The Console wars are over....We won

 

2020 has turned out to be one of the worst years of all time, in a year as negative as 2020 it’s good to see the bright side.  The release of the next-gen consoles and Graphics are one of the bright sides of 2020, we have a whole new lineup from Microsoft, Sony, and Nvidia to drool over and I'm all for it. 

Gaming hasn't always been this exiting, long ago the gaming industry was exploding into a console war.  Microsoft and Sony were locked in a death match for the most powerful console, it wasn't just about power it was about games.  Sony played dirty buying off Game studios and convincing them to make PS4 exclusives with great success.  Overall, the last generation was defined by the Xbox One-PS4 war, with Microsoft shooting itself in the foot by not adding an SSD to any of their consoles, Sony won the war for that generation. 

This generation won't be wracked by that war, the treaty was signed, and boundaries were made clear, meaning that things will be different.  This generation has managed to separate the consoles into categories for different people with each side giving more to a specific person based on their needs. A war no longer dictates your choice of console...your needs do.

So how does this stack up?  Your needs will determine which console you want.  If you need the best value console you might want an Xbox, the Series S and X are great values especially considering that the Series S is 300$. Xbox Game Pass is the difference maker, you get over 250 games for a monthly price of 15$, with the inbound EA addition and Bethesda merger Game Pass is one of the greatest deals I have ever seen. 

Image credit: Screenrant

Microsoft is also offering the Xbox all-access program that allows you to pay for your Xbox in monthly installments, this program lowers the price and includes Game Pass for 1 year.  Xbox is appealing to the value buyers looking for the cheapest console for the most games, I would buy an Xbox because I don't need many games just the ones I would enjoy.  All the games I want are in Game Pass and I would be satisfied with them.  All this to say that Game Pass is the new foundation of Xbox, it's part of the reason you would buy one besides the Xbox live community.

Image credit: The Verge

On the other side of the coin is the PS5, this is the most premium console in design, specs, and most importantly, games.  Unlike the Xbox model where Game Pass throws as many games as it can at the consumer, the PS5 offers the most premium games as exclusives.  The exclusives generate hype that lasts the entire lifetime of the console, games such as the Spider-man series are masterpieces carefully crafted to be the best games in that genre.  The PS5 is for the person who wants the exclusives, my brother is an example, he really wants Spider-Man: Miles Morales games when it comes out.  Unlike Xbox the PS5 is built on those exclusives and includes a budget option with the 399$ PS5 all-digital edition, they want everyone who wants the exclusives to be able to get the exclusives.

Image Credit: MSPoweruser

Budget builds are abundant this year with dedicated tiers to help supplement the more frugal gamers.  Both Budget builds are all-digital meaning they have no disc drive, this makes sense because both companies are losing money on the hardware.  They need to recoup that cost anyway they can and purchases from their respective digital marketplaces is the perfect way to do so.  So, no matter which console you want you can get a budget build well worth your money.  I have done a deep dive on one of those consoles, the Series S, here is the link: https://bentechcode.blogspot.com/2020/09/xbox-series-s-deep-dive.html

So how does this boil down? This boils down to this generation having choice for those who want it.  Different consoles for different people, I want an Xbox for Game pass, my brother wants a PS5 for the exclusive Spider-Man games, different consoles for different people.  The past generation was set in which console is best? and then shutting down and destroying the losing console.  This generation is about choice, with two consoles for two groups, the choice is not based on who won the war anymore.  We Won the war, so we get to choose which console works the best.

I cannot wait to see the new consoles in action, and maybe, just maybe, get my hands on one of these consoles. I did not mention the Nintendo Switch in this article because it is technically not "next-gen".  I will talk about it more soon so please stay subscribed and tuned because I have some thoughts about the switch and its place in the Gaming ecosystem.

Best, BenTechCoder