PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X | Specs, Prices, Exclusives, and More!

At long last, we have all the information regarding the upcoming next generation of consoles. (Or so we think!) This is your unbiased shopping guide for next-gen with point by point comparisons on PS5 and Xbox Series X. There will be mention of the Series S but that is just for the sake of rounding out the list since actively comparing it to the rest would be a rather unfair fight considering the system is significantly outweighed by the true spec'd out main consoles. And regarding the PS5 All-Digital, it is essentially the same console as the PS5, just with no disc drive.

Design | Let's get one of the basics out of the way first, the design. For some people, the design of a console doesn't matter because it's usually tucked away anyway so it simply needs to play games well and that's it. For others, the console becomes the center of the living room, being out in plain view to draw eyes. If you're part of the former group, you can skip down to the specs section. For the latter, you'll be happy to know that both consoles are visually striking. Of course, jokes and memes are easy to make about both designs but they are both smart and sleek in their own way. The PlayStation 5 design has increased height for better airflow in hopes of making the system not as loud as the PlayStation 4 infamously was. Over on Xbox, the Series X also provides a taller build for the same reason. The system has been designed for maximum airflow while allowing the components to be compact. The Series S is just a box of components without a disc drive and if the Xbox One S All-Digital was any sign, it will weigh next to nothing.

Specs | Here are the most significant aspects of a console: the internals that let you play gorgeous looking games at lightning-fast speeds. On the surface level, what all these stats mean is that both consoles will have optical disc drives capable of playing 4K content. They can both output up to 120fps and their resolution can go all the way up to 8K. Although let's be honest, few people will actually be able to take advantage of that fidelity. And for those worried about storage, both systems will have expandable storage. All the specs below work together to make for an unprecedented console gaming experience that can load games with ease and have visual enhancements, such as ray-tracing, to make it truly immersive.

Before we move on from the specs let's also mention the Xbox Series S. The system is underpowered in comparison to the other two consoles but the console is still more powerful than any of the current-gen consoles. The Series S will have an 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU @ 3.6GHz with a 4 TFLOPS AMD RDNA 2 GPU. And also a 10GB GDDR6 RAM with a 512GB SSD. This all essentially means the Series S will have the same ray-tracing goodness as it's big brother but will target 1440p @ 60fps instead of 4K with a resolution of up to 8K.

Prices | As of today we have the prices for all consoles and they stack up pretty evenly. (Note: the prices listed are in USD.) Starting off on PlayStation, the PS5 will run you around $499. The All-Digital console will be a bit less at $399. Over on Xbox, the Series X will also be $499 and the Series S will be significantly lower, thanks to the less intense internals, at $299. One important thing to note here is that Xbox also has the All-Access service, which lets you bundle your console with Xbox Game Pass and pay a flat monthly fee for 24 months. This will make the Series X with Game Pass $34.99 a month and the Series S with Game Pass just $24.99 a month for those two years.

 

The PlayStation 5 will release November 13 and Xbox Series X and Series S will both launch three days prior on November 10. Pre-orders for the PS5 start tomorrow, September 17, and on September 22 for Xbox.

Exclusives | Okay, the consoles sure are powerful, but what can they play? Well, let's talk about that. Keep in mind some of these games may not have a release date yet so it may be a bit of wait.

       PlayStation 5

• Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Horizon: Forbidden West
• Demons Souls
• God of War: Ragnarok
• Death Loop
• GhostWire: Tokyo
• Godfall
• Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure
• Astro's Playroom
• Destruction All Stars

As game listings go up, it seems that the first-party PlayStation 5 games will cost an additional $10 compared to current-gen games. This means that the games will cost $69.99 USD. 

       Xbox Series X

• Halo Infinite
• Forza Motorsport 8
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• The Medium
• Fable
• Gears 5
• Call of the Sea
• Bright Memory: Infinite
• Scorn
• Second Extinction
• The Ascent
• Gears Tactics

The importance of Game Pass should not be overlooked when talking about Xbox exclusivity. Great games get added to the service each month with some games even releasing as Game Pass day one. Furthermore as was announced last week, EA Play will join Game Pass Ultimate at no additional cost this Holiday season.

Others | With that out of the way, the last thing to talk about is the non-exclusive games that will release this Holiday on both consoles. While there are a lot, here is a list of the big ones:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Outriders
• Borderlands 3
• Control: Ultimate Edition
• Watch Dogs: Legion
• Dirt 5
• Immortals: Fenyx Rising
• Scarlet Nexus
• Madden 21
• NBA 2K21
• Devil May Cry V: Special Edition
• Destiny 2: Beyond Light

And that is it for your next-gen buying guide with all the details you'll need to make a decision on what console is best for you. If you want more information on a topic then let us know in the comments and we'll put it together.