The raging pandemic has limited us inside our four walls and nothing has thrived quite like the gaming industry in these testing times. At this opportune moment, Microsoft and Sony are all set for a mega bout when their flagship consoles — PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X– face-off against each other. 

While Microsoft released its own Xbox Series X on Tuesday, November 10, Sony is set to release the next-gen Playstation on Thursday.

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However, let’s take a look at how both the units fare against each other.

The design of the future

While the preference of design is a thing of personal taste and choice, it’s fair to say that both the consoles have gone for a very distinctive and opposite stylisation. 

Sony’s PS5, tall and sleek, has gone for a more futurist style that seems to be right out from the pages of a science-fiction.

Microsoft has, however, stuck to a more simplistic and sober black and a discreet logo on a black tower.

I have the power!

What’s most important for gamers? Except for the immersive experience and fluid graphics, we gamers love to boast about the superior specifications on our consoles. So let’s see who fares better in that department.

The design team at Microsoft claim that their product is “the fastest most powerful ever” console. 

On the CPU side, Xbox Series X is powered by a 3.8 GHz octa-core AMD Zen 2 processor compared to the 3.5 GHz one in PS5. 

Under the hood, the Xbox unit boasts a 12-teraflop graphics processor, while the PS5 operates on a 10.3. So overall in the power department Xbox takes the deal.

In terms of memory, the two consoles are roughly even as both possess a 16 GB GDDR6 RAM.

However, just raw processing doesn’t really push the envelope as an overall gaming experience is much more important. 

Everything exclusive

Often in such tight ties, it is not only about the unit but also about all the other exclusive stuff that comes along with the console. 

Sony has roped in Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ as an exclusive title for its new launch. The PS5 will also have exclusive access to ‘Horizon II: Forbidden West’ and ‘Gran Turismo 7’, which will release sometime in 2021.

Meanwhile, Microsoft have ‘Halo Infinite’, ‘Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2’, ‘Forza Motorsport 8’ and ‘State of Decay 3’ as their exclusive titles along with Xbox Series X.

It’s all about the green

Everything ultimately boils down to the price of the individual consoles

Sony will be offering the premium version of the PS5 — with internal memory and 4K resolution via an Ultra HD Blu-ray player — for 499 euros and a digital version for 399 euros.

In India, the premium version will be priced for Rs 49,990 while the Digital Edition will be available for Rs 39,990.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is offering the premium version of its Xbox Series X at the same price as the PS5, but the digital version has been priced aggressively at 299 euros. For India, the Xbox Series X is priced at Rs 49,990 and the Series S is priced at Rs 34,990.