
Xbox Series X excites Chinese gamers more than PlayStation 5 so far
Gamers in China appeared to appreciate Microsoft offering better backward compatibility and a more impressive specs sheet over Sony’s offering
When China ended its 15-year ban on gaming consoles in 2015, Microsoft was the first to enter the market with the Xbox One. Yet Sony and Nintendo both went on to trounce the American tech giant in the country.
But it looks like Microsoft’s fortunes could change with the next generation of consoles. After Microsoft and Sony unveiled the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 respectively, Chinese gamers seem most interested in Microsoft’s offering.
Based on reactions online, people in the world’s second largest gaming market are more interested in the new Xbox’s slightly better processor, larger solid state drive and compatibility with all past Xbox games.

The Xbox Series X also has a more capable graphics card, which can manage 12 teraflops. The one in the PS5 runs at 10.28 teraflops.
So Microsoft appears to have the advantage on paper for the most part. But these numbers don’t tell the whole story. A specs sheet doesn’t directly translate into the best end-user experience, and these numbers might be close enough that it doesn’t matter a whole lot. It remains to be seen whether game developers can even utilise the full power of the graphics card in either console.
This is why some Chinese gamers appear content to wait, even if they plan to eventually buy Sony hardware.
However, the new PlayStation does have some advantages of its own.
Most notably, Sony made a custom 825GB SSD architecture for the PS5 that’s more than twice as fast as the one in the new Xbox. Sony’s SSD is capable of transferring data at 5.5GB/s while the new Xbox’s 1TB SSD maxes out at 2.4GB/s. This could mean faster load screens on the new PlayStation, but again, both are offering pretty fast speeds. So people will have to wait to see how game developers handle this to know whether it makes a difference.

Ultimately, though, a console’s success comes down to the experience it offers. Nintendo has long sat out the specs battle, instead relying on its popular franchises like Mario, Legend of Zelda and Pokémon.
As the country’s gamers warm to consoles, though, that advantage might wear off. Some Chinese gamers think that Microsoft was able to steal the spotlight this time around because of Sony’s bland presentation.

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