PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X: Everything you need to know on release week

The most anticipated time of the year has finally arrived: release week of our next-generation consoles.

Excitement has been building for months, and from this week, gamers will finally be able to get their hands on the latest line of Xboxes and the PlayStation 5.

Move over December 25, Christmas has come early!

There are two consoles in the Xbox line available: the Xbox Series X and the digital variant Series S, which are both due for release tomorrow, November 10.

The PlayStation 5 also has a standard disc and digital version available, but folks in the UK won’t be able to snag their console until November 19.

So, in the final days, how do both consoles compare overall?

Price

• Xbox Series X: £449.99
• Xbox Series S: £249.99

• PlayStation 5 (disc): £449.99
• Playstation 5 (digital): £359.99

Specs (the nerdy bits)

Xbox Series X

• 16GB GDDR6 RAM
• 1TB SSD
• 4K UHD Blu-ray drive
• 4K 60fps, up to 120fps (8K)
• Custom AMD Zen 2 CPU (8 cores, 3.8GHz)
• Custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU (12 teraflops)

Playstation 5

• 16GB GDDR6 RAM
• 825GB SSD
• 4K at 60fps, up to 120fps (8K)
• AMD Zen 2 8-core CPU (3.5GHz)
• AMD RDNA 2 GPU (10.28 teraflops, 2.23 GHz)

Both consoles will also support ray tracing to an extent, which provides higher resolutions and smoother framerates on compatible games to inject a hyperrealistic feel into the new generation of games.

Either way, both consoles are a massive step up from their predecessors, both in price and performance.

As for exclusives, whilst both have a variety, the PlayStation 5 seems to be pushing their new generation gaming lineup more – and for good reason.

The PlayStation 5 will host an array of first-party exclusives that have got gamers in awe, some of which include but are not limited to:

• God of War: Ragnarok (2021)

• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020)
• Horizon Forbidden West (2021)
• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (2020)

The Xbox series also has a decently impressive list of exclusives, though Microsoft are currently more invested in their extensive Games Pass feature:

• Halo Infinite (2021)

• Forza Motorsport (no release date as of yet)
• Fable (no release date as of yet)
• State of Decay 3 (no release date as of yet, early development)

There is also a vast list of third-party games to look forward to on both the new generation consoles and PC in the coming months, including but not limited to:

• Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

• Gotham Knights (2021)
• Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition (2020, excluding PC)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)
• Far Cry 6 (2021)
• Watch Dogs: Legion (2020)
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (2020)

Whilst preorders for both console series are long closed, you may be lucky enough to snag yourself a console if you search through the internet hard enough.

Jordan Kirkpatrick