The Xbox Series X Might Be My Favourite Console of All Time, So Why Am I Not Playing It?

Since the PS2 and original Xbox generation, I've been lucky enough to own both Sony and Microsoft's consoles in every generation since.

Even the Xbox One, which had its failings, became my primary system for multiplatform titles (yes, even with the early likes of Battlefield 4 in 900p).

The Xbox Series X, however, has no such power drawbacks – but I just don't find myself playing it.

Read More: Xbox Series X Review: Is This Microsoft's Best Console Ever?

The Xbox Series X Might Be My Favourite Console of All Time, So Why Aren’t I Playing It?

I'm going to put this out there in case you missed it in the headline – the Series X is probably my favourite console of all time.

Game Pass is great, sure, and I love bonuses like FPS boost. But it all comes down to compatibility for me.

Over the last two decades, I've amassed a huge collection of Xbox games from what is now four generations of hardware. I can jump into a game like Fable 2 that blew me away as a teenager and feel that warm fuzzy feeling, like I'm playing on a big ol' fat TV on my Xbox 360 at my parents' house again.

I can jump into Dishonored and get a sizeable frame rate boost on one of my favourite games of all time, and then do the same with Titanfall 2, flicking between both via Quick Resume. But none of this is new, really – I've waxed lyrical about the console before.

Despite all of this, I find myself playing my PS5 more than anything.

Part of that is because of the PS5 controller. Microsoft inarguably played it safe with the Series X pad, and that's fine – it's just hard to go back to after playing with the Dualsense.

Sony's controller won't be for everyone, sure, but it makes Microsoft's effort seem... passive.

While it's used to full-effect in plenty of first-party titles, it's in games I used to play on Xbox where it hits home hardest.

Take FIFA 21, for example. I needn't look to check my players' stamina at the bottom of the screen because my Dualsense's triggers convey their weariness at my constant gegenpressing and let me know when I need to sub them before they injure themselves.

That said, the biggest reason I keep coming back to my PS5 is likely the reason so many are opting for one instead of Microsoft's latest consoles – it's the games.

PS4 had some incredible exclusives, but PS5 is off to a truly imperious start. Besides Spider-Man: Miles Morales (more or less the reason for buying the console), Demon's Souls has surprised me to no end, and Returnal has its claws in me deep.

A triple-A superhero title, a Souls game, and a hard as nails roguelike are quite the mix, but when paired with my "comfort food" third-party titles like Destiny 2 and FIFA 21, I'm finding it hard to put down that fancy Dualsense.

That's not to say Sony has gotten everything right, though – far from it. Paying £70 for a next-gen game makes gaming feel more like a luxury than ever, and I really wish they'd fix the constant crashes on my console (thankfully within the menus and not mid-Returnal run, at least not yet). And don't get me started on digital upgrades from PS4 versions of games to PS5.

But for all Microsoft is getting right, it could be a while before I'm glued to my Series X playing the likes of Elder Scrolls 6, or Halo Infinite.