Now that some time has passed, is Xbox One X and/or PS4 Pro worth it?

Especially if you take into account that you already own the base consoles and don't yet use a 4K screen? I'm still thinking about at least an Xbox One X. I get that it's probably not worth it to most to finally play Halo 5 or Doom 2016 in full 1080p/60fps, but... That seems good to me. Not only that but maybe for the future when I do happen to buy a 4K screen for my bedroom. Then again, even in that case, is it worth it? I mean, would you rather just wait for next-gen at this point or recommend that? Who has an X or Pro and really enjoys it, and did you have a base console to compare? I've asked a similar question about both around their releases, but since time has passed I wanted to ask anew.

I own a ps4 pro and still use a 1080 display and I don’t regret the purchase. I’ve owned a ps4 since around launch and is my primary platform for games. I honestly don’t know if it’s worth it to you. It was pretty cool to be able to play Shadow of the Colossus at 60 FPS, but I don’t know if it is necessarily worth $400. If you still feel the itch, there will probably be a good bundle at a decent price around Black Friday. Hope this helps a little, but sorry if it doesn’t.

Only if you have a 4k HDR tv.

Halo 5 and Doom run at 60FPS on the base consoles already. I think they're both 1080p, too.

@xanadu: Yeah. I'm not looking to spend a boatload of money on a new TV, but I was thinking about the TCL S Series. It's supposedly the best budget 4K TV from what I understand for gaming. I am curious how 1080p games look in 4K because a lot of games on these two consoles don't really support full 4K. There are two 4K TV's in the living rooms, but I don't play games on them as it's mainly in use by the whole family who watch TV and what have you so I have no point of reference. All I know is that 720p games can look a little grungy on 1080p screens.

@zkowaliczko1994: What a terrible reply; that doesn't help me at all... No, I'm just kidding, sorry. Really though, I am not sure about the PS4 Pro. It's cool that you're enjoying it and yeah, Shadow of the Colossus at 60fps would be nice (although 30fps on base PS4 was fine). If I was going to get one, I'd probably go for the X. I'm not sure if I can justify spending all that money, on top of a future TV to get both. If I was going to spend all that money, I'd learn how to build a really good PC, you know? You do make a good point about looking out for sales though.

@justin258: i want to say halo 5 is like 900p or lower and only multiplayer is 60fps, but i could be wrong as i dont own an xbox.

And to the original question, as someone with only a base ps4 i just feel the lack of games at 60fps is a no go for me. The xbox seems like the best one and the biggest upgrade over the older version. However, i think if 1080/60 is your goal then they really dont seem to be prioritizing that on either console.

Going from a 1080p tv and xbox one s to a 4k HDR tv (the TCL) and an xbox one x was totally worth it. Didn't even need to buy new games, most of my existing stuff just looked way better.

@oursin_360: Halo 5 (and Doom 2016 on the One) uses dynamic resolution, so yeah it can go to 900p, but the campaign is 60fps as well. That's the reason they opted for the dynamic resolution (and the reason behind not having a split-screen co-op I believe). You're probably thinking of Gears of War 4 which is 1080p/30fps campaign and 60fps multiplayer. I don't know if it's 1080p though. Generally the multiplayer in the Gears games look slightly worse than what the campaign offers so it might take some bells and whistles out to retain 1080p and keep the 60fps, or it might just be a lower resolution.

I don't have either yet, I just have the base launch versions of both consoles, but even with just those and having gotten an 4K HDR tv about 6 months ago has gotten me itching to upgrade both consoles. I really feel like the 4K HDR tv is the key to the equation in all of this. Even just having a base model PS4 that does HDR on my tv now feels like a game changer for the games that support it. It kind of amazes me that the base PS4 can do HDR and was added support with a patch afterwards. To the point that it makes me angry that my base Xbox One can't do the same. Like obviously because it doesn't even go up to 1080p and sits around 900. It's just all the more reason for you to wonder what the fuck they were thinking with the Xbox One.

I'm eventually going to get a One X and Pro, i'm just kind of torn on which to get first. Now it seems like the One X with more power is the platform poised to become the place to play a lot of multi platform third party stuff, but then again that's also kinda it besides their 1-2 exclusives a year now. I barely turn on my base Xbox One as it is...

All of Halo 5 is 60FPS. Campaign, multiplayer, Forge, everything. I'm not a hundred percent sure on the resolution, but I think it actually runs at 1080p. It definitely uses some adaptive resolution-type stuff to keep its resolution and framerate up there, though.

Both are worth it to me, but that is with a 4k screen.

The X is truly blowing me away in some areas. CoD looks fantastic, and the 4k updates to 360 games is something I didn't expect, but probably my favourite feature.

That said, if you don't have a 4k screen, just wait. Yeah, you'll get some better framerates overall, but that isn't worth upgrading console.

I got an Xbox one X at launch and just got an OLED TV and it is most definitely worth it. Even before I got my 4k TV I would say it was still worth it for the slightly better load times and graphical and performance boosts you get to some games.

Idk about the ps4 pro though, I got the slim at the end of 2016 because I figured I wouldn't play enough PS4 games to justify a $200 difference and so far I've been right.

I bought an X pretty soon after I bought my parents' LG B7 OLED. Figured I should get a 4K Blu-ray player, and getting a dedicated player when an S can play 4K Blu-rays for roughly the same price seems insane, but then I didn't want to put hundreds of dollars into a box that was so similar to the machine I bought in 2014, so...hello X. *shrug*

It's the nicest console I've ever owned (also the most recent controller revision is notably nicer, and I have an Elite for reference), and most of my library seems to be X enhanced, so it's been great using it at my parents' house whenever I'm back (which is weekly). But mostly I game on a pretty beefy PC or Switch, and finances have gotten tight over the last month, which has made me question the necessity of the purchase a little.

As for whether I'd recommend it, I figure...

• If you're gaming a lot but not on a beefy gaming PC then I'd recommend the X as a primary gaming platform. Same sort of reason for why I picked up an Elite controller (though I pulled some ebay shenanigans to get that one, and I'd prioritize the X over the Elite): if it's the main thing that you're going to be using all the time, it's good for it to be nice and effective. I don't even think a 4K TV is necessary in this case, and in some ways I think already owning a base XBOne makes the case even stronger if it was your primary platform before. (Though maybe try to sell the old Xbox to recoup some of the costs.) It's not the end of the world if you don't upgrade though, of course.
• If you want to put a 4K TV through its paces and don't have a stellar internet connection, then you kinda need to buy an S or an X. I think it's a weird own-goal on Sony's part that neither the Slim nor the Pro has a 4K Blu-ray player. As for whether to get the X in particular, see the previous bullet point. You probably don't stand to gain much from pairing a 4K-capable console with your OLED if you only ever play three exclusives on the thing.
• Otherwise it's really a frivolity purchase, and whether or not you decide to get a nice but ultimately superfluous piece of hardware for the sake of it depends on the health of your bank account.

Can't comment on the PS4 Pro, because I don't have one.

@fnrslvr: I should have included that I would totally try to convince my brother to go in on half of the console on either one.

I think if you have the TV, certainly.

As an owner/regular user of the X, S, and OG models of Xbox One (all three on 1080p displays), I can say there are some cases where performance boosts on the X are extremely noticeable. The Witcher 3 is a great example.

I'd advise checking out some of Digital Foundry's comparison videos to see where the most mileage is being gained with the new consoles. That'll probably help you determine whether the investment is right for you.

@inevpatoria: I check out Digital Foundry/VG Tech every day (NX Gamer much less frequently). It doesn't really finalize what I want to do, but sure, it helps. That's why I'm somewhat conflicted. The 40 - 60fps on The Witcher 3 is really cool, though it still retains a 900p resolution right? Also, I probably wouldn't get it on there since I've spent around 300 hours on the PS4 version. The first couple games I'd try with a One X is Halo 5 and Doom 2016. Gears of War 4 allows for a 60fps campaign on the X too right?

I own a Pro and an X. The Pro probably gets more use due to the exclusives and my friends being there. But, my Xbox One X has been turned on less than ten times since launch. I kinda should have thought more about how much I use my PC and just how many games are on my more powerful PC and the Xbox. But, that is to say that I don't regret it. The convenience of being able to sit on my couch and talk to my fiancee and casually play Forza with really nice visuals is much preferable to leaning over a desk.

@ntm: My understanding is that The Witcher implements an unlocked resolution in the performance mode. Apparently the unlocked framerate mode can knock on the door of 1440p in certain situations. It's really the mode best suited for a sub-4K display.

While I can only speak to the Xbox experience, I also thought some corollary improvements existed on the PS4 Pro.

Gears of War has similar options: High-resolution vs Performance. The added frames make the campaign feel extremely slick. It isn't a locked 60 fps, but overall the general reception to Gears' Xbox One X improvements has been very positive.

I wish I could speak more about the Halo 5/Doom experience on the Xbox One X. I've played a bit of Halo 5 and felt that it looked fine but not extraordinarily different. Some outlets have had conflicting opinions about how much of a boost the X provides Halo.

If you don't have either system I'd jump straight to the high-end version even if someone only has a 1080p TV. Buying a PS4 or Xbox twice so you have the high-end one doesn't seem worth it unless, maybe, you have a 4K TV.

My Xbox One died. That same week, I combined deals with coupons to score an Xbox One X from Target just under $350 after tax. I also sold my old Xbox One for $50 (store knew it wasn’t launching properly).

The performace boost was worth it alone.

A few weeks later I used part of my bonus to get an LG C7 OLED.

I regret nothing.

I own the Pro with a 1080p TV I have no plans to upgrade to 4k soon and I'd say the Pro easily worth it. Playing Battlefield 1 at a far more consistent 60fps is bliss, and when developers go the extra mile like with the Surge its night and day a better experience. Contemplating an X1 just for BC but its harder to justify spending so much on a box I rarely use.

Only if you have an oled tv.

The X seems totally useless as far as I'm concerned. Obviously it's more capable than the PS4 Pro, but Microsoft still seems committed to the idea of releasing all their games on PC. Sure, an Xbox One X is cheaper than building a PC, but if you already have a PC the X is almost completely worthless. Even if you have an outdated PC, that $500 would be better spent towards an upgrade than buying an Xbox One X. It's an impressive console for sure, but the whole idea of a high end tech enthusiast console seems redundant when every game that releases on it is also on PC.

As for the Pro, it feels like they rushed it out and skimped on the power. Still, I would gladly get one since Sony has solid exclusive support, so playing those games in the best possible way is something I'd be interesting in doing. The only thing stopping me right now is the lack of 2560x1440 output support. I have a 1440p monitor, but a Pro would only output 1080p on it since it basically does 4K or 1080p, nothing in between. It's especially frustrating since a ton of games on the Pro actually run at native 1440p and upscale to 4K. It just seems like a weird feature not to have.

Probably so since prices for graphics cards still suck.

If you own both and don't have a 4K TV it is not worth all that money. Maybe it would be if you sell both to get that slight upgrade.

I have both and a 4k TV, and I can comfortably say, nah, not really. So few games come with Pro/One X patches, and even those that do aren't a guaranteed 1080p60 or 4k30. If your at all cost sensitive, don't bother.

On the other hand, if your not as budget conscious it's a no-brainer, as there's pretty much no drawbacks compared to the base consoles other than the price difference, which unlike high end PC parts isn't huge.

I didn't have a PS4 and the Pro felt like the safest choice for me to make. Don't think I would've gotten one without it, but I've been really enjoying it. I love that games that put in the effort to support the Pro make good use out of it.

Also I use the PS4 remote play to play from my PC a lot (since my console is downstairs in the living room) and I find the beefier console helps a lot in terms of fidelity and quality.

I recently bought a white PS4 Pro. I traded in my old white PS4 and got the Pro for half price. Seemed like a decent deal. I do have a 4K TV but it's not even hooked up to it. I have it hooked to my 1080p projector in my living room. To be honest I mostly wanted it for the performance mode for Shadow of the Colossus, don't really give a damn about 4K all that much. I'm really liking the boost mode for PS4 and PS2 games. The Jak and Daxter PS2 games ran like shit on the base PS4 and run pretty damn great on the Pro. (How sad is that? They couldn't even make PS2 games run well on the base system) Also the faster loading times and better wifi (5GHz) makes me pretty damn satisfied with the purchase.

With the caveat that both are a bit silly if you don't already have the 4k HDR tv, the Xbox X - Yes, totally & the PS4 Pro, no unless you are all in on PS4. From both system launches I had both and thought the Xbox One was a garbage fire. I hated the Kinect voice stuff, because it hated my accent and I wound up getting mad that I told the goddamned thing to turn on and it just sat there all stupid. I'm glad Reagan Kinect dead. The S was a huge improvement, but still janky enough and far enough behind the PS4, and especially Pro that it was a good UHD player with Gears 4 on it, but that was about it. The Pro never really helped itself either by making things so murky on if what you bought was was affected at all by the higher end hardware. Pro was a great machine, but it didn't blow me away long term.

I got my X because I didn't have any stupid children and now I'm old and can have things like 4k tvs and fun weekend trips with the wife. I thought it would be a cool place to play some of the cross platform stuff and such, along with the much better 4k HDR streaming apps on the Xbox. (that last bit I'd say as of maybe a few months back, maybe it's more even now) Instead it has become my primary gaming machine. I hate sitting at a PC in the evening after a long day at the office on a PC. But if I am so inclined, a lot of stuff I buy on the Xbox is also just on my PC also automagically. All the 360 games, some of which even have gotten patched up to run better and higher rez on the X to boot. My Xbox and Ps4 have returned to their ways during the 360/ps3 days. 360 was the main, PS3 is for the exclusives.

The biggest thing in all of it I'd say is if you go for it, do not skip the HDR. It's more key than any other piece of the puzzle IMO. In fact if I'm given the choice for 4k rez at expense of all else, or dynamic rez with all the bells and whistles, as long as the game supports HDR it'll look better than any other thing anyway. I'd go so far as to say if a 4k tv does NOT have HDR, do not buy it at all. You are wasting your money. It's a lot like the VR thing where if you can't see it in person for yourself, it's hard to justify. But when you see those lights and colors pop like that, you just get it. Now if I could get the HDR onto the Switch I could finally quit trying to live a normal life and move to the mountains with some internet and never have to deal with people beyond my wife and friends ever again...

Hope that... helps?

I never had a base PS4, got a Pro near launch. I use it for my 1080p tv/monitor, and generally find it to be worth it. It sucks that there aren't more 60fps games (it's hard to just go from 30fps to 60fps because the cpu is just upclocked, not a new cpu). I wish more devs would do what KT did with Nioh (have a solid 30fps, highest visuals mode, variable 40ish fps, high visuals mode, solid 60fps normal visuals mode, for both pro/base), as that would be where the pro is most useful. SOTC, Nioh, The Last of Us, Everybody's Golf, Wipeout Omega Collection, No Mans Sky, The Surge, and Infamous are some really good examples of Pro utilization.

I have both.

My opinion is that the X was a decent jump over the base Xbox One and that the improvements to older games out of the box make it a decent purchase. As its the best out of both of them I generally play multiplats on there as well (or I play them on PC, depends on the game).

The Pro on the other hand hasn't really been worth it. The jump between regular PS4 and the Pro wasn't as big a leap and for some reason a lot of the games I love seem to get very little additional pro support (unless I'm missing something), Yakuza 0 and Kiwami didn't seem to be better on pro neither did persona.

I have an X and think 4k tv or not, it is totally worth it. I have about 40 games that are enhanced on the X and there is a noticeable difference between the versions, not to mention everything whether or not its been enhanced gets 16x antisotropic filtering. It's probably true we will here of a new Xbox next year but I'm pretty confident the x will be fine for me for another three.

If you do get a 4k tv make sure to get HDR at 1000 nits or an oled. Good luck.

I upgraded to a Pro even tho i still only have a 1080 screen because i was planning on getting a second PS4 for online co-op games with my girlfriend., figured id give her the old one and get a little improvement for me, and prices for OLED 4k is still high (which is the 4k set i want), but its a little bit of future proofing for when i do get one. I don't regret the purchase, and there are some nice improvements that are welcome like higher res, wifi, load times, but its not as big an improvement as i thought it was going to be. Its something i would recommend if you have the money and are going to use it, but if you already have a PS4 its more of a hard sell.

Its one of those things that comes down to the individual, check the comparisons out and see if the differences are worth the price of a new console or trade at GameStop. I'm happy with my Pro because i was getting a second one anyway, and would recommend it to someone getting there first PS4. But from the standpoint of replacing an existing PS4, its a good bit of money for not a lot of improvement.

I love my One X. It is a significant upgrade in both graphics and performance over my regular Xbox One. I will say that the 4K jump, while nice, isn't that impressive to me, but the HDR absolutely is.

In fact, I'd go as far to say that my recommendation would be contingent on if you have or plan on getting a TV with a quality implementation of HDR (read: OLED or local dimming, with high HDR peak brightness). That said, the One X runs games markedly better in many cases as well, so there's that. Also, the 4K Blu-Ray player from a value perspective nearly pays for the console itself if you'll use that.

If you're on board with the Xbox ecosystem and will play it on a good 4K HDR TV, get a One X. It's pretty damn rad, and at minimum, it is easily the best console for playing multiplatform games and makes for a damn fine entertainment hub, especially factoring in the 4K Blu-Ray player.

However, I'd caution that this isn't the sort of thing where you can really skimp on the TV, as that will neuter the visual upgrade you'd get. My recommendation is to either go all-in here or don't.

I agree that a PC checks many of the same boxes that the X does but there are a few things an X does that a PC doesn't. Some games do not have HDR on PC while they do have it on the X. The Witcher 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, and Wolfenstein 2 does not have HDR on PC. I assume most if not all future titles will have HDR on PC. It's only a few old games that many people may already have played so it's not a big deal. If you own a nice TV with HDR I can see why some people would get an X even if they have a PC.

I played on a 720p TV after all these years, and I've been really happy with my PS4 Pro. Games run great on it, and when I eventually get my OLED this year I'll have a reason to upgrade my Xbox, as well.

There have been enough improvements in games, including the boost mode stuff, that I feel very satisfied playing games on consoles instead of the PC.

I'm in a similar situation myself.

-Oled b7 in the mail (killer waiting for this thing, it comes in on friday)

-have a ps4 pro (just bought it last month, still have my base ps4)

-Ive got a beefy gaming rig (980ti, 120hz gsync monitor)

-Ive got a base xbox one that I haven't gamed on in maybe a year, my girlfriend uses it as a bluray player in the living room

Im in the market for a 4k bluray player. Neither the ps4 pro (lame) or the base xbox one plays 4k blurays.

I can sell my base xbox for around 200 or a little less (canadian), give my base ps4 to my girlfriend to use as a bluray player, and buy an xbox one x (599 canadian).

or i spend 300 on a 4k bluray player.

Is there a point to buy an xbox one x when i dont know what ill play on it? what are the xbox 1st party games like on the computer? If I buy them on the xbox one x, I get a copy of them on my comp too with their play anywhere program?

I dont know what the hell to do lol. first world problems I guess.

@grimglottis: Currently not all first party Xbox One games are on PC, however going forward all of them will be. Any game that's play anywhere will net you both Xbox One and a Window Store copy its pretty neat as it auto syncs cloud saves so you can switch between the two at will and continue where you left off.

The main Xbox One X advantage for you would be backwards compatibility a decent amount of titles are not on PC like Red Dead Redemption or any previous 360 exclusives, the 1X has 16x af on any game not enhanced and any game that is 1X enhanced has a 4x resolution boost like the recent Forza Horizon along with better frame rates. The difference is night and day better and a real plus for getting the 1X.

Forza Horizon: Xbox One X Back-Compat Analysis

Been worth the extra cash for PSVR for me. Some titles you get a bit more AA or maybe some more lighting, and that's very much welcome, but not essential. If I owned an OG PS4, I would not have bought the Pro. Seeing as I started from scratch, the choice was simple. The VR games that got Pro updates looked quite a bit better after the updates, so that's what I have to go on as far as comparisons go. So yeah, for PSVR, maybe a bit more AA is worth it to some. I don't really play 2d games anymore, so I can't tell if there's much to be gained on TVs.

1. Yes. Even if you have zero interest in the existing library (Forza, Halo, Cuphead, Gears, Sunset Overdrive, Ori, Titanfall 1, entire backwards compatibility catalog), it will at the very least offer the best console version of third-party games for the foreseeable future.

2. I haven't used the Play Anywhere stuff that much, but it has worked fine when I have and I don't hear people complaining about issues with it.

3. They have said all first-party content will be Play Anywhere going forward, so yes, you will get a copy for the PC as well with cross-save and everything. This doesn't retroactively extend to titles that pre-dated the program like Forza Horizon 2, however. Here is the list of those games currently.

There's no reason I shouldn't be able to use these with a 4k monitor right? I already have a ps4 and can't justify getting a Pro right now, but the One X could be a different story.