It’s been a good generation for video games but the next era is about to dawn upon us in the form of Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Scarlett (which is likely not going to be the final name for it).
Both are penciled in for the holidays in 2020, which gives us plenty of time to take a deeper look at whether the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Scarlett will be your console of choice. If you’re planning to get both then maybe skip this next part and go straight to the end.
PlayStation 5
WIRED got the lowdown on Sony’s latest gaming console and the TL:DR is that the PlayStation 5 is going to be a hell of a beast. While Sony are keeping its cards close to its chest, they did pull the curtain back on some of its impressive specs:
- Size – No idea but it likely won’t be smaller than the PS4.
- CPU – AMD Zen 2 (cutting edge stuff).
- GPU – AMD Navi with ray tracing.
- RAM – Dunno.
- Disk Drive? – Yep.
- Storage – Solid-State Drive
- 4K? – Definitely, plus there’s 8K support.
- Price? – No clue but it’ll likely be expensive (around $550 going off what the PS4 initially cost).
- Backwards compatibility? – Yes, thank frigging Christ.
- Cloud streaming? – PlayStation Now but it’s unconfirmed, not that it matters given how our internet won’t let us use this properly anyway.
- Controller – New one that will apparently resemble the PS4 one (no surprises there) but will be charged by USB-C.
- X factors? – The PlayStation 5 will allow you to install games in chunks so you can choose what bits you want rather than getting everything including stuff you’ll never touch.
Xbox Scarlett
Microsoft pulled the curtain back on its Xbox Scarlett – titled Project Scarlett for npw – a bit earlier than Sony but its console is certainly no slouch. Hell, it looks like it might even win out on the power specs if the recent PS4 Pro and Xbox One X comparisons are anything to go by.
- Size – No idea but it likely won’t be smaller than the Xbox One.
- CPU – AMD Ryzen (more cutting edge stuff).
- GPU – AMD Navi with ray tracing.
- RAM – GDDR6 RAM.
- Disk Drive? – Yep.
- Storage – Solid-State Drive.
- 4K? – Yeop, and also with 8K support.
- Price? – No clue but it’ll also be expensive (around $600 going off what the Xbox One initially cost).
- Backwards compatibility? – Again yes, thank god.
- Cloud streaming? – Project xCloud but it’s also unconfirmed, not that it matters again because of our dodgy internet.
- Controller – Backwards compatible with Xbox One controllers but no idea on any new controller yet.
- X factors? – No idea but Microsoft will surely have something up its sleeve.
Verdict
Based on what we know about the consoles (so far), there’s honestly barely anything separating the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett when it comes to hardware so the battle will likely be won on the software front.
As for the actual game front, only one title has been announced – Halo Infinite for Xbox Scarlett – but if we go by what happened when the PS4 and Xbox One were released, Sony will have the edge based on the deep well of game studios it has under its belt. Plus we have big teases from some acclaimed studios so it looks like Sony will be coming out guns blazing.
Having said that, Microsoft appears to have learned its lesson and has been acquiring game studios left and right in recent years so it seems like we’re going to get some quality exclusive titles that’ll match Sony’s impressive output.
As for which one to go, well it’s like picking between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo or Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – they’re both great in their own different ways and you’re not going to be disappointed with what you end up getting.
