The best game consoles of 2019. Detailed guide - which console should you buy (Topic)

On the eve of the New Year, it's time to start choosing gifts for loved ones and, perhaps, think about what present to pamper yourself with this year under the Christmas tree. Choosing a gift is a painstaking business, but if a person is a gamer, the task is greatly simplified and often one question remains - which game console is worth buying. In this article, we tried to answer this question and at the same time choose the best game consoles for 2019.

To be clear, we warn you - we decided to do without the unambiguous tops of the best consoles, instead telling about the devices of the key manufacturers of consoles in the gaming industry market: Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo. Let's review the consoles and dwell in more detail on the pros and cons of the devices, and for which gamer this or that console is best suited.

Playstation 4 Pro and Playstation 4 Slim game consoles

Game consoles from Sony have been dominating the USA market for 6 years in a row for obvious reasons: a set of first-class exclusive games, an adequate price and a recognizable “people's” brand, which in itself is a sign of quality. This opinion is shared not only by USA gamers, because 100 million sold Playstation 4 consoles is the best indicator of the popularity of the console. The smaller part of the sold consoles is occupied by the improved version of the Playstation 4 Pro, but we recommend choosing it if you are looking at the brand from Sony.

Possessing not the most outstanding technical characteristics, it produces a picture much better than its less advanced model. And some games, such as God of War, offer a choice between playing at 1080p at 60fps, and 4K at 30fps. Only there is an unpleasant nuance, trying to get ahead of the competitor in the face of Microsoft, Sony hastened to be the first to launch a game console for playing in 4K resolution on the market, but only not all games are in the declared quality. The same Red Dead Redemption 2 runs at 1440p and can unpleasantly surprise you with a "blurry" picture due to post-anti-aliasing effects.

As for the price of Playstation 4 Pro, in online stores it starts from 24 thousand rubles, and during the New Year holidays it can drop lower, at the same time offering a choice of options with games in the kit. The cost of the Sony Playstation 4 Slim is much lower and starts at 16 thousand rubles, while you should not forget about the market for supported goods, where a game console can be bought in 2019 even cheaper - around 12 thousand rubles.

Now let's move on to the main reason for which PlayStation 4 is usually chosen - exclusive games, which often occupy the highest lines in all kinds of ratings of the best games. This year only 2 really big projects came out on Sony Playstation 4 - Days Gone and Death Stranding. Both releases are aimed at older audiences and have received mixed reviews from critics and gamers. And Death Stranding is going to be ported to PC next year, but even in this case, there are enough high-profile projects on Sony PS 4 that can become the main reason for sleepless nights.

Advantages of the Playstation 4 line:

• Huge lineup of quality exclusive projects, including next year's hits The Last of Us 2 and Ghost of Tsushima
• Having a Playstation VR headset and high-value titles like Astro Bot created for the headset
• Playstation 4 games are reasonably priced thanks to discounts and regular sales
• "Narodnaya" and a popular game console in USA, so you are more likely to be able to play on it with your friends on it
• At weaker power than Xbox One X, Sony Playstation 4 exclusive releases outperform competitors in graphics quality

Disadvantages of the Playstation 4 line:

• High noise volume when the Pro version of the console is working
• The Playstation Now streaming service is not available in USA and can only be launched thanks to "dancing with a tambourine", which we talked about in a separate article
• Playstation 4 Pro does not support 4K resolution in all games
• The presence of self-censorship, for example, the story with the blocking of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in USA. There is a possibility that Sony's project you are interested in will be banned from selling on its versions of Playstation 4 without explanation

Xbox One X and Xbox One S game consoles

Xbox One line consoles are less popular in USA largely due to the policy of Microsoft itself. Since 2016, the company decided to abandon the release of exclusive projects for the console and focused on the general ecosystem of Windows and Xbox One, on which the company's games are simultaneously released. A reasonable question, does it make sense to buy an Xbox One if you can play the same video games on a PC, and even often for a lower price? But even so, the idea of buying an Xbox One X should not be abandoned once. Especially if the gamer does not have an expensive PC capable of running modern projects with excellent graphics quality and an acceptable number of frames.

The biggest advantage of Xbox One X over Japanese game consoles is more power, hence better graphics quality and FPS. Over the past two years, we haven't seen a single major release that did better on PS4 than on Microsoft. On the contrary, when Sony uses the mention of 4K as a lure for buyers, and in practice many games do not even get to half of the declared resolution, on Xbox One X today, almost every game supports fair 4K resolution, and sometimes with higher frame rates and improved settings. graphics. The most recognizable example is Red Dead Redemption 2, which remains the prettiest game on consoles and the only Xbox One X on the market that can run at 4K.

Another big advantage of the Microsoft console is its Game Pass subscription service, which offers unlimited access to over a hundred hot games for just $ 10 per month. In addition, Microsoft has become so generous that on the day of release, it releases its own large projects in the service, such as Gears 5 or The Outer Worlds. Buy The Outer Worlds on PS4 for 4000 rubles or get it almost free on Xbox One? This is where the merits of the Microsoft game console are particularly evident.

As for the prices for the Xbox One X, on average the console is sold for 40 thousand rubles, but it is not uncommon to notice good deals for 25 thousand with home delivery. The less technological Xbox One S is easy to find for 15 thousand rubles, but we do not recommend taking it, since in modern games the picture quality on the console does not stand up to criticism. For example, in the fall hit Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the resolution sometimes drops to 540p with noticeable performance problems.

The Xbox One Family Console Benefits:

• Xbox Game Pass is the best way to save money on game purchases
• Xbox One X is not only the most powerful console, but also almost silent and compact
• The best graphics quality and FPS rates among other consoles
• A huge number of exclusive titles is promised in the future
• Due to Microsoft's exit from the USA market, game prices are lower than PS4, thanks to the calculation of the cost in dollars, not euros
• Even after the Xbox Series X is released, new games from Microsoft will continue to run on older versions of the console

Disadvantages of Xbox One line consoles:

• No need to buy if you have a gaming PC
• A small number of exclusive projects, which are often of lower quality than competitors
• Microsoft's withdrawal from USA may cause minor difficulties in purchasing Game Pass code and games on disc
• Xbox One S - inferior in power to the original Playstation 4

Nintendo Switch Game Consoles

Nintendo consoles have long remained a wonder in USA, but Switch manages to begin to win the hearts and wallets of domestic gamers. The main advantage of the device is a unique concept that combines portable mode and gaming on a large TV in the living room. You can remove the Nintendo Switch from the docking station at any time and continue playing in the minibus, on the road, in nature, wherever your heart desires. At the same time, Nintendo has finally begun to pay great attention to the USA market and translate its games into a great and powerful language.

The second important advantage of the console and a separate plus for Nintendo's karma is an impressive list of exclusive games, which were released one every month in 2019. Among the main releases of the console, we note Astral Chain, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Luigi's Mansion 3, which make the list of the best games of the year from various gaming publications. Since the picture on the small Nintendo Switch is not the best, the Japanese are betting on an interesting gameplay, which is why, with a modest level of graphics, games from the Japanese media giant remain relevant. But it must be remembered that almost all games are designed for a family audience and gloomy 18+ projects like Gears 5 and Days Gone are released by the company to a minimum.

The cost of the Nintendo Switch is kept around 20 thousand rubles, if we talk about the older model. Prices for the new Nintendo Switch Lite model are even more affordable - around 16 thousand. A few words should be said separately about Lite. The main feature of the console is the lack of support for playing in the docking station and non-removable gamepads (joycons), which limit the possibilities for cooperative play. But as an affordable portable console, the Nintendo Switch Lite doesn't seem like a bad proposition.

Separately, we note that the Nintendo game console is full of shortcomings, such as primitive online services, high prices for games and low-quality assembly materials. But in any case, this is the only currently relevant portable console with unique opportunities for cooperative play, while offering to play major AAA hits on the road, for example, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Mortal Kombat 11.

The Nintendo Switch Family Console Benefits:

• Ideal console for kids and family games
• Adults also have something to play on Nintendo Switch, especially if they value gameplay in the first place in gaming and do not mind the Japanese flavor in exclusives from Nintendo itself
• Portable mode
• Unusual co-op experience on the same console with detachable joycons
• Perfect for playing modern indie and remastered games of the past generation

Disadvantages of Nintendo Switch family consoles:

• Rare discounts and high prices for games
• A significant percentage of scrap and poor assembly materials
• Low graphics quality and FPS in modern projects compared to competitive consoles, especially when comparing games in stationary mode
• Most of the exclusives are designed for a family audience
• Online services leave a lot to be desired
• Most large multi-platform AAA projects bypass Switch

Conclusions

So what's the best game console of 2019 in the end? As you may have noticed, equally all consoles have a number of unique pros and cons, so choosing the best one is not the most rewarding activity. We can only note the obvious outsiders: Sony Playstation 4 Slim, Xbox One S and Nintendo Switch Lite. Deciding to save several thousand, the gamer risks losing important console functions, and since gaming devices tend to become outdated, it is better to fork out a little, but remain satisfied with the purchase for the next few years.

If you decide to buy a game console for yourself, then we think it will be easy for you to make the right choice. If you plan to donate the console to another person, before choosing a device, we recommend asking if the gamer has a powerful gaming computer (if the answer is “yes”, we immediately discard the option with the purchase of Xbox One X) and what games he is interested in. VR projects and cinematic, visually impressive third-person adult games are at the heart of the Playstation 4 Pro exclusive line, Japanese games where gameplay is more important than graphics - the choice falls on the Nintendo Switch.

The Topic of Article: The best game consoles of 2019. Detailed guide - which console should you buy.
Author: Jake Pinkman