Throughout the history of video games, the most consistently popular consoles have been released by a select few companies. Though they weren’t always at the top, it’s hard to doubt the legitimacy of the brands that currently dominate the gaming landscape. Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo, the three brands that have cornered the modern console market, have all released new consoles within the past three years. The question is, which one is the best? It seems like everyone has an answer.

Freshman Ella Johnson believes the answer is clear. 

“I’m an Xbox fan,” Johnson said. “It’s just been around my childhood for a long time and I saw my siblings play Xbox. I’m really used to Xbox.”

Throughout its lifespan, the developers of Microsoft’s Xbox series of consoles have touted its power, speed, and simplicity in relation to its competitors’ as its main consumer appeals. 

“It’s faster than most other consoles,” Johnson said. “It’s also super simple to use. You don’t have to think too much about the buttons you want to press.”

Though the Xbox mostly focuses on spectacle and power, Nintendo takes a different approach to its consoles. They focus more on a unique catalog of games and the quirky, unique features of their machines. Nintendo’s newest venture, the Switch, released in 2017 to widespread commercial success. Its main selling point is that it can function both as a small, portable device as well as an HD home console like the Xbox. Junior Emma Brown said this versatility is what differentiates it from its competition. 

“The switch is extremely transportable,” Brown said. “It’s almost like an iPad where it can be used anywhere and most of the games are pretty easily transportable.”

Brown believes the Switch does not lack in the game department either.

“There are a lot of solo games, mostly Nintendo games, but then there are also one’s that you can play with friends that are super fun,” Brown said. “I like a lot of the Lofi and Pokemon games.” 

While its new endeavor has been successful, the console that was created to rival Nintendo, Sony’s Playstation, is not far behind in popularity with its newest release, the Playstation 5. Junior Faisal Khan thinks that quality-of-life differences are what sets Playstations apart from the herd.

“I think the controller is more comfortable and I like the voice chat features,” Khan said. “I use it a lot to play Call of Duty: Warzone with my friends.”

Despite the Playstation placing heavy focus on graphics in order to compete with the Xbox, Khan isn’t too concerned with them. 

“For me, it doesn’t really matter,” Khan said. “As long as you have a good monitor it should all be good.”

The question remains: which of these consoles can be dubbed the king? The answer may be none of them. In the past decade, the amount of people who primarily game on their personal computers or PCs, has skyrocketed. A variety of factors, many of them stemming from the versatility that PC gaming provides, have drawn hardcore gamers to playing on computers as opposed to designated consoles.

“On most consoles you can’t open web browsers, you can’t do anything besides play the games on the default store,” junior Devon Straw said. “On a computer, you can do just about anything.”

Straw, a self-proclaimed computer fanatic, encourages consumers to use PCs for their customizable nature, which allows users to upgrade their gaming experience as time passes. 

“I would say build your own. That’s my recommendation,” Straw said. “If you’re too scared to build your own because you think you’re too stupid, you’re not too stupid. A toddler could do it with the right guidance. It’s fancy legos, literally.”

This success can be seen in the surging popularity of virtual reality gaming, a new frontier in technology that Straw thinks computer gaming is pioneering. 

“In the gaming world, it’s the new hot thing that everyone wants. Developers are producing more games for them and almost all the games ever are made exclusively for PC,” Straw said.

Which way to play do you think is best? Are you more geared toward controllers or keyboards? Whatever side you may be on, one thing is for certain: this commercial war of wants isn’t going to end any time soon.