A parent’s guide to current video game consoles

Sony? Nintendo? Microsoft? The options for the latest video game hardware can be daunting. Let us help.

For more than a year now the newest consoles from Microsoft and Sony — the Xbox Series X and S and the PlayStation 5, respectively — have barely managed to even touch store shelves before selling out, often being sold at unreasonable markups on aftermarket services. Not wanting to miss out on the new hardware frenzy, Nintendo released a new model of their Nintendo Switch system with a fancy OLED screen, which has also been a hot commodity.

If you’re a parent who doesn’t know much about video games, the idea of buying into a new video game console can be daunting. Is it really OK for your child’s age? Can you monitor what your family is playing? Will the games you already own work on the new hardware?

We’re here to help with answers to some of the questions you might have, as well as some game recommendations and tips for how to add more storage space for holding more games.

With all the new models, what do I need?

Microsoft released its latest iteration of the Xbox at the end of 2020, while Sony came out with the PlayStation 5 at the same time. Both console lines come in two different flavors this year, which could spark confusion if you don’t go to the store prepared.

Nintendo also just released a new model of their continuously popular Switch system, which means there are three different versions to choose from.

All of the newest Xbox and PlayStation console varieties boast lightning-fast load times and enough power to carry us through many upcoming years of groundbreaking video games.

The PlayStation 5 is a $500 system with a disc drive that will allow you to play physical games that you buy on disc as well as watch DVDs and Blu-rays.

The PlayStation 5 Digital Edition is a $400 system without a disc drive. It can play all of the same games and has all the same features, but you cannot buy a PS5 game off the shelf at Walmart and expect to play it on this console. You have to buy everything digitally, direct from Sony.

The Xbox Series X is a $500 system with a disc drive and 1TB of internal storage for holding games. It’s a powerful console that can play games in 4K and at 60 frames per second. You can use the disc drive to play physical games as well as watch movies.

The Xbox Series S, at $300, is the most affordable of the new consoles, but it has the most compromises. The Series S does not have a disc drive and is digital-only, it has 512 gigbytes of internal storage, and it cannot play games at 4K.

Nintendo, meanwhile, hasn’t improved the power of their system in more than four years, making it all but certain that they will be releasing something brand new in the not-too-distant future. The successor to the Switch may still be at least another year off, but it will be replaced far sooner than the newest Sony or Microsoft systems will.

That said, since the Switch has been a bestseller for four years now, it has built up a huge library of beloved games, with many more still on the horizon. As long as you’re not a stickler for having the most powerful machine in the world, Nintendo’s console still has a lot to offer, and for a more affordable price than most of the competition. Given the supply constraints of the other consoles, the Switch is also more likely to be in stock at any given retailer.

The Nintendo Switch, which has a standard price of $300, is the baseline, run-of-the-mill Switch. Its most noteworthy feature is the ability to switch between being a console connected to your TV and a handheld, tablet-like system that you can take on the go. Say you’re playing the latest “Super Mario” or “Legend of Zelda” game on your TV, but you need to pause to catch a bus to work. You can simple pop the Switch out of its dock and continue playing the game on the way to work without a hitch.

The Nintendo Switch Lite is the cheapest system around at a mere $200, but it comes with a caveat: The Switch Lite is only a handheld gaming system. Think of it like the latest Game Boy — it’s mostly for playing games away from the living room, most likely by yourself. Connecting the system to a TV isn’t even an option. That said, it’s a comfortable, durable system that can be great for kids or anybody who isn’t interested in playing games on their TV.

The Nintendo Switch OLED Model is essentially the premium version of the original Switch. At $350, the biggest selling point is its nice, large OLED screen. Its a bigger and noticeably bigger screen the the mainline Switch (and much bigger than the Switch Lite). Colors are more colorful, blacks are blacker, and the glossy screen is, on the whole, much nicer to look at. There are other, more minor improvements made to the hardware to justify your extra $50, such as a better kickstand, more internal storage space for games and an ethernet port built into the dock. It’s the highest quality model of the bunch, but that being said, it plays the exact same games as the other models do.

So how do I choose one?

This is, for better or worse, entirely up to you.

If you’re buying the system for your child, it’s probably best to find out whether he or she has a preference. Some may want to get the same system their friends have so they can all play games together online, or they may want to get the system their friends don’t have so they have a reason to invite everybody over to their house. If you’re buying for a particularly young child, though, the Nintendo Switch is easily going to have the most family friendly games for you to choose from. Nintendo is basically the Disney of the video game world for this reason — they make things that all ages can enjoy.

If you want the latest and greatest, but you’re on a budget and you don’t have a 4K TV, the Xbox Series S will look very enticing, and for good reason. It’s an impressive price point for a brand-new video game console. You’ll be able to enjoy the latest and future games in big series like “Call of Duty,” “Far Cry,” “Halo” and “Assassin’s Creed,” not to mention all the sports games like “Madden NFL.”

Will all of my kid’s old games work on the new system?

Yes, the vast majority of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 games will work on their successor systems. This is especially true of the new Xbox, which Microsoft brags can play games that were released all the way back on the original Xbox in 2001.

Compatibility for original Xbox and Xbox 360 games is incomplete but robust. Games released on the Xbox One (the most recent version of Xbox before this one) are all but guaranteed to work, with the exception of games that required the Kinect motion sensor camera.

On the PlayStation 5, the vast majority of PS4 games are backward-compatible and will work on the PS5. There is a very short list (only 10 games long, as of this writing) of PS4 games that do not work, but the rest do.

The Nintendo Switch unfortunately does not play games from previous Nintendo systems like the 3DS or the Wii. Nintendo does, however, have a relatively affordable subscription service that will allow you to play a limited selection of classic games from the ’80s and ’90s, such as “Super Mario Kart,” “Donkey Kong Country” and the original “Super Mario Bros.”

Will I have enough space for all of my family’s games?

In an increasingly-digital market, video games take up more and more space on hard drives. On the Xbox and PlayStation systems, you will be installing the entire game to the drive even if you buy a physical disc at a retail store. So having a lot of space is more important than ever.

This can be especially true of the Xbox Series S, which only comes with 512GB of storage on the system. With blockbuster games like “Call of Duty” and “Halo” easily getting into the 60-80GB range (if not topping 100GB), that space could go fast. Even the other systems, which double that capacity at 1TB of storage, you’ll likely run out if you swap between games very often.

You can plug an affordable external drive to any modern Xbox or PlayStation, but unfortunately that drive won’t be fast enough to play the latest games. You can only use USB drives for older titles, which is great if your family has a large collection of Xbox One or PlayStation 4 games they still want to play regularly, but less useful if they just want to play newer games.

Expanding Xbox storage is extremely easy — literally plug-and-play — but costly. Microsoft sells a couple “expansion cards” in 1TB and 2TB varieties, which will cost you $220 or $400, respectfully. That can be a lot to ask of somebody who just spent hundreds on a new console, and since there is currently only one company making those cards, prices may not come down for a little while. The trade-off, of course, is ease of use. You open the package, you plug the expansion card into a slot on the Xbox, and you’re good to go. Easy peasy.

Expanding PlayStation 5 storage is slightly more involved, but you have quite a few more purchase options, meaning you could save more money (especially as prices come down in the future). You’ll need to shop for an M.2 SSD drive of a specific size and slot type with a high enough memory read speed, and you’ll want one that has a heat sink on it already, unless you’re willing to install one.

Not sure what half the words in that last sentence meant? I don’t blame you. Unless you have experience building or upgrading computers, that language can sound daunting. Thankfully, it isn’t that as scary as it sounds. Several hard drive manufacturers have taken it upon themselves to let customers know which of their drives are ready-made for the PS5. Samsung, for instance, reached out to me to stress that their 980 Pro model (which conveniently has a variant that comes with a heatsink, which is the one I’d recommend buying) is fully compatible with the PS5. They even say as much on their store page. So finding lists of compatible drives is not as hard as it once was, and at the time of this writing, these drives are noticeably cheaper than the Xbox equivalent. (Which is not to say that they’re cheap. The 1TB 980 Pro with a heatsink is still $190 while the 2TB is $350. Prices from other manufacturers fall in a similar range.)

Installing the drive in your PS5 does require you take off the system’s cover and use a screwdriver to expose a panel on the machine, but thankfully the system was designed so you can do this without voiding any warranties or even looking at any scary hardware elements. I went through this process myself with the aforementioned Samsung 980 Pro, and to be honest the process was far easier and smoother than I expected it to be. I was done within 10 or 15 minutes, spending more time re-watching Sony’s installation instructions than I spent actually installing the drive myself. When I was done I turned it on, formatted the drive, and was playing games off that new drive within minutes. The process was barely harder than replacing the batteries on some of my toddler’s toys.

I can only speak from experience of using the one drive I’ve been testing, but I haven’t seen a difference between using the newly-installed drive and the storage that comes pre-installed on the PS5, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

For the Nintendo Switch, if you’re mostly playing physical games you can probably get by with the internal storage that comes with the system. If you do need to expand, however, you can buy just about any MicroSD card (sold at just about any store that has electronics) and pop it into the Switch, expanding your storage for as little $10 in some cases (though I would personally opt for spending a bit more, in the $30 range, to get a card that holds at least 256GB).

Will I need to buy controllers?

Maybe. Each console comes with one controller of its own.

On the Xbox, existing Xbox One controllers are fully supported, so if your family already had multiple controllers for an existing console, you’re good to go. New controllers even work on the older system if you need to move back and forth for any reason.

On the PS5, you can use your old PS4 controllers while playing PS4 games. You cannot use your old controllers when playing new PS5 games, though, so you’ll have to buy a second one if you want to play with friends on the same couch.

On the Nintendo Switch (with the exception of the handheld-only Lite model), the two sides detach into left and right “Joy-Con” controllers. These can be used together like one relatively standard controller, or individually (in certain games) as controllers on their own. This means that in some cases you can play two-player games out of the box without needing to buy a second Switch controller.

An extra Xbox controller will cost $60. An extra PS5 controller will cost $70. A pair of Joy-Con controllers for the Switch will run you a depressingly-expensive $80, or you can get a more standard-looking option, called the Switch Pro Controller, for $70 (though there are cheaper options from third party companies).

What are the parental control options?

Every family member can (and probably should) have a separate account on each of these systems. That account can be online-enabled, but it doesn’t have to be. Parents’ accounts can be password-protected.

Each account can then be customized to allow different types of content. If you want to restrict children from playing M-rated games, for example (which the Entertainment Software Ratings Board classifies as being for ages 17 and up), you can do so. These content restrictions can also be applied to movies.

You can also set up screen time limits and disable messaging. Sony and Microsoft will let you enforce monthly spending limits (or restrict spending altogether) and restrict the use of their consoles’ web browsers. (The Nintendo Switch does not have a dedicated web browser.)

Smartphone apps are available from Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft that can help you change these settings at will without using the console itself.

What family-friendly games are available right now?

On the Nintendo Switch, the list is pretty big. Most of Nintendo’s flagship series, such as “Mario,” “Kirby,” “Animal Crossing” and “Pokemon” have worthwhile, recent entries that can be fun for the whole family. The latest “Pokemon” game, “Pokemon Legends: Arceus,” is already a huge hit and has been called one of the best Pokemon games in years. (A sentiment I personally agree with.)

Older kids and adults can also enjoy games aimed more at the teenage demographic and up, such as the excellent “Metroid Dread” or “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.”

When you widen the net to include games that are also on the Xbox and PlayStation, the list of games isn’t as huge, but it’s not nothing, either.

For the youngest kids, there is a “Peppa Pig” game called “My Friend Peppa Pig” that is frankly more of a toy box than a game. There are also a couple games based on “Paw Patrol” that aren’t exactly Game of the Year contenders, but they’re available in a pinch.

For teens and up on all platforms, there is a new (and surprisingly great) “Guardians of the Galaxy” game that is likely to please any big Marvel fans in your family, though note that the Nintendo Switch version can only be played while streaming from the cloud (meaning you’ll need a strong internet connection the entire time).

On the PlayStation 5, one of the most family-friendly options is “Sackboy: A Big Adventure,” a cute platforming game with a charming aesthetic that can be enjoyed alone or with up to four players. Ages 10 and up are likely to enjoy “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart,” an explosive and colorful sci-fi adventure, or “Kena: Bridge of Spirits,” a gorgeous fantasy adventure that has animations on par with a blockbuster movie. For teens, “Spider-Man: Miles Morales” is phenomenal. Be sure to also check out “Astro’s Playroom,” the free game that comes pre-installed onto the PS5.

On the Xbox, “Forza Horizon 5” is a best-in-class driving game in which players can freely explore a beautifully-rendered area of Mexico. For shooter fans, “Halo Infinite” seems destined to be a big hit (its free-to-play multiplayer has already attracted millions of players). The Xbox is also the only console that currently has a version of “Roblox,” if you or your child are interested in that. And while they’re not exclusive or new to these new consoles, the Xbox is also the home of “Minecraft” and “Minecraft: Dungeons.”

All of these systems will play “Fortnite,” so if that’s all that your kid wants to play, you’re in good shape no matter what you get.