The launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S was the most successful console launch in Microsoft’s history, but the popularity of the PS5 may be overshadowing the success of the console and causing some players to underestimate its power. Due to its pervasive online presence, casual gamers may see more value in the PS5 due to its name alone, and may be missing out on the value and variety in Microsoft’s next-gen consoles. Sony may have the more popular next-gen console, but Microsoft might have the better one.
If the next-gen console war was purely based on what sells the most, the PS5 would be winning right now, as PS5 outsold Xbox Series X|S by almost double on launch day alone. However, when talking about which console is better, sales aren’t the only factor. Power, performance, variety, and specs are also things that gamers consider. The Xbox Series X and PS5 are neck and neck in some categories, but in others, Xbox Series X comes out on top.
When looking at some of the technical aspects of both consoles, the Xbox Series X and PS5 can do the same things. Both consoles have 16 GB GDDR6 RAM, 4K UHD Blu-Ray, can go up to 8k in resolution and up to 120FPS, though PS5’s 120FPS support is harder to achieve than on Xbox Series X. The key differences in specs come in build, power, and storage, with Xbox Series X being slightly more powerful than the PS5 with 12.0 teraflops of GPU compared to PS5’s 10.3 teraflops. Xbox Series X also has a 1 TB custom NVMe SSD storage compared to PS5’s 825 GB custom SSD.
What Xbox Does Better Than PlayStation
While PS5 might beat out the Xbox Series X in the games department, with exclusives such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales, when it comes to next-gen features, Xbox Series X seems to have the advantage. One of the key features of the Xbox Series X is quick resume, which allows players to quickly switch from game to game without completely closing any of them. The Xbox Series X also has better backwards compatibility, with all Xbox One games, some Xbox 360 games, and even some original Xbox games being playable on the Xbox Series X. PS5’s backwards compatibility only consists of PS4 games.
The Xbox Series X isn’t perfect though. Microsoft has had its fair share of issues and mishaps regarding the Xbox Series X|S, whether it be problems with quick resume not working with all games, controllers hurting some players’ hands, or games underperforming on the Xbox Series X. With new technology, issues are almost certain to come up.
The Xbox Series X may not be the most popular mainstream console on the market, but it is just as next-gen, or perhaps even more next-gen, than the PS5. There are concepts and features on the Xbox Series X that other consoles can learn from and potentially implement in the future such as quick resume and faster download speeds. With both the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S currently sold out everywhere, players who haven’t gotten the chance to get a next-gen console yet will have to wait. At least players have time to decided which console they want. With a little luck, they might be able to get an Xbox Series X or PS5 the next time stores restock.