What Is The Best Gaming Console To Buy?

Wait… home theater.. and video games… what?

Yep that’s correct.

You see, most people don’t take into account the fact that a decent portion of the home theater sphere does actually include the topic of video games believe it or not.

I mean think about it, let’s say you finally set up that man cave you’ve been clamoring for, for a while and you manage to get everything set up just the way you want.

Sure you’ll test it with some movies, maybe even watch a few shows.

But chances are you’ll eventually be at least slightly curious how video games look and sound on it at some point or another; even if you aren’t massively into them.

Not to mention the fact that there’s people who build entire game rooms around them.

Let me tell you firsthand, it’s such an incredibly awesome experience. There really isn’t anything like it when you do it right.

Now more than ever, exists an impressive amount of variety offered (putting it very lightly). That’s both a good and a bad thing. It’s good because hey on one hand, it gives you a lot of options.

On the other It’s bad because, what the heck do you pick?!

With all the gaming options available today, it becomes increasingly harder to decide what to get and why.

By now you might be wondering okay…so what is the best gaming console to buy?

The short answer is that it’s really hard to say. It’ll honestly depend on what your particular interests are. But chances are, you’re probably looking for a direct answer.

Since I’m a huge gamer as well, I’ll take the liberty of helping you out.

So the long version will be an elaboration on that. I’ll go over each home entertainment console, and why someone might be happy with a specific one.

At the very end, I’ll give you my personal thoughts about what my favorite is. Sound like a plan?

Let’s get to it.

The PlayStation 4 Slim

The PlayStation 4 Pro

The Xbox One S

The Xbox One X

The Nintendo Switch

My Personal Favorite

The PlayStation 4 Slim

First up the PlayStation 4 Slim.

Man has this thing been around forever (the brand I mean). I remember playing the first iteration back in the year 2000 and being floored how amazing it was.

The PlayStation 4 (obviously being the 4^th version) is a culmination of sorts on what Sony has learned over the years. The slim is the new standard version of the original 4 from 2013. Nothing changed majorly. It’s just a slimmer version of it.

It features a Blu-ray player, so it’ll let you play all your favorite DVD’s along with Blu-rays. It also has its own marketplace called the PlayStation store. This store features thousands of movies and games. Some are free but most are not.

The console supports HDR (high dynamic range), and something called remote play. Remote play is pretty cool because you can stream your gameplay to friends so they can watch.

The controller has something called dualshock rumble which is basically a vibration within it that reacts to what’s happening on screen. So why would you go with the PS4? There’s a lot of reasons honestly.

Reason #1….First party games!

Holy moley guacamole are there a lot of good games on it, especially first party. Think of a first party game as one that’s unique to that brand and isn’t available on any other console.

From Horizon Zero Dawn to Ratchet And Clank, there’s really no disputing how good its personal lineup is.

Reason #2 PlayStation VR

If you haven’t tried virtual reality, then I don’t know how else to put it other than you’re in the game. No like seriously, when you put this thing on, you’re inside the game world. Have you ever seen Tron or Sword Art Online? It’s that level of intense.

I wish I could describe how amazing it is over text, but you would need to try it yourself to understand. It really feels like the future. There’s also a growing list of other content on it as well. YouTube even supports VR (now that’s a wild experience.)

Even on non VR games, you can still play standard ones. Best way to describe how that is, is that it feels like your sitting in a movie theater in front of a giant screen. It’s so strange because it doesn’t feel like something like this should even exist yet.

While there is virtual reality on the PC, as of right now, the PS4 is the only home console with a VR device.

Reason #3 Shareplay

This one’s awesome. If you’re a really social gamer, then this ones for you. If you have a game on PS4 that you’re playing online, then what you can do is invite someone else to your game to play with you. What’s special about that is the other person doesn’t even need to own the game to play along.

Reason # 4 Backwards Compatibility

Being that this is the 4’th PlayStation, it only makes sense that there’s a large catalogue of games existing from previous generations.

Sony was aware of that and so allowed the PS4 to be backwards compatible with them; with a few limitations of course.

While it can support past games, that number is limited, and is only offered online via a service called PlayStation Now. There’s certainly a larger amount that’s supported than there use to be, but just be aware that it isn’t all of them.

Overall the PlayStation 4 is awesome, and it’d be really hard to go wrong with it. With so many games, it’s pretty obvious that there would be a massive number of genres to choose from as well. I noticed that there tends to be a lot of Action RPGs on it (role playing games) If that’s a genre that interests you, then you’d definitely be right at home.

There’s certainly something here for everybody. I would also go with the PlayStation if you’re someone who values socializing since a large part of the experience is playing and interacting with other players online. I can tell you personally that it really is fun to do so. Plus there’s even VR support.

The PlayStation Pro

This is an interesting one. Introduced in 2016, the Pro version you can think of as a supercharged PlayStation 4. The internals have been ramped up to support a bigger range of features.

If your curious about the technical difference of what’s changed, you can read about it here.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/ps4-pro

In general the PS4 Pro has a few really big draws over its counterpart.

Reason #1 4K Gaming Support

If you aren’t sure what 4K is, I’ve covered it here.

https://easyhometheater.net/what-is-a-4k-video 

Simply put, 4k is a resolution that’s 4 times that of 1080P otherwise known as full HD. That bump in resolution makes a huge visual difference.

The fact that it can support resolutions this high means games on it will look crystal clear. I can certainly vouch for that fact since I own one right now. However this takes a lot of power to do and so that brings me to my next reason you may want one.

Reason #2 More Powerful

Another reason you might be interested in this one is if you care about how your games look. With so much power, the pro is capable of pumping out some truly impressive looking games.

When I say impressive, I mean the kind of graphics where it’s almost hard to distinguish from real life. Things really look that good on it.

That’s not even to mention that it also supports all of the latest Dolby Digital Formats so if you have a good sound system, wow are you in for a treat. This extra power also allows games to not only look better, but play better as well. It even improves how VR games look..

It really is an awesome console. The only thing to keep in mind though is that it doesn’t play 4k Blu-rays.

The Xbox One S

The Xbox One S is a newer version of the original Xbox One released back in 2013.

The Xbox One S is pretty similar to the PS4 if anything, however there are some differences that may make you want to go with this one (no pun intended)

Reason #1 4K Blu-ray player

This is quite the enigma. While the One S doesn’t support 4k gaming, it does have a unique defining feature; a 4k Blue-ray player. Those are relatively new, so the fact the Xbox One S even has one is both surprising, and incredible

Reason #2 The Games

Sony isn’t the only one with an exclusive line up as Microsoft’s Xbox has a spectacular assortment of games as well.

From Halo to Gears, let’s just say it’d be really hard to be bored. The games offered here at top notch so again, there’s something here for everybody as well.

Reason #3 HDR Support

Besides being able to display 4k content, it possesses the ability to display HDR content as well. HDR again stands for High Dynamic Range. Think of it as an exponentially increased contrast ratio that mimics how the human eye see things.

Again, this is also something you would need to see in person to appreciate (there’s been a lot of those instances haven’t there?) As long as you have a TV that’s capable, you can take advantage of this new technology.

Reason #4 It’s Small

The One S is really small compared to other consoles. If you’re someone who doesn’t have the most space in the world, having a console that’s small is a life saver.

As a whole, the Xbox One S is a spectacular console with its main draw being it’s 4k media capabilities. If that’s something that interests you, then I would go with this one. I’ve also noticed that there’s a lot of racing games available on it so if you like that, then there’s another reason to go with it.

As far as the social aspect goes, that’s present here as well with a booming online multiplayer network. Overall, there’s plenty to keep you entertained here.

The Xbox One X

Here’s another certainly interesting one. Its main characteristic is that it is the most powerful home console to date.

It certainly lives up to that claim with almost the same amount of power as a dedicated gaming PC. Pretty impressive to say the least. So why would someone be interested in this one?

Reason #1 4k Blu-Ray Player

Being the next step up, it’s only natural that it would sport this feature like its smaller sibling. The player in the system itself is the same though so that hasn’t changed. Still it’s good to see it here though.

Reason #2 The Power

I’ve mentioned how insanely strong it is right? The Xbox One X not only has everything the Xbox One S has, but it’s also capable of 4k gaming.

Not to mention all the typical bells and whistles like HDR and backwards compatibility. This means that if you’re concerned with in game graphics, it will undoubtedly look the best on here.

Reason #3 It’s Small

Believe it or not, this console is small too. This is due to much more efficient internals. You would think something this powerful would be lumbering, but fortunately it’s not.

https://www.pocket-lint.com/games/news/xbox/137909-xbox-one-x-price-specifications-and-everything-you-need-to-know

While the One X supports the same games that the S does, it does so at a much higher fidelity. If you’re one for eye candy and a smoother gaming experience overall, go with this one. You probably won’t believe how good it looks just as a heads up.

To put it bluntly, it’s a beast.

The Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo switch certainly is unique in that it is technically both a home and portable console. When at home, the console rests on a dock, and the sides of the switch come off.

These are called Joy Cons. When you decide to go out, you can attach the joy cons to the console and use it like you would say a 3DS. Why would someone want this one?

Reason #1 The Games

Jeez Nintendo is on fire with games lately. They started off 2017 by releasing the switch and the groundbreaking The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

The game was so good that not only was it one of the highest scoring games in history, but everyone collectively lost their minds over it (me included).

Then with the holiday season approaching, they decided to go with a 1, 2 punch and release Super Mario Odyssey, one that scored just as high. I’m not one to buy into the hype; in fact I’m usually a huge critic.

But oh my..  Zelda and Mario, I can comfortably say, are 2 of the best games I’ve ever played ever, period. I was not prepared for how good they are.

I wish I could convey to you the joy you experience playing them, but it’s something that’s simply experienced.

Reason #2 Convenience

I don’t think there’s anything more convenient then being able to pocket a console. Being able to take it with you anywhere you go, and use headphones with it is awesome enough.

But being able to prop it up via the kickstand on the back, slide the joycons off, then play 2 players with someone else on it seems like such a novel idea that I wish it existed sooner. It makes a portable console a social event which is so cool.

The PlayStation 5

The PlayStation 5 is the successor to the PS5 and in my opinion, is certainly a worthy one as there’s lots of things improved.

All of the things I’ve said about the PS4 holds true with this one as it’s backwards compatible with the PS4 games, the controller is improved with haptic feedback, and it’s much more powerful.

Games on it look absolutely beautiful, and the improved speed from the SSD makes a difference when it comes to loading from my experience.

It can even theoretically go up to 8K resolution which is impressive.

It’s an all around amazing system in my opinion.

The Xbox Series X & S

The Xbox Series X & S are the successors to the one x and when it comes to how games look on them, they’re simply gorgeous. From the clarity of games, to how smooth they look, it feels like a step up.

The Series S has support for up to 1440p and the Series X can theoretically do up to 8K resolution which is incredible.

It even allows you to have dynamic backgrounds on your dashboard that move which I think is really cool. They’re really great systems.

My Personal Favorite

So here’s what you’re really curious about…(probably not but I digress)

Which one do I personally like the best?

Plot twist…..all of them.

What??

Yep.

It seems like every major console maker came out swinging, and in the end it’s really us that wins. I wish I could pick a favorite, but each console brings with it something so unique that I couldn’t honestly choose.

I eventually had to get all of them because they each had exclusive games that I knew I had to have. It’s not even just that they have fantastic games either; but it’s the sheer amount of fantastic games offered from each system.

You really would be hard pressed to go wrong with any of them though. And forget about it when it comes to playing them on your speakers.

You think it’s intense playing it on the television, but you hook it up to a good surround system and say goodbye to anything you planned to get done that day. They’re such an entertaining addition to a home theater.

So to answer the original question about what is the best gaming console to buy, ideally I’d say all of them. But realistically, it’s really going to boil down to what features you prefer.

Keep in mind though that since the PS5, Nintendo Switch, & Xbox Series X are the newest, availability of the other consoles mentioned may vary due to them being older.

Other than that, they’re great systems.

But that’s about wraps it up for this one.

Until next time make it easy, keep it simple!

Jay

Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)

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