Cover feature PS5 vs Xbox Series X
Everything you need to know before you pick a side in the Great Console War of 2020-21
Like a couple of pregnant pandas, the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X are ready to drop and expectation is sky-high. With the promise of vast power upgrades, flashy new titles and two versions of each console, next-gen gaming is here at last. But which will it be?
Pandemic be damned: nothing, apparently, can stop the launch of the next generation of games consoles, nor the immense hype built around them. As promised, Sony and Microsoft are both releasing new hardware in November, each claiming significantly more power and speed than their predecessors along with other perks and upgrades that are sure to feel like must-haves to fans still clutching their rapidly ageing current-gen boxes.
This time around, however, it’s not as simple a decision as ‘Playstation or Xbox’. That’s just step 1. On the Sony side, the PS5 is the core console but there’s also a cheaper Digital Edition that kicks the disc drive into touch for a download-only future; and while the Xbox Series X represents Microsoft’s supercharged vision of native 4K gaming, the Series S hits the 2K middle ground between power and price.
Not quite ready player one
In truth, neither launch is happening completely unscathed by the state of the world. The Xboxes arguably took the biggest hit with the late-breaking delay of Halo Infinite into 2021, but both launch line-ups are thinner on the big system-sellers that we usually expect. On top of that, manufacturing delays could make all these consoles tricky to get before Christmas.
But that won’t stop us from trying, will it? So, envisaging Black Friday brawls across a once-dignified nation, here’s our hot take on the sleek new Playstation and Xbox consoles rolling out right about now – and the games that’ll make you scramble for ’em.