster dropped). For that I just waited for a huge deal on a Series S to come along.

Smart! PS5 + Series S could be a great combo - especially as the SS has a compact footprint. Several months ago I impulse purchased one for my brother around Christmas. It was down from £250 to £194 on Amazon.

An absolute cracking deal with 1 month gamepass.

 

[pdoherty]

I had an x box for a few days and suffered the dreaded hdmi black screen of death , I found the interface a backwards step over the old 360 series and returned it for a refund

I’ve now got two ps5’s , I think that says it all tbh

I own both a Series X and a PS5 and never touch the PS5. I have a lot of prior purchases on the XBox, including 360 and XBox One generation titles and I find the Quick Resume feature nice and the games I like the most are all on XBox.

 

[George Dawes]

I did enjoy the 360 particularly the slim which was lovely and quiet , it had an amazing resume function on call of duty I recall

Off topic I’d avoid the switch’s 3rd party games , bought borderlands 3 for it … worst graphics ever

 

[dmccloud]

I did enjoy the 360 particularly the slim which was lovely and quiet , it had an amazing resume function on call of duty I recall

Off topic I’d avoid the switch’s 3rd party games , bought borderlands 3 for it … worst graphics ever

I'm trying to understand how you determined your experience with Borderlands 3 somehow means people should avoid all third party games on the console. One example does not make a trend...

 

[Pezimak]

I sold my Series X and got a PS5. I had enough of the ads on the Xbox dashboard, I can only see Microsoft putting even more ads on Xbox and putting the price of Game Pass up quite a bit, they are paying hundreds of millions for some of the games to be on Game Pass! Not for me, plus I didn’t think much of Starfield.

Also have a Switch Lite I grabbed off eBay second hand and I’ve been loving it. I have a steam Deck but hardly play it, I may sell it but haven’t decided yet.

 

[pdoherty]

What games are you playing on the Switch? I find so few of their games compelling; they seem like children's games, mostly.

 

[Macalicious2011]

What games are you playing on the Switch? I find so few of their games compelling; they seem like children's games, mostly.

Which genres do you enjoy?

 

[Pezimak]

What games are you playing on the Switch? I find so few of their games compelling; they seem like children's games, mostly.

Currently on Luigi’s Mansion 3, I find it a good pick up and play game. Thing I find is I like the Lite so much I may wait for the Lite version of Nintendos new console before buying it, if it has that rumoured 8” screen. But it would also be nice if they make the next Lite dockable with your TV still.

 

[pdoherty]

Which genres do you enjoy?

Some favorite games:

Skyrim

X-Com series

Far Cry games