The PlayStation 6 and Next Xbox Need to Be Less Boring and More Unique
I’ve been a console gamer for as long as I can remember, having owned early systems such as the Master System, NES, SNES, and Megadrive. Now that I think of it, there are very few consoles I have never owned since. Every one of the older ones had a unique look, feel, and personality. However, with the current gen of consoles, they all just feel, a bit too similar when it comes to hardware and games. Now, this isn’t news, everybody knows this at this point. However, it may be the first generation of consoles where I have no emotional connection with the hardware itself. They’re about as iconic as the next iteration of my phone or laptop.
Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are powerful consoles, sure as a PC gamer I’m obligated to crap on them, but I just can’t. I sit down to play Borderlands 2 split screen, a bit of Forza, Gran Turismo, Black Ops and the like on an evening with my partner or friends, and well, I’m very happy with how they look and perform. But is there much difference in how the PS5 and Xbox really do things? No. Go back to the PS3/Xbox One, or the PS2/Xbox 360/Game Cube, or the PS1/Xbox/N64 and they all looked and felt distinctive somehow. I fear the PS6/Next-Box generation will be our least unique generation yet in terms of visuals, but hopefully, there will be something distinctive about each.
| Feature | PS5 | Xbox Series X |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 8-core AMD Zen 2, 3.5GHz | 8-core AMD Zen 2, 3.8GHz |
| GPU | AMD RDNA 2, 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs | AMD RDNA 2, 12 TFLOPs, 52 CUs |
| RAM | 16GB GDDR6 | 16GB GDDR6 |
| Storage | 825GB Custom NVMe SSD | 1TB Custom NVMe SSD |
| Expandable Storage | NVMe SSD slot | Proprietary Expansion Card slot, USB HDD support |
| Refresh Rate | Up to 120Hz | Up to 120Hz |
| Unique Features | DualSense controller with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, Tempest 3D Audio Engine | Xbox Game Pass subscription service, emphasis on backwards compatibility |
| Price | $499.99 (standard), $399.99 (digital edition) | $499.99 |
While the PS5’s DualSense controller introduced haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, and the Xbox has trigger feedback, there’s not been anything really exciting in terms of input either. I think I’m half on the fence with this one, as we’ve grown accustomed to the modern industry standard, but even Nintendo’s next switch isn’t another wacky innovation and you can usually rely on them to go for something fresh and exciting (but not always great), and that makes me a little bit sad.
OK, I don’t want another Dreamcast controller that shreds your trigger fingers, but surely we can push the boundaries and explore some new directions from time to time. The PlayStation had incredible pressure-sensitive buttons that worked really, then the 6-axis, and now haptics, and they all still feel wildly underused. Then again, I’m one of the loyal and daily users of the Steam Controller, it’s such a shame Valve dropped out of that race because it’s unique and it’s brilliant.
Another big one is backwards compatibility, while this is a key feature I would like to see, for many obvious reasons. But at the same time, we need a clean break between the previous generation and the next generation of hardware. While I understand why developers supported the previous generation of hardware for so long, it’s left the Xbox Series X and PS5 without a sense of identity. Without a set of unique releases that are dedicated to a truly next-generation experience, each of the current consoles just feels like a revision rather than something truly new and exciting. The PS4 and the Series S have really held back the consoles more than intended. We’re already hearing of PS6, and it feels like we’ve barely touched on unique PS5 experiences.
Xbox is going a bit more adventurous with its software-focused approach, with its games already coming to PlayStation and seemingly the Nintendo Switch 2. It seems like Microsoft isn’t even that interested in creating new Xbox hardware in the not-too-distant future. Who knows, maybe they’ll just license it out so that other brands can make their own Xbox-compatible stuff, much like they’ve half-done with Cloud Gaming and Game Pass.
With rapid innovations in the mobile gaming space, with Steam Deck, and a plethora of similar handheld gaming PCs, Xbox are talking about a handheld, and Sony had their low-effort Portal (it’s great, but it could have been so much more), and now Switch 2, maybe that’s the next battlefield for a more unique gaming experience.
Next Generation
Will the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation just feel like another Pro version? Will they both still sport practically identical gaming hardware? Most likely, but let’s just hope someone is brave enough to make something really distinctive and exciting once again, not just slap an “8K capable sticker” on the box and call it a new thing.
