Recent events have left the majority of our society stuck at home either working, binge-watching shows, day-drinking or hell, maybe even a combination of all three. With this abundance of time spent at home, some of you might be curious about entering the gaming world for the first time. If you find yourself wanting to cop a console but don’t know what to choose, no worries, b. I got you.
Playstation 4
The Playstation 4 is the most popular console of the current generation. Chances are you at least know someone who has one. The PS4 arguably has one of the best gaming libraries of this generation. The console is the exclusive home to games like God of War, the Uncharted series, Spider-Man, Persona 5 and Bloodborne. As the console is entering its twilight with the PS5 on the horizon, many of its best games are available for $20 or less. The Playstation Plus online service offers two free games each month, with Uncharted 4 being available for download this month.
Outside of its exclusives, it just has some of the best variety of games available. Are you a fan of anime bullshit like me? The PS4 has JRPG’s galore. If you like fighting games, the PS4 is the exclusive console home of Street Fighter V, Guilty Gear Rev 2 and is basically where the fighting game community thrives. Additionally, if you have a curiosity about virtual reality the PSVR is one of the most affordable ways to experience it.
One of the big cons of buying a PS4 right now is the fact that the PS5 is on the horizon at the end of the year. The console will have limited backwards compatibility but there is little word on how PS5 exclusives will be handled. Also, the PS4 Pro is significantly underpowered in comparison to its rival, the Xbox One X.
Xbox One
The Xbox One entered this generation with a rocky launch. Xbox has spent most of this console generation in rebuilding mode. While Playstation released a steady stream of high-quality console exclusives, the Xbox has been lacking in that department. The latest Halo game was a disappointment and while the Gears of War series has been reliable, there is very little in the Xbox library worth playing that you can’t play elsewhere.
The Xbox does have one very effective trick up its sleeve in the form of Xbox Game Pass. With Game Pass, for only 10 bucks a month or $14, should you choose to bundle it with Xbox Live, you get access to an extensive library of games that you can download directly to your console and play. It’s essentially Netflix for video games. This means that should you buy an Xbox One, for only 14 bucks you could have a steady library of games at your disposal off jump. These aren’t just wack-ass games either; Xbox has put all its console exclusives on the platform and acclaimed games such as Doom, the Wolfenstein series and The Outer Worlds are all currently available.
The Xbox One X is the most high-powered game console available at the moment. If you have a 4K tv, the One X will give you the most bang for your buck. Both the standard Xbox One S and Xbox One X include a 4K Blu-Ray player which the PS4 does not. Not to mention, the Xbox One is backwards-compatible with Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, which is also something the PS4 can’t do.
On top of all of this, the Xbox One is a safe buy because all games released on this year’s upcoming Xbox Series X will initially be backwards-compatible with the Xbox One S and One X.
Nintendo Switch
If you’ve been on social media at all these last few weeks, you’ve probably noticed hella folks just being brazenly thirsty. You’ve also probably seen a lot of people posting their homes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The Nintendo Switch is a delightful system; its main selling point is the fact you can play it on your TV and on the go. If you share a space with a roommate or a partner this means one of you can continue binge-watching Tiger King while the other gets down on some Splatoon 2.
The thing about Nintendo systems is that you’re getting them just for Nintendo games. While the Switch has seen more third-party games (not developed by Nintendo) games come to it than any prior system, it’s significantly underpowered than its Xbox and Playstation counterparts and the ports are often mad compromised. Nintendo has done a good job of keeping a steady stream of games coming to the console with excellent titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey and Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
The cons of the Switch—outside of it being underpowered—is that its online services are significantly lacking. On top of that, Nintendo games very rarely go on sale or drop in price and consoles typically don’t come bundled with a game. This means that you’ll be dropping some serious coin on getting everything set up.
If I had to recommend the best system to get right now, I would honestly say it’s the Xbox One. Now, personally, the PS4 is my main console but that’s because I have a very specific gaming appetite. Chances are, you’re not trying to go hard on BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Fire Pro Wrestling World. If you are, well, drop that PSN name in the comments and get these hands.
Anyway, the Xbox One provides the most bang for your buck. With an Xbox Live Ultimate subscription, you’re given access to over 100 games upon plugging in your console. On top of that, the fact that Xbox Series X games will be playable on Xbox One means you won’t have buyer’s remorse when the new consoles come out this year.