New Video Game Consoles

Releasing first is the Xbox Series X/S, which is the collective name for both the main Series X console and the Series S, a smaller, more cost-effective version with some features removed, such as the disk drive. The standard Series X will come with several features new to this iteration. Microsoft boasts the console has a larger storage space and stronger hardware, providing faster loading times as well as generally better performance. Visuals are being improved throughout, with more advanced lighting and texture being some of their claims. Games will also run at up to 120 frames per second, almost double the standard 60 fps usually expected. 4K graphics are part of the console’s selling point, and it will be capable of 8K, though almost all commercially sold televisions are incapable of this³.

The console will also have full backwards compatibility with previous generations, with all games from the Xbox One able to be played on the Series X/S. A large library of games will be coming with the console, including several launch-day titles. Major names among these are new games in the Assassin's Creed, Yakuza, Watch Dogs, NBA and FIFA franchises. Following release, other titles will be launching shortly after, such as Borderlands, Call of Duty, Planet Coaster, and The Medium. Alongside these is perhaps the most-anticipated new Xbox game, Halo Infinite, which was originally a launch day game but was delayed to 2021 due to Covid-19⁴.

Following the Xbox will be the Playstation 5, Sony’s fifth of what many would consider the most successful console brand of all time. Similarly to its competitor, the PS5 will have two editions with two different prices- the main Playstation 5 and the ‘Digital Edition’, lacking a disk port and functioning with entirely downloaded content. The console will feature faster CPU and loading times, and a new system to make the device more developer-friendly and make programming new games easier than in previous iterations. Faster and smoother frame rates will also feature. A main basis for the marketing of the system is its graphics, with support for 8K graphics- though again, most TVs can only handle up to 4K. The console will be able to use a more vibrant and extensive range of color, and lighting, shadows and reflections will all be more advanced⁵. Alongside the Xbox, the PS5 will feature full backwards compatibility.

However, as has been seen time and again with different failed and successful attempts, a console is nothing without a good selection of games to play on it. Several games coming out near release are shared with the Xbox, such as Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed. The highly awaited Cyberpunk 77 will also come out soon after launch. On November 12th, however, several exclusives will be released with the console. Most notably of these is a new Marvel Spider-Man game, alongside Sackboy and Demon Souls⁶.