I think the Xbox Series X can play music CDs and the PS5 cannot, is this mistaken?

What is the advantage of PS5 relative to Xbox?

True, these are good points, although there's also limited real estate in the living room, so if 1 device can serve multiple roles that's a win. But I definitely appreciate your perspective, that's what I came here for!

I guess one thing I'm wondering about is if you think I'll find the kind of lighthearted games I enjoy on Xbox? Like, clearly, specific Nintendo titles won't be available (at least not without an emulator), but are there simple/quick/family-style games available for the Xbox? Or is that really a market that Nintendo has cornered and I shouldn't look at other consoles?

True, PS5 plays blurays but my understanding is it doesn't play music CDs. Is that right?

So, my understanding is that Switch won't play bluray or music cd; PS5 will play bluray but not music cd; Xbox will play both.(?)

Awesome, thanks for the advice & glad it's working well for you. Any other suggestions of simple, fun games that you can play with friends or family? I remember back in the day, we used to have a blast racing in Mario Kart (sorry to keep harping on this one; I'm a dinosaur and it was a big part of my youth), taking turns, etc. Doesn't have to be racing games, but have you found similarly lighthearted, fun games for Xbox (I see your Elden Ring suggestion ... any other recs?)?

Yeah, I'm definitely not getting a PC for gaming. Want something for the family room, not too expensive ($500 for Xbox is a lot more affordable than double that or more for a gaming PC), and I'm just looking to play games like Mario Kart, Sonic the Hedgehog, Madden football, NBA 2k, etc. Simple games that you can play in 10 minutes to an hour. I'd be happy to try out Xbox exclusives if there are any along these lines. The kinds of games I've tended to see advertised lately look like they have incredible graphics but might be more involved than I have bandwidth for at the moment (I dunno, things like Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, God of War, etc.). I haven't actually played these, so I could be mistaken, but they look like a steep learning curve.

The last console I owned was an N64 :-) though I've played on friends' devices over the years since then.

Is it possible to play Mario Kart on Xbox Series X? I saw some links online that suggest it's possible with an emulator, but not clear to me how straightforward it is to set up...

Oh, I never saw the Switch Pro controller. I guess my friend only had joycons; I found those tough to use.

What does

>Sony as a company is a lot more insular compared to Microsoft. They play things very close to the chest, and sometimes it feels like they're very patronizing and even condescending towards their user-base (especially as of late)

mean?