Tqaulity
Member
First, let me say off the bat that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I am not trying to bash anyone for their choices. But now that we are just about a week away from both the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles being out and we have a wealth more information on what they will offer, we have to be honest about something:
1. The PS5 and Xbox Series X will be much closer in performance than most people were led to believe based on the "theoretical" specs.
2. The PS5 is bringing much more to the table to enhance the gameplay experience for multiplats
Regarding point #1, many have tried to emphasis for months now that theoretical specs such as TFLOPS are meaningless and do not necessarily map to real world performance. We're seeing that in action with Nvidia's new GPU line for example (RTX 3080 = 30FLOPS but is nowhere near 2x the ~14TFLOP RTX 2080Ti) and there is an endless number of examples that demonstrate this. Yet people continue to hold onto the notion that the Xbox Series X is the superior console compared to the PS5...with literally NO real evidence to support this. Yes, we are a week from launch and we now know the target specs for many multiplatform games coming to both consoles. EVERY game that has been announced for both consoles to this point are in fact targeting the same resolution and framerate. I repeat: heading up to launch, there isn't a single case of a multiplatform game that has a higher target spec with regards to resolution and framerate on the Xbox Series X than the PS5 counterpart! Go down the list: Call of Duty Cold War, Dirt 5, DMC V, Assassin' Creed Valhalla, MK11, Watch Dogs Legion etc and they see PS5 version matching the Xbox Series X versions in resolution and framerate. If there is a 120fps version coming to Series X, it's 120fps on PS5 as well (Rainbow Six Siege, Dirt 5). If it's less than native 4K on PS5 (i.e. "dynamic 4K"), guess what? It's also "dynamic 4K" on Series X as well (e.g. MK11, Watch Dogs Legion).
Now before folks start saying that the target specs are meaningless and we won't really see the differences until the systems are out and sites like Digital Foundry do their detailed analysis, let me point out 2 things to counter that:
However, that's not the full story. One console is offering a number of tangible advantages that will enhance all games including 3rd party multiplats and provide a competitive advantage over the competition. Yes, I am saying that the PS5 is bringing more to the table to allow for a superior overall experience when playing a game over the Xbox Series X. Let us count the ways:
This is only what we know of now as there may be even a few more "differentiators" when it comes to the PS5 UI and feature set. However, I think my point is clear. Whether or not you personally value these additional features (you can't please everyone), it is a fact that PS5 is bringing many more tangible advantages to the table that collectively can make for a much more immersive and satisfying experience when playing games beyond just the visuals and frame rate. People's mileage may vary in how much benefit they see in each of these features but the point is that if I'm looking to decide where to play my next game between PS5 and Xbox Series X, there is a lot more to the PS5 experience than that on Xbox. In fact, other than the theoretical performance (which is effectively nullified at launch), the only unique feature that Xbox seems to have at this point is quick resume which is nice but it is highly likely PS5 has a similar feature as well (we'll find out on Nov 6th). Of course, many will prefer Xbox due to their familiarity, preference for controller, place where there friends are, gamepass and that is fine. I'm mainly talking more objectively regarding system features that gamers can take advantage of.
Again this isn't to bash the Xbox Series X console. It is undoubtedly powerful and has a lot of potential. But I have been dumbfounded when I still see so many people say that they are reserving multiplats for Xbox Series X over PS5. Really? Why? I really don't get that logic and I have not heard of any reason for that other than they expect it to have better performance. But again, everything we have seen thus far point to that not being the case anytime soon (except maybe very minor advantages not perceivable by most during gameplay). Meanwhile, PS5 is bringing so much more potentially game enhancing features to the table that given the choice, I can't see how one could not choose PS5 (again outside of personal preference which everyone is entitled to). Power is about much more than just resolution and framerate.
Would love to hear your thoughts and reasons for your preferences (we'll find out a lot more very soon )!
1. The PS5 and Xbox Series X will be much closer in performance than most people were led to believe based on the "theoretical" specs.
2. The PS5 is bringing much more to the table to enhance the gameplay experience for multiplats
Regarding point #1, many have tried to emphasis for months now that theoretical specs such as TFLOPS are meaningless and do not necessarily map to real world performance. We're seeing that in action with Nvidia's new GPU line for example (RTX 3080 = 30FLOPS but is nowhere near 2x the ~14TFLOP RTX 2080Ti) and there is an endless number of examples that demonstrate this. Yet people continue to hold onto the notion that the Xbox Series X is the superior console compared to the PS5...with literally NO real evidence to support this. Yes, we are a week from launch and we now know the target specs for many multiplatform games coming to both consoles. EVERY game that has been announced for both consoles to this point are in fact targeting the same resolution and framerate. I repeat: heading up to launch, there isn't a single case of a multiplatform game that has a higher target spec with regards to resolution and framerate on the Xbox Series X than the PS5 counterpart! Go down the list: Call of Duty Cold War, Dirt 5, DMC V, Assassin' Creed Valhalla, MK11, Watch Dogs Legion etc and they see PS5 version matching the Xbox Series X versions in resolution and framerate. If there is a 120fps version coming to Series X, it's 120fps on PS5 as well (Rainbow Six Siege, Dirt 5). If it's less than native 4K on PS5 (i.e. "dynamic 4K"), guess what? It's also "dynamic 4K" on Series X as well (e.g. MK11, Watch Dogs Legion).
Now before folks start saying that the target specs are meaningless and we won't really see the differences until the systems are out and sites like Digital Foundry do their detailed analysis, let me point out 2 things to counter that:
- The target specs actually say a lot about the power difference between 2 systems. Let me remind you guys that it didn't take Digital Foundry analysis to know that when the PS4 pro and Xbox One X were released, most multiplatform games targeted native 4K on One X but only 1440p on PS4 Pro. It also didn't take a pixel counting tool to know that several major 3rd party games targeted lower resolutions on the Xbox One when compared to the PS4 version back in 2013 (i.e. Battlefield 4 900p vs 720p or ACIV 1080p vs 900p). The target specs are indicative of any major power gaps as well as the developer's ability to harness the power in a real game. Again, PS5 is matching all targets for Xbox Series X thus far.
- IF it really requires a Digital Foundry analysis to spot the differences between the 2, then my point is already made . Most people will never notice minor resolution or framerate differences with their naked eye while playing a game (as we have seen already with many PS4/PS4 pro vs Xbox One/X games...and the difference in spec is larger in those cases). Nobody is playing a game on 2 screens with both console versions side by side and a zoomed in view with their face 1 foot away from the screen to spot differences. And in fact, even if those difference do exist at that level of detail the vast majority of gamers will not notice nor care.
However, that's not the full story. One console is offering a number of tangible advantages that will enhance all games including 3rd party multiplats and provide a competitive advantage over the competition. Yes, I am saying that the PS5 is bringing more to the table to allow for a superior overall experience when playing a game over the Xbox Series X. Let us count the ways:
- PS5 SSD - is 2x faster than Xbox Series X. This should mean even faster loading times than the already fast Xbox Series X. If you like the speedy loading on Series X, then this should be a solid advantage for PS5
- DualSense controller - offers so many unique features that again if a differentiator compared to Series X. I always said that the numerous features of the Dualsense will offer nice advantages for multiplats and now that we have heard the overwhelming positive impressions, it's clear that playing a game on PS5 will be a very different experience than playing on an Xbox due to the Dualsense. The haptic feedback and adaptive triggers appear to be genuine game changers and nearly all the 3rd party games at launch are supporting it
- Tempest 3D audio engine - This is another genuine differentiator for PS5. While many have pointed out that the Xbox Series X does have some impressive dedicated hardware for audio as well, notice that Microsoft themselves have been virtually silent about it and that no developer or reviewer have even highlighted it. Meanwhile, Sony has pushed it nearly as much as the Dualsense as a key aspect to the next gen experience and as an audiophile myself I am stoked that we will see audio evolve as much as the visuals typically do in the next gen . We've heard many developers discuss the tangible benefits of the PS5 audio engine and simply have that much dedicated audio hardware means that so many possibilities are now available from an audio design perspective. The fact that this tech is not limited to only those with specific and/or expensive hardware to hear the difference is crucial. All gamers with any headphone/TV/soundbar will be able to hear the advantages right off the bat. We are even now hearing how you can get ambisonic audio in 7.1 surround from any pair of headphones direct from the Dualsense controller due to Tempest! Amazing!
- High Speed USB-C and USB-A ports - . This is something that many have glossed over but the PS5 has higher performing USB ports compared to the Xbox Series X. What does this mean? Well, when you have to store your games on that external HDD (due to the admittedly limited amount of storage), you can extract even more performance allowing for faster transfers of those games back onto the internal SSD on PS5. Yep this means shorter wait times for your games to transfer back and forth. Try to connect one of those external SSDs for example that promise 1-2GB/s speeds and see if you get anywhere near that speed on the Series X via USB.
- Wifi 6 - this won't be beneficial to everyone but again PS5 is going a bit further by offering the more advanced and faster WIFI standard. Like the faster SSD, this has the potential to dramatically speed up download times for new content from the PS5 store as well as game patches etc (if you have the compatible network hardware).
- PS5 UI Features - the PS5 UI allows for developers to take advantage of unique features that cannot be replicated on Xbox. The keys ones (that we know about) are the Activities and Guided Help. For some, these features will enhance the game by allowing for a more immediate and direct gameplay experience while removing frustration when playing certain parts of games.
- PS5 Social Features - we now know that the PS5 allows for seamless party integration while playing your game even allowing for PIP views of friends games etc. Also, the PS5 takes the "share" concept further by proving a dedicated "create" button to produce more advanced videos and live stream complete with background removal (if you have the PS5 camera).
This is only what we know of now as there may be even a few more "differentiators" when it comes to the PS5 UI and feature set. However, I think my point is clear. Whether or not you personally value these additional features (you can't please everyone), it is a fact that PS5 is bringing many more tangible advantages to the table that collectively can make for a much more immersive and satisfying experience when playing games beyond just the visuals and frame rate. People's mileage may vary in how much benefit they see in each of these features but the point is that if I'm looking to decide where to play my next game between PS5 and Xbox Series X, there is a lot more to the PS5 experience than that on Xbox. In fact, other than the theoretical performance (which is effectively nullified at launch), the only unique feature that Xbox seems to have at this point is quick resume which is nice but it is highly likely PS5 has a similar feature as well (we'll find out on Nov 6th). Of course, many will prefer Xbox due to their familiarity, preference for controller, place where there friends are, gamepass and that is fine. I'm mainly talking more objectively regarding system features that gamers can take advantage of.
Again this isn't to bash the Xbox Series X console. It is undoubtedly powerful and has a lot of potential. But I have been dumbfounded when I still see so many people say that they are reserving multiplats for Xbox Series X over PS5. Really? Why? I really don't get that logic and I have not heard of any reason for that other than they expect it to have better performance. But again, everything we have seen thus far point to that not being the case anytime soon (except maybe very minor advantages not perceivable by most during gameplay). Meanwhile, PS5 is bringing so much more potentially game enhancing features to the table that given the choice, I can't see how one could not choose PS5 (again outside of personal preference which everyone is entitled to). Power is about much more than just resolution and framerate.
Would love to hear your thoughts and reasons for your preferences (we'll find out a lot more very soon )!