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There are new smartphones and tablets more or less all the time, but new consoles only every few years. The Playstation 4 and Xbox One were released in 2013, followed by updates to the Playstation 4 Pro and Xbox One X in 2016 and 2017. Now, both Sony and Microsoft have announced the true successors and revealed pricing and other details.
In Germany, the Xbox series will launch on November 10, and the Playstation 5 will follow on November 19. But what can the new devices do and what are the differences between the individual models? The most important information at a glance:
What new consoles are there?
A total of four models will start in November: Microsoft’s new flagship console is the Xbox Series X for 499 euros. There is also the Xbox Series S, which has less computing power and does not have a Blu-ray drive, but comes in a more compact case and, for console starting conditions, a really competitive price: 299 euros.
Sony also has two models that differ only in one point: the normal Playstation 5 costs 499 euros, the Playstation 5 Digital Edition without a Blu-ray drive 399 euros.
Which console is better?
The answer to this question will probably not be available until November at the earliest. One thing is clear: there are no major differences between the flagship models. Both consoles are powered by AMD Zen-2 processors, and the graphics hardware also comes from AMD, for Ultra HD graphics of never-before-seen quality, as promised by both manufacturers.
A premiere in the console market: both consoles have onboard SSD storage; long loading times should come to an end. But this also has a downside: if you need more hard drive space than the built-in 825 gigabytes (Playstation 5) or 1 terabyte (Xbox Series X), you can’t just connect an external hard drive, as was still possible with Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Instead, console makers want to offer their own memory expansions, which could get expensive.
This is a predictable problem, especially for Xbox Series S buyers – it also has an SSD on board, but only with 512 gigabytes of storage space. If you consider that modern games on today’s consoles are typically larger than 50 or even 100 gigabytes in size, that’s not much. Otherwise, the S Series contains similar hardware to the X Series, including the same processor, only the graphics chip is significantly weaker.
What else is new?
Not much. Basically, both manufacturers continue as before: Sony relies primarily on solid games from in-house development studios, combined with exclusive titles from other manufacturers such as the recently announced “Final Fantasy XVI”, in addition to the game streaming service “Playstation Now”.
Microsoft is also relying on game streaming with its X-Cloud technology, but the focus is clearly on Game Pass, a subscription service for downloading games that gives users unlimited access to more than 100 games, including all, for just ten euros a month. new Xbox games from Microsoft and its development studios.
In addition, both consoles offer the usual applications for streaming services such as Netflix, Spotify and Amazon Prime; this is now standard. The controllers for both consoles have only changed in detail or design.
What can I play in it?
That is the crux of the matter. Neither console offers a real hit that you won’t find anywhere else. Microsoft had to postpone its long-awaited flagship shooter “Halo Infinite” until next year. Sony has a new “Spider-Man” game, which is also available for Playstation 4
There are also plenty of third-party games at the beginning, from “Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War” to the new “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” and the inevitable “Fifa 21”. All of these titles are also available for the consoles that are currently available.
Will my old games work on the new consoles?
Yes. In the past, this wasn’t always a matter of course, but in the meantime, Microsoft in particular has figured out backward compatibility on its own – all Xbox One games also run on Xbox series consoles, as well as numerous titles for the previous Xbox and Xbox 360. So far Sony does not look out the window. All games for Playstation 4 should also run on Playstation 5.
It gets vague when it comes to which version of the game is running. With its smart delivery program, Microsoft promises that users will always automatically have the best possible version, so no one should have to pay for updates to the next generation of consoles. However, it is not yet clear if game publishers will participate or if the offering applies primarily to Microsoft’s own titles. Sony makes similar promises, but only for select games like the new “Spider-Man.”
What console should I buy?
Of course, each player has to decide for himself. For many, the best answer is probably: none. Consoles have been on the market for a long time and prices are constantly dropping, so if you don’t necessarily have to have the latest hardware under your TV right away, you can wait a bit longer before buying. At least until the first real game hit appears.
Tobias Hanraths, dpa
