But those who opt for the Series S and aren’t using games as their primary at-home entertainment medium — or lack an upper-tier 4K TV — likely aren’t going to complain or notice anything too drastic. At only about a foot tall and 6 inches in width, it doesn’t feel that big. Additionally, the time it took for my character to respawn after death was shaved in half, from 9 seconds on the Xbox One to 4 seconds on the Xbox Series X. XBOX SERIES X: Having only sampled a limited selection of November’s game releases, the first game I would boot up on the Xbox Series X would be one of the prior generation’s most beautifully crafted experiences, “Ori and the Will of the Wisps.” The game is receiving a boost for the new console, although the update hadn’t yet been released at the time of writing. There are also a handful of third-party titles, like Battlefield 1, Fallout 4, Persona 5, and Final Fantasy XV. When it comes to first-party exclusives, Sony’s future lineup includes Horizon Forbidden West, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and the hotly anticipated Demon’s Souls remake. While the success of PlayStation or Xbox's consoles over its competitor's isn’t necessarily determined by how many of its exclusives won awards, the metric is certainly a piece of the overall PlayStation-versus-Xbox "console war." On PS5 games, you can pull up a page from the menu that will show you what missions you’ve completed, what mission is next and how long those tasks are estimated to take. But to those in the market for one, good luck. The console wants to get you logged on and playing. While more limited than Xbox, the crucial features are there like remote gaming, game library management, and voice chat in-app. Microsoft’s next-gen consoles Xbox Series X and Series S arrive next week. Alternatively, if you’re flush with cash, you can buy both. There’s no break in fidelity regardless of how fast one moves the camera. Xbox One vs PS4 . Is it worth it? The Xbox Series X price and PS5 price are identical. Review: When Maurice Ravel, a painter and an UCSF neurologist connected on Zoom. For instance, the left and right triggers are able to adjust to pressure — that is, they can adjust the level of resistance to your fingers. Namely a game such as “Gears 5" overall felt smoother. It’s a nice little feature, especially if you’re debating whether you want to take on another chapter before calling it a day. Its goal is to show you that all of this is easy. But even on my TV, running older Xbox games that received an upgrade, I noticed some differences. XBOX SERIES X AND S: Microsoft released two consoles on Tuesday, the enthusiast Xbox Series X ($500) and the smaller, less costly Xbox Series S ($300), which is seemingly aimed more … Both will launch on the same day, but the release is staggered in two waves. All of this will go a long way to keeping consumers gaming. The Series S packs a slightly lighter punch. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. The best video game consoles in 2021 include the Sony's PS5 Playstation, Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Nintendo's Switch. The digital play ‘UnRavelled,’ free to view through March 30, explores the mysteries of creativity through the composer and a ‘Bolero'-obsessed artist. After pledging ‘real change’ amid last year’s protests, ABC and owner Walt Disney Co. stayed silent as a firestorm over race consumed its reality-TV flagship. Below are some of Microsoft’s Xbox first-party exclusives: There are other “timed exclusives” and “Xbox console debuts” to come next year. On a beach? Watch L.A. Times Today at 7 p.m. on Spectrum News 1 on Channel 1 or live stream on the Spectrum News App. Booting up “Gears 5" on the original Xbox One took 3 minutes and 10 seconds for me to get from the menu screen to a moment in the game’s campaign. In “Astro’s Playroom,” a game that comes with the PS5, the controller can mimic the feel of zipping up a spacesuit. The Xbox Series X also has a refined version of the feature I’ve wanted my entire life: the simple ability to start a game at the exact moment I left off. The difference isn’t always drastic, but on most TVs, PS4 titles will simply … It’s a far cry from the more than 100 games available on Game Pass—especially since titles like Spider-Man and Horizon Zero Dawn are oddly missing. Most of these are titles already available on last-gen systems. But while the release of new home game consoles from Microsoft and Sony were destined for this year regardless of the pandemic and the increased political tensions it brought, their arrival as 2020 nears its end feels more than a little serendipitous. Sony announced the PlayStation 5 will be 99 percent compatible with PlayStation 4 titles. It wants to be the Frank Gehry of home video game console design, but there’s a sci-fi coldness to it, a box with a bold flair but also one that diverts from any attempt at home comfort. The company also confirmed the “top 100” PS4 games had been tested, and that they worked on the new console. Everyone, however, will notice the speed. While exclusive to Sony consoles, the game will also launch simultaneously on PS4. Microsoft confirmed that both the Series X and Series S will be fully backward compatible with the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox. The Xbox One is an extremely popular gaming console and does a good job when it comes to providing entertainment for the whole family. Of those, the Digital Edition was more popular in 3 states and the standard edition took top billing in 20. Cinemas on Thursday were given the green light to resume operations for the first time in a year. Technical specs are otherwise identical, with promising graphics that heighten the believability of game universes by emphasizing a greater fidelity with lighting and shadows. £392.99 The most powerful console of the lot. Unfortunately, neither PS5 console will be compatible with titles created for pre-PS4 Sony consoles—at least, not at launch. Welcome, too, is the ability to go to specific chapters or missions that have been completed, in case you want to revisit a game or fully complete a section. If you’d rather just pay for a regular Game Pass Console, it’s $9.99 per month. It truly sounds like our little robot is squishing through the landscape. Sony, whose PlayStation 4 was the industry leader with sales topping 100 million worldwide, has stated in interviews that in the United States the company sold as many PS5 pre-order units in 12 hours as the PS4 sold in 12 weeks. That could all change this generation, though, with big-name studios, like Obsidian Entertainment and Double Fine, joining Microsoft as first-party developers. That’s not an exaggeration. The Xbox Series X was originally supposed to launch with “Halo Infinite,” the latest installment in the sci-fi shooter saga, but that title was pushed to 2021. Similarly, the companies did just that in 2020, but in their own ways. PLAYSTATION 5: Two editions of PlayStation 5 launch Thursday — a $500 console with a disc drive that can play games and media and a $400 option without the drive. In the PS5 version of “Ghost of Tsushima,” for instance, walking around a flame showed the fire flickering in one motion. It’s a good reminder for those hesitating to spend the cash now for a new console that it is typically a year or two into a console’s life until we start seeing games that were tailored specifically for the new tech. Can’t wait for the PlayStation 5? While it took time to download games of course, switching from one Xbox to another was easier and quicker than transitioning to my new iPhone a couple months back. Game Pass doesn’t scrimp on quality, either. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X cost $499.99. Unfortunately, at launch, those games are very thin on the ground. PlayStation Plus is required for online play, and will now provide access to a collection of games for $9.99 per month, or $59.99 per year. After a lot of anticipation and delays, Sony finally started selling its next-gen gaming console, the PlayStation 5, on November 12 last year. However, the secondary consoles, like the PlayStation 5 All-Digital Edition and the Xbox Series S, are priced differently. That is, a home video game console should be as restrained as, say, a cable box or a receiver because games will soon be as commonplace in our households. Sony's "The Future of Gaming" event revealed a lot of first party blockbusters previews and the key differences between Playstation and its competitor Xbox. I was wrong. Thirteen years since country-turned-pop star Taylor Swift earned her first nomination, here’s a look back at her Grammy highs and lows. Previously, Martens reported on the music business for Billboard Magazine. Unlike Microsoft’s approach with the new Xbox, in which the company is releasing two consoles Tuesday with different capabilities in the hopes of selling people on its subscription service and setting them on a regular upgrade path, Sony is taking a more old-fashioned route. At least that’s the hope. I’ve slotted it between my TV stands and turntable stand, sliding it closer to the wall with each day. Fortunately, that future looks bright. This is important. Xbox has 1.7 more teraflops, units for measuring computing speed, on its GPU than PlayStation does. PLAYSTATION 5: The PlayStation 5 is launching with more next-generation content than the Xbox Series X. From a cold boot to my saved game in “Miles Morales,” it took less than a minute. The Switch is the only console we regularly find time to play when busy. Former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will replace the besieged host, who has come under fire for making racially insensitive comments. Pans up and down the screen had a more cinematic sensation; there was never a vertical scan line present as there was on occasion on my original Xbox One. Microsoft’s consoles are essentially entryways into the Microsoft ecosystem, home to the subscription Xbox Game Pass. While it’s true that few are buying the PS5 for its design — or conversely not buying it for its look — it’s worth highlighting because the PS5 wants its games to demand attention. Sony hasn’t yet announced any monthly payment plans that compete with Xbox All Access. The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Performance, though, is dependent on the console you’re using. With The Game Awards 2020 in the rear-view, it’s interesting to see which games, consoles, and publishers managed to win the most awards. Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez are still together. The S model is compatible with Xbox Kinect and can be great fun for kids. On the PS5, members will also be able to download 18 of what Sony calls “generation-defining” PS4 games. The Xbox Series X is designed to make use of top-of-the-line televisions and all the graphical and lighting tools at a developer’s disposal. PLAYSTATION 5: It’s fast. Review: Why we should pay close attention to the world of ‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’. These include a follow-up to legendary PC mid-2000s shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Geiger-inspired horror show Scorn, and Hellblade II—the next chapter in Ninja Theory’s Senua Saga. The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 both come in at $499 whereas the Xbox Series S comes in at $299. Sony will also launch two consoles in November: the PlayStation 5 ($499.99), and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition ($399.99). Game Pass Ultimate is by far the best value, with over 100 games (even more on PC) and online play. It also reassured me that if there’s an Xbox Series X update three years from now, the upgrade will be painless. Compared with the PS4 launching of “Ghost of Tsushima,” it took about the same amount of time, but the PS5 allows players to bounce to content that’s already open at a fraction of the speed. Sony has said consoles will be available online only, citing the pandemic and alluding to the desire to avoid a crush of people in long lines for a potentially limited supply. At this writing, Resident Evil 7, Monster Hunter: World, and Wasteland 3 are all available. And while PS4 controllers will work with PS4 games, they won’t work with PS5 games, making the PS5 feel more like a closed system than the Xbox universe. Game Pass Ultimate, which includes Xbox Live Gold (required for online play) and access to Game Pass for PC costs $14.99 per month, but you get your first month for $1. PS4 is three times more popular than Xbox One in Europe, Sony claims "It's really been fortress PlayStation." They’ll be in high demand. This white curved box is a behemoth. But there’s a catch. Sony/Microsoft. Of course, you could also buy neither and build your own gaming PC, instead. Next-generation games also look to be big, and while the PS5 comes with a large internal hard drive (825 GB), I have less than a third of it left after installing six games, meaning I’ll likely have to purchase a compatible hard drive, which is another small investment of $100 or $200. The Xbox One S is now a lot slimmer than previous versions and it has even more power. Microsoft claims both will hit 120 frames per second on titles like Halo Infinite and Gears 5. On the other side of the aisle, the Xbox One X makes arguably an even better case for itself, as Microsoft seems likely to continue supporting it with games for longer than Sony with the PS4 Pro. The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will support games from the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and that means that the old rules just don’t apply. Microsoft's disc-based Xbox Series X console retails for $499 / £449 / AU$749, while the standard PS5 is … I appreciate Microsoft building into its console a solution to one of the most frustrating traits of modern games — there is a long list of games I simply stopped playing because I was asked to replay 30 minutes. The Xbox One X has a faster GPU with more compute units than the PS4 Pro, and it also has more … Microsoft also offers the Xbox Series X and Series S under their All Access plan. Still, Microsoft has in recent years been boosting its stable of studios, including high-profile developers such as Bethesda and Double Fine. The singer and the former New York Yankee deny reports that they have split. Final Fantasy XVI will be a PlayStation-console exclusive, and a follow-up to 2018’s God of War has also been teased for 2021. It’s designed to be a statement piece. The game’s launch window is “holiday 2020” which means it might not be quite ready for the November 12 launch. Join 425,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, comics, trivia, reviews, and more. Buying a console at launch can often feel like a raw deal. It has gimmicks — you can actually blow into the controller to affect gameplay, which wasn’t fun when Nintendo did it and it isn’t fun when the PS5 does it — but other aspects succeed in pulling you deeper into the game. I remember where in the game I was when I set my controller down, but too many modern games rely on check points to save your progress (changing this, it should be noted, is a very complex development process). It has a modified Nvidia Tegra X1 platform - that's an ARM-based mobile device processor similar to the chips in high-end phones and tablets, while the PlayStation and Xbox consoles all opt for slightly more conventional computing power. Before you even get down to the hardware, controllers and operating systems, you have to talk about games – because they're really what matters most on any console. AMC will open two locations in L.A. County on Monday. Then the first Black ‘Bachelor’s’ season unraveled. The consoles release November 12 in the U.S., Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, and November 19 in Europe, and the rest of the world. And there are other effects as well.