With Black Friday coming around again and Christmas on the horizon, consoles are back on the mind as gifts for yourself or your kids, as they add them to their list for Santa.
The trouble is, there is an alarming lack of deals right now on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, which, coupled with the recent price rises, makes them impossible to recommend. Not when you can pick up a PS5 Slim Digital Edition for just $399 at Amazon.
You can also get a discounted PS5 Slim Digital at Walmart for $399 and at Best Buy for $399.99, if you prefer either of those retailers. If you're in the UK, you can also snag an amazing discount, with the same PS5 Slim Digital Edition down to just £289 at Amazon UK.
Xbox consoles are not even close to the best value right now
Naturally, we love the Xbox Series X|S consoles in these parts. I've had a Series X since day one, and my son absolutely adores his Series S. But both of those were bought in what I'll refer to as the "before times."
Also known as bought at launch pricing.
This generation hasn't been like others. Instead of prices going down, they've gone up. And not just by a few bucks, either. A comparable digital-only Xbox Series X will, even over Black Friday, run you for $599.99. That's a whopping $200 more than a PS5 Slim.
Platform preferences aside, that's just not sensible. $200 isn't just a little more; it's a lot more. It's half the price of a discounted PS5 on top, and it just doesn't make sense.
Obviously, Xbox is going in its own direction, and that's fine. You can play Xbox games on just about anything these days, including the PS5. The big titles from Activision and Bethesda are still cross-platform, and even first-party exclusives are making the jump.
Forza Horizon 5 was one of the most popular titles on PlayStation's store when it launched. Sea of Thieves is there, joined now by Gears of War: Reloaded, Grounded, and soon, even Halo.
Unless you're already all-in on Xbox Game Pass, an Xbox console makes little financial sense as 2025 comes to a close. If you are, you probably already have one. If you're not, and you want in, a PC or a handheld like the Xbox Ally is probably a better long-term investment.
But this is about the PS5. I bought a PS5 day one, just as I did the Xbox Series X. I have since sold it, but that's because my own habits have moved towards playing on PC. My Xbox Series X is, right now, equally unused.
But if you're buying very specifically a console, the PS5 Slim Digital Edition at this price is the best overall bang for the buck. You also don't need a proprietary storage expansion card, either. It takes regular PCIe 4.0 SSDs. A 1TB Crucial PCIe 4.0 SSD is currently significantly cheaper than the comparably sized Seagate Xbox Storage Expansion Card.
In a world of cross-platform multiplayer gaming, cross-platform first-party support from Xbox, and deals like this, as sad as I am to say it, the PS5 is the console I'm telling people to buy this holiday. It's the only sane choice.
More Black Friday 2025 - quick links
- The very best Black Friday deals from all categories
- Mini PC deals: up to 47% off tiny PCs
- GPU deals: early price drops on NVIDIA RTX before they go up
- Microsoft Surface deals: save up to $500 on premium PCs
- Xbox accessories: best deals on gadgets for your Xbox Series X|S and PC
- Gaming laptop deals: the best laptops for the best price
- Xbox controllers: our top picks for best controller deals
- Samsung monitors: the best Samsung display deals we've found
More Black Friday coverage - Microsoft Surface deals: save up to $500 on premium PCs
- Samsung monitors: the best Samsung display deals we've found
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