The time has finally arrived for the next generation of consoles to come out in force. With the Nintendo Switch already having been out for a few years now (with a possible upgrade on the way), we’re looking to Sony and Microsoft to wow us with their brand-new consoles right now. With games having never looked better, these new consoles will deliver some seriously beefy hardware in order to keep up with the graphical and processing demands. Whether you prefer one team over the other already, or if this is your first time buying a new console at launch, we want to help you out by comparing the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5.
The Specs
Now that there’s no more mystery around the new consoles, we can begin to look at their hardware in earnest and try to see if one comes out ahead of the other. Remember that the way a game runs on a console can also vary based on the game itself, so seeing these specs won’t give us the perfect rundown of which is better.
Where They Are Similar
The Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 have a few things in common when it comes to their specs. For example, the CPUs on both consoles are 8-core AMD Zen 2s, with the Series X coming out just the slightest bit ahead in terms of gigahertz processing. Both consoles feature 16 gigabytes of RAM and both consoles will use SSD storage devices rather than HDDs.
8k seems to be the new standard resolution among both new consoles and both are also boasting up to 120 frames-per-second display rate, a truly impressive frame rate that is sure to impress anyone. The disc drives are also the same—4k UHD Blu-ray.
Where They Are Different
In terms of differences in specs for the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5, we find only a few, and they are relatively small differences at that. As stated previously, the Xbox Series X has a CPU with slightly more gigahertz—3.8 GHz compared to the PlayStation 5’s 3.5 GHz. The Xbox Series X also beats out the PlayStation 5 in terms of storage capacity, with Microsoft’s console having a full terabyte of storage as opposed to the Sony console’s 825 gigabytes.
The all-important GPU is where we see a more noticeable difference. The Xbox Series X again pulls ahead with 12 teraflops of computing speed, a little more than the PlayStation 5’s 10.3.
The Price Tag
With the specs out of the way, we can talk a little more about the pricing of these two consoles. It’s actually not as simple as just comparing the Xbox Series X to the PlayStation 5 since there are multiple versions of the consoles being released.
The PlayStation 5 is releasing in two different forms—one that has a disc drive and one that does not. The PlayStation 5 with the disc drive attached will be $500, a pretty standard price for a brand-new gaming console. However, the PlayStation 5 with no disc drive will knock that price down to $400. If you want to save some money and don’t mind having to download all your games rather than have them on a disc, the console with no disc drive may be the right option for you.
The Xbox Series X is also coming out with another version of the console—the Xbox Series S. The Series S will be a slightly pared down version of the Series X in terms of overall specs. While it will be a slightly weaker console, the Series S will only cost $300, whereas the full Xbox Series X will cost you $500, same as the PlayStation 5 with the disc drive attached.
The Games
Probably even more important than the consoles themselves are the games you’ll actually be playing on them. We’ll just be looking at the exclusive titles so you can judge which console exclusive titles are the ones you want to play.
Xbox Series X
Perhaps the biggest, most anticipated console exclusive for the Xbox Series X is Halo Infinite, the next chapter of the genre-defining sci-fi shooter. However, Halo Infinite was delayed until 2021 so you won’t be able to play it at the launch of the Xbox Series X. Other notable exclusives are Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Forza Motorsport 8, and the recently announced Fable 4.
One interesting thing to note about these exclusives is that they may not actually be all that exclusive. It has been announced that if the game was made by a first-party studio of Microsoft, the game will also be made available on the PC as well.
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 has its own share of tantalizing console exclusives. Spider-Man: Miles Morales has already received great reviews and was available to play on launch day. There will also be new additions to the Ratchet & Clank series and the Horizon series, Horizon: Forbidden West. We were also teased with the next installment in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XVI, which will only be available on the PlayStation 5 as far as consoles are concerned.
Backwards Compatibility
How many of your old games will you be able to play on the new consoles? The two consoles seem to be split on this issue. The PlayStation 5 has said that some of the PlayStation 4 titles will be playable, but not all. The Xbox Series X, on the other hand, has said that you’ll be able to play almost every Xbox One game and even some Xbox 360 and original Xbox games as well.
The Design
Both Sony and Microsoft held nothing back when they were designing these consoles. Both the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 are monsters in terms of size, both being much bigger than their predecessors. If you’re looking for a simpler design, the cuboid design of the Xbox Series X may speak to you more, whereas the larger design of the PlayStation 5 is something right out of a sci-fi novel.
The final decision will ultimately be made by you. Do you care about console exclusive games? Do you prefer the design of one console over the other? Whichever console you choose, we here at Glassy Eyewear want you to be able to enjoy your new console for as long as possible. Our prescription eyewear will let you stay in the game for longer, as your TV’s harmful blue light will be filtered out. No matter what you choose, the next generation of gaming is off to a great start and we can’t wait to see how it continues.
