Hey y'all! I'm gonna buy a new system for my son (and myself) soon. We have a switch and he plays a variety of racing, NBA, Breath of the Wild, TOTK, and more. I think he's ready for a bigger system. Would yall suggest the PS5 or XBox? Which is easier to navigate in regard to downloading games, online play, etc?

Do a little research on exclusives. For example, if he wants to play Spiderman, he needs a PS5. If he wants to play Halo, he needs and Xbox.

Outside of the exclusives, really only comes down to who you play games with. If your friends have an Xbox, you would have more fun if you had an Xbox. Vice versa with PS5.

If you do go with the Xbox, please buy the Series X. The S is just not worth it, imo.

ETA: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/ps5-vs-xbox-series-x

Both consoles pretty much operate the same way. Both require monthly subscriptions to play online. These services also come with "free" games. You'll have to research the differences and pricing options because I'm only familiar with the Xbox stuff. Xbox's service (Gamepass) has a ton of really great games included. It would probably be pretty great for you guys coming in brand new, you'll find multiple games in every genre to play.

The only real difference in the consoles is they will both have certain exclusives, but these are becoming more rare. 90% of the games are available on both consoles with no discernable differences.

Your best bet may be to ask your kid if there are 2 or 3 particular games he really wants to play. For example, one of the hot online games right now is Helldivers II and it happens to only be on PS5. If one of your top games is only on 1 console that is probably the best choice.

Agree with others that you'll want to get him on the platform his friends are on.

That said, I think the PS5 offers a couple more platformers and single player games that might be more age appropriate (if that's a concern).

YES get the one his friends are on because that is how my teen usually talks with his friends which is on Xbox Live. I'm a PS guy but all his buddies were Xbox so that's how they can talk and play games with each other. Can't stress that fact enough.

Look into gamepass as well, this option could save you a lot of money but is xbox exclusive.

Aren't most current gen games cross-platform for multiplayer now? I am a PS guy and play mostly single player games but do play MW3 and play against Xbox and PC players during multi-player and/or zombie matches while I am on PS5.

IMHO you just can't beat the feel or functionality of the Dualsense controller.

A few are like Fortnite I think but most discs/downloadable games are not. I might be wrong but I think that's still the case. Thats why I'd go with whatever system all his buddies have.