Xbox Series X and S lag behind PS5 in sales, but Microsoft excels at backward compatibility, offering nearly 4,000 games from original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One for free. Sony sacrificed PS1–PS3 support on PS5 to prioritize new tech like SSDs and DualSense, limiting classics to the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription ($20/month or $160/year). While PS5 supports PS4 natively, pre-PS4 titles require paid re-releases or subscriptions.
Xbox, conversely, includes classics without Game Pass. Next-gen consoles are expected to maintain compatibility, but rising hardware costs—like RAM and storage—may push prices to PC levels, making backward compatibility a key value-add.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing