Xbox Series X versus PlayStation 5: First reviews in gaming war
They’re powerful, popular, and will arrive within two days of each other. PlayStation and Xbox gamers are preparing for the biggest launches ever.
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The scene is set for the biggest tech event of the year: two powerful, next-generation game consoles will launch within days of one other next week, following record early sellouts and predictions game sales will dominate the Christmas season.
And while new hardware will ignite the trend, experts say it’s part of a “perfect storm” for video games, following lockdowns across the country and renewed interest in socially distant but highly connected entertainment.
Microsoft will launch its two next-gen games consoles, the Xbox Series X and S, on Tuesday next week, followed by Sony’s release of the PlayStation 5 and a cheaper digital edition on Thursday.
The head-to-head launches will be even closer than seven years ago, when they launched within a week of one another.
But Sony Interactive Entertainment’s president and chief executive Jim Ryan told News Corp just getting the machines ready for launch was a major achievement during “very, very challenging circumstances”.
The games head, who has worked on every PlayStation launch to date, said the COVID-19 outbreak made it more difficult to get consoles ready for launch, but had increased the numbers of gamers keen to invest in them, with many coming back to gaming after a break.
“Obviously, doing all of this in the midst of a pandemic has clearly been an interesting experience and not one to repeat,” Mr Ryan said.
“We’ve pleased to be there for people when they’ve needed us, you know, literally shut at home unable to go out and in many countries for many, many weeks.
“Gaming has been a good thing, I think, and we want to hang on to those people and stay connected to those people for as long as we can.”
Despite renewed interest in games, Mr Ryan said Sony did not anticipate the rush on PS5 pre-orders “in our wildest dreams,” with US gamers buying more new PlayStations in 12 hours than the previous generation sold in 12 weeks.
In Australia, PlayStation 5 consoles sold out in 15 minutes and some stores now warn they will not be able to fulfil orders until 2021.
“We’ll supply more before Christmas holiday time and then we’ll ramp up the supply after Christmas so if people can’t find one at launch we’re very sorry about that but we hope to be able to find a way to get them a PS5 in the not too distant future,” Mr Ryan said.
“Clearly with that sort of level of pre-order activity it it’s going to be hard for us to meet demand.”
Telsyte principal researcher Foad Fadaghi said one in every two Australian households used a games console, and interest in upgrades this year was “sky high”.
“It’s going to be a massive year for games going into the holiday period,” he said.
“We’ve seen huge growth over the lockdown period in the games industry in Australia. With people spending more time at home, video game entertainment has skyrocketed.”
Mr Fadaghi said more players would also take up gaming subscriptions, such as PlayStation Plus and Xbox Games Pass, which would bring more casual gamers to consoles.
Melbourne sales administrator and veteran gamer Kirra Howden, 22, said she was looking forward to getting her PlayStation 5 on launch day next week after beating the crowds — and her friends — to secure a console pre-order from Big W.
Ms Howden said she grew up playing Xbox games but chose a PlayStation 5 this launch season for the exclusive games, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales and The Last of Us, and was looking forward to seeing how they looked on a next-gen machine.
“Games are completely different now,” she said. “When I was a kid the games were very simple — you ran and jumped and chased after monsters. Now games have a backstory, plot lines and they’ve become art.”
REVIEW PS5
The subway train is sliding into the station and I can feel its brakes shaking in my hands. Minutes later, my hands are vibrating again as I swing from building to building, and ride through a shopping centre atop a giant villain.
This immersive experience, enough to momentarily convince me I am Miles Morales, is thanks to the PlayStation 5’s thoroughly redesigned controller, a vital addition for any games console but one that takes on heightened importance in this next-generation games machine.
The feature-packed DualSense controller, along with a serious speed boost, are the two headline features of the PlayStation 5 console arriving next week, and the two biggest reasons (aside from individual titles) a player would choose Sony’s offering over a rival from Microsoft.
Of course, that’s not to diminish other hardware boosts inside the PS5.
Like every new generation console, its graphics are more detailed, lifelike, and stunning. This machine delivers HDR video that shows light and shade in every scene, ray-tracing that makes beams of sunlight look genuine, and 4K gameplay that will make you question whether it’s real — or at least squint at the screen.
The console will also deliver 8K footage to screens that support it for added future-proofing and 120 frame-per-second video for smooth action scenes.
But the PlayStation’s 2020 speed boost is something more than a generational shift. The addition of a solid-state drive means games now load in seconds rather than minutes (which often seem like hours). Even swapping between games is quick, reducing frustration when you rage-quit a troublesome level.
And that PS5 controller could seal the deal for many. Its haptic feedback is finely tuned and bears little resemblance to the basic button-and-joystick combos of the past. Its triggers are also adaptive, meaning you can feel the tension change when you hit them to release a web or yank a cord out of the ground.
This year’s PlayStation also comes in a cheaper variety with no disc drive, for those confident about archiving their physical games collections, and both PS5 consoles offer generous backwards compatibility.
XBOX SERIES X AND S REVIEW
There’s a lot to love about the new Xbox Series X and S consoles: the new controller is the most comfortable yet, and the top model is a familiar joy.
Although these games machines don’t reinvent the console experience, they are an extremely welcome evolution.
Vastly improved graphics impress but the biggest change comes from the lighting-fast solid-state drive that helps the console load games faster than before.
That speed boost, paired with Quick Resume that lets players pick up where they left off almost instantly from the last four games they played, is what makes these consoles worth owning even before there’s a must-have, exclusive game.
These consoles also have the power to change the way you play. Although there are obvious differences between graphics on the last Xbox One and Xbox Series, I feel freer to play more games and in different ways.
Before, playing a game was something for which I needed to carve out time. Although I still have those dedicated gaming sessions, Quick Resume and the reduced loading times have meant I can just jump into a car race while making tea or get a bit further in a mission while dinner’s in the oven. These little improvements make a huge difference to how people can play. And that’s before you get to the technical stuff like 4K, 120 frames-per-second graphics on the Series X and Ray Tracing, which means games look and play better.
The smaller and cheaper Series S has no disc drive, and only does 120fps at 1440p or 4K at 60fps, which makes it ideal for people who don’t plan to buy a new TV.
It also works for folks who bought a 4K TV last year or earlier, which wouldn’t be compatible with the HDMI 2.1 technology that supports the fancy Series X capabilities.
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