A
fter a truly strange year, game-related or
otherwise, the next generation of video
game consoles is here. They’re no longer
hypothetical concepts: You can actually buy a
PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. Although I
recommend you read our reviews before dropping
$500 on either of these bad boys, console-launch
reviews have only so much value. Consoles
succeed or fail based on the strength of the game
libraries, and those libraries grow with time.But there’s one thing about these boxes that not
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the exception of the humble Xbox Series S, next-
gen consoles are super ugly.KEEP IT SIMPLE
I’ve stewed on this take since the PS5’s full reveal,
but I wanted to wait until I got my hands on some
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next-gen behemoth I would need to cram into our
apartment for work purposes. The Nintendo
Switch sits nicely at the edge of our TV stand, but
even my original Xbox One takes up more space
than I like. From the beginning, I’ve resented how
big and dumb that brick is, despite playing some
very good games on it. I feared this generation
would be more of the same.Next-Gen Game Consoles
Are Hideous, Except the
Xbox Series S
PCMag Software
analyst Jordan Minor
was senior editor for
Geek.com and a
PCMag intern before
that. He has written
for Kotaku, The A.V.
Club, and Cards
Against Humanity.COMMENTARY