Seven years have passed since Microsoft and Sony launched the previous generation of game consoles. Now the next generation is on the market, and we’ve checked out which is the coolest new console: Xbox Series-X or PlayStation 5.
Watch the new consoles in use in the video above!
Both consoles are almost sold out all over the world, and here in Norway it is the same story. At the last console war, there was no doubt that the PlayStation 4 was the big winner with over 100 million units sold, while the Xbox One “only” sold just under 50 million.
Now gamers have been waiting in excitement to test out the new giants, and they have not waited in vain.
Watch TV 2 help you for free on TV 2 Sumo.
Tested by celebrity gamers
Youtuber Dennis Vareide and host / hardcore gamer Niklas Baarli have tested the machines for us.
Vareide makes the most of playing all types of games on different platforms.
– I live by playing, not by being good at gaming, there is a big difference, says Vareide.
Baarli, on the other hand, does not live off gaming, but has spent a lot of time playing games growing up, and is now a shareholder in the gaming team Apeks, which operates with professional gaming.
– I mostly play on PC these days, but it happens that we fire up the console in a good team, says Baarli.
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GAMERE: These guys have spent quite a few hours on gaming over the years. Photo: Ruben Kristiansen / TV 2 helps you
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Largest console in history
Although most of the technology is getting smaller and smaller, the story is completely different for the new generation of game consoles.
– I wonder if it will fit in my TV table, it is huge and weighs half a ton, says Baarli while he tries to find space for the new PlayStation 5.
Both consoles have grown a lot from their predecessors, but it is the PlayStation 5 that is definitely the biggest.
GIANT: The new consoles are bigger than you think. Photo: TV 2 helps you
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– Xbox is not small either, but unlike PlayStation, it does not stand out so much in the living room, says Vareide.
Both agree that the new console for Xbox is nicer to look at and walk away with the victory in the beauty contest.
New features
Both consoles are two beasts of some machines and are almost equally powerful, but it should be said that the Xbox is a little better on paper.
With a new generation also comes new and improved features for both consoles.
– Both have received a new subscription service, it is “PlayStation Now” and “Game Pass”. You can look at it as Spotify for games, says Baarli.
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SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: For around NOK 100 a month, you get access to hundreds of games from all generations: Photo: Ruben Kristiansen / TV 2 helps you.
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Both of these services allow you to download and stream hundreds of games from all generations. The biggest difference is that Xbox releases brand new game titles as soon as they are released, while you have to wait a few years before the new games come out on PlayStation Now.
– If Xbox manages to get the new titles out, then it’s a very exciting thought. I like that very much, I think that is the future of consoles, says Vareide.
Another feature of the new Xbox is “Quick Resume” which allows you to quickly jump in and out of up to three games and start right where you left off.
– It is quite smooth, says Vareide as he jumps back and forth between the games.
New hand controllers
Both Microsoft and Sony have upgraded the controllers, but it is PlayStation that has made the biggest overhaul.
– Both fit perfectly in the hand, and what you like best, I think is about personal preference, says Vareide.
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SITS AS LUBRICATED: They have had plenty of time to perfect both controllers and they sit very well in their hands. Photo: TV 2 helps you
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The new control of PlayStation has been upgraded in most of both design and features. It has vibrations that react in sync with what is happening on the screen, speakers that give a surround effect and motion sensors that allow you to control by moving the controller itself, not unlike what we know from Nintendo.
– It is incredibly fun, this controller impresses greatly, says Vareide.
Baarli thinks the Xbox controller is the one that fits best in the hand and feels lighter than the PlayStation controllers, but there is one thing he is annoyed about.
– On the controller for Xbox, you have to buy AA batteries and insert, in 2020, Baarli stated.
– Lack of new big game titles
Another difference between the two consoles is that Sony focuses on exclusive games, ie games that are optimized for the console and are only available on PlayStation. Microsoft, on the other hand, makes all its games available on both Xbox and PC.
– I like exclusive games very much, it means that you get games that really show what the console can do, says Baarli
The exclusive game we got to test was Spider-Man: Miles Morales, their biggest game at launch.
– The graphics are absolutely fantastic, seem almost completely real when I throw myself around the city, Vareide says.
The new game supports PlayStation’s new feature, so-called beam tracking, which provides a very lifelike reproduction of light.
FEELS TRUE: The new feature allows you to really get into the game. Photo: Ruben Kristiansen / TV 2 helps you.
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– Xbox, on the other hand, has no new big game titles for launch, they have just refurbished old games and made them look better, it is not good enough I think, says Baarli.
Vareide also agrees with much of what Baarli says.
– The graphics for the Xbox are great, it is great to use and incredibly quiet, but there is a lack of new great game titles for this one.
The coolest new console
Since the battle in the console war has just begun, it is impossible to name a winner so early, but it is clear that one of them feels best at launch:
– PlayStation is the one that feels most new. They have new big games for it, the controller impressed me greatly and it really felt like a new generation, says Vareide.
FEELS NEW: PlayStation 5 has the upper hand at launch. Photo: TV 2 helps you
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– It feels new. If there is one of these that is under the Christmas tree this year, then it must be PlayStation, as it has the latest and fattest right now, says Baarli.
Had Xbox managed to launch its new big game Halo as planned for launch, the story could probably have been different, and it will be exciting to see who will be the winner of the console war in the years to come.
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