Xbox Series X/S & Playstation 5 (PS5) Thread. Next-Gen 2020

[Rhythm]

This might be the weirdest generation I've seen. There's so little reason to buy a "new" console as the bulk of the releases are still happening on older generations.

I've had no hands-on time with a PS5 despite knowing people who've picked them up. Also never seen an Xbox SX in the wild. Stepson has a Series S, most I've seen of that is whilst I've been trying to correct account issues. In fairness the loading times are fucking *insane*. Way, way, way faster than my SSD gaming PC

I've been on and off Gamepass on the PC. Still unsure about it in the long term, as I am Microsoft's gaming strategy overall. By doing the split-gen release with a lesser-powered model, I'm concerned that we're never going to ever see any true generational leap stuff from them outside of graphics. I'm longing for that "wow that couldn't be done on previous hardware" moment - stuff outside the "next gen" graphics like AI, physics, crowd density, things like that. I don't think they're going to deliver anything like that on the Xbox platform

Obviously pricing has gotten weird too. 2 years in we'd usually be seeing model revisions and price cuts. Instead Sony have put theirs up and Microsoft have responded by saying "nah, we're gonna keep our existing price". It points to it being a very difficult time for them too, because if things had been going to plan they'd have responded with the regular price drop which would have been a serious blow for Sony

[MattyP]

Definitely an odd generation and good points about it feeling like the longest crossover ever. In fact the PS5 just feels like a souped up PS4 with faster loading and a swanky pad. Think most of the games I've played on it have been PS4 games or also available on the PS4.

It would be great to have some exclusive games that sell the systems and provide the wow factor. Perhaps with standard x86 architectures this has effectively turned them into PC like upgrades? Seems the way console gaming is going TBH.

In the end the way I kind of look at it is that to upgrade my PC it would cost what £2K for a full system upgrade and a PS5 or Series X can be had for under £500 so guess from that respect a cheaper alternative to a new PC especially as it's exclusively designed to play games and will have games optimised for the hardware.

So just kind of accepted that the PS5 is just a PC like upgrade to the PS4. I guess I don't know what I expected but having spent a fair while gaming I think the days of big tech jumps have now gone.

It will be interesting to see what Sony have done with VR tech with their upcoming PSVR2 perhaps this will be where the wow factor is going.

[Rhythm]

I still find it crazy just how much the tech side turned around between PS4/PS5/PC. When the PS4 came out I built an entire PC with better-than-PS4 specs for the same price as a PS4, following a guide from RPS. As you say, getting something that comes close (and TBH nothing does as no PC stuff takes advantage of SSD data transfer like the consoles yet) puts you in a £1500+ bracket.

I take your point about having a cheaper machine to play games, but for me the console has always been sideline to a PC. Reason being is my "need" for a PC is much stronger. My PC is a device I work on, browse on, make music on, game on. I'm gonna have a PC regardless of anything else going on. It's a tool that can also play games. Compared to a console where it's a game machine and internet TV streaming device. Much harder for me to justify in my own life.

It will be interesting to see what Sony have done with VR tech with their upcoming PSVR2 perhaps this will be where the wow factor is going.

PSVR put affordable (low spec but effective) VR in the hands of the actual general public. Sure Oculus had existed for a bit but that was geek territory. Shortly after Valve went "high end" with Index and Oculus went "cheap and wireless" with the Quest. Will be interesting to see what Sony do with the new middle ground.

As with the consoles, VR is an area where we're seeing people either refuse to drop prices (Valve) or even raising them (Oculus) so it'll be interesting to see what the PSVR2 hits at

[Misfit]

PS5/Xbox Series - we have and use both regularly, they're great, but dull. As MattyP has said we're really at just a PC upgrade stage now, just for less than the price of a new graphics card!

PSVR2 is already a bit of a fail for me. I'm sure it will be technically great but I don't want to be wired to a console and have to be in that room. The Quest gives me wireless PC stuff, but it's the be anywhere standalone that really works and I'll take a lower spec for that. Will beintersting to see what Apple will do with the power of the M chips. We could get pretty serious standalone with those.

Of course, I'm probably stupid enough to buy a PSVR2 regardless.

The game changer this gen has been the Steam Deck. It's just brilliant.

[Rhythm]

Something Sony should do (but they probably won't) is to make PSVR2 compatible with PC. Did the rumours of it using foveated rendering pan out?

[Deckard]

Dont miss either the new Xbox or Sony (bar Housemarque games) - Switch knocked it out the park for me and VR is still at least a gen or 2 for me as well.

Says a lot when Vampire Saviours which can pretty much run on anything is my most played game of the year !

[Jonesey]

Switch and PS4 Pro are gathering dust - mostly XBox Series X now, especially since Retroarch. Haven't been a PC gamer in years. It seemed somehow isolating at the time and for me there's no going back to it.

My mates all have XBox and we regularly play Sea of Thieves, Outriders, Zombie Army, Gears, Vermintide, etc. We'll have a crack at Prodeus as well. Gamepass basically means I haven't bought an actual game in a long time. Lots of replay value with older titles, too.

But looking forward to Warhammer 40K Darktide!

[Rhythm]

Haven't been a PC gamer in years. It seemed somehow isolating at the time and for me there's no going back to it.

Genuinely one of my favourite things about PC.

[MattyP]

Switch and PS4 Pro are gathering dust - mostly XBox Series X now

Indeed the PS5 is gathering dust a bit. Problem is GamePass. Since having GamePass I really like the sub service approach and I have noticed that these days I'm reluctant to buy anything on PS5 - today I tried Prodeus (essentially a new Doom type game - if you like Doom you should try it!) as part of GamePass. On PS5 it would have been £20.

Not 100% about what damage ultimately GP type services will have on the games industry but for gamers its a bit of a no brainer.

Ultimately I think I'll just end up sticking with a PC (or Xbox). My PC can just about cut it (Ryzen 5/GTX980Ti) sometimes I have to drop the detail levels down a touch but to be honest because of the existence of Series S (and to a degree the X) it keeps soldiering on as the games that come out are scalable.

As for the PS5 I'll just keep it around see if anything of interest heads to it and I'm willing to pay the price to play it. Quite like the look of the next God Of War.. but at £70? That is nearly a year of GamePass there. Hmmm. To play demos (game trials) on the PS5 you have to sub to PS+ premium (£14 per month) so even if I wanted to have a quick taster its effectively £14. The exclusives are also taking a age to get released many way into '23 and beyond and if they are all £70 and not available on a sub service it is making me think twice about keeping it around... I'll probably end up getting rid and banking the money for either a PC upgrade or another Xbox.

As for VR I also have a Oculus headset on my PC which is great - again I could do with a touch more VRAM in the PC but looking at the price of GPUs at the moment I'll struggle on but they have to drop at some point surely? It seems to run most things. PSVR2 will be interesting although TBH I expect it won't do much more than the Oculus I have, added to the fact I expect the PSVR games will be expensive... certainly more than what VR games are on Steam.

So sort of at a crossroads here really. Part of me says for the gaming I like doing the PC will be fine for another couple of years or so (perhaps longer). I'll pick up another Ninty console when the next Mario comes out. So maybe a Switch/PC is the way forward.

[Misfit]

PS5 is a dust gatherer here too as it's not interested me much and oddly the crowd my son plays with mainly has Xboxes. They're a rich crowd and I thought PS5 was 'winning', so a little surprised.

In light of this, I've got a Series S arriving today to supplement my Series X. I was hoping he could survive on the One X until the inevitable refresh (we'll surely get a shrunk Series X or an X+ at some point, then I could have passed the X down) but annoyingly the Fifa Series X/S version won't cross-play with Fifa 23 on the older versions so he can't play with his mates and his moaning has won me over! (well he could have my X or take over the living room where it lives, but I don't like those ideas!)

Series S is £209 for a refurb (which everyone says comes perfect in the reviews) from Amazon which seems a great price for what you get. Especially if your TVs are still 1080p

[Rhythm]

PS5 is a dust gatherer here too as it's not interested me much and oddly the crowd my son plays with mainly has Xboxes. They're a rich crowd and I thought PS5 was 'winning', so a little surprised.

Series X is £209 for a refurb (which everyone says comes perfect in the reviews) from Amazon which seems a great price for what you get. Especially if your TVs are still 1080p

Series S is a stupidly good value console. Son has one and he loves it. Also doesn't feel "last gen" in the slightest - the load times alone means it feels super fresh

[MattyP]

Series S is a stupidly good value console. Son has one and he loves it. Also doesn't feel "last gen" in the slightest - the load times alone means it feels super fresh

Completely agree. My expectations were set quite low for the S given what I've read at times about it but I'm completely blown away by it!

OK its not "mindblowingly powerful" or anything but its like a 1080/1440p version of the X with less disk space. It feels as quick to use and with quick resume etc and the SDD being identical tech to the X it doesn't really feel much of compromise at all. I actually prefer the form factor of it over anything released this gen and it feels like a proper old school console in that this is how they were, small compact and quiet. MS have done an awesome job with their new hardware both the S and X are superb IMHO. But the S has impressed me more. Especially given its price.

Also the BC is great with the earlier Xbox games.. playing through Kameo at the moment and HDR + frame rate boost both make it feel like a different game - almost feels current gen TBH. (same as X)

It will be interesting to hear the views come in.

[Rhythm]

We did the All-Access thing. £21 per month for 2 years including Game Pass and XBL. Has worked brilliantly and there hasn't ever been the hint that he's been upset about losing flashy graphics.

I was mega-surprised when I saw how quickly the thing fires up games. My PC is not a slouch (9th gen i7), equipped with decent quick SSDs but the S absolutely shits on it when it comes to loading a game.

IIRC the S still supports HFR and VFR

[MattyP]

PS5 is a dust gatherer here too as it's not interested me much

Think I mostly ended up mopping up old PS4 games on it! Although to be fair it came down to a few games in the end:-

God Of War (2018) - Great epic sprawling Sony game. The Sony open worlds games do feel a bit cookie cutter at times but enjoyed the world and progressing through to the end.

Ghost Of Tsushima - Loved this. The setting was great and the visuals superb. The game itself was usual combat type with swords and bows instead of axes and guns. Upgraded for PS5 and the 60fps framerate was great.

Gran Turismo 7 - Enjoyed this pushed around 30 hours or so into it. Finished athe "campaign" and did some licenses etc. The controller adds a lot to the game and the dynamic weather kept things interesting in races at times and brought a new dimension to the racing. Problem I found in the end was its far too grindy to get some interesting cars to play with. Millions of credits for some of the more interesting ones... so I actually ended up downloading some of the cars in Assetto Corsa on the PC and just playing on there with the VR headset and wheel.

Decided to move it on in the end whilst the prices were high. It was getting on for two years old now and I looked on the release schedule and nothing much of interest on there - perhaps God Of War however took me 5 years after release to play the last one so quite happy to wait - also it might make an appearance on the PC at some point.

Impressive tech though loved the controller but only Astro really made good use of it IMHO. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out. Hopefully they will make a slim version of it as the machine is still to big and just looks really odd. In comparison the Series S justs melts into the background don't even know its there.

I think what the real killer for me (and probably why it never hardly got used) was GamePass. Its the first stop I make now for gaming and even when the PS5 was around I'd hop onto the PC first. Many times games that looked interesting on the PS5 were already on GamePass (Prodeus the recent example). £20 on PS5 or part of GamePass. It does make good use of the Dual Sense controller apparently but well not paying a £20 premium.

The Series S is great for what I need. Something that will play my old 360 games, some digital content I'd bought on XBO and just quick booting for a session. Also easy to move around if I want a quick blast on the big TV downstairs. Makes a great GamePass machine.

[Misfit]

TBH the size/look of the PS5 is one of the main reasons I've barely touched it.

It doesn't fit in the living room without being glaringly on display (and the boss doesn't want that), so it lives in the playroom. The kids game in there, not me.

The Series X does at least fit on a bookshelf and looks OK so I use that as my go-to machine. I am half considering letting him have the X and using the S in the living room as it would fit in the TV cabinet much better and I don't pay at 4K anyway.