The best gaming consoles in 2021 and how to choose a good one based on rating

Criterias of choice

First of all, a gaming console is an electronic device that connects to your TV or computer monitor and turns the big screen into a gorgeous virtual playground. Control occurs through joysticks, steering wheels, gamepads, pistols or other manipulators. Each game console is a separate console, which has its own hardware and software characteristics. Different devices can execute commands differently, transmit different effects, and create their own control tools needed to visualize certain conditions in the game. This is a kind of highly specialized computer, with its own processor, hard drive and memory, which allows the operator to play games efficiently. There are modern models of consoles with multifunctional content: such devices allow you not only to play, but also to watch videos, listen to music and even access the global network. However, a gaming gadget differs significantly from a traditional computer, primarily in that it is a closed system that cannot be upgraded, supplemented, or expanded in functionality. You buy a device with a certain set of skills and a recommended level of gaming load.

Performance. There are 3 leading manufacturers in the gaming systems market: Microsoft (Xbox platform), Sony (PlayStation platform) and Nintendo. Using the Internet services of each console, players can not only purchase games, but also communicate with each other. Some games are released exclusively for a specific console and are only available to users of those devices. Each company has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you should choose a set-top box based on your personal feelings and requirements.

Control methods. The main control device is the gamepad. They often have additional functionality: a built-in accelerometer (position sensor), a headphone output and a touch panel. The latest generations of consoles feature controllers with motion and spatial movement sensors, which makes the gameplay extremely exciting. Choose a console whose gamepad will give you the most vivid gaming experience.

Additional functions. Modern set-top boxes are equipped with interesting additions: they can act as a media center, play audio-video files from any media, and even have a built-in Internet browser.

Types of consoles. All game consoles are divided according to their mobility and interactivity into the following types:

• Stationary - the most common and frequently used models, which look like a typical console that connects to a TV or other screen. It is equipped with the necessary connectors for a standard gamepad and cartridge.
• Portable – presented in the form of a small-sized device, electronic type, with its own screen for playing games.
• Interactive ones are also called limited ones - a new product on the modern market with a modern console appearance. It is equipped with a special method for intercepting movements by players using a wireless joystick.
• Fully interactive - these devices can support the use of a special platform, a three-dimensional environment and are complemented by voice control. Players who stand on the track can move in any direction without changing position. The device automatically records changes.

What is a game console and why is it needed?

A console is an independent device that connects to a TV or PC monitor. Setting up such a connection allows you to create a multifunctional platform for launching various video games. The gameplay is controlled using gamepads. Some games have special controllers. For example, in order to feel the driving features as subtly as possible, you can connect the steering wheel, pedals and even the gearbox.

Game consoles on TV differ in hardware and software specifications. Manufacturers produce special discs for a specific console. For example, an Xbox One disc cannot be played on PS4. The range of available video games also largely depends on the device manufacturer. Each company has exclusive projects that appear exclusively on one platform.

Consoles have similar specifications to a computer or laptop: amount of RAM, CPU power, hard drive size. All these indicators affect the gameplay. Modern game consoles for TV are multifunctional. Users will be able not only to play video games, but also to play various media content online. Web surfing is also available.

Set-top boxes differ from laptops and computers in their closed structure. This means that users will not be able to upgrade the hardware. That is, the PS4 will no longer have an updated processor capable of equaling its performance with the next generation consoles.

Which brand of game console is better to choose?

• Sony Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation founded by Akio Morita in 1946. The company's first name had to be changed because it was difficult for Americans to pronounce. Trying to find a word that does not exist in any language, Morita excluded the letter n from “Sony”. In Japanese it sounded like “to lose money.” The company released its first game console in 1994. Every year, engineers improve models and provide them with new functions;
• Microsoft is an American company that owns production units in different countries. The company's activities are aimed at developing software and portable electronic devices. In 2001, the Xbox game console was released, an improved version of which is considered the most powerful device of its kind in the world;
• Nintendo Company, Limited is a Japanese company founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi in 1889. The company released the first 8-bit gaming console Dendy in 1983. A few years after its release in the United States, it became a sales leader. Devices of this brand gained great popularity among children in Russia and the CIS countries in the 90s.
• Sega Games Co., Ltd is an international company founded in 1940 in America. Later, the creators decided to move their headquarters to Tokyo. The company was engaged in the production of consoles from 1983 to 2001. It competed with Nintendo for market share, becoming the second largest video game developer in the world in 1987. Manufacturers made Sonic the Hedgehog the mascot of the brand. The company has now switched to releasing games for all platforms, which is why its devices are called retro consoles.

Game consoles: characteristics, types, types

Additional items included in the kit in addition to the console itself. Joysticks are not taken into account in this category - their availability and quantity are indicated separately (see below). - Game included. A game (or several games at once) for the console - usually on a separate medium such as a DVD, but other options may be provided (for example, a license key for downloading the official version). The specific games supplied in the kit, even for the same model, may be different; it would not hurt to clarify this point separately. However, in any case, complete games have common features: they are initially optimized for this console, and often are designed to demonstrate to the user all the advanced capabilities of the device (for example, control using the motion controller described below or VR glasses). The cost of the game is included in the price of the bundle, but it usually costs significantly less than the same game sold separately.

— Motion controller. A game controller that allows you to control the gameplay not by pressing buttons and deflecting levers, but by the user’s movements. This allows you to play many games using the same movements as in the real world - for example, waving your hand with the controller held in it to imitate throwing a bowling ball or hitting a tennis racket. The design and operating principle of such devices may be different. Thus, the controller for Nintendo Wii is held in the hand or in a special adapter (for example, simulating a pistol or rifle). Microsoft Kinect is a camera that monitors the player's body position and controls the game accordingly. Sony's PlayStation Move works in a similar way - only, in addition to the camera, it uses an external manipulator with a bright marker ball. In any case, the motion controller can significantly diversify the gameplay. It is best to purchase it immediately with the console - it is at least easier and faster, and often even cheaper.

- Digital camera. Digital camera features depend on the console form factor (see above). So, in portable models it usually consists of a “peephole” located above the screen or on the back side; Sometimes there are two cameras at once. In games, such equipment can be used, in particular, to recognize a player by face, to work with augmented reality technologies, to automatically adjust the 3D screen to the position of the user’s head, etc. In addition, many portable consoles with this function allow “non-gaming” options for using the camera - similar to how it is done on a smartphone or tablet: for video communication, broadcasting to the Internet, shooting photos and videos, etc. The specific functionality may be different in both cases. As for desktop models, here the digital camera is usually made as a separate device and is most often used to operate the motion controller (see above) or virtual reality technologies (see below). However, we note that the Microsoft Kinect is not considered a digital camera - it is a full-featured motion controller that works without additional equipment. But the camera used in PlayStation consoles only works with the PS Move controller and the PS VR system, so it is classified in this category.

— VR helmet. A helmet or virtual reality glasses are an accessory that enhances the immersion effect in the game. Wearing such a helmet, the user can turn and tilt his head, examining the virtual space as if he were looking at it in the real world - the sensor system changes the image before his eyes accordingly. In this way, the maximum “presence effect” is achieved, and the gameplay becomes more varied and interesting. For example, in racing or a flight simulator, it is convenient to control the environment using a helmet, and in shooters and “adventure” games, it may even be possible to look around a corner by stretching your head. Models equipped with VR accessories can be sold without them, but a set of console and helmet is usually cheaper than a helmet and console separately (not to mention the fact that it is more convenient and faster to buy everything at once). Please note that a VR headset may require a digital camera to operate (in particular, this is the system used in PlayStation consoles); in such cases, if there is no camera “on the farm”, it would be useful to clarify its presence in the kit.

In addition to those described above, the package may include other additional accessories.

Dandy

A real hit straight from the nineties, familiar to everyone, young and old, in the post-Soviet space. The demand for this brainchild of the gaming industry at that time was so high that it gave the producers multimillion-dollar sales and corresponding royalties. The best option among consoles for those who want to indulge in nostalgic memories and introduce their children to the gaming heritage of those times.

Advantages:

• immortal classic;
• budget solution.

Flaws:

• lack of saves, although if you played Dendy as a child, this point will only cause you doubt;

Dandy

Summary table of characteristics of the presented models:

Sony playstation 4

A cult gaming console for TV, which has become one of Sony's calling cards. Some of the main differences among analogues were the very high operating performance and the presence of a PS VR helmet, which allows you to plunge even deeper into virtual reality. The high cost of the console and the cost of games makes it a poor choice for gamers on a limited budget. In this case, the article will help you more - how to build an inexpensive but powerful gaming computer.

Advantages:

• high graphic performance;
• independent technology of immersion into gaming reality;
• multimedia capabilities: cinema, music, youtube, streaming;
• game exclusives.

Flaws:

• noisy;
• it is not possible to play multiplatform games together with users of other systems;
• incompatibility with games of previous generations.

I purchased a PS4 with a small set of discs and a starter subscription to the PS Plus service. I was preparing for the fact that I would now start spending fabulous money on games, but with discounts in the internal Sony store, I was able to save about forty thousand. Considering the progressive cost of components for personal computers, I consider the purchase of a set-top box one of my best investments.

Sony playstation 4