Preparation for the Upcoming Console War

Specs

Both of these new consoles are more powerful than their predecessors. Last generation the PS4 was more powerful than the Xbox 1, however the Xbox Series X seems to have taken that to heart this time. 

Both consoles will be able to provide 4k gaming at 60 fps minimum, though they are capable of delivering 8k and 120 fps maximum. They’ve also both mentioned support for ray-tracing, which allows light to behave normally in video games, which is a big plus for making certain games look so much better. Speaking of games, both consoles are featuring custom SSD’s, though Sony has been pushing this message more as it will dramatically decrease load times for games. Overall though, the Xbox Series X is a more powerful system, with better CPU and Memory. 

Games

As someone who does not purchase consoles often, my big decider is on what consoles to buy is often the games that are unique to one console or the other. Of course, many gamers may be looking for both new games, and the ability to enjoy their favorite classics on their new consoles as well. Luckily both Microsoft and Sony have promised backwards compatibility on their new consoles. The Xbox will be able to provide backwards compatibility for all Xbox 1 games, and will also be offering over 600 Xbox 360 and Xbox games (that are said to play better) included with the game pass. Sony has promised backwards compatibility for nearly all the top 100 PS4 games, which may not be as impressive, but still nice as their last console was not backwards compatible.

The actual list of games revealed is quite long, so this article will only highlight some of the games which got a big reaction.The PS5 revealed Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and after how popular Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4 was, the expectations are high.Similarly, Horizon Zero Dawn’s sequel, Horizon Forbidden West was also revealed last week. For those who had been Playstation fans for a long time, they also announced a new Ratchet and Clank game after 4 years, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. In this title the dimensions are collapsing on themselves, so the player will need to go through a variety of levels to fix it.Finally for fans of darker games, Demon’s Souls has been visually enhanced to show off their new graphic capabilities. Of course there are a lot that could not be mentioned, and I wanted to focus on exclusive titles, but the full list of PS5 games can be found here.

The Xbox Series X also has yet to announce many exclusive games, but from those that did we have Scorn and The Medium, which both seem to have a dark theme tied into the games. While not many exclusive games were announced though, there are a lot of games to choose from still, such as Madden 21 or Dirt 5 for the sports fans. To see a more indepth list of the Xbox Series X titles, check them out here.

Conclusion

Both consoles have their benefits and weaknesses when compared to each other. The Xbox may be a stronger console, but those picking it up will miss out on a lot of exclusive game titles. Price hasn’t been revealed for either consoles yet, and it is likely that both companies are waiting to see how the other prices their next-gen console. In the past the PS4 was cheaper and sold more consoles, but whether the PS5 sells better this time is to be determined. Either way, I’m excited to see if people are more interested in the fridge-like Xbox Series X or to upgrade their modem to a PS5.