PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series X: Everything We Know About Next-Gen Consoles

With new consoles coming later this year, players are naturally going to get desperate for every scrap of information they can find. You might not think that details about the specific ports (that’s hardware ports, not ports of old games) on the box are that interesting. But they’re interesting enough that enterprising 3D printers have tried to fake them.

This prototype Xbox Series X chassis appears to be the real deal though. Posted by NeoGAF user CurryPanda, and reported by Thurrott, we can see a standard array of USB-A ports, Ethernet, optical audio, power ports, and plenty of ventilation. What we don’t see is a second HDMI port, further proof that Microsoft has abandoned the weird TV set-top box aspirations that hobbled the Xbox One. Here’s hoping even more exciting news is on the way. But keep reading for everything else we currently know about next-gen consoles.

Without a box to house it and a real name to call it, a new video game console is pretty much just a list of specs. But at the 2019 Game Awards the hypothetical Project Scarlett became the tangible Xbox Series X, the next console from Microsoft. This tall black box boy looks like a high-end gaming PC tower, which just screams powers. Fortunately, you can also use it horizontally for a better fit in your home. More details are sure to come before the launch next holiday, but we did learn Xbox Series X will be compatible with Xbox One accessories, save files, and thousands of games across all four generations of Xbox. Plus they’re making another Hellblade!

Once again in an exclusive interview with Wired, Sony revealed more information about the upcoming fifth, next-generation PlayStation, including an official confirmation of the name “PlayStation 5.” The console is coming holiday 2020 and developers are already working with the hardware and its unique features.

Those features include hardware-based ray tracing, improved SSD performance for booting and loading and streaming, and a new USB-C controller with HD Rumble-esque haptic feedback including trigger that push back. On the software side, the new user interface makes it easy to socialize with friends online.

For more on what to expect from both next-gen consoles, keep reading.

As excited as we are for many of the video games we saw at E3 2019 (especially from Nintendo) there’s no denying that the show was lighter than usual this year. And there’s a good reason for that. Everyone is preparing for the next-generation of consoles and waiting to announce new games specifically for those machines. Microsoft came out and revealed the next Xbox, Project Scarlett coming in holiday 2020. And while Sony skipped E3 this year, we have to imagine the already-teased PlayStation 5 is launching around that same time.

There’s still a lot to learn about this upcoming console generation in the next year and a half. Price, launch games, official names. But we’re not totally in the dark anymore either. So right now here’s everything we know about the PlayStation 5 vs. the Xbox Project Scarlett.

Specs

Sony and Microsoft have both been fairly forthcoming about detailing the specs of their upcoming machines. Perhaps to assure players that this will truly be a next generation instead of another half-step like Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro.

Project Scarlett is powered by new Zen 2 and Navi AMD processors, sports high bandwidth GDDR6 memory, reduces load times through next-gen SSDs, and supports buzzworthy performance features like ray-tracing, 8K, and 120FPS. Microsoft says it’s four times as powerful as Xbox One X.

The PlayStation 5, according to Sony’s interview with Wired, has a third generation AMD Ryzen chip, eight-core 7nm Zen 2 that allows for 3D audio. The custom Radeon Navi GPU supports ray-tracing and 8K resolutions. The SSDs are also custom for higher bandwidth compared to consumer PCs.

We’ll have to see how both consoles work in action before making a judgment, and really it’s the games that matter, but early developer rumors now suggest the PlayStation 5 is the more capable console technically.

Games

So far the only confirmed game for either of these systems is Halo: Infinite coming as a Project Scarlett launch title in holiday 2020. But we can take some educated guesses as to what else we can expect. Forza 8 seems like a no-brainer for showing off the graphical power of a new Xbox, and there’s been too much smoke around the Fable reboot for that to be totally fake.

Meanwhile on PlayStation, Death Stranding is already confirmed for launch on PlayStation 4 this November. It’s also very likely that The Last of Us Part 2 is coming next February. That just leaves Ghost of Tsushima as the Sony exclusive heavy hitter without a vague release window. So will it shift to PlayStation 5? And will Guerilla top their Killzone sequel launch title with a Horizon sequel launch title?

Finally, the biggest third party games we officially know about that are most likely next-gen exclusives are the next two Bethesda RPGs Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6. We would’ve said Cyberpunk 2077 as well but that did just get a release date for next April. Turns out current-gen machines are still strong enough for Keanu Reeves.

Backwards Compatibility

Thankfully, both consoles are making backwards compatibility (at least with the previous generation) a priority. Tens of millions of people bought a PlayStation 4 and/or Xbox One along with countless games. All of those games should work on the new machines and may even perform better. That applies to accessories as well, even PlayStation VR headsets on PlayStation 5. And yes this means Project Scarlett will have a disc drive. But we’re also hoping that the power of these machines will allow for older systems to be emulated more easily.

Extra Features

Sony wowed reporters by showing how PlayStation 5 SSDs could dramatically reduce load times in PlayStation 4 games. Spider-Man rapidly swung through New York City without waiting for a skyscraper to pop in. And it sounds like Sony wants to make load times non-existent in the next generation. Beyond that though all we can assume right now for extra features is continued support for PlayStation Network.

Microsoft we have a clearer picture of if only because the company is clearly more interested in its online services than hardware at this point. Expect to take full advantage of an Xbox Game Pass subscription on Project Scarlett. And you won’t just be downloading games. You’ll be streaming them wherever you are through Project xCloud. Heck, at this point we wouldn’t be shocked if there’s a way to directly connect Project Scarlett to a Nintendo Switch.



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