Has Xbox Series X Already Beaten the PS5?

In many ways, the console wars never went away. Just as previous generations debated the merits of the Super Nintendo versus the Sega Genesis, modern generations debate Xbox versus PlayStation.

In the current generation, there is a clear winner. In terms of global sales and market penetration, the Sony’s PlayStation 4 clearly beats out Microsoft’s Xbox One. According to research from February 2020, the PS4 has a market share of 52% versus the Xbox One’s 23% market share. Furthermore, Sony has sold over 106 million units while Microsoft has only sold a little over 46 million.

The message is clear: if Microsoft wants to win the next round of console wars, they need to come out swinging. And based on what we know about PS5 versus the Xbox Series X, it looks like Microsoft has already won.

Don’t believe it? We’ve got a full comparison and breakdown of the Xbox Series X versus the PlayStation 5.

Seeing is believing

The first point of comparison is mild, but it’s worth noting. While Microsoft has already shown us what the Xbox Series X looks like, Sony is playing coy with the reveal of the PlayStation 5 design.

Expect to see the official PS5 design reveal at the PS5 event on Thursday, June 11.

See you Thursday, June 11 at 1:00pm Pacific time (9:00pm BST) for a look at the future of gaming on #PS5: https://t.co/9XJkXYProo pic.twitter.com/8EoN34UPdd
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 8, 2020

There may be some perfectly good marketing reasons for Sony waiting until June for the reveal. But from the outside looking in, it certainly seems like Microsoft is more confident in showing off the goods.

It’s also notable that the new Xbox looks less like a game console and more like a PC. This shows that Microsoft is willing to change their formula up in an attempt to triumph over their competition.

However, every gamer knows that the most important things in a game system are what lurks under the hood. On paper, Microsoft is beating out Sony in several key technical factors. But do these higher numbers mean exactly what we think they mean?

Comparing CPU

Interestingly, the CPU of each system is very similar. Each one is powered by 8x Zen 2 cores. On the PS5, those cores are running at 3.5 GHz while they run on 3.8 GHz on the Xbox.

So, does size really matter in this case? Not necessarily — the difference between 3.5 and 3.8 may be downright imperceptible. And while the Xbox Series X is capable of simultaneous multithreading, doing so brings it down to 3.6 GHz.

Long story short? Games are likely to run quite similarly to one another. As usual, this console war is going to come down to which developers can figure out how to make the most of the new console’s capabilities.