With the summer rapidly running away from us, we edge closer to the season of a bajillion game releases. The same question arises every year, what of the plethora of titles should I spend my hard earned money on? It’s impossible to pick them all up (let alone play all of them) so you have to choose carefully. Christmas helps as it allows for easy presents but that's a long wait. The added complication this year is a new console generation, a huge expense to upgrade to the latest models. So, should you go for it?
Xbox
Now that we have a release date and prices for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S we can actually work out who this is for. Straight out of the gate if you need the latest and most powerful model the Series X is an easy sell. Pre ordering on the 22nd September should mean you are able to nab one and be set up for this new generation. Including a disk drive and backwards compatibility, which makes up for the lack of major day one releases. With Halo Infinite moving to next year, there's not a lot of reason to buy the new models purely to play next gen games. Gears Tactics is released on the same day but playable on Xbox One as well as PC.
For the Series S its specs are slightly lower than the X, with only 1440p rather than 4k graphics, half a terabyte of hard drive space and it does not have a disk drive. But at £249 it is an absolute bargain. For those who have a mainly digital library or heavily use Game Pass this is a great console to pick up. Its design is far smaller and meant to be tucked away under the TV. It’s also a great option for all those PlayStation fans who want to get their Halo or Gears fix. £250 for a secondary console is well worth it.
For those like me with a bunch of disk based games the S is not really going to cut it. I don't want to have to buy all these games again digitally. The hard drive space is not amazing (as game sizes creep up) but an external hard drive can be plugged into both which should mitigate this. The trade offs are pretty clear but considering the Series X is the same price as when the One X launched Microsoft is really pushing for those big early sale numbers.
But with Xbox One being supported for a good while yet, all first party games coming to both generations of consoles there is not really a huge rush for most people to jump on this now. Gears Tactics launches on both gens on 10th November. Cyberpunk releases just over a week after the Series X but the true next gen update for that game won’t come until 2021 anyway. For the hardcore, the X is an easy sell and for those without any consoles or wanting a secondary one the S is a great idea.
PlayStation
Of course we can talk about new consoles but without actually owning and using them all we can do is speculate and read about hands-on impressions. At the time of writing we still have no release date or prices for the PS5 and PS5 digital. Sony was smart to follow the two model route but when the hell are they coming and how much will they be?
The current thinking is that they will release later and cost more than the Xbox Models. Timing wise I don't think it matters too much, as long as it launches this year then there won't be too much of a head start for Microsoft. Price is where it will actually matter and currently we have absolutely no idea. My guess is anything under £100 more than Xbox is doable for most customers. Anything over that will be a very hard sell, particularly if Microsoft advertises the price difference heavily. For casual players and families sticking a £600 full model PS5 against the £250 Xbox Series S is not going to be much of a question of which to buy. That is a lot of money.
Those models are on either end of the spectrum of power and capabilities but who doesnt shop around? Of course Sony now has a chance to blow Microsoft out of the water and could potentially undercut them on both models. £50 cheaper is basically a first party game saving (though £60 prices are creeping in). With the install base of the PS4 I think Sony will be hoping brand loyalty and first party exclusives will be enough to sell their models.
I am amazed it has taken both companies so long to announce the price and release date, it looks like the leak of the S forced Microsoft’s hand but it seems like neither company wanted to jump the gun too early. We should be getting an announcement soon from Sony unless they need to radically change their plan.
So why buy a PS5? I hate to repeat myself but it is very similar to Xbox, you are future proofing yourself for next gen, able to play PS4 games (though actual titles not confirmed but first party is pretty much a given) and be ready for those big exclusives. I know a lot of people are excited for Miles Morales stint as Spider-man and Horizon Forbidden West. Even Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart looks good!
As for what both companies are going to do with the new generation we can only really go off the trends from the 8th generation we just had. If you really liked Sony’s first party output of God of War, Spider-man, Last of Us 2, then I fully expect more of these incredible single player titles. It is shown to be a winning formula and I doubt they will move too much away from this. Horizon Forbidden West already looks like a great sequel and more of the same.
As for Diskless or Disk based consoles it really depends on you. The console will be cheaper but digital games tend to be higher priced than physical ones. It’s cheaper to start with but will cost you more in the long run, unless you are canny with the sales and PS+ titles. Most people as they get older want to eschew a physical collection as it takes up too much space which is fair enough. I do rather like the White design of the PS5 game boxes though.
Hardcore PlayStation fans will just buy the PS5. And rightly so. But what about those that change depending on what's more popular? Frankly I don't know, most people would bet on Sony's continued dominance but a competitive price and a bigger Game Pass push could change some minds. Hopefully cross platform play should make it less of an issue which console you own….
Switch
I am talking about the Switch? But they don’t even have a new console! You are very correct. But if rumours are to be believed there will probably be a new Switch console in the Spring. Rumours are that the model will support 4k and be lined up alongside the launch of Breath of the Wild 2. This upgrade from Nintendo is long overdue and while it won’t compete with the other big two console makers it should make players think about their next purchase.
It does all depend on which way Nintendo goes. Do they continue with the Hybrid model, making it dock on the TV and play in handheld? Whilst very possible (and preferable) this would push the price up fair bit. It would be easier to sell to both kinds of fans but we might be talking £350+ for it. The more likely move in my opinion would be a TV only model that supports 4k. No need for a dock or screen which would make it far cheaper and still be a big upgrade. They already have the Handheld only Switch Lite so it's very possible.
What does that mean for players? Well for those with consoles already it won't matter too much this Christmas. I know some people are opting to pick up a Lite for more comfortable handheld gaming (particularly in bed!). It's those considering buying their first Switch. The hardcore (like me) will just buy an upgraded model anyway. We want the biggest and best, particularly if it gives you the best performance in games like Zelda. So the real question is do you buy a standard model this Christmas at £280 or do you wait a few months to see if there's a price drop or a competitive price on the 4K model? Of course it may not even be real though the last few leaks on new Switch consoles have all come true.
It’s a tough question and already adds to the headache of working out which way you want to play. No point buying a Lite if you want to play on the TV. There is also the issue that some new games might only work on the 4K model. We have seen this in the 3DS series whereby titles like Fire Emblem Warriors only worked on the New 3DS model. I doubt Nintendo would go this way, the Switch has sold over 55 million models (three in my house alone…) and they wouldn't want to alienate that install base.
For the casual players I would not worry, just work out what way you will play and then pick up the appropriate model. The 4K is merely rumoured at the moment and not really going to change things hugely for the average fan. Though with Super Mario 3D All-Stars having a limited release it might push a few people to buy a Switch sooner rather than later...
Now that we have a concrete release date I am far more excited about next gen. I could pretend I know all about Ray Tracing but just knowing there will be better graphics, faster load times (looking at you Outer Worlds) and day one backwards compatibility has me sold on upgrading. But really it might not be worth it for most people. November and December are expensive months for everyone and there really isn't a day one killer game that you have to play. It's not like the Switch releasing with Breath of the Wild. And even that got a release on Wii U on the same day!
It’s probably better to wait a few months and let them iron out all the online and software issues. The first batch of consoles usually has hardware issues as well that get fixed later down the line. My Xbox One X whilst working can be incredibly ropey at times. There is usually some kind of price drop after a year or so which is also baring in mind. We should have about seven years on this generation with most of the big new games not coming until the middle of next year. Plenty of time to save up!
Alternatively you could just ask for it for Christmas and then open it early like me...
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