Finally, we know that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will cost the same. Both gaming console promises 8K gaming, speedy SSDs, and powerful processors. Still, several people are confused in selecting what to pick. To be honest, hardware specs and performance aren’t the only factors affecting buying decisions. You should also look at the games available on Xbox and PlayStation platforms while choosing your next gaming console.
Xbox Series X is priced at $499 and will be available starting November 10. PlayStation 5 also costs $499 and will be shipped starting November 12.
Sony is also offering a cheaper gaming console PS5 Digital Edition that packs a UHD Blu-ray Disc drive but packs the same hardware. So there won’t be any difference in the gaming experience. PS5 Digital Edition costs just $399. But there’s one thing you need to know about it. If you already own PlayStation 4, you can play PS4 games on PS5 because of backward compatibility. In case you bought games from the PlayStation Store, you can download them on PS 5 and PS 5 digital editions to play. If you own several PS4 games on DVDs, you need to buy a standard PlayStation 5 in place of a digital edition.
Microsoft is also offering a cheaper Xbox Series S that costs just $299 but you will have to compromise in your gaming experience.
See
Design
You can already guess a lot about looks by seeing the photos of each console. Microsoft’s next gaming console resembles a vertical PC tower. It looks really good cool with a sleek black chassis and disc drive on the front. You can also place it horizontally if there’s not enough vertical space at your desk to place it.
PlayStation 5 has a fancy design with a rounded black rectangle and two white fins at each side. PlayStation 5 also comes with a disc drive but the Digital Edition lacks this.
It all depends on your own choice. Several people like Xbox Series X while many prefer the design of PlayStation 5.
Performance
Before I talk more about the Performance, have a look at this table for side by side specs comparison.
PS5 vs. Xbox Series X specs
| PlayStation 5 | Xbox Series X | |
| Price | $499 | $499 |
| Release Date | November 12, 2020 | November 10, 2020 |
| Backward Compatibility | Almost all PS4 games, including optimized PS4 Pro titles | All Xbox One games / Select Xbox 360 and original Xbox games |
| CPU | 8-core 3.5 GHz AMD Zen 2 | 8-core, 3.8 GHz AMD Zen 2 |
| GPU | 10.3 teraflop AMD RDNA 2 | 12.0 teraflop AMD RDNA 2 |
| RAM | 16 GB GDDR6 | 16 GB GDDR6 |
| Storage | 825 GB custom SSD | 1 TB custom NVMe SSD |
| Resolution | Up to 8K | Up to 8K |
| Frame Rate | Up to 120 fps | Up to 120 fps |
| Optical Disc Drive | 4K UHD Blu-ray | 4K UHD Blu-ray |
From the specs table, you can clearly see that Xbox Series X has slightly more powerful specs. So, it should offer better performance and graphics than PS5. There’s not much difference in CPU but GPU in Xbox Series X seems faster. A teraflop refers to the number of operations per second the hardware can handle. Both consoles pack 16 GB GDDR6 RAM.
Xbox Series X leads in raw performance but we will have to see how much difference will be there in real-world gaming performance.
SSDs impact load time and affect game performance. Sony has provided the details of how fast SSD will load the game but Microsoft has not given the details of SSDs.
PlayStation 5 has a clear advantage in virtual reality. The PS5 is compatible with the PlayStation VR headset and there may also be several new PSVR headsets coming soon. Microsoft has no plans for an Xbox Series X VR headset. It seems Microsoft has yet to be interested in VR gaming. But I still don’t see VR compatibility as a big advantage.
Exclusives games
As I already said, you should also check the exclusive games available on each platform. If I talk about Xbox Series X exclusive games, Halo Infinite is still the biggest title on the platform. Other notable games are Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Fable 4, Forza Motorsport 8, and State of Decay 3. It is also worth noting that every Xbox Series X exclusive game will also be available for the PC.
If I talk about PlayStation 5 exclusive games, we know about Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and Horizon: Forbidden West. These titles appear to be only available on PS5, so you won’t be able to play them on PC for now. Final Fantasy XVI is also one of the exclusive games on PS5 but it may come to PC later.
Now it depends on your gaming interest a lot. Decide what games you are interested in paying for. If you also have a PC, you can play several Xbox games on PC but that isn’t applicable for PlayStation 5 exclusive.
Backward compatibility
Both the next-gen gaming consoles offer backward compatibility. Microsoft has promised that every Xbox One game will be compatible with the Xbox Series X. Microsoft also confirms that if you own an Xbox One game and there’s an Xbox Series X version of it, you will automatically get an upgrade. The company also promises that it will upscale several old titles to run at 4K resolutions or up to 120 fps frame rates to offer a better gameplay experience.
On the other hand, Sony promises that there are plenty of older games you can play on PlayStation 5. Most of the top 100 PS4 games run well on the PS5 but we are not sure when Sony will release the list of games.
Overall Microsoft seems to be more clear on backward compatibility.
Wrap Up
I have tried two explain everything you need to know about PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X before you decide what to buy. Even if Xbox Series X is slightly more powerful, the main reason to select one should be the games you wanna play. If you already own an Xbox gaming console, switching to Xbox Series X seems a better choice. In case you have a gaming PC where you can play games available on the Xbox platform, buy the PlayStation 5.
I don’t recommend you rush and preorder one. Wait until the consoles are available. By then, Sony will reveal more information on exclusive games and backward-compatible games.
