https://www.cybersport.ru/games/articles/chto-vybrat-playstation-5-ili-xbox-series-s-x-samyi-polnyi-gaid

Pre-order – pros and cons

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S / X pre-orders revealed that next-gen consoles were in high demand – store sites were struggling to keep up and shelves were empty in minutes. Not without incidents. Some retailers have unilaterally canceled PS5 pre-orders, and some Xbox fans seem to have confused Series X and One X, the previous generation console.

Often in such situations, manufacturers are suspected of creating artificial shortages. It is assumed that limiting primary supplies increases the value of the product in the eyes of buyers and allows bragging with loud slogans (“Consoles sold out in a minute!”) In financial statements. But even if this is true, is it justified for gamers to be among the first to buy a new console? After all, there are not very many arguments in favor of pre-order now.

Firstly, nothing is known about the real performance of the consoles, all we have is marketing information from manufacturers. Both Microsoft and Sony have had cases of problem launches, so without tests and reviews from real customers, pre-order is a very expensive pig in a poke.

Secondly, the first revisions of equipment very often come out with defects. Internal tests do not always reveal all the flaws, but a multi-million dollar audience copes with this much better. So it makes sense to wait a bit for companies to gather feedback and launch a more stable version of the device.

Thirdly, there are not so many exclusive games for nextgen at the start. This is easy to explain – the number of devkits for new consoles is traditionally limited (especially if the device has not even been officially announced), and the very adaptation to new technologies and equipment takes some time. In addition, console makers do not want to lose the trust of a “fed” audience that has bought a PS4 or Xbox One. As a result, players won’t miss out on many new releases if they delay the transition to the next generation.

Right now, the main reason to place a pre-order is the soul asks. A lot of us just want to try out ray tracing, SSDs, and a couple of new things as quickly as possible. For those whose work is not directly related to video games, there are simply no rational arguments to rush after consoles from the start of sales. Although no, there is one. Due to unstable exchange rates in Russia, prices for equipment, contrary to logic, tend to grow over time. PS4, for example, at the start cost about 18 thousand rubles – today even the basic version in official stores costs almost 30 thousand rubles.

Why do you need Xbox Series S or PlayStation All-Digital?

The new generation of consoles is the first in which buyers have to choose not only between manufacturers, but also between individual models that differ not only in storage capacity. The approaches of Microsoft and Sony in the matter of creating a budget version of the device turned out, as always, fundamentally different.

Let’s start with a simpler one. The PlayStation 5 is available at launch in two versions – with and without a Blu-ray drive. According to the manufacturer, there are no other differences between the devices. Although this does not save from various speculations – some users find it strange that the presence of the drive caused the difference in RUB 9 thousand.

At first glance, the benefits of the diskless version seem undeniable. It is much cheaper, and physical editions of games seem to be more and more archaic every year. Nevertheless, the regular PS5 also has its advantages. First, many are aesthetically pleasing to own discs. Secondly, collector’s and other special editions are usually completed with physical copies. Thirdly, against the background of the rise in prices for games, the relevance of the market for used discs, joint purchases and retailers’ shares is increasing.

The Xbox is more complicated. The budget Series S is not only devoid of a floppy drive, but also equipped with weaker hardware. As such, the console is capable of a maximum resolution of 1440p versus the 4K of the Series X. This will scare a lot of people off, but if you don’t have a 4K TV, this shouldn’t be a problem. If you connect the console to a regular monitor, the standard of which is still at 1080p, then the option of purchasing a console for $ 27,000 becomes very tempting.

Sony and Microsoft Pricing Policy

Microsoft and Sony fought a very tedious price war this year – no one wanted to show their cards first to be able to make a better deal for their customers. As a result, the situation was resolved by an insider leak, but this did not make it clearer.

In the US, the next-gen consoles sell for $ 499. In the past, both Sony and Microsoft have been burned at inflated prices, so the decision to release devices in the same segment is absolutely understandable. The initial sales of PS3 were hampered by too “fat” filling, which later had to be cut. The Xbox One was bundled with the relatively useless Kinect at release, bringing the price up $ 100 over the PS4.

The younger versions have a larger spread: PlayStation 5 All-Digital – $ 399, and Xbox Series S – $ 299. However, due to the fundamental difference in the approaches of the PS5 manufacturers, it is more appropriate to compare the AD with the Xbox Series X. As a result, we get a list with a step of $ 100, which in theory should cover the maximum audience:

• Xbox Series X – $ 499;
• PlayStation 5 – $ 499;
• PlayStation 5 All-Digital – $ 399;
• Xbox Series S – $ 299

However, this is a US option. In Russia, prices are formed in a different way and hardly depend on American ones. Therefore, our situation is somewhat different:

• PlayStation 5 – ₽46,999;
• Xbox Series X – ₽45,590;
• PlayStation 5 All-Digital – ₽37,999;
• Xbox Series S – ₽26,990.

The difference in RUB1.4 thousand. Sony tried to compensate for the discount on the pre-order of the standard PS5 in the amount of RUB1 thousand. We can say that the situation has leveled off.

If you choose the most affordable next-generation console, then the round is definitely for the Xbox Series S. If you look for a full-fledged next gen with 4K support, then the PlayStation 5 All-Digital wins. But in comparison to top-of-the-range consoles, the Xbox Series X wins, although the margin is minimal. Let’s consider it a draw.

It is also worth mentioning the prices not only for consoles, but also for games for them – and there is nothing to rejoice here. Sony not only announced the $ 70 standard (₽5,500) for next generation AAA titles, but also raised the prices for older titles. Microsoft has not revealed the cards yet, but it is hardly worth expecting a miracle from it. Neither side mentioned regional prices for Russia either, but this could become the decisive and most powerful argument in favor of one of the consoles for our market.

What to play?

The number of teraflops and frames per second is a very interesting thing, but in fact, everyone only cares about games. Most of them will of course be multi-platform. Based solely on the dry numbers from the performance characteristics, we can conclude that the more powerful Xbox Series X will provide users with a better picture and performance. However, this conclusion is very premature.

First, the difference in specs between the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X isn’t big enough to sum up without benchmarks. Secondly, the power of iron is far from the only factor affecting the final result. The convenience of working with it for game creators is also important.

The Xbox One X is more powerful than the PlayStation 4 Pro, but it hardly affects the gaming experience. PlayStation 3 on paper looked a little more solid than Xbox 360 – somewhere there are more gigaflops, somewhere – gigahertz, and even Blu-ray was. In fact, the PS3 architecture was much more complex, which made it inconvenient to work with the console. As a result, multi-platform games looked and worked worse on it, and some even had to be abandoned.

While nothing is clear about the true state of affairs behind the performance characteristics, you can only discuss exclusives. Xbox is deprived of them in the usual way – all its titles will be released on PC and in xCloud, so Series X will not be able to offer anything to boyars and fans of cloud gaming. PlayStation round.

On the other hand, if we talk directly about console exclusives, that is, about those games that coming to Xbox, but PS5 has passed, the situation looks less clear. With the purchase of ZeniMax Media, Microsoft has seriously strengthened an already strong group of studios under its leadership. You can get acquainted with them in our material… However, the announcements of new games still need to wait.

In this regard, you should choose based on what you want to play more: God of War or Halo Infinite, Gran Turismo 7 or Forza Motorsport, etc. Although it should be admitted that the advantage is still with the PlayStation, because its only alternative is YouTube.

Xbox Game Pass or PS Plus Collection?

Exclusives have historically been PlayStation’s trump card. But Microsoft also has good cards, the main one being Xbox Game Pass. The service offers an extensive collection of games for a relatively low monthly fee of $ 89 for an Ultimate subscription, which works for both PC and consoles, and more recently Android.

Game Pass has a lot of advantages:

• number – more than 200 games on each platform;
• Updates – new games are released regularly, including the full EA Play and Bethesda libraries;
• price – a year of subscription costs about the same as two console games;
• responsiveness – many titles get into Game Pass on release day;
• additional bonuses and discounts.

Of the minuses, one can only note the fact that the games in the collection do not remain forever – some of them periodically leave the library, giving way to new ones. In addition, some users note that this pool includes a lot of indies. At the same time, it can even be called a plus: the service will help you learn about games on which you would hardly purposefully spend money.

Sony did not respond to Game Pass until the September PlayStation 5 presentation, which was presented renewed PS Plus subscription. Service users on the new console will have access to the library of games that “defined the generation” of the PS4. The starting lineup includes 18 titles.

Unlike the Game Pass, the PS Plus Collection includes only AAA titles. At the same time, there are many PS4 exclusives among them, which really “defined the generation”, you cannot say otherwise – God of War, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Bloodborne and others. If you haven’t owned a PS4, then this collection will come in handy.

It is not yet clear how quickly the PS Plus Collection will grow. It is only known that the company does not plan to include new games in the library on the day of their release. From the pros, it can be noted that the advantages of the old PS Plus version will remain – gift games, bonuses and discounts. But the Xbox Live Gold subscription included with Game Pass Ultimate has similar ones.

Despite the impressive titles included in the PS Plus Collection, the service is not yet able to compete with Game Pass. Microsoft just crushes with numbers. Plus, adding games to the collection on the same day and the PC library leaves Sony no chance. Xbox round.

Backward Compatibility, Upgrades and Smart Delivery

Backward compatibility is a very important feature. First of all, it is interesting for those who buy a console for the first time or move from one manufacturer to another. Thanks to her, the user will be able to join the titles of the previous generation, which he was previously deprived of.

Due to the standardized architecture of the Xbox family, each console supports most legacy games, although sometimes additional developer assistance is required. Xbox Series X is no exception. This feature has always been Microsoft’s strong point.

Sony has a very complicated relationship with backward compatibility. The PS2 supported it in hardware – the console’s audio chip was the processor of the original PlayStation. In the PS3, the PS2 processor was added in a similar way for the same purpose. However, due to many difficulties, this affected only the first revisions, later support was reduced to software emulation, and then backward compatibility was completely abandoned.

The PlayStation 4 was completely devoid of backward compatibility. Old titles adapted for a new device had to be bought again. This was and remains one of the main disadvantages of the console.

The PlayStation 5, in turn, will receive backward compatibility, but only with PS4 games. To support them, apparently, no additional tricks are required, and titles can be launched directly from old disks. An unconditional step forward, but against the background of the Xbox it does not look very encouraging. Xbox round.

The next generation will also have a new feature, somewhat similar to backward compatibility and crossgene. Its meaning is that when buying a game for the old generation, the user also gets its version for new consoles. In this case, we are not just talking about the possibility of running the game on different devices: the gamer will also have access to all the nextgen-improvements of the updated versions.

Microsoft calls this feature Smart Delivery. Sony did not name it in any way, but it will also be on the PlayStation 5. However, if Microsoft is promoting it as one of the advantages of the console, Sony prefers to remain silent. Perhaps, the technology is not so smooth – for example, it is already known that in a number of games between consoles it will not be possible to transfer the progress of the passage.

Technical innovation

Next-generation consoles aren’t just about high resolution and frame rates. It is also a technological leap that should justify a generational change. Based on the marketing campaigns of the manufacturers, the SSD will be responsible for it.

Both Microsoft and Sony are betting heavily on solid state drives. For casual gamers, this primarily means faster boot times for both OS and video games. But they are much more important for developers. A sharp increase in data transfer speed will make it possible to do without various tweaks, facilitate work and provide new opportunities for filling games with content.

Apart from SSDs, Sony is actively promoting the new DualSense controller. The gamepad has received the most extensive redesign in the past 25 years, and also acquired features not available to its competitor – tactile feedback and adaptive triggers.

On paper, the innovation advantage over the PlayStation 5 – its SSD is faster, and the controller is called almost a revolution in the gaming industry. And since Microsoft does not respond to this with anything other than a little more power, we will give this round to the PlayStation with a slight advantage.

It should be noted that it is simply impossible to evaluate innovations without feedback from real buyers, and in the case of DualSense – and without personal experience. We can’t say what effect the tenths of a second will have on games that the PS5’s custom SSD is ahead of the competition. As for the controller, the DualShock 4 also had interesting features like a gyroscope and a touchpad. However, outside the exclusives, they were almost never used, and in them the usefulness of these functions was questionable. A similar fate may befall DualSense.

Size matters

I never thought that I would be comparing consoles in size, because it seems like a very minor factor. However, revealing the dimensions of the PlayStation 5 made me change my mind. This thing is just huge!

No kidding, PS5 is the largest console ever. It takes up even more space than the Xbox One and PS3, and is very close in size to the system units. Compared to it, the Xbox Series X and even more so the Xbox Series S look miniature.

If you are cramped in your living space or plan to often carry the console with you, for example, on a visit, then you need to think twice before taking the PlayStation 5. Perhaps this volume is useful for cooling the device. But the round is still unconditionally for the Xbox.

Other participants in the console war

Traditionally, modern console warfare refers to the confrontation between the PlayStation and the Xbox. However, we must not forget about other market participants. Sometimes they can make very significant adjustments to the state of affairs.

First of all, it is, of course, a PC. Для основной целевой аудитории игровых разработчиков персональные компьютеры — это прежде всего приспособление для работы, а не игр. Поэтому вопросы в духе «А зачем Xbox, если есть ПК?» возникают не очень часто. В России и СНГ, наоборот, ПК-гейминг исторически развит намного сильнее консольного.

ПК мощнее и универсальнее, чем Xbox Series X и PS5, но при этом и цена достойных сборок может в несколько раз превышать стоимость новых консолей. Такая разница постепенно компенсируется региональными ценами на игры. Если у вас есть ПК, отвечающий современным стандартам индустрии, Xbox Series S/X вряд ли сможет вас заинтересовать, лучше присмотреться к PS5. Не будем также забывать про новые линейки видеокарт от NVIDIA и AMD, последние презентуют в октябре.

Другой серьезный игрок на рынке — Nintendo. Эта компания уже давно идёт собственным уникальным курсом и, кажется, совсем не замечает происходящих в индустрии страстей. Switch практически безраздельно доминирует на портативной арене. По слухам, в начале 2023 года компания планирует представить обновлённую версию консоли. Для тех, кто любит казуальные игры и портативность, она может оказаться куда интереснее PS5 и Xbox Series S/X.

Самая же мощная на данный момент сила в игровой индустрии — мобильные устройства. На них приходится наибольшая часть выручки и аудитории. Несмотря на это, они не могут конкурировать с ПК и консолями на равных, да и не пытаются, предпочитая условно-бесплатный формат. Вместе с тем определённые корректировки в позиционирование мобильного гейминга могут внести облачные технологии. Уже сейчас xCloud и Stadia позволяют играть в консольные тайтлы на смартфонах. Кто знает, быть может, в скором времени специализированные игровые станции будут полностью вытеснены с рынка.

Помимо этого, есть ещё игровые автоматы, а также менее заметные консоли. Большинство из них представляют собой аналоги ретроустройств или гаджеты для узкой аудитории гиков. Но все они — и даже многострадальная Atari VCS — занимают слишком малую часть рынка, чтобы брать их в расчёт.

PlayStation 5 или Xbox Series S/X — какую консоль выбрать?

В конце 1990-х PlayStation практически уничтожила консольную отрасль SEGA. В начале 2000-х PS2 окончательно её добила и даже прошлась катком по свеженькой Xbox. Устройство Microsoft не смогло приблизиться к показателям конкурента, но сумело достойно сдержать удар самой популярной консоли в истории.

Опыт этой борьбы сильно пригодился Microsoft в будущем и позволил куда успешнее войти в следующее поколение. PlayStation 3 нельзя назвать провальной консолью вроде Wii U или Dreamcast, но при прямом сравнении с Xbox 360 она явно проигрывала.

Ситуация изменилась со стартом продаж PlayStation 4 и Xbox One. Неудачная ценовая политика, потеря эксклюзивов и периодические проблемы с производительностью не позволили Microsoft удержать лидерство и отдали восьмое поколение на откуп Sony. Хотя, опять же, полным провалом это нельзя назвать.

Очевидно, что Microsoft умеет учиться на своих ошибках. Она больше не позиционирует Xbox в качестве «медиацентра» и снова сосредоточилась на играх. То же касается и ценовой политики — Xbox Series S может сорвать банк благодаря своей удивительно низкой цене. Кроме того, компания наращивает мощь за счёт xCloud и Game Pass.

В то же время Sony идёт курсом, который почти не менялся на протяжении 25 лет. Технические инновации и эксклюзивные видеоигры — больше компания ни на что внимания не обращает.

Если подходить к вопросу чисто математически, оценивая только рекламу, то на старте нового поколения позиция Microsoft выглядит более уверенной. Маркетинговая кампания Xbox Series S/X постоянно преподносит что-то новое, тогда как пиарщики PlayStation 5, кажется, не особо заинтересованы в происходящем. Однако, несмотря на всё это, выбирать победителя ещё очень и очень рано. Кроме того, даже при таком раскладе каждая консоль легко может найти своего покупателя.

Xbox series s — бюджетный некстген. Самый дешёвый и компактный способ приобщиться к играм нового поколения. Подойдёт тем, у кого нет мониторов и телевизоров с поддержкой 4K и повышенной герцовки. Отличный вариант для тех, кто любит играть, но не слишком глубоко погружен в геймерскую среду.

Xbox series x — попкорновый гейминг на максималках и отличная замена ПК. Лучший вариант для тех, кто хочет получить полноценный некстген, но не собирается проходить каждую игру в мире. Обилие мультиплатформы не даст заскучать, а огромная библиотека Game Pass поможет забыть о покупке игр.

PlayStation 5 All-Digital — самый дешёвый доступ к полноценному некстгену. Железо старшего брата, эксклюзивы и ₽9 тыс. экономии делают консоль очень привлекательной для обладателей хороших ПК и интернета.

Playstation 5 — лучшие традиции прошлых поколений. Выбор хардкорщиков, фанатов, коллекционеров и барахольщиков. Не стоит брать её под замену ПК, но в качестве дополнения к нему она подойдёт отлично. С таким комплектом вы не пропустите ни один важный релиз поколения, а дисковод в теории сможет компенсировать подорожание игр.