Most people in the US are familiar with the two main console brands: Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation From the beginning of video game consoles in 1972, the two gaming systems have constantly evolved. Gamers everywhere have grown to love their consoles and the games they spend hours playing.

     “Playing video games was entertaining and fun, and it always brought me joy to see the world’s people create and how much depth can be added to something, whether it be the stories, the gameplay, or the style; it’s a miraculous thing,” sophomore Sam Mayo said. 

         Everyone has his own reasons for playing video games.

     “I continued to play video games throughout my life because it gave me relief from reality to a world that, although was fake, was something fun that I could enjoy with my friends and escape whatever stress or pain I was feeling,” sophomore Gerard Trinh said.

     From its release on Nov. 15th, 2001, Xbox has been a huge console brand grossing roughly $61 billion on consoles alone. The original Xbox has a wide range of games to choose from, ranging from first person shooters to games for kids. They had such a variety because of how new it was and they did not know what type of games they wanted on their system. Many games were created from outside companies using the Xbox as a platform to spread their name.

     “My favorite game growing up was ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops I’I on the Xbox 360 because you could play it for hours and still have fun. The servers were so fun, and the communities were hilarious,” sophomore Bryce Jackson said.

     Years after the first Xbox debuted, entertainment brand Sony created its first console: The PlayStation. Released in 1994, the PlayStation was almost an instant hit, selling over 100 million consoles in just its first year.

     “My preference is PlayStation over Xbox because I know the layout and I am used to it,” Trinh said.

     Throughout the generations of PlayStations, there was a constant increase in demand as many players began their gaming careers on a PlayStation because it was advertised as an entertainment system instead of a game console.

     “The first-ever console I got was a PlayStation 3. My dad was always a PlayStation fan, and I guess I grew up to be one too,” Mayo said.  

     In 2019, both Microsoft and Sony released snippets of information regarding their new consoles: the Xbox series X and the PlayStation 5. These new consoles were expected to run some of the most complex games ever and create a whole new world of gaming. This began the craze over next generation consoles. At their release in late 2020, Consoles sold out instantly; people had actual fights over them; and many resorted to buying them off of eBay with highly inflated prices. Even with all of the craze over the consoles, the supply remained too small for the demand.

     Throughout the years of consoles, everyone has developed their own preferences on what they need from a system. Many find a brand they like and stick with it, whereas others try different things and make a decision from that.

      “I am interested in the PS5 more. Originally, I played on Xbox ,but I made the switch over to PlayStation because all of my friends had it,” Jackson said.

     Although finding any of the next generation consoles is becoming harder, they remain huge topics in many households across the world. Whether you grew up on one console or the other, everyone can find something special in the video game community.