Gaming

PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2 or a handheld PC

Choose by the games you want to play, because exclusives still differ. PlayStation 5 has Sony's first-party series and a large catalogue of third-party games. Xbox Series X and Series S pair well with a Game Pass subscription and many games are also on Windows PCs; the Series S is smaller and digital-only, aimed at 1080p and 1440p TVs. Nintendo Switch 2 plays at home on the TV or as a handheld, runs Nintendo's own games and most original Switch games.

Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck, ROG Ally and Legion Go run PC games from Steam and other stores. They suit people who already own a PC game library, but expect more settings to tweak than on a console, and some online games with anti-cheat do not run on every handheld.

Digital or disc

A disc or cartridge can be lent, resold or traded, and does not need a large download. Digital games cannot be resold, but can be bought any time and are often discounted in store sales. Current PS5 models let you add the disc drive later, so a Digital Edition is not a permanent choice. On Switch 2, some physical releases are game-key cards: the card is the licence, but the game still downloads to the console, and the card must be inserted to play.

Plan for storage

Modern games are large, and the usable space on a console is smaller than the advertised figure. To expand: the PS5 takes an M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD with a heatsink that meets Sony's size limits; the Xbox Series uses a dedicated Storage Expansion Card to play current-generation games, with USB drives fine for storing them or playing older titles; the Switch 2 accepts microSD Express cards only, not ordinary microSD cards.

Trading in your old console

A working PS4, PS5, Xbox or Switch can go towards a new console. SwapMyTech's exchange lets you pay only the difference after the old console and its controller are checked. Before handing it over, sign out of your account, deactivate it as your primary console, and reset it to factory settings.