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By Arthur Gies and Haley Perry Retro Handheld Game System
If you’re looking for a new game console, narrowing down which one to buy can be challenging. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S have very similar features and game libraries, and then there’s the Nintendo Switch, which is more family-friendly (but far more portable and endlessly fun).
The Nintendo Switch is the most popular console. It has plenty of fun games and few downsides, and it’s a favorite among Wirecutter staffers—both the casual players and the video game pros. You can read more about the Switch and why it appeals to so many people in the Switch section below.
But if you’re ready to jump into the current generation of video games with more realistic graphics and more sophisticated multiplayer, we’ve been testing the PlayStation 5 Slim (disc or digital) and playing with the Xbox Series X and Series S since their release in late 2020, and we can guide you through the differences. If you already know which platform you’ll choose, we also have separate guides dedicated to Xbox Series X|S options and PlayStation 5 options.
With the PlayStation and Xbox platforms offering similar graphics capabilities (at least on paper) at similar prices, the reasons to choose a PlayStation 5 Slim over an Xbox Series X or S revolve mostly around which games you want to play and how you want to play them.
This version of the PS5 has a disc drive, so you can watch UHD Blu-ray movies, as well as play new or used PS5 and PS4 game discs. The rest of the features and hardware are the same.
If you have a big collection of physical PlayStation 4 games, if you want to watch 4K Blu-ray discs on your console, or if you’re a deal hunter looking for discounted new and used games on disc, you should get the standard Sony PlayStation 5 Slim so that you can use its UHD Blu-ray drive.
The PS5 Slim Digital Edition doesn’t include a disc drive, so you can’t watch Blu-rays or take advantage of new or used games or old PS4 discs. But if you’re comfortable going all digital, it has the same graphics, CPU, memory, and storage hardware as the standard PS5.
The Sony PlayStation Slim 5 Digital Edition usually costs $50 less than the version with a UHD Blu-ray drive, and it does everything the standard version does aside from playing discs. If you don’t want to spend $500 on a new console, if you don’t buy or watch movies on UHD Blu-ray, or if you don’t care about disc-based games, the Digital Edition might make more sense, especially if you take advantage of a PlayStation Plus game subscription. You can always add a disc drive later—but it’ll cost you.
The PlayStation 4 had more top-rated exclusive titles than the Xbox One. Previously, most of them were available only on the PS4, while the Xbox One’s exclusives were often available on the PC, too. However, PlayStation has expanded its PC-release strategy, and by September 2024, almost all of PlayStation’s biggest exclusives will also be available for PC. Some, like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Gran Turismo 7, are still available only on the PlayStation 5 first, but the release cadence of PS5 exclusives has slowed recently. However, the PS5 also plays virtually all of the PS4’s enormous library of games, and many of them run better on Sony’s newer hardware.
The new PlayStation 5 launched on November 12, 2020. We break down the differences that matter and consider whether it’s worth the upgrade.
Both console platforms will continue to get some of the same major titles as well, including installments from franchises such as Call of Duty and Madden. Since Microsoft purchased the makers behind major series like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom in the fall of 2020, it’s unclear if future titles in those series will appear on PlayStation platforms. This may tip the balance in Xbox’s favor when it comes to exclusives—or games available in its subscription offerings—in the future. In 2023, Microsoft also completed its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, the makers of Warcraft, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and more, and while Xbox has committed to keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation until at least 2033, it’s hard to say how this move will affect the availability of Activision-Blizzard’s other titles on PlayStation.
While some games still lock you into playing games with other players on the same platform, cross-platform multiplayer allowing interaction among players on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC is now fairly common, so this is less of a concern than it has been in the past. Both the PlayStation and Xbox platforms require subscriptions for access to even basic online functions. For PlayStation, this subscription is called PlayStation Plus; for Xbox, it’s called Xbox Game Pass Core.
The PS Plus subscription service has three tiers of membership: PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium. The baseline subscription, PS Plus Essential, costs $80 per year; the annual prices rise to $135 and $160, respectively, for Extra and Premium. Members of any tier gain access to online play, special discounts on some titles during sales, and two free games a month (of varying quality). You keep the free games as long as you have a PS Plus subscription, but you lose access to them if you cancel, even if you’ve already downloaded them. Those who subscribe to the more expensive PS Plus tiers, Extra and Premium, gain access to additional game catalogs.
You do not have to pay for PS Plus to use streaming video services like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. You don’t need PS Plus to use the PlayStation 5’s party voice-chat system to voice-chat with friends (Xbox Live doesn’t have this restriction, either).
The PS5 has its own native VR headset, called the PlayStation VR2. It’s a great device that’s comfortable to wear and easy to set up, but most people shouldn’t buy it because it requires the PS5 console to function, and there aren’t many available games to play. Most of the games you can play on the PS VR2 are also playable elsewhere, including on cheaper all-in-one headsets like the Meta Quest 2. If you’ve previously bought into the PlayStation VR ecosystem, note that the PS5 is mostly backward-compatible, so you can play the same games on it. But to do so, you need to use all the same accessories—including the camera, which needs a special adapter to connect to the PS5—from your PS4.
If you plan on playing online games, get the console your friends have, because Sony sometimes doesn’t support cross-platform multiplayer with Xbox or Switch.
The PS5 Slim and the Xbox Series X are similarly competent media centers for a living room. Both output 4K video and have Blu-ray UHD disc drives, so you can watch digital movies or discs that you already own. The PS5 does not support Dolby Vision or or DTS:X, though—if you don’t know what those things are, don’t worry about it, but if you want to take advantage of either standard, the Xbox may be a better choice. If you’re considering either of the cheaper versions, the $400 PS5 Slim Digital Edition or the $300 Xbox Series S, you’ll have to be comfortable with giving up a disc drive completely. Those models still support 4K video, but you’ll have to stream or own digital films.
If you’re ready for a PlayStation 5, there’s one last thing to keep in mind: its size. The PS5 is a huge console—yes, even the current, revised “slim” model—and it can’t fit well in a lot of media centers, vertically or horizontally. If you really want a PlayStation, we don’t think its size is a reason to skip it. But measure your space to make sure you know where it will fit.
Get the Series X if you’ll use it with a 4K TV (now or eventually), want the absolute best in graphics like raytraced lighting effects, or if you want a disc drive for games and movies.
The Series S doesn’t take full advantage of TVs with 4K resolution, and it lacks a disc drive, which is a downside if you own a lot of physical games or movies or like to buy them used. But it still lets you play the new generation of games, and it’s a great value paired with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
With the Xbox and PlayStation platforms offering similar graphics capabilities (at least on paper) at similar prices, the reasons to get an Xbox instead of a PlayStation revolve mostly around which games you want to play and how—that, and Xbox Game Pass.
Last generation, the Xbox One didn’t have as many critically acclaimed exclusive games as the PS4 did, but it still had a solid library of titles you couldn’t get on PlayStation. The Series X and Series S will continue many of those franchises, including Halo, Gears of War, Doom, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and more, and many of their subsequent titles will also launch on Game Pass on day one. Microsoft has also acquired Activision Blizzard, the company behind franchises like Diablo, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty, but Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV launched on multiple platforms, and upcoming games will follow suit for some time. Microsoft has also confirmed that future Call of Duty installments will not be exclusive to Xbox consoles. Additionally, Xbox has begun to experiment with putting some of its games on the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, though many of its games will continue to be exclusive to Xbox hardware and Windows PCs.
In 2023, fewer games are coming to last-generation consoles. If you’re looking for a new Xbox, we’re here to help you pick the right one.
Game Pass is a major reason to consider an Xbox over a PlayStation. For $17 a month, Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to more than 400 games across Xbox consoles, PC, and streaming, plus online multiplayer. The subscription service offers access to major titles—every Forza title, every Gears of War game, every Halo title, most of Bethesda’s game library, and more. Xbox recently confirmed that the latest Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, will be available on Game Pass on day one for the first time, and earlier this year Blizzard games like Diablo 4 became available on the service. The number of titles, along with Microsoft’s commitment to put the games it makes (or funds) on the service the same day they launch, sets Game Pass apart from the closest equivalent on a PlayStation, PS Plus.
As media centers, the Xbox and the PS5 are similarly competent and capable of serving as the brain of your living room. Both can output 4K video from digital collections or streaming services. And the Xbox Series X and the standard PS5, each costing $500, both have a UHD Blu-ray drive if you want to watch 4K movies on disc. Unlike the PS5, both versions of the new Xbox support Dolby Vision video from streaming services, so if you’ve built a home theater setup around that (or, say, DTS:X surround sound), choosing one of the Xbox consoles makes sense.
The Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S play the same games, but they’ll look and perform a little differently from one another. The Series X is more powerful, and will play games at higher resolutions and often higher framerates, with more visual details and bells and whistles, than the Series S. But for gamers on a budget, for kids, or for a bedroom or office, the Series S is a great option.
The Xbox Series S is available in two configurations: a white, 512GB version at $300, and a black 1TB version at $350. The cheaper version is often discounted by $50 or more, so unless you plan on storing a lot of large games on your console all the time, we think the cheaper option is a better way to go.
If you want a console that you can disconnect from the TV and take with you, or if you just prefer Nintendo’s games, the Switch is for you.
The Switch OLED Model has a beautiful screen and other improvements that make it worth the extra money, but it’s probably not the best option for younger kids.
The Switch Lite is smaller and lighter, but its lack of TV support means you can’t play multiplayer games with family or friends on the couch.
There’s a new Nintendo console on the horizon, and we expect to see it sometime in 2025, but for now you can’t beat the Nintendo Switch’s lineup of games if you have players of all ages in the house. The Switch’s library is mostly missing big franchises like Call of Duty, in part because it’s not as powerful as a PlayStation, an Xbox, or a modern PC. And the Nintendo Switch isn’t trying to be the center of your entire TV setup—it can’t do anything in 4K, and it doesn’t offer many streaming video apps. But it continues to do the thing that Nintendo consoles do best: play excellent, family-friendly, genre-defining Nintendo games from classic franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon. Better yet, it acts as both a home console and a portable device.
There are three versions of the Switch, all of which share the same basic design and run the same software and games. The original base model has a 6.2-inch LCD screen, detachable controllers, a kickstand that might let you prop it up on a table if you cross your fingers and wish really hard, and a dock that connects the Switch to your TV. The Switch OLED is similarly configured, but it features a 7-inch screen with a small bezel that makes its viewable screen appear even larger compared with that of the base model. The titular OLED technology behind that screen lends it “perfectly” dark blacks and vibrant colors, and it also features improved speakers, more internal storage, and a built-in stand that’s actually useful.
Both the original and OLED versions of the Switch can be played in handheld mode or on your TV, and their detachable Joy-Cons can be split as individual controllers for multiplayer games, or combined to make one gamepad. In contrast, the handheld-only Switch Lite has built-in controls that can’t be detached, a 5.5-inch screen, no kickstand, and no TV output—but it’s also cheaper.
We recommend the full-size Switch to almost everyone, especially if you’re buying your household’s first Switch or if you want to play multiplayer games like Mario Kart or Smash Bros. on your couch. The Switch Lite is best for someone who doesn’t care about connecting the console to a TV, or as a second Switch for a family member with smaller hands.
The Switch’s portability and its detachable Joy-Con motion controllers allow it to do some oddball things. A few of the Switch’s multiplayer games, such as Nintendo Switch Sports, Super Mario Party, and Snipperclips, make use of the motion controllers, for fans of Wii-style party games. For action-heavy single-player games, Nintendo also offers the more traditional (and excellent) Switch Pro Controller.
Nintendo charges you to play multiplayer games online, and it costs $20 a year. This membership also grants access to discounts from the Nintendo eShop, downloadable content for some games, and a library of more than 100 classic titles from the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Game Boy eras. And for $50 per year, you can tack on the Online Expansion Pass, which expands this catalog with over 80 titles from the Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Advance.
The 512 GB Switch card will give you plenty of room for screenshots and games once you fill up the Switch’s 32 GB of storage.
The base-model Switch has only 32 GB of internal storage—the OLED model has 64—and it fills up fast. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, for example, devours 16.3 GB all by itself, and many of the Switch’s best third-party games are available only via download. However, you can expand the console’s storage with a microSD card—128 GB to 512 GB of space will be plenty for most people.
You might find yourself spending cash on other accessories for your Switch, too. The Joy-Con controllers are tiny and can be hard to hold, even with the included comfort grip, so the Switch Pro Controller is a great option if you plan on playing with the Switch docked to a TV. And if you plan on traveling with your Switch, you may want a protective carrying case, or a more compact replacement for Nintendo’s bulky charger.
If you want a game console that combines the portability of the Nintendo Switch with the deep customizability of a PC, portable PC handhelds like Asus’s ROG Ally Extreme and the Steam Deck are great options. These aren’t consoles, exactly, but they do support Steam’s gigantic library of games. But while the Steam Deck only officially supports Steam, the Ally Extreme is a Windows 11 device, meaning it supports every PC gaming storefront, including the Epic Games launcher and Fortnite, as well as Xbox’s Game Pass PC app, which offers hundreds of games (including frequent brand new releases) for a monthly subscription fee. Neither device is as beginner-friendly as a console, and you’ll often have to tweak settings, install third-party software, and more. But that’s part of what many people like about PC gaming in the first place.
The ROG Ally is currently available in two models: the base model at $600 with 512 GB of storage, and the Extreme version, which sells for $700 with 512 GB of storage (though we’ve seen it as low as $620). We recommend the Extreme model, as the non-Extreme version’s performance is significantly worse. Meanwhile, the Steam Deck is available in three different configurations: A $400 256 GB version with an LCD screen, and a new OLED model with a larger battery available for $550 with 512 GB of storage or $650 for 1TB of storage. You might also be able to find, for $350, the older 64 GB version, which you can upgrade with a large storage microSD card. Lenovo has a similar gaming handheld, the Legion Go, though in its current state we wouldn’t recommend it—that device’s fans are annoyingly loud, and its performance just isn’t as consistent as what you can get from the Ally Extreme. It’s also much more expensive than the Steam Deck.
This article was edited by Caitlin McGarry.
Arthur Gies is a supervising editor for tech at Wirecutter. He has covered video games and hardware since 2008, has consulted on a number of popular (and not popular) video games, and wrote a book about the Gears of War franchise. He also has a BFA and MFA in drawing and painting, which comes in handy when he reviews drawing tablets and styluses.
Haley Perry is an associate staff writer at Wirecutter covering video games and technology. She used to review video games full-time, and she’s also a big fan of mezcal. If you get enough in her, she may just admit that she still plays The Sims ... a lot.
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