Despite being in love with the PS5 at launch, my enthusiasm for the system slowly began to wane. PlayStation 5 is a console made with some fantastic features, but an ugly truth is starting to become clearer: PS5 can’t compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X when it comes to value. And that’s why I woke up playing on the Xbox Series X much more than the PS5.
Even before the launch of the flagship Microsoft console, I said that the Xbox Series X already had a better value than the PS5. And honestly, this gap has widened considerably for almost five months since the launch of the console, to the point where Sony’s tried and trusted strategy looks horribly outdated.
It’s worth repeating, but Microsoft really doesn’t care if you buy an Xbox Series X. With the Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the company has created a revenue stream available on Xbox consoles, PCs, Android phones and soon, and iOS browsers. It means there are virtually no barriers to entry, and anyone interested in the Xbox or games in general can do so – even those who only own a PS5 or Nintendo Switch will likely have access to a PC or smartphone.
Unlike Microsoft, then Sony has to sell you a PS5 if it wants to make money. It can’t monetize users who don’t own its hardware – other than PC gamers who subscribe to PS Now to stream PS4, PS3 and PS2 games through the cloud or take over the weird PS4 port – and historically, platform owners don’t tend to make any profit on hardware for up to many years in a console generation. Traditionally, sales of software, add-ons, subscriptions, and even accessories offer the highest returns.
Cash back
However, clearly, selling consumers a PS5 is clearly not a problem for Sony. It has done an admirable job of changing millions of PlayStation 5 consoles thanks to the innovative DualSense controller, an attractive line of titles from the first part and competitive prices. It helps that the PS4 has also been a phenomenal success story for Sony, which will generate a lot of goodwill and loyal customers in the process.
But once Sony sells you a PS5, you have to turn that hardware loss into a profit. It’s no surprise that Sony’s hottest merchandise – its primary line – now costs $ 70 / £ 70 and continues to sign exclusive deals with third-party publishers like Square Enix for hit games like Final Fantasy 16. Also tried PlayStation Plus is more attractive by including 20 free games for PS5 owners, and PS Now has fortunately added the option to download games – although its library still fades compared to the Xbox Game Pass and there are no PS5 titles available. Microsoft has 37 titles optimized for Xbox Series X / S, for comparison, a number that will continue to grow.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is in a completely different position. It simply wants to attract more Xbox Game Pass subscribers to achieve its results. If it manages to sell hardware, it is a massive bonus and obviously a profitable one, but it no longer depends only on the need of consumers to do so.
While a company’s profit and loss schedule doesn’t even bother me, these different strategies are finally starting to affect the consumer, and Microsoft’s approach pays dividends for players and me, who simply want to play more titles.
Hard to leave
Just as Netflix changed the film and television industry, the Xbox Game Pass offered the same kind of seismic change for video games. Surprisingly, this is the main reason I start my Xbox Series X almost every night: there’s always something to play that has either gone through me, just been added, or recently optimized for Microsoft’s current generation consoles.
If you didn’t already know, Microsoft’s subscription service allows you to access hundreds of games for a monthly fee of $ 9.99 / $ 7.99 / $ 10.95. Any game on Xbox Game Pass can be purchased with a 20% discount if you prefer to own it forever, and the downloadable content is reduced by 10%. Subscribers also have access to every Xbox Game Studios title on the first day, which includes tracks like Gears 5, Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 4, and future games like Halo Infinite, Everwild, and Forza Motorsport. Pretty great, isn’t it?
This in itself may be enough for some people to subscribe, but Microsoft has managed to sweeten even more in recent months, providing a growing number of outstanding third-party titles. Outriders and the previous MLB baseball game exclusively for PlayStation: Show 21 are both available in the Xbox Game Pass on the first day, and Octopath Traveler, one of the best Nintendo Switch games, launched the service at launch. If you want to play Outriders or MLB: The Show 21 on PS5, you look at $ 60 and $ 70, respectively.
Ante until
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the highest-level Microsoft Game Pass, which costs $ 14.99 / $ 10.99 / $ 15.95 per month, raises the stakes even more – almost to an incomprehensible extent. With an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, get all of the above, along with access to Xbox Game Pass on PC, Xbox Live (required if you want to play online), Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), benefits for different titles and EA Play . If you are someone who likes to play games, especially on several platforms, it is a simply phenomenal value proposition that cannot be surpassed.
To get an equivalent experience on PS5, you should pay $ 9.99 per month for PS Plus, $ 9.99 for PS Now and $ 4.99 per month for EA Play. That means $ 24.97 per month in total and you don’t have access to cloud games on Android devices or the option to download and play PS4 or PS5 titles on your PC.
That already means $ 9.98 more per month, but where PS5 gamers are really hit hard is when a game like MLB: Show 21 or a great PlayStation exclusive appears. You’ll have to pay another $ 70 / £ 70 in addition to your existing monthly fee of $ 24.97 – a price that Sony believes players are willing to pay for its primary titles. $ 94.97 in total or 84% more compared to the $ 14.99 fixed fee that Xbox gamers will have to pay if an Xbox Game Studios title, such as Halo Infinite, is released in the same month . And remember, you still get less for your money.
Gross deal
As someone who practically only spends their disposable income on video games (they should buy more clothes in one day), this price differential is simply too significant to ignore. And that’s why I woke up gravitating back to the Xbox Series X after I was initially encouraged by the new Sony console. There are simply more games to play right now and I don’t have to open my wallet to experience the majority.
As good as the PS5 is, it’s starting to really feel like a luxury purchase. I can’t help but ask “what’s next?” whenever I turn on PS5. I want to play new games on it, and PS Plus fortunately offered a few hits like Control: Ultimate Edition, Oddworld: Soulstorm and Destruction All-Stars (a game that initially had $ 70 at launch).
But Microsoft is the one that always gives me reasons to start the console. Xbox Game Pass is the key factor in all this, but features like FPS Boost help me feel like I’m getting more money. Xbox also has a smart rewards system that encourages you to play and complete missions to earn Microsoft Reward points. Then you can redeem them either by participating in competitions or by simply getting your Xbox credit. You are essentially paid to play.
It seems that Sony is happy to stand until the appearance of its next big title. But this is simply not enough to justify owning a 499 USD / 449 GBP console when the competition leans back to please your installation base. Even when Sony shows its more generous side with the Play At Home initiative, the titles offered are often games that PlayStation owners would no doubt have played before or for many years.
Offering one of its exclusive games seems counterintuitive: if you own a PlayStation, how many users haven’t played Ratchet & Clank, Horizon: Zero Dawn or Uncharted 4? Not many would argue, because this is why many bought a PlayStation 4 in the first place.
Give me the goods
Sony needs to do more then. PlayStation Plus continues to be a valuable service and is currently the only way to get PS5 games without paying the full price. But PlayStation Now is still a completely unattractive and remarkable proposition, more expensive than the Xbox Game Pass in the UK (GBP 8.99 for PS Now, GBP 7.99 for Xbox Game Pass). Sony doesn’t make its own games available on PS Now either, and if they ever show up, it’s often months, if not years later. PS Now offers subscribers access only to PS4, PS2 and PS3 games, the latter can only be streamed.
Sony is unlikely to ever put its precious assets on the first day of PlayStation Plus, but imagine if there was a PlayStation Plus Platinum level that would include at least PS Now and EA Play? That would at least keep Sony somewhat competitive against the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
It’s time for Sony to do more to satisfy users who have made the decision to pick up a PS5 and not just to try to entice new users into competition or away from it with one or two profile games. Even Nintendo – a company that is known for discounts and sales – has a reward system for users who buy digital games, but Sony, at least in Europe, has nothing like that.
As it stands, the PS5 really feels like it’s just for payers – not gamers who are supposed to be so interested in Sony.