- Joined
- Nov 26, 2019
- Favourite title
- Shenmue
Whether you bought one for yourself, a family member, to resell or its a work related product I'd like to know what everyone's thoughts and first impressions are on the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles from people who have experienced them first hand. Here's my first impression:
XBOX SERIES X - I haven't owned one yet, but no doubt will shortly. I reserve commentary until further notice.
XBOX SERIES S - I bought a Series S a few days ago for personal use to replace my original 2013 era Xbox One. I already switched over to the Series controller back in November when they were on sale and have never looked back on the XB1 controller. The controller(and especially the d-pad)is second to none for a base model controller and by far the best Xbox controller(and all around controller)on the market as of yet. The series S is the perfect size, perfect weight and perfect fit for what my personal gaming needs are, which is very light selective gaming. I welcome the removal of the disc drive as were in 2021 and discs are on the chopping block undoubtedly in the next 3-5 years tops. I love the 'less is more' approach all around, with one exception..the small hard drive. While its sufficient for my gaming needs, I know it won't be for hardcore gamers. The white color is also a bit of a disappointment as black always looks better, but I understand they need to separate the X from the S in design. The load times are super quick, for example Mortal Kombat 11 on XB1 takes about 2 minutes to start up from the menu and about 18 seconds to load between each fight. On the Series S it loads from the menu in about 18 seconds and takes 1 second to load between each fight. I feel this is by far the best all around value for any casual or moderate gamer for this generation. Granted, I haven't experienced the Series X yet, but I feel it would be overkill for the average gamer unless you need the 4K, disc drive and 1TB storage. Unless you need a Series X for your gaming needs, I'd buy a Series S over an original Xbox One, One S or One X. It's a worthwhile investment.
PS5 DIGITAL & PS5 DISC - First off, I will clarify that I am biased to Xbox in every generation. Not because I'm a fanboy or blind loyalty, I understand these are both major companies there to distract us from real life and take our money. With that said, I just find Xbox to always be the underdog that outshines PlayStation every single generation overall. Sony is often all flash with little substance outside of a small selection of exclusive titles. With that said, I purchased both a PS5 Digital and PS5 Disc Edition for business the other day, and I have mixed feelings. Certain aspects were exactly what I expected, others were welcome surprises for the better. The Disc edition will be sold for sure, while the Digital edition is also likely to be sold, but I may end up keeping it a bit longer than I initially anticipated as I'm heavily considering Kena coming out in August as a big priority and there's a few other exclusives that look so much better on PS5 than PS4, and also some PS5 exclusives in general. While I'm not attached to keeping any of my PS5's as I am with my Series S, I did feel it was worth giving a try. The load time on the PS5 is quick on PS4 titles, but its slower than the Series S loading Xbox One titles. I found that interesting because for example Mortal Kombat X on Series S loads faster than on PS5, which I did not expect with the PS5 being the superior console from a specs standpoint. The PS5 load times are fine though overall. The frame rate on PS4 titles like Ghost of Tsushima and Shenmue 3 are incredible, even the minor graphical improvements make the games much more enjoyable than they were on any of the PS4's(Original, Slim or Pro). The PS5 console is hideous in it's visual presentation and is even worse looking in person than it was in pictures, it's by far the ugliest PS console ever made(yes, even more so than the PS2 fat) and is quite possibly the ugliest console in gaming outside of some of the late 70s/early 80s consoles. The disc edition looks worse with the growth on the side throwing off the already broken symmetry, the stand that goes on it makes it look even more ergonomically unfriendly. It's bulky, heavy, disjointed and looks like something designed in the year 2000 trying to be from 2020. An internet modem with a 3 ring binder around it. The fins are the worst part, and the small pretentious details like the X, O, Square and Triangle textures on the fins scream Apple iPhone pretense. The user interface is light years behind Xbox Series/XB1 and while it's usable it is disjointed and broken in comparison to both the PS4 and even the PS3. I know this will most likely change with software updates, but as it stands the PS5's dashboard is a hot mess. Some PS5 fans said "the Xbox Series doesn't feel fresh cause of the dashboard looking like XB1" yet the XB dashboard style was introduced in September or October 2020 so it's brand new, and just because it looks stream lined with last gen and Windows 10 doesn't matter, its crisp and functional. The PS5 is supposed to be cutting edge in all ways, and yet it fails in design and interface as it looks worse than the consoles from 15 years ago all around, with one exception: The Dualsense 5 controller. By far the best improvement of the PS5 is the dualsense 5. It's easily the best PS controller and a huge redemption from the trash that was the PS4 dualshock. Dualshock 4 was a step down from dualshock 3 but with the dualsense 5 Sony has redeemed itself a bit. The d-pad is still pretty bad overall, and personally I don't like the joysticks in the middle as it doesn't rest well in the hands like the XB controllers do, but they did copy the Xbox One controller style a bit by extending and arching the grips and that has made this the best PS controller yet. The absolute best part of the PS5 experience on first impression was the haptic feedback. I played Astros Playroom a lot longer than I normally would have just to continue feeling the dualsense haptic rumble. The PS5 dualsense is by far the best rumble I've ever felt in a video game controller and has taken things to new heights. Ghost of Tsushima felt all the more real with the haptic response and I genuinely look forward to it with other newer titles in the future. I think the built in microphone is a great design idea to eliminate the need for a headset, but since I don't play online with others outside of Ghost, I found it a bit annoying having to go into the settings to turn it off everytime I start up the console. Overall, its a good choice though. From an ergonomics and current interface standpoint the PS5 is a nightmare and an eye sore, but from a performance, graphical, controller experience and future proofing standpoint there's no reason to spend money on a PS4 original, PS4 Slim or PS4 Pro at this point unless you can get them at a wholesale or deeply discounted price. The PS5 shows a lot of potential of what's to come, and I'd hold out for a PS5 before investing into a PS4 at full retail price.
What has your experience been???
XBOX SERIES X - I haven't owned one yet, but no doubt will shortly. I reserve commentary until further notice.
XBOX SERIES S - I bought a Series S a few days ago for personal use to replace my original 2013 era Xbox One. I already switched over to the Series controller back in November when they were on sale and have never looked back on the XB1 controller. The controller(and especially the d-pad)is second to none for a base model controller and by far the best Xbox controller(and all around controller)on the market as of yet. The series S is the perfect size, perfect weight and perfect fit for what my personal gaming needs are, which is very light selective gaming. I welcome the removal of the disc drive as were in 2021 and discs are on the chopping block undoubtedly in the next 3-5 years tops. I love the 'less is more' approach all around, with one exception..the small hard drive. While its sufficient for my gaming needs, I know it won't be for hardcore gamers. The white color is also a bit of a disappointment as black always looks better, but I understand they need to separate the X from the S in design. The load times are super quick, for example Mortal Kombat 11 on XB1 takes about 2 minutes to start up from the menu and about 18 seconds to load between each fight. On the Series S it loads from the menu in about 18 seconds and takes 1 second to load between each fight. I feel this is by far the best all around value for any casual or moderate gamer for this generation. Granted, I haven't experienced the Series X yet, but I feel it would be overkill for the average gamer unless you need the 4K, disc drive and 1TB storage. Unless you need a Series X for your gaming needs, I'd buy a Series S over an original Xbox One, One S or One X. It's a worthwhile investment.
PS5 DIGITAL & PS5 DISC - First off, I will clarify that I am biased to Xbox in every generation. Not because I'm a fanboy or blind loyalty, I understand these are both major companies there to distract us from real life and take our money. With that said, I just find Xbox to always be the underdog that outshines PlayStation every single generation overall. Sony is often all flash with little substance outside of a small selection of exclusive titles. With that said, I purchased both a PS5 Digital and PS5 Disc Edition for business the other day, and I have mixed feelings. Certain aspects were exactly what I expected, others were welcome surprises for the better. The Disc edition will be sold for sure, while the Digital edition is also likely to be sold, but I may end up keeping it a bit longer than I initially anticipated as I'm heavily considering Kena coming out in August as a big priority and there's a few other exclusives that look so much better on PS5 than PS4, and also some PS5 exclusives in general. While I'm not attached to keeping any of my PS5's as I am with my Series S, I did feel it was worth giving a try. The load time on the PS5 is quick on PS4 titles, but its slower than the Series S loading Xbox One titles. I found that interesting because for example Mortal Kombat X on Series S loads faster than on PS5, which I did not expect with the PS5 being the superior console from a specs standpoint. The PS5 load times are fine though overall. The frame rate on PS4 titles like Ghost of Tsushima and Shenmue 3 are incredible, even the minor graphical improvements make the games much more enjoyable than they were on any of the PS4's(Original, Slim or Pro). The PS5 console is hideous in it's visual presentation and is even worse looking in person than it was in pictures, it's by far the ugliest PS console ever made(yes, even more so than the PS2 fat) and is quite possibly the ugliest console in gaming outside of some of the late 70s/early 80s consoles. The disc edition looks worse with the growth on the side throwing off the already broken symmetry, the stand that goes on it makes it look even more ergonomically unfriendly. It's bulky, heavy, disjointed and looks like something designed in the year 2000 trying to be from 2020. An internet modem with a 3 ring binder around it. The fins are the worst part, and the small pretentious details like the X, O, Square and Triangle textures on the fins scream Apple iPhone pretense. The user interface is light years behind Xbox Series/XB1 and while it's usable it is disjointed and broken in comparison to both the PS4 and even the PS3. I know this will most likely change with software updates, but as it stands the PS5's dashboard is a hot mess. Some PS5 fans said "the Xbox Series doesn't feel fresh cause of the dashboard looking like XB1" yet the XB dashboard style was introduced in September or October 2020 so it's brand new, and just because it looks stream lined with last gen and Windows 10 doesn't matter, its crisp and functional. The PS5 is supposed to be cutting edge in all ways, and yet it fails in design and interface as it looks worse than the consoles from 15 years ago all around, with one exception: The Dualsense 5 controller. By far the best improvement of the PS5 is the dualsense 5. It's easily the best PS controller and a huge redemption from the trash that was the PS4 dualshock. Dualshock 4 was a step down from dualshock 3 but with the dualsense 5 Sony has redeemed itself a bit. The d-pad is still pretty bad overall, and personally I don't like the joysticks in the middle as it doesn't rest well in the hands like the XB controllers do, but they did copy the Xbox One controller style a bit by extending and arching the grips and that has made this the best PS controller yet. The absolute best part of the PS5 experience on first impression was the haptic feedback. I played Astros Playroom a lot longer than I normally would have just to continue feeling the dualsense haptic rumble. The PS5 dualsense is by far the best rumble I've ever felt in a video game controller and has taken things to new heights. Ghost of Tsushima felt all the more real with the haptic response and I genuinely look forward to it with other newer titles in the future. I think the built in microphone is a great design idea to eliminate the need for a headset, but since I don't play online with others outside of Ghost, I found it a bit annoying having to go into the settings to turn it off everytime I start up the console. Overall, its a good choice though. From an ergonomics and current interface standpoint the PS5 is a nightmare and an eye sore, but from a performance, graphical, controller experience and future proofing standpoint there's no reason to spend money on a PS4 original, PS4 Slim or PS4 Pro at this point unless you can get them at a wholesale or deeply discounted price. The PS5 shows a lot of potential of what's to come, and I'd hold out for a PS5 before investing into a PS4 at full retail price.
What has your experience been???
