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To help you decide, we’ve reviewed the top consoles on the market based on power, features, portability and type of play.
With the next-generation Xbox One X Series and PlayStation 5 coming out this holiday season, it’s the perfect time for video game fans and curious fun-seekers to look at the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. Each of these gaming systems has more than a thousand games available, with prices reduced from their initial launches. But which one should you buy? We’ve reviewed each to help you decide which is the best fit for the kind of gaming you enjoy best, and your budget.
(Since COVID-19 physical distancing measures took effect in March, many Canadians have snapped up consoles to bring some more fun to their hours of at-home time, and availability from online retailers is limited. Most consoles are available on Amazon, at higher-than-list prices. The Nintendo Switch Lite and Xbox One X are still widely available at regular prices.)
The Nintendo Switch is unique to other consoles because you can play it on your TV, on the table with friends or as a portable handheld device. The console has a four-and-a-half to nine-hour battery life and takes three hours to fully charge.
You can play with the two Joy-cons, which are the controllers. The Joy-cons can be attached to the sides of the console, to a standard controller, or you can detach them to allow multiple people to play. The controllers even have motion control capabilities for games like Super Mario Party.
The Switch is linked to iconic franchises like Super Mario Bros., Kirby, Animal Crossing and many more. With Nintendo’s online service , you can play more than 60 retro games digitally by subscribing for a fee. You can also download video/streaming apps like YouTube and Hulu.
One downside with the Nintendo Switch is that its portability compromises performance and creates a notable gap in terms of power, meaning lag and lower frames per second (FPS—frames being the images you see in games). Some features not included are High Dynamic Range (HDR), which helps with making the colours pop out more, and high quality sound. The Nintendo Switch won’t give you the best visuals, but if that isn’t a priority, you can still have a lot of fun with the games.
Price: $399.99 (at date of publication, $600 on Amazon)
Specs: 32 GB of storage; 6.2-inch LCD Multi-touch capacitive touch screen; Nvidia Custom Tegra Processor; 4.5- to 9-hour battery life
Exclusives: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Console features: Play on the TV, tabletop or as a handheld device; check the hours you’ve spent playing your games; detachable controllers; good performance games on the go; gyroscope; brightness sensor
Online service: $4.99 monthly; $9.99 quarterly; $24.99 annually
Online features: Play over 60 NES and SNES games with a Nintendo Online subscription; automatic save data backup; move saves between different switch consoles
If you find the Nintendo Switch too pricey, the Switch Lite is a good alternative. It’s both cheaper and more portable than the original switch, with some sacrifices for the improved portability. The Lite’s Joy-Cons on the Lite don’t detach, and, instead of original Switch’s directional buttons, the left Joy-Con has the industry standard directional pad in the shape of a plus sign, which some users have said offer limited responsiveness, while others say they prefer.
Some features have been stripped to allow for the Lite’s smaller size, such as TV and Tabletop mode, Rumble vibrating controllers, and the brightness sensor. The touch screen is smaller, so it detects only one finger. A dealbreaker for some may be that not all Nintendo games work on the Lite because of the lack of motion controls, such as Super Mario Party or the Nintendo Labo games.
Price: $259.99
Specs: 32 GB of storage; 5.5-inch LCD capacitive touch screen; Nvidia Custom Tegra Processor; 3- to 7-hour battery life
Exclusives: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
Console features: Easier to play on the go; lighter and more compact; play good performance games on the go; gyroscope
Online service: $4.99 monthly; $9.99 quarterly; $24.99 annually
Online features: Play over 60 NES and SNES games with a Nintendo Online subscription; automatic save data backup; move saves between different switch consoles
The PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4 Pro) has a reputation for offering the best gaming experience for PS4 games, at a premium price.
Visually and technically, this console is solid. Anti-aliasing prevents aliasing, which makes the edges of 3D models jagged, a straight line would look like a staircase when jagged. There is also HDR and higher frame rates for a smooth experience.
The PS4 Pro also features “boost mode” to increase the frame rate further, so that loading times are reduced. However, the results vary from game to game, as some games run better than others. The PS4 Pro gives you a 4K experience as well, but if you don’t own a 4K TV, you might not be able to see all of these features to their fullest potential.
You can also use the console to play digital content such as videos, TV shows, movies and Blu-ray in 4K. The better performance and graphical features will cost you, making it one of the more expensive and powerful consoles on our list.
Price: $459.99 to $589.99+, depending on whether you get a bundle package (at date of publication, $650+ on Amazon)
Specs: 1TB storage; 4.20 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon GPU; 8 GB Memory; 1GB of space for non-gaming applications
Exclusives: God of War; PaRappa the Rapper Remastered; Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End; Marvel’s Spider-Man
Console features: Anti-aliasing; HDR; boost mode; 4K experience for games and video content; better frame rates and graphics; Blu-Ray player with Spatial Audio support
Online service: $11.99 monthly; $29.99 quarterly; $69.99 annually
Online features: Cloud storage; monthly free games; exclusive discounts; PlayStation Now videogame streaming service for additional fee
If you want to play PS4 games at a lower price, the PlayStation 4 Slim (PS4 Slim) system could be for you.
It’s slimmer and lighter compared to the previous PlayStation 4, and current PS4 Pro. With a 1.6GHz 8-core processor and HDR, the PS4 Slim performs better than the Nintendo Switch. It works with a large library of kid and adult games like PaRappa the Rapper Remastered or God of War. Members of your household who don’t play games, will like the PS4 Slim’s ability to stream Netflix, and its Blu-ray player that supports spatial audio, which creates a realistic surround-sound effect.
The PS4 Slim does lack an optical audio output for stereo speakers, spatial audio support for games and an AUX port for headphones, so the sound isn’t the best. However, if audio isn’t a big priority, then this won’t be a problem for you.
Price: $379 (at time of publication, $500+ on Amazon)
Specs: 500GB-1TB storage; 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon GPU; 8 GB memory
Exclusives: God of War; PaRappa the Rapper Remastered; Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End; Marvel’s Spider-Man
Console features: HDR; light console design; plentiful exclusives; Blu-ray player with spatial audio support; great performance on games
Online service: $11.99 monthly; $29.99 quarterly; $69.99 annually
Online features: Monthly free games; exclusive discounts; PlayStation Now video game streaming service for additional costs
The Xbox One lineup of consoles excels at being graphically impressive and immersive—more so than the PlayStation 4 consoles—to make you feel like you’re really in the game.
The Xbox One S, a 4K console with HDR and an Ultra High Definition Blu-ray player, is more powerful than the PS4 Slim. Additionally, it features spatial audio support for both Blu-ray and games, to give the best sound experience. Another unique feature for Xbox fans is that original Xbox or Xbox 360 discs will play on the Xbox One S.
You also get access to Xbox Live. Its free online service allows you to download apps and create 3D avatars; however, if you want to play online multiplayer games, you’ll need a paid Xbox Live Gold account.
The Xbox does suffer from one flaw: it has few exclusives. Games available for Xbox One S, such as Gears 5 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, games available are also released for other devices, and on Steam, a PC platform.
Price: $299.99 to $379.99, depending on if you get a bundle (at time of publication, $400+ on Amazon)
Specs: 500GB-2TB of storage; 12 CUs (914MHz) 1.23 TF GPU; 8GB of memory
Exclusives: Rare Replay; Forza Motorsport 5
Console features: 4K resolution; HDR; 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player; Spatial Audio support; play original Xbox and Xbox 360 games; Xbox Play Anywhere digital titles (such as Cuphead) are playable on Windows 10 computers, even if purchased on Xbox
Online service: $11.99 monthly; $29.99 quarterly; $69.99 annually
Online Features: Free account gets you access to Xbox Live Marketplace and apps like Netflix; create 3D avatars; two to four free games every month; exclusive game discounts
Xbox One S All-Digital Edition
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition lets you play Xbox games digitally without having to worry about physical discs (the console doesn’t even have a disc slot). You get three game codes with your purchase of the console: Minecraft, Sea of Thieves and Fortnite: Battle Royale. Other than that, almost everything else is identical to the Xbox One S.
This console is for those who prefer buying games digitally and streaming content. If you prefer physical discs, you would be better off with the regular Xbox One S, which will also give you the “backward compatibility” that allows you to play original Xbox and Xbox 360-disc games. You can still buy these games digitally if you’d like to play them on the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which is perfect for those living in small spaces who don’t want to deal with the clutter of physical game discs.
Price: $299 (at time of publication, about $325 on Amazon, and out of stock until May 9, 2020)
Specs: 1TB of storage; 12 CUs (914MHz) 1.23 TF GPU; 8GB Memory
Exclusives: Rare Replay; Forza Motorsport 5
Console features: No disc drive; console comes with three game codes; 4K resolution; HDR; spatial audio support for Blu-ray and gaming; Xbox Play Anywhere digital titles (such as Cuphead) are playable on Windows 10 computers even if purchased on Xbox
Online service: $11.99 monthly, $29.99 quarterly, $69.99 annually
Online Features: Free account gets you access to Xbox Live Marketplace and apps like Netflix; create 3D avatars; get 2 to 4 games for free every month; exclusive game discounts
This console has the most teraflops on the market, with 6—meaning it can handle more graphically demanding games without a lot of cracks in immersion like frame drops. With 4K resolution and HDR, the visuals really pop. And the Xbox One X comes with 4K DVR, so when you record or take a screenshot of your play, it will be in 4K. Most multi-platform games will run at their best on the Xbox One X.
The Xbox One X works best with a 4K TV. If you don’t have one, the Xbox One S would be a better choice.
Price: $599.00
Specs: 1TB of storage; 40 CUs (1,172Mhz) 6 TF GPU; 12GB of memory
Exclusives: Rare Replay; Forza Motorsport 5
Console features: Most powerful console in the current generation; 4K resolution and Ultra HD Blu-ray player; HDR; spatial audio support; play original Xbox and Xbox 360 games; Xbox Play Anywhere digital titles are playable on Windows 10 computers even if purchased on Xbox; 4K Game DVR
Online service: $11.99 monthly; $29.99 quarterly; $69.99 annually
Online features: Free account gets you access to Xbox Live Marketplace and apps like Netflix; create 3D avatars; with Gold: Get 2-4 games for free every month; exclusive game discounts
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