OK, so it’s almost time for a new console generation and Microsoft and Sony have both shown off everything they have to offer before their new consoles come out at the end of the year? But how do you choose which one to buy? We’ll walk you through the facts about each one and tell you which one we think is best.

Let’s start with what is arguably the least important part of your decision, the specs of each console. To put it bluntly, the Xbox Series X is more powerful than the PS5.

Tech Specs: Which is more Powerful?

Now, the reason this isn’t that important is that going by the numbers, the Xbox Series X is only slightly more powerful. But you can’t really go by the numbers when it comes to console specs. Unlike the parts you could buy for a PC, console manufacturers will develop their own hardware for their consoles that’s specially designed to be as powerful and efficient as possible.

Don’t forget that the Xbox 360 can run Crysis, despite only having 512mb of RAM, when Crysis PC version demanded at least 1GB of RAM. And the PS3 had a kind of CPU that didn’t exist in any other console or PC, but could run games like Uncharted and Killzone.

So onto the next point, the price.

Price: Which one will break the bank?

Now this is interesting because there’s quite a difference in price depending on what you want. The Xbox Series X and standard PS5 will both cost the same; £449.99, so obviously that information isn’t very useful.

But if you want to go for a digital only console, meaning it has no disc drive and you’ll have to download/stream all your games, then the Xbox Series S is the better option in terms of price. It’ll only cost £249.99 whereas the digital version of the PS5 is over £10 more at £359.99. Both consoles have about the same amount of storage too, which is important for a digital only machine.

So in this case it seems like the Series S is the way to go, but it is significantly less powerful than the Series X and PS5. I know I said before about how the numbers on the spec sheet don’t mean much but Microsoft themselves have said it will be a less powerful console. It can upscale games to 4K resolution rather than rendering natively at 4K so it’s still powerful.

That in itself isn’t problematic right now but could be later on in the console generation, as games get more demanding the Series S may fall behind in performance compared to the Series X and PS5.

Damn, how have we made it this far into an article about games consoles and not even talked about games?! They’re the most important thing to consider when it comes to buying a new console.

GAMES!

First, the exclusives. While most games will come to both consoles these are the ones that you won’t want to miss out on.

Microsoft has a great line up of exclusive content coming for the Series X/S. Of course they’ve got their old staples in Halo, Gears of War, Fable and Forza but they’ve also recently acquired Bethesda, Obsidian and a few others. That means that most, if not all, of their games in the future will be exclusive to Xbox consoles.

So by not getting an Xbox you could be missing out on the new Elder Scrolls and Fallout, the next Doom games and whatever Arkane is cooking up after Deathloop comes out. That’s a huge damn deal, as long as you’re not also a pc gamer.

You see, all of Microsoft’s published games will also be available on PC as well as Xbox. So if you have a gaming PC you won’t miss out on those big exclusives.

Sony’s also got some decent exclusives coming, such as Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Gran Turismo, Spider Man and the Demon’s Souls remake. So there’s actually quite a lot of variety on both consoles, but it’s very unlikely Sony’s exclusives will make it to PC. It has happened with Horizon Zero Dawn but they confirmed that Demon Souls will be PS5 exclusive.

But there’s one more aspect to consider! We’ve got to compare Xbox Games Pass with Sony’s PS Now and PS Plus. Games Pass is Xbox’s super cheap subscription service that gives you access to well over 100 games for only £8 a month. PS Now also offers a large library for £9 a month but it is limited to streaming games only.

Being able to download games on Games Pass means you don’t have to worry about your internet connection speed ruining your gameplay. Though I have my own opinions as to why neither of these services are actually any good.

What would we choose?

So there we have it! That should be about all the information you need to decide on which way to with the next console generation. But what would I choose?

Personally, I want to go for a PS5. I prefer the exclusive series Sony has on their consoles. Also I have a gaming PC so all of the big Xbox exclusives are still available to me, whereas I won’t be able to play Demon Souls remake on my PC.