Now that the PS5 and the new Xboxes are out, we felt it was time to have a little debate about which one we think is best—or at the very least out to an early lead. On one hand, with two consoles of varying power, the Xbox Series offers an accommodating choice between two systems with different performance and price. So while the Xbox Series S doesn’t support 4K gameplay and it comes with a much smaller 500GB SSD, priced at just $300 it’s significantly cheaper than the PS5 Digital Edition ($400), the standard PS5 ($500), and the more powerful Xbox Series X. And when it comes to design, the Series S’ small dimensions and sleek looks arguably make it the most attractive console of the new generation. Alternatively, what the Series S lacks in performance the Series X has in spades because with a GPU that Microsoft claims can push out 12 TFLOPS (at least on paper) the Xbox Series X is the most powerful new next-gen console. And with its 1TB SSD, the Series X also has the most storage too. This could give the Series X a significant advantage towards the ends of its lifecycle after game devs figure out how to optimize and push the performance of these new consoles or make it slightly easier to support 120 fps framerates in a wider number of games. Finally, there’s the PlayStation 5, which comes in two slightly different flavors: the standard $500 PS5 which comes with a built-in Ultra HD Blu-Ray drive, and the slightly less expensive $400 PS5 Digital Edition which forgoes discs entirely for some upfront savings, but has the same basic specs as the standard model. Compared to the Xbox Series X, the PS5's one small shortcoming is less base storage, sporting an 885GB built-in SSD that in reality only offers 667GB of usable space (versus over 800GB of usable room on the Xbox Series X). However, Sony does attempt to make up for the PS5's weakness by including some special features the Xbox can’t quite match, including the enhanced haptics and adaptive triggers built into the new DualSense controller and a bigger focus on support for spatial audio. And with launch games including Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, the Demon’s Souls remaster, and more, the PS5 might have the stronger game roster, at least for now. While those factors might be enough for some of us to declare the PS5 the early winner in the next-gen console, that sentiment clearly doesn’t hold true for everyone. In the video, Alex makes a solid case for the Xbox Series X. So if you want to see us argue about the merits of the PS5 and Xbox Series, check out the video above. And in the meantime, don’t forget to read our full reviews Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and the PS5.
