It’s been more than 7 years since Sony and Microsoft introduced their eighth-generation consoles: Since 2013, we’ve been playing with Xbox One and PlayStation 4. In other words, it’s time for new game consoles to arrive – devices designed to meet the needs of seven years ago can no longer meet today’s standards. We want better graphics, shorter load times, and more powerful devices. So, will the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 be able to give them? What features do ninth-generation consoles promise? Below, we answer all these questions for you.
Xbox Series X
Let’s start with Microsoft because it was the first to introduce its new console. Xbox Series X is a device that draws attention to its design before anything else. Unfortunately, this is not the nice type of attention: Most players think that it looks like a mini-fridge. To be honest, they are right: It’s hard to say that the design is aesthetic. It resembles a rectangular box standing upright and it does not look “sexy” at all.
At least, however, there will be no problem with cooling: Previous generation Xboxes had many warming problems due to their aesthetic but inconvenient design. The Series X, on the other hand, seems to put an end to this problem with its unattractive yet useful design: The console is big enough for all parts to fit without touching each other and has a huge fan on top. This means that your console will no longer turn off or damage its hardware just because it is getting hot.
Microsoft developed Series X to be a multimedia centre, not just a game console. This has always been the company’s primary goal, but Series X will be the first device that can truly deliver it. The renewed Metro interface will allow you to run all programs that can run on Windows 10 without any problems. You can open your Edge browser and visit the Canadian casino Vulkan Vegas, watch your favourite show from Netflix or even run the Microsoft Word application. Gaming is just one of the options offered: Series X seems to be designed like a multimedia PC.
But of course, it also runs new games too. In this regard, the loading times are the first thing that is improved. The device, which supports 1 TB NVMe SSD, eliminates what is called “loading times” thanks to its 8-core Zen 2 processor and 16GB GDDR6 RAM. You no longer have to follow a loading bar: You will have an uninterrupted gaming experience after the initial loading.
If the game needs to load new assets, it will do so while you watch a cinematic. Microsoft says this hardware has 8K UHD support and aims to deliver 60 FPS at this resolution. In 4K resolution, it will be possible to get 120 FPS.
So, which games will be released with Series X? Although the full list is not yet clear, the following games are planned to coincide with the release of the console:
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Gears 5
- Halo Infinite
- Watch Dogs: Legion
- Rainbow Six: Quarantine
The best news is that the console is backwards compatible. This means that if you own a game on Xbox One and a new version of it gets released for Series X, you don’t have to purchase it again. In other words, even if there is a new model called “Series X Pro” in the future, you will be able to transfer your game collection at no additional cost. The price of the Series X is unclear, but it is expected not to be less than 499.99 CAD. There are even analysts who estimate 599.99 CAD.
PlayStation 5
Information about PlayStation 5 is quite limited. Sony introduced its new console at the time of the pandemic, and therefore organized only one stream. We know that the device will support 825 GB SSD, will use an 8-core processor and 16 GB SDRAM. In other words, it doesn’t have a huge hardware difference with Series X on paper.
Unlike Microsoft, Sony sees the PlayStation series primarily as a game console and plans accordingly. So the new PS5 will be used primarily for gaming and that’s ok. The problem is that the promotional material published so far is far from being exciting. Moreover, the new games do not have graphics quality that makes a real difference. Sony needs to quickly focus on exclusive games and publish videos with actual gameplay, otherwise, the future of the PS5 isn’t too bright.
Since it doesn’t have backward compatibility like Series X, it will be very difficult to compete. And when it comes to price, everyone thinks the same: Not lower than 499.99 CAD, most probably 599.99 CAD.