Question about what console to get

Having had the PS5 since launch, and the XSX for a month, going on the fact that you don't want multiplayer and prefer single player games, I find it hard not to recommend the XSX simply because of Gamepass. Even a Series S with Gamepass is excellent if the best visuals are not important, simply because of the value you get. You'll miss on on Sony Exclusives (unless you also game on PC, Sony eventually throws the scraps to the PC players), but if that doesn't bother you, the XSS or XSX if you want the extra oomph and physical disc features. Oh, and I believe UBisoft+ is coming to Xbox so you get the Ubi games now too (Tom Clancy, Assassins Creed, Riders Republic, Watch_Dogs, etc) but I'd also imagine it's like EA where you need the Gamespass Ultimate for inclusion, otherwise it's a monthly/yearly fee.

Saying that, I still prefer the PS5 because I feel that it's a next step forward, instead of just moar powa as MS have done. Some people don't like it or don't feel the difference, but I think the DualSense is a genuine step forward and when used properly adds an extra level of immersion, games like Astro, Returnalt, R&C all make excellent use of it, and I can only see it getting better as more developers get used to it. Plus it looks like it may be the only console VR available once PSVR2 comes out, and that looks beefy too.

Finally, PS5 is still harder to get. People are walking into store picking up the XSS for a while, XSX for the last couple of months or thereabouts (I believe), but PS5's are still a bit harder to get. Personally, XSS/XSX feel like really powerful consoles (in comparison to previous gens), whereas I feel the PS5 is trying to make a genuine step forward, and it's power is yet untapped.

If you get 3 years worth of Xbox gold ( can be picked up for under 150. Then sign up for game pass it will convert 1-1. So you get 3 years of game pass for 150 instead of 450.

You can also stream games to the console to save downloading or updating. Handy if you just want to test something out. You can stream to your phone too. I was playing Halo infinite in bed on my phone last night.

With Game pass you can even stream to the older Xbox one X. If you can get one cheap. The game still runs on a series X in the cloud so you get Gen 5 games on a gen 4 console.

But be mindful the Series S is newer and only 300 euro. So unless the Xbox one X was under 200 it wouldn't make sense.

I have found that my recommendation of the series X with game pass has gone down well with friends and family and a fair few have jumped ship from other consoles and not looked back.

Having a zelda, last of us etc every 3/4 years just isn't worth sticking to one console or the other and gamepass has opened most up to different genres etc that they now give a go at because its risk free, the other series they like they pick up and game spending has dramatically decreased for some.

As an owner of all consoles its a no brainer for anyone to go series X now until Sony/Nintendo get their finger out and stop fiddling about with fancy buttons and handhelds. They will eventually do it put track record so far on both has proven it won't be a patch on gamepass.

60 quid for 20 excellent games plus all the other games you get throughout the year, makes no sense not to get Plus. Would everyone still say Gamespass is excellent if they all paid full price for it? It's the same as Now/Plus/Netflix/Prime, once you've played the games/watched all the shows you're interested in, it becomes just another service you pay for. Yeah, games day 1 is a big draw, but not all day 1 games are good. It is good value, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't see it being financially viable in the long run.

Will be interesting to see how Spartacus holds up to it, but I think Sony have already confirmed no day 1 games will be included, which reinforced my belief that a Gamepass service, in its current form, isn't financially viable. Sony have been at it a bit longer than MS, and haven't had the huge resources of money to just throw at the problems. But they've always more or less won (PS3 is debatable, but it did outsell the 360 so....), and I truly believe that PlayStation want to evolve gaming, whereas MS are just "MOAR POWAR!!!! GIVE US MONEHS!"

Do you need to get a ps5 or xbox series if you are only popping in and out? Both consoles are still painfully difficult to come by in the shops. Would the older gen console scratch that itch? I reckon there may be a few stuck up in the attic of your gamer friends that you could get for next to nothing.

Have experience of both and would recommend the Xbox over the PS5.

Gamepass will be the major decider. There’s a few other perks like streaming games but it doesn’t sound like you’ll need it. You won’t need this right now but Microsoft (currently) doesn’t charge to upgrade the visuals / performance of games and Sony does. Feels like a bit of a cash grab from Sony

The DualSense is nice and you will notice it’s extra features when playing a PS5 game. That being said, you won’t miss them when playing an Xbox game.

Before the series X I was retro all the way, still am and own most of the old consoles from 8 bit upwards.

However, at the start of last year I got the Series X and it's just amazing, especially with Gamepass.

Probably because I'm getting on in life I never play multiplayer, and the Gamepass games suit for that. Someone earlier in the thread said would Gamepass still be good if you paid the full price. Well I was too lazy to do what was needed to get the discount so have been paying full price for 12 months now and don't regret it, I'd probably happily pay more.

What's also great is that you can play the majority of the games on your mobile too without downloading via the cloud. So if you're stuck somewhere or someone is watching something on the tv you can still pick your phone up and have a little game.

For me the series x with Gamepass is just the pinnacle at the moment.

Ah, but what percentage of Microsoft is the Xbox division. If we're going to include all of MS, then we need to also include all of Sony. The only figure I can find, is that Xbox, Windows and Surface is 29% of revenue, and Windows is a massive one so... Look, they obviously know how to make money, usually by having the ability to spend a crap tonne to make it work/buy out competition. I'm pretty sure I also read today that Phil said that transaction sales are also around to stay:

It's a personal feeling, but I feel Sony are interested in innovation and progress, MS just want to make money, and do so by throwing loads of it at stuff until some sticks. I still can't see Day 1 games on Gamepass being viable, unless there is little competition and everyone has Gamepass, which won't happen.

Also, I do miss the DualSense when playing on the XSX. It's very different, the haptics are leagues ahead of the rumble imo. I tried out Rocket League on both, and even though RL doesn't have official DS support, it still felt better than the XSX controller. More natural, and this will decide which system I play games on. If a game is releasing on both, I will get the PS5 version. But it's all personal preference, and a lot of people decide with cost rather than preference imo.

I still think XSX and Gamepass is the best value right now, I just think the PS5 is better overall due to the DualSense, the upcoming PSVR2 and what feels like a genuine attempt to make games more immersive.

Jesus, it's just an opinion people!

But yes, the DualSense is amazing.

Have a Switch + various other Nintendo stuff and XSX. Never had PS.

My opinion ...

XSX has seamless upgrades/cloud saves/brilliant 3 year cheap xbox ultimate deal/cloud gaming/pretty good exclusives so far. XSX is super cool looking. It is excellent hardware.

PS5 has some super exclusives and games that really make better use of its hardware (vs XSX). Will get one one day when the price drops, they are readily available and a less ugly model comes out.

Switch has some truly brilliant (but expensive and never really on much of a sale ) first party games; is portable. Family friendly.

I too turn off rumble after a while as it annoys me and I also think it'll reduce the lifespan of the controller.

What I do miss from Switch on XBox is gyro assisted fine grain aiming. I believe that's on DuelSense; but still not many games use it.

I think it's possible to make a decision here without getting too deep into either companies philosophy or business plan. Realistically, both consoles are very good with advantages over each other. I happen to have both a PS5 and an Xbox Series X, I use them both pretty regularly and they solve different problems for me.

The way I see it, you won't be disappointed with either console, but Sony's main advantage is that PlayStation exclusives are way beyond anything you will get on the Xbox. If you have not played games like The Last of Us, The Last of Us 2, Uncharted 4, God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Spider-Man (surprisingly good game) and maybe Deathloop (coming to Xbox at the end of the year), then I think a PlayStation 5 would be a better buy for you right now. They are among the best games ever made in my opinion, and you have hundreds, maybe thousands of hours to get through them, with sequels of at least God of War and Horizon: Zero Dawn to come.

If you have played through most / all of those games, then the Xbox will be a better value buy for you. There are less exclusives (e.g. Forza racing games, Gears of War, Halo, Microsoft Flight Simulator), and are of lesser quality than PlayStation, but Game Pass will open you up to a very large library of games for a relatively modest investment. There are loads of 10 - 20 hour games on there, so that's especially good if you like to dip in and out of games rather than follow 40+ hour long story narratives.

I have traditionally been an Xbox gamer myself, and for me there are two personally subjective benefits that keep the Xbox as my primary console.

The first factor is that games that are released on both consoles are far cheaper on Xbox than on PlayStation. Now, you may look at the stores for each console and think that they're actually around the same price, but you can very easily buy any game for Xbox in the store for cheaper countries such as Brazil and Turkey using gift cards for that store, and you don't have to mess around with a VPN. Take a look at this site and compare the prices if that's something that might interest you. Using a current example of a popular game, you can get FIFA 22 for €46 on Xbox Brazil, or €70 on PlayStation. The savings are significant. If you want more details on how to purchase games using this method, PM me, it's not difficult.

The other benefit is the Xbox Elite controller. It's very pricey for what it is, but I love it. Obviously this is subjective, but for me the PlayStation 5 controller is awful, I hate it with a passion, but I've also been spoiled with many years of the Elite controller. This almost certainly doesn't make sense for you based on your situation, but thought I'd mention it anyway.

The Last of Us was good but I really felt that I was only working towards my next QTE and cut scene as you say.

Now over the last few years I'd class the following as Sony's big games for PS4 and the ones you often see mentioned as worth playing.

Horizon Zero Dawn

God of War

Spiderman

Ghost of Tsuhima

Days Gone

Death Standing

What do they all have in common? Open world games. Sony have definitely been focused on this area and I feel a lot of them are very samey.

While I can understand Potential Monke's point that Gamepass in its current format doesn't look like it could be sustainable in the long term, at present it is fantastic value and it does wipe the floor with what Sony are offering at the moment. I have a PS5 and a library of nearly 500 games sitting there so I'll stick with the PS for now but if I was buying a new console now and had no real games library in any format to speak of, I think you'd be mad not to go with Xbox and Gamepass at the moment.

Hopefully Sony do try and do something interesting with this new 'Spartacus' service they are developing.

People still take my opinion too seriously. Yes, Sony want to make money, every company does, but at least they're trying to innovate, that's what I'm getting at. That's why I prefer them. Christ...

Ah you get used to it fairly quickly I bounce between the two frequently enough.

The DS is quite good, giant map button is excellent and haptics are fine but you get used to them quickly enough. My biggest gripe is only one battery and having to have the thing plugged in during a big session can be quite annoying and it's actually stopped me playing a game a few times.