PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S: Which console should you buy as 2023 approaches the final quarter?

Both consoles came with inflated price tags (compared to the last generation) and equally stretched bags of expectation. (Image: Sony/Microsoft)

It’s time once again — when the festive season, a smattering of holidays and Diwali bonuses (presumably) are on the horizon — for us all to sit down and contemplate what really matters. Savings, investment, fixed deposits and taxes are a topic for another time. Right now, it’s imperative to tackle a more serious and pressing concern: Where are you going to get your next fix of gaming?

The central assumption of this discussion is that you do not yet have a current-gen console. And that you are considering getting hold of one. After all, the chip shortage is behind us, stocks are plentiful, both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have a 30-month-plus catalogue of games to offer, and there are some heavy-hitting titles in the pipeline.

The big little guy in the room

The more astute among you will have noticed that this analysis skips over the Nintendo Switch. And you would be right. So, what gives? There are two principal reasons for the 130-odd-million-units-selling hybrid console’s omission: Nintendo’s lack of official presence in India and the fact that it’s a last-gen console.

The former is a major concern from a warranty and repairs standpoint. It stems from the fact that with Nintendo not deigning to do business in India, all Switch units sold in India are imported (or smuggled) from other markets. Put differently, while you might be able to look past packaging or an instruction manual in Arabic, Cantonese or Polski, you may struggle to overlook the complete lack of after-sales service.

The scenario is slightly better when it comes to games, because you can sign up with an American, Japanese or British eShop and digitally download games. Failing that, there’s a handful of physical versions of games available at a bunch of stores and digital storefronts. Unfortunately, much like the consoles themselves, these are usually imported and are often (fortunately, not always) overpriced.

The second factor, that of its obsolescence, is a non-issue if you’ve yet to play any of Nintendo’s excellent first-party titles. The company, to its credit, has always marched to the beat of its own drum, with its staunch refusal to chase trends or whatever the perceived “next big thing” was. While Sony and Microsoft were racing to achieve higher resolutions and maximum frames per second, Nintendo was trying to make gaming fun and accessible to one and all.

However, with a successor to the six-year-old console on its way and the Switch’s very poor record with third-party AAA titles, it’s a hard sell in 2023. Still, not a bad console to have if your budget is limited, but you’re willing to risk the possibility of life with a reasonably expensive paperweight.

Setting the stage for the main event

Now that’s out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks: Sony versus Microsoft. PlayStation versus Xbox. Gran Turismo versus Forza. PS Plus versus Game Pass. You get the idea. For over 20 years, the Japanese electronics giant and the American computing behemoth have gone head-to-head in the console wars. While the PS2 (still the world’s top-selling console) beat the debut Xbox quite handsomely in the first battle, the subsequent battles (PS3 vs Xbox 360 and PS4 vs Xbox One) were far closer.

Which brings us neatly to the fourth full battle (not including mid-generation skirmishes like the Xbox One X versus PS4 Pro) between the two heavyweights. The Xbox Series X released along with its more lightweight counterpart, the Series S, in India in November 2020. Despite a similar global launch date, the PS5 saw the light of day in India in February the following year.

Both consoles came with inflated price tags (compared to the last generation) and equally stretched bags of expectation. Pre-launch, phrases like 8K resolution, 120 fps, high-speed SSDs, backwards compatibility were as commonplace as Hydroxychloroquine — the name, mind you and not the drug. COVID-related supply shortages slammed the brakes on the console wars, and market penetration was incredibly slow.

Flash forward to September 2023, and while we no longer (most of us anyway) go out with masks on, the chip shortage is a thing of the past with PS5s and Xbox Series Xs available quite freely. And from legitimate sources, no less; no more dealing with price-gouging touts. So which one’s right for you?

PlayStation 5 versus Xbox Series X

The digital-only edition of the PS5 and the Xbox Series S are not being included in this analysis, since we are only looking at the high-end consoles available today. With that in mind, let’s get started, and the first consideration, as with most things, is how much lighter either console is going to make your wallet.

Price: As of the most recent price revisions, both consoles retail for a shade over half a lakh rupees (Rs 54,990 to be precise). This is by no means a small outlay, so you’re going to have to deeply consider your selection. On the other hand, since they are evenly matched in the price game, it renders the monetary aspect of the debate entirely moot.

Games: For most, this is what it will come down to: What does it play? What can it play? For starters, there’s a rather large overlap between the two consoles in terms of third-party titles from the likes of such AAA publishers as EA, Ubisoft, 2K and so on, and all manner of indies. It’s when we get into the territory of exclusives that things become a bit more starkly defined.

Sony clearly has the upper hand in this category, because for starters, it has studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Sucker Punch Productions, Santa Monica Studios and Guerrilla Games on its roster. Not only have these studios been responsible for the PlayStation’s biggest hits, but their titles are either always PlayStation exclusives or timed-exclusives that pop up on the PC months or years later.

Microsoft, fresh off its recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard, does have a fair few exclusives of its own, however, the Xbox has none. Feel free to read that again. Over the years, it’s become painfully apparent that the Xbox is not necessarily the company’s priority, since all of its games are available on PC — Microsoft’s primary platform in all likelihood. Sure, you cannot, and likely will never be able to, play Halo, Gears of War, Forza and Starfield on the PlayStation. However, if you have a PC, would you really get an Xbox to play titles in these franchises?

The clear winner here is Sony.

Aesthetics: For most gamers, this won’t matter very much, but if how a console looks sitting in your living room, den, bedroom, office or games room is important to you, we’ve got you covered. The Xbox looks like a discreet black mini tower, the sort you’ve doubtlessly seen housing CPUs alongside office computers. Inoffensive and subtle on the eye, it features very practical dimensions, making for easy storage.

The PS5 is a different story altogether. And it seems the word ‘practical’ walked out the door when the console was being designed. At first, it looks extremely unique, perhaps even a bit peculiar. It is also deceptively large, which means you will have to figure out how and where to store it, while leaving enough room for its fans to ventilate heat. While the original colourway is a black and white one, the availability of different coloured plates means you can make the console look less conspicuous and toy-like.

This is a very subjective one, so I will refrain from crowning a winner.

Quality of life: Whether it’s an Xbox Series X or PS5 you are considering, the good news is that both have rather ergonomically designed controllers. The PS5’s DualSense is quite a departure from the DualShock 4 (the PS4). More muscular in terms of weight and overall build quality, the latter is also far grippier than the latter. On the Xbox side of things, the Series X controller is actually smaller than its predecessor, and features a more nuanced D-pad — one that to my mind works better than the DualSense’s more traditional D-pad.

Staying with controllers for a while longer, it’s in the capabilities section of this category that it stops being a contest. The DualSense features far more advanced haptics that make in-game vibrations more satisfying and varied. It incorporates its touchpad far better than was the case with the PS4 (mainly due to what games are doing these days). Finally, it sports decent battery life. The Xbox controller, on the other hand, has relatively primitive haptics and still runs on AA batteries.

With the consoles, it’s a slightly different story. The Xbox Series X is far more powerful than the PS5, and as a result is able to do cool things like boot up games searingly quickly and offer its ‘Quick Resume’ function. This lets you suspend as many as three games in a save state simultaneously and swap seamlessly between them. On the PS5 side, while games do boot up quickly, they take a shade longer than on the Xbox Series X. Also, you can only suspend one game in a save state. Opening another game or app closes the one you’d suspended. Both consoles have extremely efficient cooling and run very quietly.

For the gains from its controller, this round also goes to Sony.

Subscriptions: The PS Plus Deluxe and Extra tiers were underwhelming at best when they launched last year. In terms of how much they cost and what they offered, the PlayStation’s subscription programme left a lot to be desired. In comparison, Xbox’s Game Pass that had a five-year head start was (and continues to be) a well-oiled machine: Relatively affordable and offering players a rich mix of titles from previous Xbox generations and contemporary ones, Microsoft exclusives and third-party alike.

In the past year, Sony’s subscription programme has gathered a head of steam, despite its basic offering (the ‘Essential’ tier that gives subscribers three ‘free’ games a month) going from bad to worse. A case in point is the near-universal displeasure at September’s selection of games.

For retaining its value for money and giving subscribers a whole host of day one releases (something Sony has yet to do with AAA or exclusive games), Microsoft wins this one hands down — especially considering the impending price hike for PS Plus.

The India factor: In recent years, Sony has been seen as more present, for want of a better word, in the Indian market. Whether in terms of promotions and ensuring a supply of physical versions of first-party games, or in terms of distributing review codes and providing quality customer service, Microsoft has been a distant second.

This, in addition to the fact that things are unlikely to change, gives this round to Sony.

Do you really need either?: This is the most vital consideration of them all really. Unless you have the appetite, time and bandwidth to get your money’s worth, maybe a home console isn’t really for you. Perhaps mobile gaming or hybrid gaming (see: Nintendo Switch) might be a better fit for you. Sure, both consoles come with Blu-ray drives, but with the world moving in the direction of streaming content, is the ability to play Blu-ray discs still the draw it once was?

The verdict

There was a time when Xbox was considered the home of RPGs, rich narratives and serious gaming. PlayStation was seen as a platform for slam-bang arcade action and Metal Gear Solid. In 2023, none of these hold true. Despite sporting the better hardware of the two consoles, the Xbox Series X is living off the scraps of Microsoft’s PC segment. The PS5 has the big exclusives, but has lost access to some key third-party publishers that shifted significant units for Sony.

The bottom-line is that both consoles have had nearly three years to show what they have to offer, and what Sony is offering still seems a lot more tempting. Unless, of course, you have a terrible hankering for some Starfield. In which case, getting an Xbox Series X is still far more economical than investing in a gaming PC or laptop