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The Future of Gaming: PS5 vs. Xbox X—A First Glance

July 13, 2020

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Sony has finally shown us their hand. The reveal of the new PlayStation 5 has recently taken place, and while there are mixed feelings about its design, we can start comparing the two big gaming consoles and determine who the winner is.  

We know what the Xbox X and the PS5 look like. We know what’s inside them. We know what kind of games they’ll have. Yet they are as similar as they are different. The “war” between Microsoft and Sony is an old one, spanning over years and years. In fact, 20 years have passed since this competition has started and it doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. This time, it’s unclear who will emerge the victor. Until now, Sony managed to outpace its rival in sales by shipping 106 million PS4s worldwide, while Microsoft managed to ship only 46 million Xboxes One. 

The only thing they had in common was their aging consoles. In 2019, many gamers postponed their purchases in anticipation of next-generation consoles; no wonder Sony and Microsoft’s gaming revenues fell by 17% (respectively, 7%) year-over-year. Of course, Nintendo Switch launched back in 2017, but it keeps itself separated from the two big companies by doing things differently. 

However, this does not mean that Microsoft will submit. Sure, Sony has the advantage and many speculate that it will maintain its leadership position with the PS5, but both companies are investing heavily in their products. We’ve already seen the exclusives each console offers—and now, we need to dive into what specifications differentiate these two gaming consoles. 

Kicking It Off with Some Facts 

  • Xbox Series X and PS5 release date: Both Sony and Microsoft have confirmed “Holiday 2020” release dates, meaning sometime between October through December. The coronavirus pandemic will not delay the release of the two consoles. 
  • What can I play on it? No lineup has been shown yet, but big titles are expected to be released on day one. Both the consoles have backward compatibility, so you don’t have to buy the same games again. Just bring them over from older models.
  • Is the PS5 more powerful than Xbox Series X? Until now, the answer is no. They might have similar capabilities, but Microsoft appears to have an advantage. We’ll explore this further so keep on reading.
  • How much will the consoles cost? Nothing official was revealed yet, but it is estimated to be around $500.

PlayStation 5 

June 11 marked the date when the PS5 finally revealed its design. Let’s see what this space-age black-and-white color scheme console can do. The first feature you should pay attention to is the DualSense PS5 controller. It has adaptive shoulder button triggers with haptic feedback, a built-in microphone so you can keep in touch with your friends without having to wear a headset, and a new “Create” button that replaces the PS4 Share one. 

But the controller doesn’t interest us that much more than the internals of the PS5. Short and sweet, the PS5 is rocking an AMD Zen 2-based CPU with 8 cores at 3.5 GHz, 16GB of GDDR6 memory, and a custom RDNA 2 AMD GPU that puts out 10.28 TFLOPs of processing power. Other features include: 

  • Ray tracing; 
  • Super-fast SSD, offering up 825GB of storage;
  • Built-in 4K Blu-Ray player;
  • Voice assistant capabilities; 
  • Virtual Reality 

Xbox X

Microsoft deserves a shot in the spotlight too. Like Sony, Microsoft power their Xbox X with an AMD Zen 2 system, but it works at 3.8GHz. Meanwhile, the GPU can handle 12 teraflops at 1.825GHZ. It also supports hardware-accelerated real-time ray tracing for gorgeous visuals. The Unreal 5 demo showed us that the series X will be able to render unbelievably detailed environments without a hiccup, and even more immersive audio. With 16GB GDDR6 RAM and a hefty 1TB SSD running at 2.4GB per second, it is safe to say that Xbox X is a bit stronger than the PS5. 

Not a very big difference but, for most, the Xbox Game Pass is very valuable and could mean another advantage over the PlayStation. What it means is that subscribers can get access to a huge catalog of games that’s constantly updating. It’s a fantastic deal that grants you access to online games and applications each month. 

Place Your Bets

There are many notes one can take from this war. It teaches many businesses that they always need to outpace their rivals. Even if you are top of the food chain, someone can always outsmart you. Continuous improvement and innovation are the keys to survival and, if you fall behind, it might be harder to stand back up. Customers will always be your number one priority; keeping them happy and interested in your brand can only happen if you don’t stall and constantly reinvent the wheel, so to say. Sony won all the matches, but Microsoft didn’t give up and maybe this is the year where the Xbox can have the advantage. 

At the end of the day, everyone has a preference. It’s either PlayStation or Xbox. Nonetheless, the gaming industry won’t fall anytime soon. It will continue to grow, and unless a new competitor joins the market, the battle will go on and on.