Every generation of gaming consoles, there’s an argument on which one is better. Although nowadays the answer isn’t as cut and dry, there are key differences between both Xbox and Playstation that set it apart.

Pricing

This time around, Xbox has released two versions of their console while Playstation has stuck to one. Xbox released the Series X and Series S consoles with widely different internals and price points. The Series S starts at $299 yet is lacking internally, often benchmarking lower than last generations’ Xbox One X. The Series X however is the most powerful console released to date (even beating the PS5) and costs $499. The PS5 matches the Series X’s price at $499 with slightly less power than its counterpart.

Controllers

This year, the PS5’s controller had arguably the biggest leap in technology. Moving away from the “Dualshock” branding the new controller is dubbed “DualSense” with a big leap in vibrations. By completing reinventing the vibration motor, the controller is now able to output significantly more vibrations. The application for this technology is up to the developers but games have already shown support. The second big feature with the DualSense controller is the adaptive triggers. Now the controller can dynamically apply resistance to the trigger depending on what the game doing. The latest game to use both technologies was Call of Duty, where depending on the gun you are holding, the trigger would mimic an actual gun trigger and you can feel the different kinds of bullets via the controller.

Unfortunately, Xbox decided to change very little with their controller with the addition of a slightly revamped D-Pad and Share button

Exclusive Games

Historically, PlayStation has always had the upper hand in exclusives with the Xbox barely having any. So far in this generation the same pattern can be seen. The PS5 released with three exclusives being: Spiderman Miles Morales, Bugsnax and Demon Souls. Each game highly anticipated by the audience it was targeting. The new Xbox consoles have released with no exclusives having their latest Halo game being delayed. Hopefully this generation Microsoft can invest in studios and deliver on exclusives that Sony can compete with. So far, Sony has announced a plethora of games in development while Microsoft has stayed silent.

Currently, it seems the PlayStation is the console to get for now, with a better controller and exclusives to buy right now. The Xbox doesn’t seem to have any standout features to compete with PlayStation; hopefully this time around Microsoft can truly compete with Playstation.