So I usually try to save my money where possible and I don’t celebrate my birthday but I wanted get an updated gaming console so that I could continue to play Fortnite when I have some free down time. Way back in the day, my grandpa gave me an original Nintendo (which I sadly didn’t think of keeping over time) and eventually I got the Nintendo 64 when it came out as well. I then purchased the original Xbox (which had the Halo title on it) and that was one of my first Microsoft products that I enjoyed owning. After that, I switched over to the Sony side and purchased the Playstation 2 – and then the Playstation 3 – and then the Playstation 4 (so that I could keep playing the different GTA versions).

For my birthday this Jan 2023, after spending years playing with the original PS4, it was getting a little old and hot and dusty so I purchased myself a gift of the Playstation 5 (to be able to play the Fortnite battle royals). However, once I turned it on, configured it, updated it, downloaded the game and launched it – the entire system powered off. I tried it again and the same thing happened at the same spot in the game. I also tried to download a free title that came with the system and it also shut off, right before the game play starts. I recorded a long boring video of it because I couldn’t believe it!

This new unit left me in such disbelief that I went back to Microsoft and purchased an Xbox Series X instead! I have to say that as a long time Playstation fan, I was pretty impressed with the build quality of this gaming console. It has a good weight to it, it’s less bulky, has proper ventilation holes near the back bottom for cool air and the main fan near the top has nice big blades which quietly moves the air upwards and outwards – it’s properly engineered and designed – it reminds me of a little chimney stack! My only improvement would be if they could just round out the corners with a small radius to make them a little more user friendly and less sharp feeling/looking 🙂

The PS5 is fairly big and bulky, the fan blades are way too small sized and it doesn’t really have proper ventilation holes or airflow direction – and according to my online searches, other people have also been facing power / heat issues with it. The only downside to the Xbox is that I highly prefer the PS5 controller over it as the bumper/trigger buttons are less bulky, the joy-sticks are symmetrically aligned, the D-Pad is in the proper location and the overall feeling/comfort is much nicer while holding it. I was even able to buy a little add-on attachment for the Xbox that allows me to still continue to use the PS5 controller which is amazing!

The ultimate gaming console setup for me in 2023 is the: Microsoft Xbox Series X ++ Sony Playstation 5 Controller