Series X or PS5 for Multiplatform games?

So I’m curious since these consoles have been out for about 2 years what the concensus is on where is the best place to play multi platform games: I simply can’t decide where to play them and having both consoles has made it hard to choose. There’s also the fact I own a PC with a RTX 3060 that muddies it even more. How did you guys decide?

To be fair, it depends on which console brand you prefer, or if you choose to pay for a video game subscription service over purchasing games, then go for Xbox Series X.

@gtxforza: we’ll last gen I played a lot in my one X. But I’ve always had a affinity for PlayStation. But they haven’t had the best running versions of games

One of the great things about gaming today, is that the most popular multiplayer games are multi-platform Meaning Xbox, PS, and PC have access to them. Since you have all three means to play these games, there shouldn't really be an issue for you. Just play the game you enjoy playing, and in the case of the Xbox Series X/S and PC, many of those exclusive games like Halo Infinite and Forza are available on both, so it comes down to your personal social circle if you have one. Are all your friends on PC or Xbox? Many games are now becoming cross platform, so that issue will soon be a thing of the past as well.

@av_gamer: we’ll it’s more I worry about where they perform best and it makes me not sure where to buy it

@ravensword: If performance is your preference, then as a rule, the PC version is usually the best. There are exceptions, but they are very rare. The RTX 3060 should allow you to play games at 1080-1440p at high FPS without any issues, but for 4K gaming you need to go higher like a 3080. If 4K doesn't matter to you, then you should be good.

@av_gamer: yeah. But I also like playing on my TV so I was trying to figure out what would be the best console performance wise. But maybe that would be Xbox. Or maybe it dosent matter this gen too much

@ravensword: It doesn't matter too much, but on paper the answer would be Xbox.

@av_gamer: some game I just find weird playing on Xbox like JRPGs or fighting games.

@ravensword: Exactly what games do you like to play? Because today, it really comes down to that more so than the console.

@av_gamer: action games, shooters, RPGs. My worry is mainly about performance and such. I own both consoles and the PC. I also wasn’t sure how my PC would stack up to these consoles

@ravensword: Honestly, I don't believe you have much of a problem from what I'm reading. If you have all three means to play modern games, then it comes down to the individual games. PS5 have a lot story driven exclusive games or I should say timed exclusive games. Xbox overall have better shooters, and the controller is better made for playing them. RPGs can go either way. PS5 has a better selection of JRPGs, but Xbox has a better selection of western RPGs, and many of them are multi-platform. So my advice to you, is to look up forums, reddits, and the like and read what people are saying about any game when it comes out and which platform has the better performance and ease of playing it. There isn't one console that is better than the other by any huge margin, it comes down to the games and what you want to play. Hopefully, others whom might chime in later will have a better answer for you.

The performance delta between both boxes is incredibly minor the Series X is slightly stonger graphically which often yelds a minor resolution bump you'd be hard pressed to notice especially in motion, and the PS5 will have faster loading but the Series has an SSD too so its no slouch their either basically quick and quicker.

So far games can be described as being great on one platform and slightly greater on the other, with it being a toss up as to which one is the greater.

Go where the games are.

For me it comes down to three things mostly:

1) Would I rather use the PS5 interface or the Xbox / PC interface;

2) Am I likely to want to play the game on my PC as well as console?

3) Which platform are my friends playing the game on?

My answer to 1) is almost always Xbox, because I still find the PS5 UI a clumsy mess to navigate, especially when it comes to cross-generation games.

If my answer to 2) is yes, then I'm almost always going to go for the xbox version, because so many Xbox games have the 'play anywhere' function that lets you fire up the same game, download your cloud save and just carry on playing from wherever you were.

My answer to 3) is almost always Playstation, because more of my friends have Playstation consoles than Xbox consoles, unless its a rare cross-platform multiplayer game.

In terms of actual graphical performance between the two machines, there's no meaningful difference. As @panzini said, the Series X has slightly more of a graphical edge but its barely noticeable, and varies game by game, whilst the PS5's SSD is marginally faster loading some games - but again, this is barely noticeable. So for me, if its a multiplayer game I'll probably get the PS5 version, and if its a single player game I'll get the Xbox version.

One major issue nobody has brought up yet is the Dualsense. While I generally prefer the Xbox controller and the Dualsense has hurt my hands in the past, some games use its features well enough that Xbox is missing out on a real aspect of the game. Whether that's using the speaker, the touchpad, motion controls, or the haptic feedback, really good dualsense integration can make a difference.

On the flip side most of the games that do great things with the Dualsense are Sony properties, so you end up not having much of a choice. But there are some multiplats, like certain driving games, where the controller adds enough to the experience that it makes it worth getting the PS5 version.

Well it’s like, I like things about all the platforms I own.

With PS5 I always thought of PlayStation as a premium brand. The exclusives are top notch and in my opinion the best, and I always associated PlayStation with gaming, even more then Nintendo for me because PlayStation was what I grew up with. But then when 360 and ps3 came out I bought most my games on 360. Because they ran better and I felt like for a long time 360 had the better game plan and the better box. PS3 was for exclusives.

My PC I like all the customization and everything and the legacy software support. But I’m not a huge fan of worrying about if I have the right drivers or if I’m gonna have to mess with things to get them running well.

Series X I like a lot how they support legacy sidt are and improve it. PS5 does this too but Series X goes a step above. And I like that it has a bit more grunt and will probably give higher fps and resolution. And gamepass is a great deal. But some games just feel weird playing on there like fighters and JRPGs.

My issue is I have trouble not just focusing on one and neglecting the others. I stress the choice is gonna be too much

Neither.

@facelessvixen: ok. So what do you do then?

@ravensword: PS5 is my primary platform because I prefer its first party output more, my Series X I often don't touch for months there's never enough time.

And PC I only use for strategy games, but I find the best thing to do is only play one or two games at a time and live with the fact one of your boxes will always be collecting dust.

@ravensword: Well...

Game Pass as a movement incentivized a lot of Xbox exclusives to come over to PC so I still have access to Gears, Halo, Forza Horizon, and Phantom Dust. I'd only want an Xbox to play Fable 2 again.

Sony is finally opening up to bringing their exclusives over to PC. Sure, they'll still want their year or two of exclusivity, but I've got over 400 games on Steam, plus a Switch, and a PS4 where I use the controller more than console at an 80/20 split, so I can wait before adding more games to my 300-game-deep backlog, including re-buying those formerly PS4 exclusive titles since I know that my three-year-old i9 9900K, 2080 Ti and 32GBs of RAM desktop can run them better than my PS4 Pro, and either on par with if not better than a PS5.

DLSS for RTX 20XX and 30XX series Nvidia graphics cards being able to basically give you more frames using AI for games that support the tech, and lets me run the most demanding game that I have, Cyberpunk 2077, at 70 frames in 1440p with a mix of high and ultra settings, while ray-tracing brings the number down to the 50's; though the game looks good enough without the enhanced reflections because of the art direction.

I'm almost jealous of those who can shoot with a controller since I can only go mouse and keyboard with shooters these days, and picked up a Roccat Leadr before they were discontinued; so shooters are a genre that I exclusively play on PC, which is the genre that I play the most often.

Nexus Mods and ReShade.

Dealing with graphics drivers is not like how it was in the 90's and 2000's; you just select which card and operating system you have and just let the installer do its thing. If things do go wrong, which is rare, or if you plan to switch from Nvidia to AMD, DDU is a thing.

And lastly, for more niche intents and purposes, I have a 34" 3440 x 1440 monitor. I'm sure that 2160p is nice especially on a standard 16:9 55" TV, but I'm not exactly counting pixels on my 34" monitor that's an arm's length away from me, and the wider aspect ratio is more immersive for games and significantly more useful for productivity, specifically for video editing.

@ravensword: I have a PS5, Gaming PC, and Nintendo Switch. I mostly play games on my PS5, PC comes in second, and my Nintendo Switch comes in third. I don't have any anxiety about not playing one over the other. It's about the mood I'm in at the time and the games themselves. It seems like you're hung up on the fact that you own both consoles and a decent gaming PC and can't decide what to do.

Personally, I don't play too much of the same genre of games. If I'm playing a shooter, I don't move on until I'm done with that shooter, but I might play another genre like an RPG at the same time. Lately, I've been playing some service games like Destiny 2 and Genshin Impact, but also make time for games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on my Nintendo Switch, when I'm in the mood.

I use my series x much more than the PS5 mostly because I use the Xbox for all my streaming apps. Also I prefer the feel of the Xbox controller… amd gamepass. So for day to day it’s the series x for all games except for FromSoft games and Sony exclusives.

@hairyreddog: FromSoft games are on Xbox too though. Why specifically those games on PS5?

@ravensword: FromSoft games often have plenty of technical issue's like poor frame rates, Xbox tends to come of worse in comparisons. Japanese games are far more popular on Playstation any online community will likely be higher too.

It’s really case by case. Just do a little research for whatever game you wanna play if you’re that concerned. Sounds like Digital Foundry would be a good resource for you.

Elden Ring for example, if you want a perfect locked 60, the only way to go is ps4 version on the ps5. Series X gets closest to that if you have a VRR capable tv. Visually, series X edges out ps5.

In most cases, at least at this point in the console cycle, the differences between ps5 and series X are too little to matter. On paper, ps5 is actually kinda punching above it’s weight considering series X was supposed to have a definitive edge in this area. I guess the development tools for the series consoles aren’t as mature so they are under performing a bit.

I’m kinda thinking about just using my Series X or PC for the multi platforms unless it’s stated PS5 is better. Or just going off Digital Foundry. I mean, I guess there’s nothing wrong with using PS5 for exclusives only, I think that’s what a lot of people do. But it may mean my PS5 won’t get use for extended periods of time

I've got a good PC, PS5 and Switch hooked up currently and I play everything on PC when possible. The other 2 are just for exclusives and don't get a whole lot of use between releases.

I got the PS5 mostly because I already had a good collection of PS4 stuff I could play on it and my PS4 was dying. If I had a Xbox One collection I might've considered a Series X but as it stands I've little use for it and a PC.

@someoneproud: what are the specs of your PC?

@ravensword: It was pre-built a while back and I can't remember a lot of it but it's got a 3090 and a Ryzen 9 3950X, I didn't skimp on any parts but I couldn't tell you what they all are now.

@someoneproud: I’m kinda worried my 3060 may not be able to play new stuff that we’ll going forward

@ravensword

I like to think I can weigh in here as I was exclusively Sony last console generation, my plan was to go PS5 all the way but the lack of stock and me being tired of running my launch model PS4 into the ground I bought myself a Series S.

Played Series S for about a year straight, hardly touched my PS4.

About a month ago my wife picked me up a PS5 and I've been playing that for about the last month when I have time.

TLDR; I much prefer the Xbox controller and user interface, strictly speaking for multiplats I'd go Xbox all the way. The pause and resume function works so much better its insane and the 4 game pause/resume is actually really handy. My PS5 crashes probably 1/10 times I use that function and it only works for one game at a time. Basically like the PS4.

That being said PS5 will be my primary console for the next while - solely because 95% of my existing library of the last 8 years is on Sony and I dont really feel like purchasing games I already own again on Xbox. Playstation also has way better games. Like no contest. This might be changing with the Bethesda acquisition but we've yet to see this happen at all. So far the only exclusive Xbox game thats come out is Halo Infinite which was... just okay in my opinion.

I was really into GamePass as a package and thought it was really good until I got my PS5 and checked out their version of Gamepass. I dont really understand how they pulled it off but the PS5 gamepass is better then Xbox's game pass. The selection is pretty much the same + all those great Sony exclusives.

I've owned my PS5 for a month, spent about 20 bucks or whatever it was for the middle tier Playstation Gamepass and have access to pretty much the entire Playstation Library, including new titles for the PS5 like Spiderman, Returnal, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, Death Standing etc. By my estimate the only games missing from this are the new Ratchet, Horizon 2 and Deathloop, everything else is on there, even the same 3rd party games that are on Game Pass as well.

So I dont know. I find myself wishing I was playing my Series S, I'll upgrade to a Series X one day, maybe... but until Xbox starts putting games on their system to justify its existence there just isnt much it has to offer that a PS5 doesnt do better. Which is a bummer because literally everything else other then games is better in my opinion on Xbox.

If you can afford to pick up a Series S alongside the PS5 that'd be my recommendation. Series S is a TIGHT little unit. Maybe when I make the leap to 4k one day I'll have some regrets but as far as speed and graphics go I dont notice a difference between the PS5 and the Series S at 1080P playing multiplat games like No Mans Sky or Valhalla which I ~do~ have on both systems.

If I were both not trying to pat my own choices on the back and considering the budget of anyone with an income south of...well, some number I think is nice that someone would inevitably barge in and call tragic, the XBox seems like the incredibly obvious choice. I've never considered owning a non-Sony console since the PS2 (and considering how much the Gamecube bummed me out, really the PS1, which I won at a father-son bowling tournament 'cause everybody gets one cool memory) but the Gamepass of it all is ridiculously sexy. To the point I feel like if anybody had to choose just one console over the other, and wanted to play more than just a handful of games a year, a Playstation is basically fool's gold.

That said, as bigsocrates points out the DualSense is fucking incredible when it's put to use - whether Sony exclusives like Ratchet & Clank, Gran Turismo or Returnal or third party releases with some extra flair like Grand Theft Auto V (I hate to say it, but having already bought the game twice and fully aware how horribly the campaign as aged, the DualSense aspect is arguably the best of anything on the system), NBA 2K22 (I'll torch this game to the ends of the Earth, and this isn't always a good thing, but it really makes you feel weight and speed differential in a big way) or the Spider-Man games (where they seem to have set what NBA 2K achieved as a goal and then consciously backed away from it in favor of fun) - it really is significant. I'm sure there's something I've played that I forgot - I think Demon's Souls has some fun stuff.

There is, beyond all that but so obvious as to not require mentioning, the numerous Playstation exclusives that are almost uniformly the very best games released in their calendar year or any year, period, and that's hard to argue against. I get that not everyone agrees with this and a particularly toxic form of fandom exists out there to increasingly make fans of these games come off like fans of the bands Phish or Tool and that's unfortunate...but Sony really do have an HBO-like vice grip around creating narratively and mechanically tight showcases for their platforms that I can't imagine making the choice to miss out on, no matter how attractive a service Game Pass can seem otherwise.

That being said, I have also seen reasonable complaints that the added weight to the controller and extended throw on its buttons isn't always pleasant. I've even some one or two people on this exact forum outright hate that controller. For my part, I loved all the haptic stuff that got added to Ghost of Tsushima, and after beating Elden Ring with a samurai build felt compelled to give Sekiro something like my 15th earnest go, but either I'm too used to how the PS4's controller's shoulder buttons click or there is a potential for a real problem here...fast twitch attacks and parries with the shoulder buttons felt really sticky compared to my past experience with those games and I was significantly worse. So I'm currently, after almost a year with the controller, a little unsure about that particular aspect of the controller.

In any case, I think anyone that can afford to own both would be silly not to do so. I'd love to have a Game Pass machine in my house right now. This last sentence is gonna sound really dumb, but if there were a way to consolidate any Achievements I earned while playing Game Pass games into my Trophy list, I might've even been convinced to bite the bullet on owning my first XBox already. Well, that and a well-reviewed third party controller that could allow me to swap the location of the left analog stick to its proper position!

@nodima: but how would you decide where to play multi platform games?

Kinda tried to get to that at the end there. The practical side of me says I'd pick XBox no question, it's a simple question of economics.

...But the irrational side of me would ultimately probably choose a preferred controller and established record of accomplishments in games despite the financial penalty - partially because I also struggle to play ten new games a year anyway, so it'll still be discounted when I get to it usually and the new PS+ throws things further into the air as we watch it develop in the next year.

I do already own a Switch and have only ever bought Breath of the Wild for it no matter how much high praise some games get as something to play on the couch or in bed because at the end of the day, I can't get over having a very big screen, the jubilant ding of earning a new trophy nor the far more familiar layout of the Playstation controller design.

I was fortunate enough to get both consoles on release, so I've had to choose between the two quite a few times. Until fairly recently, it was a matter of checking if the game would benefit from VRR. If so, the Series X won. Now, though, the PS5 also has VRR support — albeit not quite as good as on Series X — so that's not as important anymore. I chose to play Elden Ring on Series X because of this very thing.

I also consider where friends will be. If I have friends playing on Xbox or PC, it's always Series X, as it's easier to talk using an Xbox party across those platforms. Once we have a PS5 player getting involved, we have to fall back on Discord, which is a pain (although that should be getting better on Xbox soon!).

Finally, it's if I think the DualSense features will be worth it. Most of the time, it doesn't seem compelling enough to choose one over the other, so it comes down to which game is the cheapest.

As along as you stick to playing on 1080p - 1440p monitors, you should be fine. But if you want to do serious 4K or Ray-tracing at max settings, you'll need a 3080 or a 6800xt.

@av_gamer: we’ll I play on a 1440p 144hz monitor

I’m thinking about just playing then on my series X and using my PS5 for exclusives and like JRPGs and fighting games

@ravensword: Reckon you won't miss out on much whichever option you choose tbh, I'd expect everything will run pretty well on all of them for a while and there's nothing stopping you switching between in future.

question, the answer to which everyone will be subjective. Someone likes to play more on the playstation, who is more comfortable with the x box. Now almost all game manufacturers make games for all platforms at once for bigger sales. So there's no choice here.

I mean, I think if I turn my brain off and just go with gut feeling I feel like I’d be happier playing them in series X for the added resolution and frame rates. But I don’t like the PS5 controller a lot. But if I have access to whatever the best version is shouldnt I play that?

...Actually, I'm a little bit of a liar: The Switch is also an option; granted for smaller/less graphically demanding games like Dead Cells, Shovel Knight, Hades, God Eater 3, and I'll take a solid 30 frames with Monster Hunter Rise. And 8Bitdo's wireless adapter will let me use pretty much any bluetooth capable controller with the console, which probably makes the Switch the most versatile console that I've owned to date.

I like playing Bayonetta 2 with a DualShock 4.

PC when possible , i have no reason to own an xbox these days with my pc n how MS operates now which is great , otherwise i have a ps5 , that said the dual sense hurts my hands so when i used to still lean console vs pc these days its the oposit strictly for that reason. its a shame too since the dual shocks before it were pretty comfortable to my hands tho i never had a preference controller wise between xbox and ps before now they were both fine.

Almost always run better on series x, plus more commitment to back compat, so I reserve ps5 for exclusives and multiplayer games that still don’t include crossplay (most of my friends are ps4/5 only)

I've been PC only since the middle of the 360 generation and the increase in PC support from both MS and Sony is really validating my decision, it's not really an option for me though i HAVE to have a PC, i just can't bring myself to buy a console as well just for some exclusives.

Not owning a Switch is really annoying though, i've been watching the price stay the same for years and now it seems the old version has become unavailable with the OLED version taking its place, which is even more expensive, i just want to play Bayonetta...

The answer as to which one can only be answered in ten more years; in the meantime choose either one.

"...The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already [wrong]. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a [console gamer] is supposed to function: without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All [console] wars depends upon it.”

~ Ronald C. Speirs - Band of Brothers.

@brich: yeah but how much of difference is it really and is it noticeable?

@cikame: if it makes you feel any better ( probably not :/ ) i've found most switch games i've tried emulating run better on my pc with ryujinx than on my switch itself :/ its kinda put me off buying more switch games at this point when i hear how framey they get.