Which Game Console is Best: Xbox, Nintendo, or Playstation?

The world of gamers is a big one. There are numerous brands, devices, and enthusiasts with a single goal in mind — setting up the best gaming experience.

Outsiders may not appreciate the captivating adventures gamers enter to explore new worlds, conquer powerful enemies, and complete complex missions. Battles to win and prizes to uncover, the gaming world is filled with possibilities and adventures. Plus, if you and your friends combine forces, there is no telling what great things you can accomplish.

But, the gaming world has its challenges. There is no denying that there is disagreement between PC and console gamers. Even within console gamers, there’s an ongoing debate over what game console system is the best one.

Today there are three types of game consoles most widely known to consumers: Sony’s PlayStation, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Nintendo’s Switch.

But which one of the three is actually the best?

Let’s find out.

Market share

Our first criterion is popularity. According to one study, Playstation 2 is the most popular gaming console around. Having sold approximately 158 million units, PlayStation stands tall at the front of the pack in popularity.

Behind PlayStation comes Nintendo Wii at number four. With just over 101 million units sold, Nintendo proudly ranks number four in the gaming console popularity charts.

But what about Microsoft’s Xbox models?  Xbox 360 comes in at number six with approximately 85 million units sold. Not as impressive as Playstation or Nintendo, but still a respectable number of units sold. 

In the list of popular gaming consoles, Playstation ranks as the most popular, with four models total ranking in the top ten. Nintendo comes in second, its most popular model ranking number four on the list plus three other models ranking in the top ten list. Lastly, Xbox’s most popular unit comes in at number six, with only one other unit making it in as the tenth most popular gaming console. 

Our winning gaming console by popularity: Sony’s Playstation. 

Which console is 2021’s favorite?

Every year, new consoles are released by the gaming world’s favorite manufacturers. But this year, we haven’t seen much from them.

But their releases from past years, such as Sony’s PlayStation 5 (2020), Microsoft’s Xbox Series X (2020), and Nintendo’s Switch (2017) proved to be gold. 

Much of the continuing popularity for these gaming consoles can be attributed to lockdowns that have kept people inside for months. Even adults, many of whom now work from home, find they have some extra time to enjoy some gaming time. Children and adults alike have enjoyed the extra gaming time they’ve been able to enjoy. 

GameSpot found that in the first half of 2021, the Nintendo Switch garnered the most sales. Following the Switch is Sony’s PlayStation 5, a highly-coveted console. 

If you were in the market for a PlayStation 5 this last year, you know how difficult it was to score a unit when it first came out because people were flocking to stores in an effort to secure one for themselves.

With the holiday season coming up, it’s hard to tell which console will be this year’s favorite. 

Once the holiday season and sales have ended, we’ll find out this year’s best-selling game console.

Specifications

In deciding which game console is truly the best, the average consumer may not look at the specs. As someone in the market for a game system, you know it’s the technical specifications you’re after and not just the best looking console.

So we’re going to take a look at some of the pros and cons of the PlayStation 5, Switch, and Xbox Series X, the top three latest and most popular releases.

• PlayStation 5

The first on our list is the PS5. It’s a powerful video game machine that looks sleek — much like its predecessors. Sony maintained the monochromatic game console designs seen in their previous releases.

The internet didn’t go crazy over the PS5 for no reason. This monster offers a next-gen gaming experience and a library of games exclusive to the PS Plus Collection. 

Aside from its design and platform exclusivity, the PS5 is praised for its DualSense controller, spatial 3D audio, and impressive SSD. You don’t have to wait a long time for your games to load, no matter how demanding they are.

Output-wise, the PS5 offers 4k@120fps and 8K@60fps gameplay. Both are clear enough to show you the shadows of your Uncharted character and water reflections!

Of course, it’s not perfect. Aside from it being hard to find when it first came out, it’s also a bit larger when compared to the old PlayStations.With today’s games taking bigger storage space, the 825GB SSD the PS5 comes with fills up pretty quick.

• Nintendo Switch

Out of the three game consoles we’re comparing, the Switch stands out. First, it’s the only handheld device that doesn’t need to be plugged into an external display for you to play your games. Plus, it’s three years older than the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Though the Switch might be smaller compared to the other two consoles, it’s powerful enough to stand against them.

The Switch is a hybrid game console. It can be played handheld or connected to a display. Nintendo wants its throne back from Sony with this feature, and the public loves it!

The seamless transition from a portable console to a home console is definitely a huge success, but that amazing feature has its own drawback. It needs more battery juice to display on bigger screens.

When it comes to playing titles you can play on the PS5 and Xbox, you can’t really expect all the games you can play on the PS5 and Xbox to be played on the Switch. 

• Xbox Series X

The PS5’s direct competitor is Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, which came out the same year.

With the Xbox Series X, Microsoft tried to address loading times, graphics, frames, and backward compatibility issues many gamers complained about.

They’ve geared this release up with a storage drive that significantly boosts loading times, even for demanding titles that are known to have long loading times.

Contrary to the PS5, the Xbox Series X has Dolby Vision and Atmos support. This means better display and audio for titles supported by Dolby.

For video playback, it can only produce up to 4K@60ps and 40K@120fps, depending on the capabilities of your display.

When it comes to backward compatibility, the Xbox Series X fares better than the PS5 because of its wider coverage for old titles not released for its platform.

The downside of the Xbox Series X is that its library of exclusive games isn’t as big as the PS5’s and the user interface isn’t as optimized.

It can be a tad picky when it comes to display panels because it requires compatible displays for gamers to experience the new visual features it comes with.

Final thoughts

Picking the best console for you can be a tough choice, especially if it’s your first time buying one.

What you can do to make deciding a little lighter for yourself is break down your profile as a gamer. Do you like portability, high-quality video, or backward compatibility?

Remember that no game console has everything you want, so make sure you know what you’re looking for so you can find the best console to meet your needs.