Data Science in Digital Marketing Data Science in Digital Marketing: Mechanism Examples, Benefits Data Science Meets Digital Marketing Magic
5 Best Video Game Consoles of 2024, According to Expert Testing
If you like to game, then you need to buy one of the consoles on this list.
The way people relax has changed a lot because of video games. Everyone can play fun video games right away, no matter what age or where they are from. All you need is a computer. Some are meant to be played with other people, while others are meant to be played by one person. You can also play some games online with people from all over the world if you have the right device. Because every device is different, we’ve put together a list of great choices for all types of players, from those who are just starting out to those who play games for fun. The main differences between systems are how well they work, the games they have, and the controls that come with them, so we went into detail about those aspects.
Our top picks:
- 1
BEST HAND-HELD VIDEO GAME CONSOLE
Nintendo Nintendo Switch – OLED Model
2
THE BEST VALUE VIDEO GAME CONSOLE
Xbox Xbox Series S
3
TOP VIDEO GAME CONSOLES FOR FAMILIES
Sony PlayStation 5
4
GREAT VIDEO GAME CONSOLES FOR BEGINNERS
Xbox Xbox Series X
5
BEST CONSOLE FOR LOCAL MULTIPLAYER
Nintendo Original Nintendo Switch
Read on to see our picks for the best video game systems to give as gifts or play yourself, no matter your age or level of experience. Read on to find out more about the most important things you should consider when buying a computer.
1
BEST HANDHELD VIDEO GAME CONSOLE
Nintendo Nintendo Switch – OLED Model
$349 AT AMAZON$335 AT WALMART$349 AT ADORAMA.COM
CREDIT: NINTENDO
PROS
- OLED screen makes graphics pop
- Perfect for local multiplayer
- Extremely portable
CONS
- Joy-Con controller can be awkward to use
The Nintendo Switch OLED is the newest console from Nintendo, and the updated OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen is able to provide brighter and crisper graphics compared to its predecessors. On either side of the screen rests the controller called the Joy-Con, and the touchscreen allows you to navigate menus with a tap. You can play the console in handheld mode for on-the-go play, or you can connect it to a television for multiplayer or a more immersive experience.
• remote: This is the remote, which is also called the Joy-Con. It can be attached to either side of the screen so you can play from your hand. The screen also has a built-in stand, so if you can’t connect to a TV but still don’t want to play mobile, you can take the controllers off and play while sitting down. Each half of the remote fits into one hand. If you’re used to a regular controller, the system comes with a clip that lets you put the two separate pieces together to make a single controller. The Joy-Con can be split between two people, making it easy to play games with two people. This is one of the best things about the Switch. You can now play with up to four people if you buy one more Joy-Con.
• Playing Games: You can either buy disks in order to play games or receive games from the Nintendo Online E-Shop. They are very small and fit in a slot on top of the Switch OLED. If you have a disk, you can play games right away; you don’t have to download anything extra. The system has 64 GB of built-in storage that can be used to store games. It also has an SD card slot, so you can put your games on a memory card to at least double the amount of space it has.
• Lab Report: The users loved how simple it was to play games with other people in the same room. Because it’s small, you can play these games with other people anywhere. Up to eight people can play on the same system, but it depends on the game. It’s easy for extra controls to add to the machine. “I love how portable it is,” said one tester who played it everywhere she could. I can take it to my friends’ houses and on trips because it fits in my backpack!”
• Games that are only available on the Nintendo Switch: Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing, Ring Fit, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Nintendo Switch Sports
| CPU | NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor |
|---|---|
| GPU | NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor |
| Built In Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Brightness sensor |
| Resolution | Up to 1080p via TV, up to 720p via built in screen |
| Disc Drive | Cartridge Slot |
| Battery Life | 4-9 hours unplugged, depending on usage |
| Storage | 64 GB + SD expansion |
2
BEST VALUE VIDEO GAME CONSOLE
Xbox Xbox Series S
$280 AT AMAZON$284 AT WALMART$300 AT ADORAMA.COM
CREDIT: MICROSOFT
PROS
- Really quiet
- Extremely fast load times
- Xbox Game Pass
CONS
- Need a Microsoft account even to play offline
For gamers who don’t need an ultra-powerful system, the Xbox Series S is a small step down from the Xbox Series X in terms of technology. However, it’s $200 less expensive and can still do everything the Series X can do in terms of games and general usefulness. (Read on to learn more about the Series X.) The Series S is a lot smaller, so it’s easy to take your machine to a friend’s house.
• devices: Xbox devices run on batteries and connect to the machine remotely. Most of the time, you can connect up to four consoles to one Xbox at the same time. You can even use the controller to remember and share certain parts of the game. Everyone in the family can play in their own way if they have their own account. So that no one can mess with your saved game, you set up passwords using the controller. Each button on the controller is a different number.
How to Play Games: This one doesn’t have a disc drive, so you can only play games that you download from the Xbox Marketplace or that you subscribe to Xbox Game Pass. People can pay either $10 or $15 a month, and even at the lower price, they can play hundreds of video games on any device. You don’t even have to download some games. You can play games over Xbox Cloud Gaming, a new service that lets you watch games over the cloud. With 512 GB of built-in storage, you can store the ones you do have to download. You can connect an extra hard drive if you need more room. This will give you more than twice as much storing space.
• The lowdown from the lab: Our experts liked the streaming feature that kept them from getting material. They were amazed at how well the games worked over the cloud, with almost no lag or frame rate loss. The images were a little better after getting the game instead of playing it in the cloud, but the feature works well overall. With its built-in fans to keep it cool, this console was called “the quietest gaming console I have ever owned” by one of our tests.
• Exclusive Games: Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Gears of War 5
| CPU | 8X Cores @ 3.6 GHz (3.4 GHz w/SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU |
|---|---|
| GPU | 4 TFLOPS, 20 CUs @1.565 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU |
| RAM | 10GB GDDR6 128 bit-wide bus |
| Frame-rate | Up to 120 FPS |
| Resolution | 1440p |
| Disc Drive | N/A |
| Storage | 512GB Custom NVME SSD + External Drive Capabilities |
3
BEST VIDEO GAME CONSOLES FOR FAMILIES
Sony PlayStation 5
CREDIT: SONY
PROS
- Adaptive triggers make games more immersive
- Digital or disk editions
- SSD (solid state drive) means more rugged
CONS
- Biggest console yet
The PlayStation 5 has an 825 GB SSD, which makes it the most powerful Sony system to date. This means it can hold 825 GB of data, and the Solid-State Drive makes it faster than any PlayStation system before it to start up and load games. The PS5 comes in two different styles: One only works digitally, while the other has a disc drive. Even though it costs more than the digital-only system, get the one with the disc drive if you still like having physical copies of your games.
• Controller: The controller is easy to use and has haptic feedback (vibrations that happen when you do certain things in-game) and adjustable triggers that are only found on the PS5 controller. That’s right, the back triggers on some controllers can change how tight they are so that they are easier or harder to press based on the game. For instance, if you’re playing a shooting game, the controller can make the trigger feel more like a real gun, which makes the experience more realistic. It also lets you share, so if something happens in the game that you’d like to show your friends, all you have to do is click a button, and it will save your most recent game play so you can change it and send it to anyone you want.
• Playing games: The PlayStation 5 can be used both online and off. There are different levels of subscriptions you can buy if you want to play games online. The first and least expensive level costs $60 a year and gives you access to several free games every month, the chance to play group games online, cloud storage, special PS5 games, and savings on gear. You can watch hundreds of older PlayStation games for free, from the first PlayStation to the PlayStation 4, if you want to upgrade. The cost is up to $120 a year. Keep in mind that you don’t have to pay for online access if you only play F2P (free to play) games.
Lab Lowdown: It can be scary the first time you use it, but the start-up process and handling aren’t too hard to figure out after a while. A tester stated, “Navigating the menus took a little bit to learn, but once you do, it all makes sense.” Another tester was happy with the PS5 in general and said, “I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t recommend this to all my friends and family.”
• Exclusive Games: Horizon Forbidden West, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Gran Turismo 7, Stray, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
| CPU | 3.5GHz, 8-core AMD Zen 2 |
|---|---|
| GPU | 10.3 teraflop RDNA 2 GPU |
| RAM | 16GB GDDR6 |
| Frame-rate | Up to 120 FPS |
| Resolution | 4K |
| Disc Drive | Yes, but there is a digital only option |
| Storage | Custom 825GB SSD + External Hard Drive capabilities |
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
4
BEST VIDEO GAME CONSOLES FOR BEGINNERS
Xbox Xbox Series X
CREDIT: MICROSOFT
PROS
- Extremely quick load times
- Easy to pick up
- Xbox Game Pass
- Great for new gamers
CONS
- Need to join a waiting list to buy
It has a better look and the best video quality of any Xbox device to date. The Xbox Series X is the most powerful Xbox yet. Even though it has a disc drive, you can still use its 1 TB Solid State Drive (SSD) to play games. The SSD makes the machine faster, quieter, and stronger overall than the ones that came before it. It’s a big desk that’s about a foot tall when standing upright, but it can also be placed on its side.
• Controller: The controller is smaller than the ones that came before it. This makes it more comfortable for kids to hold, but it’s still comfortable enough for adults to use. You can plug in headphones to each controller and use them to talk to your friends and listen to the game at the same time and during live gaming. Some Bluetooth speakers can also be used if you don’t want to use a line to connect everything.
• Playing games: If you’re new to games, you might want to get the Xbox Game Pass. For as little as $15 a month, you can play hundreds of games, from older games from the same age to brand-new games and even independent games. “I’ve had a great experience,” one of our customer testers said. With Xbox Game Pass, this system is easy for new players to use. Even though this device is made to play games, it can also watch TV. There’s no need to buy a smart TV when you can just get a machine that can watch your favorite apps and play games.
• Lab Report: We didn’t get to test this device in our Lab, but we did talk to people who have played almost every system and asked them what they thought about the Xbox Series X. It was easy for them to find their way around the Xbox, and the Solid-State Drive made everything load and start up quickly.
• Exclusive Games: Sable, Forza Horizon 5, The Artful Escape, Halo Infinite, Microsoft Flight Simulator
| CPU | 8X Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU |
|---|---|
| GPU | 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU |
| RAM | 16GB GDDR6 w/320 bit-wide bus |
| Frame-rate | Up to 120 FPS |
| Resolution | Up to 4k |
| Disc Drive | Yes |
| Storage | 1TB Custom NVME SSD + External Hard Drive capabilities |
5
BEST CONSOLE FOR LOCAL MULTIPLAYER
Nintendo Original Nintendo Switch
CREDIT: NNTENDO
PROS
- Extremely portable
- Easy to play with friends locally
- Unique games you can only play on the Switch
CONS
- Controllers can be awkward to figure out
Nintendo got back to the top of the game system market with the Original Nintendo Switch. It’s easy to use, small, movable, and strong, so anyone can play it, whether they’ve played video games before or not. The screen on this model isn’t as high-tech as the one above, but it’s cheaper and can still play all Switch games properly. It can be used as a mobile gadget or plugged into the TV.
• Controllers: The controllers, also known as Joy-Con, can be connected to the screen for handheld mode or taken off, just like the Switch OLED. When the screen is taken off, you can either connect it to the TV or use the built-in stand to hold it up on its own. Please use the controller adapter that comes with the system if it’s hard to hold a controller in each hand. This will allow you to join the different Joy-Con into one device.
If you want to play games on this system, you can either buy a game disk or download one from the Nintendo online store. You can play right away because game cartridges load quickly. You have about 32 Gigabytes (GB) of storage room when you download a game. If you need more space, you can buy an SD card that fits right into your Switch. You can use the tools while you play, but in some games you can also do certain things by touching the screen. No surprise, it’s a touch screen!
• Lab Take: This system also has a number of different sensors that let you play games in even more unique ways. A gyroscope is a sensor that can tell you how your device is positioned. In mobile mode, you can tilt the screen to aim your bow and arrow in one game. When you play a tennis game, you can swing the Joy-Con around like a tennis stick. Nintendo took their old workout video games and made them more involved than ever. You can connect the Joy-Con to your body with certain parts, which lets you jump and run to make your character do the same in the game. The Switch is a lot of fun when you play games like this with family or friends. A tester stated, “The Switch is perfect for anybody in the family with a versatile handheld mode and plenty of games to offer.”
• Exclusive Games: Super Mario Odyssey, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Smash Bros: Ultimate, Animal Crossing, Ring Fit, Nintendo Switch Sports
| CPU | NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor |
|---|---|
| GPU | NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyroscope, and brightness sensor |
| Resolution | Up to 1080p via TV mode. Up to 720p via built-in screen. |
| Disc Drive | Cartridge Slot |
| Battery Life | 4-9 hours unplugged, depending on usage |
| Storage | 32GB + SD expansion capabilities |
How we tested video game consoles
When it comes to video game consoles, it’s simple to become distracted and perplexed by all the specs, especially if you’re new to gaming and aren’t sure what they mean. But really, the best way to check out a video game system is to use it! We looked at how simple it was for each device to get to the main screen and make an account right out of the box. We put the systems through a lot of stress tests with different games to make sure there were no frame-rate drops and that they wouldn’t get too hot after a while of use. We had people test the graphics and play on different systems with kids to see which ones they liked best. We included the features in our review for “techy” people, but you don’t need to know too much about them to find a great console for your needs.
Advertisement: Read More Below
What to look for in a game console
It’s almost hard to agree on which video game system is the best of all time, but each one is getting faster, smaller, and more powerful. On this list, there isn’t a bad choice. It all comes down to your taste and the features that are most important to you. If you want to buy a new video game system, here are some things to think about:
Storage: When it comes to games, storage is one of the most important specs. You can’t play a game if you don’t have enough room to download it. It doesn’t matter how powerful your system is. If you don’t mind spending a little extra money, I suggest getting a portable hard drive for any game to make sure you always have room. One more thing you should check is whether the system has an HDD or an SSD. When it comes to speed, SSDs are better than HDDs. They will load games and start-up systems much faster than HDDs.
Easy to carry: What do you plan to do with your game console? Would you like to set it up and never move it? Would you like to take it with you on trips? Would you like to bring it to a friend’s house? You might not want to take up too much room because you live in a small apartment. It’s not a good idea to buy a big computer with the plan of taking it on long car rides or vacations.
Games: Each system has games that can only be played on that device. You can play a lot of different kinds of games, but some games will only ever come out on one device. Make sure you know what kind of games you want to play. If you already have a system, we usually suggest that you stay with that environment and upgrade when the time comes. This is because the games will probably work with the new system, and you may have already built a group of gamers who are specific to that platform.
Frame rate: A better frame rate makes the game run more smoothly.That’s because the screen is being changed more often, with more frames per second. This makes the game look and feel better. This also lets you respond faster, which should help you beat the race! You should get at least 120 frames per second, which is what most systems can do these days. You should make sure that your system can handle at least 60 frames per second.
Parental Controls: If you’re buying this as a gift for your child, most systems come with parental controls that let you limit what they can play and how long they can play for. There are different levels of protection and control, so it’s important to look over what you can do with your child’s pla before you get there.
