Topic: If you were a PS owner before Xbox, vice-or-versa, why did you switch?

is it me or do people just not play their first console anymore?

Had a PS first. Switched to Xbox when my bros gifted me a Xbox One S Digital. Stayed Xbox because that's where all my brothers play games. Also because as I get older, I find I enjoy Xbox's atmosphere better. Sony is constantly trying to make their games profound narrative experiences; Xbox is just trying to make fun games.

I actually switched from PS5 to Xbox about a week ago. I'd had a Series S and a PS5 for a while and came to realise that, as well as not really using the PS5, every game I was looking forward to was on Xbox. Once I realised that it didn't make sense to keep the PS5 in my mind. Plus I can upgrade to a Series X now.

i got to an age where i started making my own money & buying whatever i wanted for my own satisfaction. i dont do ''brand-loyalty'' to anything because id just be putting myself in a corner.

im currently 7 months into PC gaming and i use both my xbox and ps5 controller on it, and it made me realize how console is so limited and restricted. but like i said, i still play consoles and whatever i feel like at the moment, i have the freedom

Switched to from ps4 to Xbox series x. Got a good deal and the emulation made it worth giving up all my ps games to switch over. Fortunately I can trade in my Xbox this weekend for basically what I paid for it and get a PlayStation 5. Couldn’t let retroarch slide, could you? See ya!

To be honest I went with Xbox Series X first this Gen as the PS5 didn't have anything I really wanted to play. I still have a backlog on my PS4 as well. Also MS had Gamepass at the time while Sony didn't have anything at the time. So it let me try several games that I was on the fence and others that I would have never played if I didn't try them on Gamepass. I also prefer Xbox's style of picking up and play games like Forza Horizon over Sony's interactive over the top Epic cinema type games.

Right now, I won't get a PS5 until Sony gets rid of Jim Ryan, so.theres that too.

@Tasuki speaking facts again

I had a PS4 Pro (which I enjoyed quite a lot) and wanted to buy a PS5 (because my friend already had one). Sadly - as you know - I couldn’t find it anywhere. I tried to buy one so many times (in those chat groups, forums, shop events etc.). After some time I got frustrated and decided to give the Xbox a change again (had a 360 years ago).

I bought a Xbox Series S to try it out and see if I would enjoy it as much as I used to.
The answers was: absolutely!
I could use my old account and tried some new games on Game Pass.
I loved it.
And it was even better to realise that a lot of games are cross-platform now so I could play those with my friends (Playstation and PC) as well.

I decided to upgrade to Xbox X and grabbed my change when Microsoft was selling a few (notification in xbox chat group).
And after that I upgraded my TV to support 120 Hz and 60 frames/second.

Long story short: I absolutely love my Xbox Series X and haven’t found a single reason to “return” to Playstation.

I owned a PlayStation long ago, but hadn’t really participated in console gaming outside of the switch this generation. My friend had gifted me a Xbox 360 and I had a bunch of games on that. I got interested at the end of the last generation, and I tried both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox one, and I just liked the Xbox hardware and interface better. At the start of this generation, before it launched, I just really liked the friendly atmosphere of Phil Spencer and Xbox and it’s philosophy, and disliked what I was hearing from Sony on things like not allowing compatibility with ps4 controllers and raising the price of games. I liked that I could get most of the greats of the last generation at a steal, and I really love the quick resume feature. I play from my iPad and steam deck a lot, and so really like the remote play options on Xbox. I don’t have any particular nostalgia for Xbox, and don’t have any hard feelings towards PlayStation.

I've owned at least 2 'consoles' since I returned to 'Console' gaming with the N64 and PS1 era games. With the arrival of Xbox, I have never owned an Xbox without owning a Playstation - so I owned an OG Xbox and PS2, 360 and PS3, XB1 and PS4, XB1X and PS4 Pro and now a Series X and PS5.

In general, I don't have one for 'exclusives' and the other as my 'Main' platform so I never felt that buying a platform for maybe 1 or 2 games a year wasn't worth it - there was always sales, deals etc to build up a decent library on both so both would get used frequently.

However, this 'generation', its becoming very apparent to me that my PS5 is 'just' for ONLY on Playstation Exclusives and could go 'years' without being used as I also refuse to spend $50 or more on ANY game. As Sony are charging $70 for their exclusives, I am willing to wait for sales or 'used' games to play - in fact I'd prefer to buy Sony's games 'used' now as I am voting with my wallet. I can happily make do with my Backlog and Game Pass Library to fill my Gaming time until 'new' games I want drop in price - especially on Xbox as that's where I am much preferring to spend my time.

My attitude to Sony has really changed over the past couple of years. Before, I would say that I couldn't care less about the 'brand' on the plastic box under my TV, they BOTH allowed me to play the games I wanted. But Sony, under Jim Ryan in particular, are not a company I want to associate with, want to part of etc and feel more like they are trying to exploit me as a 'gamer'. Xbox is a much more Consumer friendly and overall, a better ecosystem for gamers to be part of in my opinion.

Each to their own but even though I am not liking Sony as a Company or the way its run by Jim, I still want to play some of their Exclusives - Spider-Man, Wolverine, Uncharted, Horizon, God of War etc - even if I have to 'wait' to play until sales come - I expect after they come to PC/PS+ - or I see them 'used' on Ebay, in stores etc...

I have chainged my main console company several times over the years, and starting from the eighth generation of video game consoles i bought all 3 consoles every generation, but i still consider one console my main console.
My main home console history:

Playstation 1 - Nintendo Gamecube - Playstation 3 - Playstation 4 - Xbox one X - Xbox series x

I started with playstation besause it was a gift, but i remember that i bought a Playstation 2 and ended up regretting my desition after playing two games on it ( Rayman M and Rayman Revolution ) then i tryed Nintendo Gamecube at a friends house and loved it, thats why i switched really fast over to Nintendo ( i owned a Nintendo Gameboy color before PS1)

Then i switched over to Playstation 3, not sure why i did not consider Xbox 360 but i guess i was familier with the Playstation brand.
I wanted a more "mature" console at the time, thats why i went with PS3 and did not get a Wii.

I continued on the playstation path and got PS4, and i enjoyed the console almost the whole generation but by the end i switched to Xbox One X, not exactly rure why i switched, maybe besause i was so familiar with Playstation exlusives and wanted to try out the xbox games i had missed out on.

And now i have Xbox Series X, Playstation 5 and Nintendo Switch.

I really enjoyed the interface and feel of Xbox Series X, and i love that first party games come to Gamepass. I guess thats why Xbox is my main platform now.

Playstation 5 is only used for Playstation exlusives and playing online with friends.

And the Nintendo Switch? Well.. it sits unused in the closet, and i occasionally ( over the past 3 years) try to look for games that interest me but noting grabs my attention on the Switch..

I made the move from PS4 to Xbox Series S. The Series S size, and price, was a big part of the reason but the main thing was Gamepass. Such fantastic value, especially as someone who doesn’t have a huge amount of gaming time and likes to dip in and out of different games when I do play.

I also have a Switch which we use for family gaming times, and which currently gets a lot more use than the Xbox. I really enjoyed the Ps4, but have not got any motivation at all to get a PS5 to be honest. Not interested in the exclusives apart from TLOU, which is one of my favourite series of games, and the inability to use adaptors such as the Brook/Titan Two on PS5 to get my favourite controllers working are the main reasons.

I got the PS4 early because it was more powerful and compact than Xbox One. I got an Xbox One when backwards compatibility started with Rare Replay. Finally, I got a Switch. My experience with PS4 was not as satisfying as I thought it would be: not comfy controller, hardware issues (random disc ejection, noise, heat...) and mediocre gameplay in the over-the-top cinematic PS exclusives. So my favourite PS games were third-party games that later arrived on Xbox (like the Kingdom Hearts collections that I beat on PS4) and Wipeout Omega Collection that was released before killing the studio and the franchise.

On Xbox One, I found a more comfortable controller, a better built and more reliable hardware and a plethora of cheap backwards compatible games. I also liked the UI and options more than the bare-boned PS4 UI. On Xbox One X, I could enjoy third-party games optimised for free that were better than the PS4/Pro counterparts. I also enjoyed the Xbox exclusives, that were new to me. I found the Xbox exclusives more challenging, more gamey, with better gameplay and more fun than any of Sony's games, so I upgraded to Series X and all my saves and games from older generations came with me to the more powerful, more compact and quieter console of the current generation. Now I can't wait for the upcoming games from the Xbox universe along with the third-party games that I like. I don't miss anything from my PS era.

I barely use my Switch, partly because I had the Wii U, partly because Nintendo has lost creativity and partly because of how they manage business since Switch launched.

Even though Sony has a ton of exclusives, they feel too similar to me. They have also caused a couple of my favorite franchises to just kind of scrap whole games due to the censorship thing. Gran Turismo 7 was the last straw for me though. I got an Xbox One S back in 2018 when the Microsoft Store on Windows was having issues with seeing game licenses I had of games that I purchased to play Forza Horizon 3 hassle free. I upgraded to an Xbox Series X in 2021 though. Great system, just hungry for games so I've been playing lots of Microsoft titles I missed over the whole time of them existing.

PS1-3 was satisfied with their variety in genres, gameplay ideas, demographic. PSP enjoyed on and off and still used well into the Vita's life and still do (same as used the PS3 a lot in the PS4's life and still today) and never owned a Vita until 2017/2022 with two different models. Barely used the PSTV either when it was new but do the handhelds a lot these days.

PS4 2016+ killing off Japan Studios, Ratchet and Gran Turismo not doing it for me was kind of the last straw for me.

Yeah my PS4 is a third party machine at this point whether cheap or recent third parties (family enjoy their PS5s for first party and third party games and PSVR2. I have no need for one) and collecting old first and third party games on old consoles is more what I focus on. I care more for Sony's niche first party titles then their heavy hitters personally.

Even PSVR2 has many Wii launch title like mistakes of control schemes in their games I'm not a fan of. I wish they had better design. Like I know good Wii titles balancing motion and buttons exist from videos and collecting games but these VR devs go make to 2006 over compensating motion controls again and it annoys me.

I can watch GDC talks, Youtubers and play Wii/PS3 move games and understand better design yet these newcomers and not really first party studios they do a better job but the third parties suck at making VR games in some cases while the notable ones are good. Horizon Call of the Mountain or Star Wars for PSVR2 disappointing. Cities VR is so good though just the right way to go about it.

Nintendo I'm interested in their variety like Sony had. Don't care for the Mario Sports/Party or Mario at all. I care for their other IPs more because of their genres. I had a Wii/DS early on, stopped using them so they got stored away (well my Wii did get stored away before I got it up and going again and my DS I used like my PSP on occasion) then got a Wii U, 3DS and Switch and collect for the Wii/DS since getting a Wii U in 2018.

Xbox I had an OG briefly around the same time as the PS2 but sold the Xbox OG for a Wii or PS3 I think. Got a 360 still an Elite (hard drive died, used a USB, got a new hard drive and works fine every since in offline mode)/E models for different purpose. Yes the E model at launch.

Got an Xbox One VCR that sat collecting dust most of the time. With a Xbox One X that also sat and collected dust. I use the One X very few times in a year. I pull it out for a few weeks then it goes back on the shelf packed away. Series X is also collecting dust. It gets mostly cloud game Gamepass try out moments or the odd person playing it but mostly it collects dust.

I haven't owned a Playstation since the PS2 days, back when I rolled with Xbox and Nintendo as well.

Never had an inkling to get a PS3 or PS4 asides from a soft urge to play MLB The Show. Now that's on Xbox. I've always preferred the feel of the Xbox controller in my hands.

However, I've been feeling compelled to pick up a PS5 and I'm really trying to stave off that feeling. I have the money to buy one, but here's the thing: I am generally not into third person cinematic story games, although I can appreciate them from afar and respect that these games are well made and crafted.

What piques my curiosity for the PS5 is an interest in Returnal (this past year I discovered that I love roguelites/roguelikes), Ghost of Tsushima, Gran Turismo and Spider-Man. I have no interest whatsoever in God of War, Horizon nor The Last of Us, although once again, I appreciate that they are solid titles.

But I don't want to buy one just for a couple of exclusives. I wouldn't be able to handle just seeing the PS5 sitting there, largely unused, because all third-party games I'd be playing on the Xbox. It's getting hard to resist because of the aforementioned curiosity. Caught between, "Life is short! Go for it!" and "Just because you have the money doesn't mean you need to spend it" types of mentalities, and the latter is winning out for now.

@MediocreGamer you will be able to play all those on pc at some point too. If that is an option for you.

I 'switched' to Switch and PC lol.

No reason to own the consoles anymore.

@Tasuki So, Sony got rid of Jim Ryan. Getting a PS5?

@Ralizah Probably not. There's nothing that I really want to play on a PS5 that I can't get on the Xbox.

I have both a PS5 and Series X. I tend to favor my Series X a bit, I use it more often. I usually just use my PS5 for Sony exclusives that I want to play.