While the concept of a console war between Playstation and Xbox is certainly not dividing a country, and there is nothing wrong with playing the console you enjoy, there are a lot of differences between them. You need to consider the performance of the console, the games it has available, the customer service, the reliability, the accessories and controllers, and so much more.

In the past, there can be five generations we can categorize these consoles into. Sony released the original PlayStation all the way back in 1994, of which there was no Microsoft competitor at the time, they were running against SEGA and Nintendo 64. They ran at $299 for a console and a controller.  

The second generation of our two consoles is the PS2 (released in 2000 at the same retail price), and the original Xbox (released in 2001 also still costing $299). The PS2 is the best-selling console ever made, selling 158 million units. This showed companies that video game consoles can be profitable since at the time they were critiqued for just being smaller and cheaper computers for games. The PS2 outperformed and outsold the Xbox.

Up next we have the third generation of consoles, Sony released the PS3 in 2006. Arrogant and eager to repeat the staggering success of the PS2, Sony made the price for a console a whopping $599, while the Xbox 360 released in 2005, only cost $299. Even though the 360 costs less, it still outperformed the PS3. 

The fourth generation is the PS4 (released in 2013 for $399) and the Xbox One (released in 2013 for $499). In the fourth generation of consoles, both companies also introduced variations of consoles. This is sort of like iPhones, which released the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro. 

And most recently the fifth generation is the XBOX Series X and the PS5. Both came out at $499, but the digital version of PS5 was $399, while the XBOX was $299.

So, now that you have learned the general history of these two consoles, which one is better to buy? 

Xbox has more to offer when it comes to a variety of games, and how you can play them. The biggest advantage of having an Xbox is backward compatibility. Right now, on the newest Xbox Series X (fifth generation), you can play almost every Xbox One game, 568 Xbox 360 games, and 39 original Xbox games. That’s a lot of games you don’t have to pay for more than once.

Compare this to the PlayStation where if you bought a game like Minecraft, you’d have to buy it again on PS4, then again on PS5. That is a lot of money you have to use for the same game.

Xbox also has GAME PASS, which is a subscription that lets you play a variety of games every month. The beauty of this is the fact that you can use the GAME PASS on your PC and Android.

Overall performance of Xbox consoles surpasses Playstation. The second edition of the fourth generation of consoles; Xbox One X’s parallel has better graphic capabilities, which means the visuals on the screen look more realistic. 

The same thing goes with the newest console, the Xbox Series X, which is much faster than the PS5. It has better visuals, better loading speed, and more. The XBOX has a faster GPU, 12 Teraflops while the PS5 only has 10.8. Xbox can run smoothly at 8,000 pixels while running at 120 frames per second. A tremendous feat. 

Another advantage to Xbox is that it has better options in regard to price point. Sony has given us the option of a PS5 with a disc slot ($499) and one without ($399). While Xbox has a comparable console with a disc slot for $499$, the digital version is only $299. 

If you ever want to change the way your controller is laid out, you can get the XBOX Elite controller. While these are more expensive, the customization of the controllers is great. 

The future of Xbox is looking very bright, and there’s no better time to get it than now. Playstation has its pros, but has fallen short of the Xbox: “The world’s most powerful console.”