Every 5-10 years technology makes a leap, whether it’s with smart phones, PC’s or gaming, it’s always an eventful moment. We’re always curious about when the next major advancement may come, like when
the first iPhone launched in 2007 and forever changed smartphones. Now in 2020 we might be seeing such a massive leap in gaming with the Playstation 5 and Xbox series X/S, with near instant loading, 3D sound, even more life-like graphics, and many more features. There’s no better time to be a gamer!
Let‘s start off talking about near instant loading! This cannot be understated, it is one of the major features that makes this a major generational leap in gaming. With games getting more complex and advanced, we had gotten used to long loading times with the expectation of an incredible experience afterwards such as Red Dead Redemption 2, it would take up to almost whole 2 minutes to load a save file. Now with the new consoles, Spider Man Miles Morales on PS5 takes only 5 seconds to jump into the game and AC Valhalla takes only 17 seconds to load into its massive detailed open world on both new consoles. That is almost life changing for core gamers, less time wasted for those that have busy schedules and more time gaming!
Now one of the most important decisions to make when leaping into a new generation of gaming is which new console will you buy? Let’s start by looking at the Xbox Series consoles. Both the series X and S have lightning fast loading for both old and new games and both have game pass which is the closest thing to Netflix for gaming. That is great, but it lacks a distinct next-gen experience as it uses the same User Interface as it’s past generation and does not have stand out exclusives at launch.
The games at launch are mainly great third party games, but only a few take advantage of its new power, while others look pretty much the same as the previous generation. The Series S and X are similar but different at the same time. The series X has full 4K and up to 120 FPS gameplay with about 800 gb in its SSD, meanwhile the series S is smaller both in size and in GB in its SSD, with only a little over 300 GB and cannot do 4K. So, for now the Xbox Series at launch is more like an upgrade in speed and graphics, but not much in new features and content.
The other major console is the PlayStation 5. In the previous generation it reigned supreme over its competition because of its incredible exclusives and distinct features, and it seems to be doing the same now. It also has 4K and 8K with up to 60 or 120 fps. At its launch it has some incredible exclusives such as Miles Morales, godfall, demon’s souls, Sackboy Adventure, Bugsnax and Astros Playroom. Three of those are also on PS4, and 3 are only on PS5 but they all look and play better on PS5 thanks to the Dualsense controller.
Two major differences between the Xbox Series and the PS5 are features and controllers. The PS5 features a brand new User Interface with new ways to enhance the gaming experience and the new controller, the DualSense. It promised to enrich the gaming experience feeling and it does! For games that support it, it lets you feel every motion and action you take, bringing you more into the game world than ever before. The current best example is Astros Playroom which is included in the console free and bugsnax is also free on PS5 with PS Plus.
Both consoles boast incredible new technology and a very promising future for gaming and gamers. The great use and ease of backwards compatibility with nearly every game of last gen and the new features such as lightning fast load times and the PS5’s DualSense controller make this an exciting launch. With the promise of even more great games already next year such as Ratchet & Clank, Horizon Forbidden West, and the new god of war, this is exactly what we needed to end the year on a good note after so much hardship and tragedy. This is a great time to be a gamer!