I have both. Was primarily a PS4 player all last gen and didn't pick up an Xbox until the One X. Here's my opinion.

Look of Console: Series X looks better than PS5 IMO. I would say most agree with that. The PS5 looks fucking stupid on my entertainment stand, and that's with the aftermarket black panels from Sony. The day they release a re-design, I'll be first in line.

Winner: Xbox (matter of personal taste)

Hardware Performance: This one's hard to say. On paper, the SX is supposed to be more powerful than the PS5, though the PS5 does have much faster storage. There have been a handful of 3rd party games that seemingly appear to perform marginally better on the PS5 (Elden Ring most notably). I played Elden Ring on both and couldn't tell the difference and I'm usually pretty good with spotting that stuff. In Overwatch 2, I notice an infrequent, but still there, drop in frames on SX that I never get on PS5. For now, I'd say the PS5 probably takes this one until we start to see 1st party devs really optimize for Xbox.

Winner: PS5 (for now?)

Controller: This one is going to be subjective. The Dualsense is definitely more "next gen" than the SX controller. That said, there's no denying that the offset triggers of the Xbox usually mean I tend to perform better with shooters. I honestly love both controllers equally, so I'm going to call this one a TIE.

Winner: TIE

UI: PS5 is all about simplicity and efficiency. That said, it borderlines on "boring" with how basic it is. The Xbox on the other hand has a busier UI, but infinitely more customizable. I used to hate the Xbox UI but once I got used to it, I actually prefer it now to the Playstation. Plus you can have custom wallpapers. Not sure why Sony didn't include that with PS5.

Winner: Xbox

Games: This one is hard for me to decide. On the one hand, games like The Last of Us and God of War are some of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. That said, I do find that when it comes to first party Playstation exclusives, I really do have to be in the mood to play them. They're basically interactive movies with incredible polish and acting, but sometimes that's just not really what I'm looking for know what I mean? I never finished the first Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima bored me after 12 hours or so, Horizon bored me as well after about 25 hours. Shit even God of War took a min to click with me (having the same experience now with Ragnarök) I find it difficult to really stick with a PS first party exclusive all the way through to the end. There is something to the "walking simulator" criticisms they get. GT7 though is hands down THE BEST driving game of all time for me, so for that, I still gotta go with PS5 for games. Xbox has Game Pass. I don't have to go into detail there. You'll either think it's the best thing ever, or you'll be one of those people that installs multiple games, plays them for 15 min, then never touches them again because they were "free" so you don't have the same guilt you'd get as if you spent $60-$70 on it. Firing up a PS exclusive the first time is generally quite the experience.

Winner: PS5

Features/Apps: Xbox has Discord voice chat integration (something rumored to be coming to PS5 some time in March '23). I can't express how much of a huge deal this is. Playing cross platform games with my PC friends is now easier due to this integration. On Playstation if I want to talk to my PC friends on a cross play title, we either have to rely on the often shoddy in game chat, or use Discord which means I have to wear a separate earbud in my ear under my headset which is dumb and uncomfortable. For some reason the picture quality on the Netflix and HBO Max apps on Playstation are hit or miss. Some Netflix shows look super washed out and I can't figure out why. I had odd audio issues with House of Dragons this season when attempting to watch on my PS5. None of these issues exist on the Xbox.

Winner: Xbox

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Overall: Up until now I feel like I've come off as an Xbox fanboy which actually couldn't be further from the truth, lol. I've been team PlayStation since the PS1 days, and have ALWAYS gotten the Playstation console first each generation. That said, there's no denying that Xbox is just as important to the overall health of the gaming industry as a whole, so to actively root against them seems like shooting yourself in the foot. Even if you're a Playstation first gamer. Competition is good!

I think Microsoft has some SERIOUS issues getting quality first party titles out, and it's a problem. Halo Infinite coming out the way it did was unacceptable. Not having a major exclusive to hang your hat on for the entirety of 2022 is such a bad look it's not even funny. Especially considering the last 10 years and how they've gone. It's borderline embarrassing. That said, I think with some of the acquisitions they've made, they are at least in position to have some banger years coming up, but it seriously needs to start SOON. I'm talking by end of Q2 2023 at the LATEST. Otherwise, I think we're going to have another runaway generation of consoles where Sony just obliterates Microsoft. I don't want that to happen. I want both consoles to be worth owning.

If I had to absolutely pick one right now, there's no denying the library you get on PlayStation, so for me, it's gotta be a PS5 for that true next gen experience.

I still picked up Modern Warfare 2 on Series X because I prefer the controller for FPS and the discord chat.