What are better between Xbox Series X and PS5 on the gaming console?
“what is better” is entirely subjective based on your preferences for platform and exclusives. In the end both are mostly controlled by “where my friends play” for some games, if you like their exclusives more, or if the overall ecosystem is more important to you.
For the console/pc gamer an Xbox may be better with play anywhere’s cross save/play/buy. If you love your big story epics and the plethora of exclusive 3rd party content you may prefer PlayStation 5.
It’s a deep, nuanced topic that typically just leads to console warring when discussed on the internet.
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There are specific technical details which differentiate the systems & should be the determining factors in a purchase decision, along with the games, of course.
I don’t have a PS5 but from what I know it has one thing the Xbox Series consoles do not have: haptic feedback on the controller & adaptive triggers (which work a bit like force feedback on a steering wheel). That’s something which could sway a prospective buyer who is hesitating between both. Although on the flipside as a Series X owner I’ll say the Xbox controller is extremely comfortable & is pretty much the ultimate iteration of a controller with rumble function. It’s great IMO.
Other differences include cloud saves working for free on the Xbox irrespective of the user’s subscription level (on PlayStation 5, the user needs a PS Plus subscription in order to access the cloud save feature). Backwards compatibility also works better on the Series X (some games even have fps boost, although Auto HDR is more subjective in terms of added value) & the Series consoles have better variable refresh rate coverage + low framerate compensation for 120hz screens.
These are the details that make a difference IMO. On the downside regarding the Series X, sometimes certain soundbars & sound systems can suffer audio delay (this is a widely reported issue) & the 4K blu ray player unfortunately can struggle to either read some discs or playback triple layer discs correctly (stutter & audio delay issues are something I’ve experienced). So I’d recommend a dedicated 4k player over a console if someone wants to watch 4K blu rays.
Other than that, it’s about the games. And services. And that’s entirely subjective.
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Yeah to all intent and purposes they are the same system. It’s not like the old days. The two main consoles are basically the same machine with minor design differences and feature sets.
The thing Id say is that it’s not worth having both. One and a PC or PC handheld thing will do nowadays since you can then play most games (eventually) on PC anyway that miss your console. And a PC opens up a much wider more interesting library.
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If you’re a big fan of the games that launch on PS but not Xbox (namely PS studios and Final Fantasy I guess), then the PS5 is much better of course. In terms of ecosystem stuff, Xbox wins hands down with free cloud saves and backwards compatibility alone. Back compat has really garnered a lot of loyalty from me since it came to Xbox One. I’m confident that my purchase history will be respected on the Xbox platform.
On the whole, there are also more shooters and strategy games, two of my three favorite genres, on Xbox than PS. If you’re a big story guy or only like 3rd person action games, PS has you covered in spades.
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Another area which hasn’t been covered here is value.
GamePass (on Xbox) provides incredible value including day one releases, from $10.99 per month, therefore if you plan to buy two games a year on release at $70 ($140) it’s actually cheaper get a year of GamePass which will give you access to hundreds of games. In addition you can often buy GamePass at a reduced price through sites like CDKeys.
Although PlayStation has their subscription service it rarely includes first party games and has next to no day one releases.
If you don’t like subscriptions, you’ll also often find Xbox games cheaper than Playstation games, especially on third party sites (PlayStation is currently going through a legal battle for refusing to sell their digital games outside of the PS store).
On paper the Series X is better spec than the PS5 and often the same price, if not cheaper. In addition they provide the Series S as a cheaper alternative.
Xbox often provide updates to their games for free (including entire new games). Also Xbox provides features such as Back-Compat and Smart Delivery which means you can play more games at their best. Xbox also provide many features for free such as cloud saves which you have to pay for on Playstation.
When you purchase Xbox games (or play it through GamePass) you can also play it on PC. Whereas with PlayStation you have to buy it multiple times.
All of this aside it will all come down to games and preference, Xbox in the past only had 5 studios but now have double the amount of studios compared to PlayStation. Comparing their roadmaps we should expect to see far more exclusive games coming to Xbox. Also because Xbox now own ABK you get big titles like Call of Duty included in GamePass.
The controller features on the PlayStation 5 controller are currently far superior to the Xbox controller however I still find the Playstation controller extremely uncomfortable due to the stick layout (it gives me hand cramp), therefore I can only play for long periods on Xbox.
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I mostly play on Xbox (like 80% of my usage) but did get a rog ally to play in the go/laying in bed.
Well say feel that is the best combo right now just insta picks up my save for almost all gamepass titles.
But yeah this is more a preference thing like I prefer Xbox due to achievements, ecosystem and now gamepass. But nothing wrong with someone preferring PlayStation due to some of the bangers they put out as exclusives
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Gamepass
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Xbox community > Cult
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I tend to not really have a choice regarding getting either one of the systems, i.e. I mostly always get games consoles as gifts for Christmas or birthdays. I’ve never had someone gift me a gaming pc rig… but a PlayStation? Sure. 4 times in my life already.
Back in the day I was perfectly happy with my 360 but I mom had other ideas so I ended up with a PS3 for Christmas (2009 I think). What was I going to do? Refuse? So I played MGS 4, Uncharted, Resistance (underrated classic IMO) & a bunch of other stuff.
Consoles are just convenient. For many reasons (including being perfect presents for family & loved ones). It’s why I’d at least hope some people with a PS5 will be getting an Xbox on Monday morning. It’s that time of the year.
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Ask on X. Make a poll. 
/jk
It really depends on what genres you like.
FPS, TPS, RTS, RPGs, Racing. → Xbox JRPG, Action, Fighting. → PS5
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Both consoles will have thousands of games to play so it is literally impossible to buy and play them all. It’s always been my stance if someone can pick a console and run out of things to play, that same person should have no problem buying more than one console.
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I love that take.
I buy and play such a wide range of games even just on Xbox there is way more games coming out then I could play in a lifetime.
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If possible, buy both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 but if it’s only one, depends on what you’re looking for. I like the PlayStation 5 and Sony’s first party exclusives for the most part which is why I own it but it’s also for JRPG’s especially exclusives because I know Sony is pretty much guaranteed to get every one of them unless Microsoft funds a Japanese studio/publisher to make one for them and Sony does pay for a lot of timed exclusive games so if you don’t want to wait for certain games, there’s that too.
As for Xbox, their main strength in my opinion is their variety and diversity when it comes to their first party exclusive output. Even though some games aren’t for me, I love that they do everything from simulators to sports/racing to action adventure to RPG’s to shooters, etc. And to have all of Microsoft’s first party games on Game Pass is an added bonus. Next would be Game Pass in general because while both Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Deluxe pretty much have the same lineup of games, it’s the day one third party games and day one Indies that separate the subscription services even more than it already is due to Microsoft’s first party games going on Game Pass day one.
I also love that I can use the Xbox One controller which is my all time favorite controller as there’s no touch pad, no gimmicks, etc. It’s just a regular normal controller with great battery life (I get 40 or so hours on a full charge) and that’s all I really want. There’s also free cloud saves which has saved me at least 5 times this generation as there’s been times where I drop a game, uninstall it but then go back to it and my save is there being downloaded with the game.
And of course, Microsoft simply has double the studios, triple the teams and will acquire more in the future which means more games on Game Pass day one so as an Xbox gamer, you can’t lose.
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