The Best Game Consoles

With the PlayStation and Xbox platforms offering similar graphics capabilities (at least on paper) at similar prices, the reasons to choose a PlayStation 5 Slim or PlayStation 5 Pro over an Xbox Series X or S revolve mostly around which games you want to play and how you want to play them.

If you have a big collection of physical PlayStation 4 games, if you want to watch 4K Blu-ray discs on your console, or if you’re a deal hunter looking for discounted new and used games on disc, you should get the standard Sony PlayStation 5 Slim so that you can use its UHD Blu-ray drive.

The Sony PlayStation Slim 5 Digital Edition usually costs $50 less than the version with a UHD Blu-ray drive, and it does everything the standard version does aside from playing discs. If you don’t want to spend $500 on a new console, if you don’t buy or watch movies on UHD Blu-ray, or if you don’t care about disc-based games, the Digital Edition might make more sense, especially if you take advantage of a PlayStation Plus game subscription. You can always add a disc drive later — but it’ll cost you.

The PlayStation 5 Pro includes more powerful graphics hardware combined with new upscaling tech to deliver better performance, better visuals, or sometimes both, across many PS5 games, and it also comes with Wi-Fi 7 support and 2 TB of storage. But at $700, you’re paying a high premium for visual improvements you might not notice if you sit too far from your TV, or if the TV is smaller than 65 inches. And like the PS5 Slim Digital Edition, the PlayStation 5 Pro doesn’t come with a disc drive for physical games and media, though it supports the same add-on drive as the PS5 Slim Digital Edition does — or, if you’re upgrading from a standard PS5 Slim, you can pluck the drive off that and add it to the Pro.

But the most important factor to consider is which games you want to play. While PlayStation has expanded its PC-release strategy, its biggest games — like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Gran Turismo 7 — still debut on the PlayStation 5 first. Plus, the PS5 also plays virtually all of the PS4’s enormous library of games, and many of them run better on Sony’s newer hardware.

The two console platforms share some of the same major titles as well, including installments from franchises such as Call of Duty and Madden. Even after Microsoft purchased the makers behind major series like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom in the fall of 2020 and acquired the developers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and more in 2023, the majority of games continue to be multiplatform. However, this has tipped things in Xbox’s favor when it comes to big games available in its subscription Game Pass offering, which in 2024 included Diablo IV and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. And this summer Helldivers 2, PlayStation’s biggest exclusive release of the past several years, arrived on Xbox Series consoles.

While some games still lock you into playing games with other players on the same platform, cross-platform multiplayer allowing interaction among players on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC is now fairly common, so this is less of a concern than it has been in the past. Both the PlayStation and Xbox platforms require subscriptions for access to even basic online functions. For PlayStation, this subscription is called PlayStation Plus; for Xbox, it’s called Xbox Game Pass Core.

The PS Plus subscription service has three tiers of membership: PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium. The baseline subscription, PS Plus Essential, costs $80 per year; the annual prices rise to $135 and $160, respectively, for Extra and Premium. Members of any tier gain access to online play, special discounts on some titles during sales, and two free games a month (of varying quality). You keep the free games as long as you have a PS Plus subscription, but you lose access to them if you cancel, even if you’ve already downloaded them. Those who subscribe to the more expensive PS Plus tiers, Extra and Premium, gain access to additional game catalogs.

You do not have to pay for PS Plus to use streaming video services like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. You don’t need PS Plus to use the PlayStation 5’s party voice-chat system to voice-chat with friends (Xbox doesn’t have this restriction, either).

The PS5 has its own native VR headset, called the PlayStation VR2. It’s a great device that’s comfortable to wear and easy to set up, but most people shouldn’t buy it because most of the games you can play on the PS VR2 are also playable elsewhere, including on cheaper all-in-one headsets like the Meta Quest 3S.

The PS5 and the Xbox Series X are similarly competent media centers for a living room. Both output 4K video and have Blu-ray UHD disc drives, so you can watch digital movies or discs that you already own. The PS5 does not support Dolby Vision or or DTS:X, though — if you don’t know what those things are, don’t worry about it, but if you want to take advantage of either standard, the Xbox may be a better choice. If you’re considering either of the cheaper versions, the $400 PS5 Slim Digital Edition or the $300 Xbox Series S, you’ll have to be comfortable with giving up a disc drive completely. Those models still support 4K video, but you’ll have to stream or own digital films.

If you’re ready for a PlayStation 5, there’s one last thing to keep in mind: its size. The PS5 is a huge console — yes, even the current, revised “slim” model — and it can’t fit well in a lot of media centers, vertically or horizontally. If you really want a PlayStation, we don’t think its size is a reason to skip it. But measure your space to make sure you know where it will fit.

With the Xbox and PlayStation platforms offering similar graphics capabilities (at least on paper) at similar prices, the reasons to get an Xbox instead of a PlayStation revolve mostly around which games you want to play and how — that, and Xbox Game Pass.

Last generation, the Xbox One didn’t have as many critically acclaimed exclusive games as the PS4 did, but it still had a solid library of titles you couldn’t get on PlayStation. The Series X and Series S continue many of those franchises, including Halo, Gears of War, Doom, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and more, and many of their titles also launch on Game Pass on day one. Microsoft also owns Activision Blizzard, the company behind franchises like Diablo, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty. But Overwatch 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Diablo IV launched on multiple platforms, and upcoming games will follow suit for some time. Additionally, Xbox has begun to experiment with putting some of its games on the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, though many of its games will continue to be exclusive to Xbox hardware and Windows PCs.

Game Pass is a major reason to consider an Xbox over a PlayStation. For $20 a month, Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to more than 400 games across Xbox consoles, PC, and streaming, plus online multiplayer. The subscription service offers access to major titles — every Forza title, every Gears of War game, every Halo title, most of Bethesda’s game library, and more, including the latest Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Blizzard games like Diablo IV. The number of titles, along with Microsoft’s commitment to put the games it makes (or funds) on the service the same day they launch, sets Game Pass apart from the closest equivalent on a PlayStation, PS Plus.

As media centers, the Xbox and the PS5 are similarly competent and capable of serving as the brain of your living room. Both can output 4K video from digital collections or streaming services. And the Xbox Series X and the standard PS5, each costing $500, both have a UHD Blu-ray drive if you want to watch 4K movies on disc. Unlike the PS5, both versions of the new Xbox support Dolby Vision video from streaming services, so if you’ve built a home theater setup around that (or, say, DTS:X surround sound), choosing one of the Xbox consoles makes sense.

The Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S play the same games, but they’ll look and perform a little differently from one another. The Series X is more powerful, and will play games at higher resolutions and often higher framerates, with more visual details and bells and whistles, than the Series S. But for gamers on a budget, for kids, or for a bedroom or office, the Series S is a great option.

The Xbox Series X is available in two configurations. Most people should buy the black, 1 TB version with a disc drive for $600, which can also play many original Xbox and Xbox 360 games available only on disc. But for players who don’t care about discs, the white 1 TB All-Digital Xbox Series X is available for $550. The Xbox Series S is available in three configurations: a white, 512 GB version at $300 or 1 GB for $350, and a black 1 TB version at $350. The cheaper version is often discounted by $50 or more, so unless you plan on storing a lot of large games on your console all the time, we think the cheaper option is a better way to go.

If you have players of all ages in the house, you can’t beat Nintendo’s lineup of games. Unlike a PlayStation or Xbox, the Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t trying to be the center of your entire TV setup. Instead, it continues to do the thing that Nintendo consoles do best: play excellent, family-friendly, genre-defining Nintendo games from classic franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon. Better yet, it acts as both a home console and a portable device.

The Nintendo Switch 2, the new generation of the Switch console, offers more powerful hardware and portable flexibility. It has an 8-inch LCD screen, detachable controllers, a kickstand to prop it up on a table, and a dock that connects it to your TV. You can play it in handheld mode or on your TV, and the detachable Joy-Cons can work split into individual controllers for multiplayer games or combined into one gamepad. Plus, it plays the newest Nintendo and console games. In contrast, the handheld-only Switch Lite has built-in controls that can’t be detached, a 5.5-inch screen, no kickstand, and no TV output. It’s also limited to the previous generation of Switch software, and it’s not likely to get many more new games — but it’s much cheaper.

We recommend the full-size Switch 2 to almost everyone, especially if you’re buying your household’s first Switch or if you want to play multiplayer games like Mario Kart World or Donkey Kong Bananza on your couch. The Switch Lite is better if you don’t need access to the newest games and don’t care about connecting the console to a TV — or if you want a second Switch for a family member with smaller hands.

Nintendo charges you to play multiplayer games online; it costs $20 a year. That membership also grants access to discounts from the Nintendo eShop, downloadable content for some games, and a library of more than 100 classic titles from the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Game Boy eras. And for $50 per year, you can tack on the Online Expansion Pass, which expands the catalog with over 80 titles from the Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Advance.

The Switch 2 has 256 GB of internal storage, but you can add more space with a microSD Express card — which is different from the type of microSD cards that the original Switch and the Switch Lite use. Although you should be able to get by with the system’s storage capacity for a little while, many of the Switch’s best third-party games are available only via download, and games such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Mario Kart World take up about 10 GB to 20 GB of space each.

You might find yourself spending cash on other accessories for your Switch, as well. The Joy-Con controllers are tiny and can be hard to hold, even with the included comfort grip, so the Switch 2 Pro Controller is a great option if you plan on playing with the Switch 2 docked to a TV. And if you plan on traveling with your Switch, you may want a protective carrying case or a more compact replacement for Nintendo’s bulky charger.

If you like the idea of a Nintendo Switch but want access to the world of PC gaming, a handheld gaming console like Valve’s Steam Deck is probably the best way to get it. Gaming laptops need a surface to rest on and require a separate mouse or controller, and they’re often expensive, loud, and heavy, but portable PC-based handhelds like the Steam Deck don’t have trackpads or keyboards; instead, they have inputs similar to those found on a gaming controller. It’s not as beginner-friendly as a console, and you’ll often have to tweak settings, install third-party software, and more. But that’s part of what many people like about PC gaming in the first place.

The original Steam Deck kicked off the current wave of handheld gaming consoles, and it’s still the one that most people should buy. Of the PC-gaming handhelds we’ve tested, it’s the most console-like, so it’s perfect for people who don’t want to navigate Windows on a small screen, and it’s easily the most intuitive to navigate, even if you own hundreds of games on Steam. Plus, the controls are great for interacting with almost any kind of PC game, and the Steam Deck has excellent battery life. But for more demanding titles, its older hardware is starting to show its age, and 256 GB of storage may not be enough for you to install more than a couple of the most popular PC releases.

The Steam Deck is also limited to Steam titles (unless you’re willing to jump through an awful lot of hoops and deal with limited compatibility), and a number of popular multiplayer titles just don’t work on it. Game Pass, meanwhile, is supported only through Xbox Cloud Gaming on a web browser. Still, it remains one of the best ways to take your big Steam library on the go — or to jump into PC gaming for the first time.

If you’re looking to splurge, the Steam Deck OLED version is essentially the same hardware as the original Steam Deck, save for a striking OLED screen. It also offers double the storage of the original Steam Deck, Wi-Fi 6E support, and a slightly larger battery.

This article was edited by Arthur Gies.