PS5 Pro vs Xbox Series X vs Switch 2: €400 Price Gap [2026]

Niamh Kelly
August 24, 2026
20 min read

Three consoles, three different bets on what “next-gen” means in 2026, and three price tags that just moved in the same direction. Sony’s PS5 Pro sits at €899.99 in Ireland after Sony’s March 2026 pricing update. Microsoft’s Xbox Series X jumped from €599.99 to €799.99 in August 2026. And Nintendo’s Switch 2 is going from €469.99 to €499.99 within weeks of publication, per Nintendo’s own August 20 announcement. That’s a €400 spread between the cheapest and priciest machine on this list, and for Irish shoppers trying to figure out where to put their money before Christmas, the gap matters as much as the teraflops.

This comparison breaks down the real specs, the real prices, and the real-world frame rate data from Digital Foundry’s 2026 testing, rather than marketing slide TFLOPS numbers. It also covers subscription pricing, backward compatibility, controller battery life, and which console actually makes sense for which kind of Irish gamer. If you already own one of these and are wondering whether to add a second, or you’re staring down three boxes at Smyths Toys or GameStop Dublin trying to pick one, this is built to settle it with numbers rather than fanboy opinion.

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PS5 Pro vs Xbox Series X vs Switch 2: The Quick Verdict

Before the deep dive, here’s the short version. PS5 Pro is the console for players who want the sharpest image quality and the most consistent 60fps performance on a big TV, and are willing to pay €899.99 for it. Xbox Series X is the value pick among the two home consoles, still €100 cheaper than PS5 Pro even after its own August price rise, and it frequently matches or beats PS5 Pro on raw output resolution in Digital Foundry’s game-by-game testing. Switch 2 isn’t playing the same game at all: it’s the only one of the three you can take on a train to Cork, it’s €400 cheaper than PS5 Pro, and it trades resolution and frame rate for portability in a way neither home console can touch.

None of these three is a bad buy. They’re just not competing for the same use case, which is the point this whole article keeps coming back to.

Full Specs Table: PS5 Pro vs Xbox Series X vs Switch 2

Here is the complete hardware breakdown, pulled from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo’s own published specification sheets.

Spec	PS5 Pro	Xbox Series X	Nintendo Switch 2
Ireland price (Aug 2026)	€899.99	€799.99 (1TB disc)	€499.99 (from Sept 2026)
GPU compute	16.7 TFLOPS (RDNA-based)	12 TFLOPS (RDNA 2, 52 CUs @ 1.825GHz)	Not officially published (Nvidia custom Ampere-class chip)
CPU	AMD Zen 2, 8-core/16-thread	AMD Zen 2, 8-core/16-thread @ 3.8GHz	ARM-based octa-core (Nvidia custom SoC)
RAM	16GB GDDR6 + 2GB DDR5	16GB GDDR6 (10GB @ 560GB/s, 6GB @ 336GB/s)	12GB LPDDR5-class (128-bit bus)
Internal storage	2TB custom SSD	1TB custom NVMe SSD	256GB UFS storage
Storage expansion	M.2 NVMe slot, USB external	Proprietary expansion card, USB external	microSD Express card
Physical media	No built-in disc drive (add-on drive available)	Built-in 4K UHD disc drive	Game cartridges
Display	External display only (TV/monitor)	External display only (TV/monitor)	Built-in 7.9-inch LCD, 1920×1080, up to 120Hz VRR
Max output	4K/120fps, 8K support (limited titles)	4K/120fps, 8K support (limited titles)	4K/60fps docked, 1080p/120Hz handheld
Weight	3.1kg	4.45kg	Approx. 401g (534g with Joy-Con 2)
Backward compatibility	PS5 and the vast majority of PS4 titles	Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox titles	Most original Switch cartridge and digital titles
Launch date	November 2024	November 2020	June 5, 2025

Sony’s own spec sheet lists the PS5 Pro’s GPU at a rounded 16.7 TFLOPS, a figure TechRadar’s breakdown and Sony’s official PlayStation blog both confirm, versus the base PS5’s 10.28 TFLOPS. That’s roughly a 62% raw compute jump on paper, though as the benchmark section below shows, that gap doesn’t always translate directly into better-looking games. Microsoft’s Xbox Series X GPU figure of 12 TFLOPS comes straight from Microsoft’s own product page, with Xbox Wire’s technical breakdown giving the more precise figure of 12.155 TFLOPS from the 52 compute units running at 1.825GHz.

Nintendo has never published a TFLOPS figure for the Switch 2’s Nvidia-made chip, sticking instead to calling it a “NVIDIA-made custom processor” on its own official specifications page. That’s consistent with Nintendo’s approach across every console generation: it optimises for battery life and thermal headroom in a handheld chassis rather than chasing a compute number it can put on a box.

Ireland Pricing: Why All Three Just Got More Expensive

Every console on this list has gone up in price during 2026, and the timing is unusually close together. Sony moved first, confirming new eurozone prices for the entire PS5 family on March 27, 2026, with the PS5 Pro holding at €899.99. Microsoft followed with a steep August 2026 hike that took a 1TB disc Xbox Series X from €599.99 to €799.99 across most of Europe, a jump reported by DLCompare and echoed across multiple European gaming outlets that same week. Nintendo announced its own increase on August 20, 2026, raising the Switch 2’s Irish retail price from €469.99 to €499.99, a €30 bump that Nintendo has not publicly explained beyond a general note about market conditions.

Console/config	Old price (Ireland)	New price (2026)	Increase
PS5 Pro (2TB)	€799.99 (launch)	€899.99	€100 (12.5%)
PS5 Slim (disc)	€549.99	€649.99	€100 (18.2%)
PS5 Digital Edition	€499.99	€599.99	€100 (20%)
Xbox Series X (1TB, disc)	€599.99	€799.99	€200 (33.3%)
Xbox Series X (1TB, digital)	€499.99	€619.99*	€120 (24%)
Switch 2	€469.99	€499.99 (from Sept 2026)	€30 (6.4%)

*Digital Xbox Series X pricing reflects reported UK/EU retailer figures rather than an official Microsoft Ireland storefront listing.

What stands out is how differently each company handled the increase. Sony’s hike came with no stated justification. Microsoft’s came alongside a broader restructuring of Game Pass tiers that also raised subscription prices. Nintendo’s is the smallest in absolute terms, and Switch 2 remains, by a wide margin, the cheapest of the three even after the rise. For an Irish buyer on a budget, that €400 gap between a Switch 2 and a PS5 Pro is the single biggest factor in this whole comparison, arguably bigger than any spec on the table above.

Real-World Benchmarks: What Digital Foundry Actually Found

TFLOPS numbers are a starting point, not a verdict. Digital Foundry, the outlet most console buyers trust for frame-by-frame testing, has run several 2026 comparisons across all three platforms, and the results complicate the simple “PS5 Pro wins because it has more TFLOPS” narrative.

Capcom’s Pragmata (April 2026)

Digital Foundry’s console review found that both PS5 and Xbox Series X run Pragmata at a native 1080p in both their performance and resolution modes, using FSR 1 upscaling to hit a 4K output with what the outlet called “predictably poor results” for image clarity. PS5 Pro sidestepped the issue with Sony’s PSSR upscaling technology, running at a lower native 864p but producing a visibly sharper final image thanks to the better reconstruction algorithm. All three modes on PS5 and Series X targeted 60fps, and PS5 Pro added an extra 120Hz mode with frame rates ranging from 60 to 100fps and VRR support, according to TechRadar’s spec analysis of the same generation of hardware.

Nintendo Life’s coverage of Digital Foundry’s separate Switch 2 tech review found the handheld running Pragmata at an internal 540p docked, upscaled via DLSS-style reconstruction to 1080p output, which DF’s testers called “arguably a competitive picture” against the home consoles given typical TV viewing distance. In handheld mode, the game drops to an internal 360p upscaled to the built-in 1080p screen. Frame rate on Switch 2 runs unlocked, generally landing between 30 and 40fps in busy scenes and climbing to roughly 50fps indoors, well below the locked 60fps the two home consoles hit.

Assassin’s Creed Unity Remaster (April 2026)

This one is the clearest evidence that TFLOPS alone don’t decide the winner. PureXbox, citing Digital Foundry’s analysis, reported that the backward-compatible patch of Assassin’s Creed Unity runs at 2880×1620 on Xbox Series X, noticeably higher than the 2304×1296 output on both PS5 and PS5 Pro. All three consoles target 60fps, with PS5 Pro delivering slightly more consistent frame pacing, but Series X’s advantage came down to system-level VRR support carried over for backward-compatible titles, something Sony’s platform doesn’t extend the same way to older games. In other words, the console with roughly 28% less rated GPU compute (Xbox Series X’s 12 TFLOPS versus PS5 Pro’s 16.7) still won the resolution comparison in this specific test, because the bottleneck wasn’t raw compute.

Doom: The Dark Ages

Digital Foundry’s testing of id Software’s Doom: The Dark Ages found Xbox Series X running a dynamic resolution around 1440p, dropping toward 1080p under heavy load, with generally stable 60fps performance the outlet described as the smoothest of the tested platforms. PS5 and PS5 Pro landed in a similar dynamic resolution band, typically coming in slightly lower than Series X in the most demanding scenes, with comparable frame rate stability. DF’s own headline for the piece credited Xbox Series X with “the smoothest experience” and PS5 Pro with “the crispest image,” which sums up the whole pattern across most of 2026’s cross-platform benchmarks: the two home consoles trade wins depending on how each studio optimised its engine, and the gap is rarely as wide as the spec sheet TFLOPS numbers suggest.

Game	PS5 Pro result	Xbox Series X result	Switch 2 result
Pragmata (docked/TV)	Native 864p → 4K via PSSR, 60fps, optional 120Hz mode	Native 1080p → 4K via FSR 1, 60fps	Internal 540p → 1080p via DLSS-style upscale, 30-40fps
Assassin’s Creed Unity remaster	2304×1296, 60fps, more consistent pacing	2880×1620, 60fps, VRR-assisted	Not tested by DF in this comparison
Doom: The Dark Ages	Dynamic ~1080p-1440p, 60fps	Dynamic ~1440p, most stable 60fps	Not tested by DF in this comparison

Subscription Services: Game Pass vs PS Plus vs Switch Online

The console price is only the entry fee. All three ecosystems now push subscriptions hard, and 2026 brought price increases across the board here too.

Service	Tier	Monthly (approx, Ireland/EU)	What you get
Xbox Game Pass	Essential	€8.99	Online multiplayer, select member deals
Xbox Game Pass	Premium (formerly Standard)	€12.99	Growing console library, no day-one first-party titles
Xbox Game Pass	Ultimate	€20.99	Day-one Xbox first-party games, cloud streaming, PC library
PlayStation Plus	Essential	€8.99	Online multiplayer, monthly free games
PlayStation Plus	Extra	€13.99	Adds a library of 400+ downloadable PS4/PS5 games
PlayStation Plus	Premium	€16.99	Adds cloud streaming and classic game catalog
Nintendo Switch Online	Standard	~€3.99 (1-month, historical)	Online multiplayer, NES/SNES library
Nintendo Switch Online	Expansion Pack	€39.99/year (individual)	Adds N64, Game Boy, GameCube titles

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate remains the most content-dense subscription of the three, bundling day-one access to Microsoft’s first-party output (Halo, Forza, and the growing Activision Blizzard catalog) with cloud streaming and a PC library. PlayStation Plus Premium adds a genuinely large classics catalog but doesn’t include day-one first-party Sony exclusives in the same way. Nintendo Switch Online remains the cheapest way into online play across all three ecosystems, and its retro library (NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, GameCube) is unmatched in nostalgia value even if it’s the least generous with modern software.

Upscaling Tech Explained: PSSR vs FSR vs DLSS-Style Reconstruction

The Pragmata results above only make sense once you understand what each console is actually doing to hit those output resolutions, because none of the three renders games at true native 4K in demanding titles anymore. Sony’s PS5 Pro uses PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution), a machine-learning upscaler built specifically for the Pro’s extra silicon, and it’s the reason the console can start from a lower native resolution like 864p and still finish with a cleaner image than Xbox Series X starting from a higher 1080p base. Xbox Series X relies on FSR (AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is a more general-purpose, less machine-learning-dependent upscaler that AMD makes available across PC and console hardware alike. It’s flexible and widely supported by developers, but Digital Foundry’s testing has repeatedly found it produces softer, less detailed results than PSSR at equivalent performance targets.

Switch 2 uses its own DLSS-derived reconstruction technique, built around the same Nvidia deep-learning upscaling lineage that powers DLSS on GeForce RTX graphics cards, just tuned for a much smaller power and thermal budget. That’s how a handheld chip with no official TFLOPS rating manages to turn a 360p handheld render into a passable 1080p screen image. The trade-off is that Switch 2’s upscaler is doing far more work, starting from a much lower base resolution, which is why its frame rates land in the 30-40fps range in Pragmata rather than the locked 60fps both home consoles hit.

The practical takeaway: raw TFLOPS numbers tell you almost nothing about how a game will actually look on your TV or Switch 2 screen in 2026. The upscaling software layered on top of that hardware is now doing as much visual heavy lifting as the silicon underneath it, which is exactly why Xbox Series X can win an output-resolution test against a console with 39% more rated GPU compute.

Exclusive Games: What You Can Only Play on Each Console

Hardware specs matter less than software libraries for most buyers, and this is where the three platforms diverge hardest. Sony’s 2026 exclusive lineup on PS5 Pro leans on established franchises enhanced for the Pro’s extra headroom, including Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Astro Bot, and Stellar Blade, all of which run with improved ray tracing and higher, more stable frame rates on Pro hardware compared to base PS5. Sony has historically brought some of these titles to PC after a delay, so “exclusive” here often means “exclusive for a year or two,” not forever.

Xbox’s approach under Microsoft has shifted meaningfully since the Activision Blizzard acquisition closed. Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, Forza Motorsport, and Starfield anchor the first-party lineup, but Microsoft has increasingly released its own exclusives simultaneously on PC and Xbox Game Pass rather than keeping them console-exclusive in the traditional sense. For a buyer who already owns a gaming PC, that changes the calculus considerably: you may not need the Series X hardware at all to play most of what Microsoft publishes, just a Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

Nintendo remains the most protective of its exclusives of the three. Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and the rest of Nintendo’s first-party 2026 slate are Switch 2-only, with no PC or rival-console release path, ever, based on Nintendo’s entire console history. If your household’s gaming decisions are actually being made by kids who want Mario and Pokemon, that single fact settles the whole comparison regardless of what the spec sheet says.

Storage and Expansion Costs Compared

Modern game install sizes routinely exceed 100GB, which makes storage expansion a real recurring cost rather than a one-time nice-to-have. PS5 Pro ships with the most internal storage of the three at 2TB, but its M.2 NVMe expansion slot requires a compatible high-speed drive meeting Sony’s specific bandwidth requirements, and those drives typically cost more per gigabyte than generic external storage. Xbox Series X ships with 1TB, the smallest of the two home consoles, and its expansion path runs through proprietary Seagate or WD-branded expansion cards that plug directly into the console’s rear port; these are simple and fast to install but carry a brand premium compared to building your own M.2 solution for PS5 Pro.

Switch 2’s 256GB internal storage is by far the smallest of the three, and realistically most owners with more than a handful of digital titles will need a microSD Express card almost immediately. microSD Express is a newer, faster standard than the microSD cards used by the original Switch, which means old Switch memory cards are not compatible with Switch 2 at full speed and, in most cases, not compatible at all. Budget for this cost on top of the console price if you’re coming from an original Switch expecting to reuse your existing memory card.

Noise, Heat, and Build Quality

This rarely makes it into spec-sheet comparisons but matters a lot in a small Irish apartment or a shared living room. PS5 Pro carries over the same large cooling assembly design language as the base PS5, and most owners report it runs quieter under load than the launch-era PS5 thanks to refined fan curves, though it remains a physically large console at 388mm wide. Xbox Series X uses a distinctive tower design with top-mounted exhaust, which Microsoft has consistently kept quieter than Sony’s console across most third-party reviews, largely because of its more efficient internal airflow path, at the cost of a design that some buyers find awkward to fit into existing TV units built for wider, flatter consoles.

Switch 2, as a handheld-first device, runs warm rather than loud during docked play, with a small internal fan that’s rarely audible over typical TV volume. In handheld mode, sustained AAA gameplay can produce noticeable warmth on the back of the unit, a known characteristic that carried over from the original Switch and hasn’t been fully engineered away on the new hardware.

Controllers and Battery Life

Controller ergonomics and battery life are one of the more overlooked differences between these three ecosystems. Sony’s DualSense uses adaptive triggers and haptic feedback that Xbox and Nintendo controllers don’t replicate, but that comes at a battery-life cost: DualSense typically lasts somewhere in the 6-12 hour range depending on how much haptic feedback and LED brightness a given game uses. The standard Xbox Wireless Controller sidesteps the battery question almost entirely by supporting AA batteries or an optional rechargeable battery pack, trading built-in convenience for user-replaceable power. Nintendo’s Joy-Con 2 controllers, which now attach magnetically to the Switch 2 rather than sliding on rails, run on a smaller internal battery suited to shorter handheld sessions between charges.

If controller longevity matters to you specifically, and you play in long uninterrupted sessions, the AA-battery flexibility of the standard Xbox controller is a genuine practical advantage that rarely gets mentioned next to the flashier DualSense haptics.

Backward Compatibility: Which Library Carries Forward

This is where Xbox Series X has held a structural advantage since 2020. Microsoft’s backward compatibility program covers a large slice of the Xbox One library, plus a curated but meaningful set of Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles, some of which receive visual and performance enhancements running on Series X hardware. PS5 Pro plays the vast majority of PS5 titles and most of the PS4 library, but Sony has never extended native backward compatibility back to PS3, PS2, or PS1-era discs on current hardware; that history is accessible only through the PS Plus Premium classics catalog in curated, remastered form. Switch 2 plays most original Switch cartridges and digital titles, with some enhanced “Switch 2 Edition” upgrades for select games that add higher resolutions and frame rates over the original release.

Resale and Long-Term Value

Console hardware depreciates differently depending on how aggressively the manufacturer discounts it and how often a mid-generation refresh appears. PS5 Pro, as the newest and most expensive of the three, has the least depreciation history to draw on, but the base PS5’s resale value stayed relatively strong through its own mid-generation Pro launch, since Sony has never discounted the standard model as aggressively as some competitors discount their hardware. Xbox Series X has seen its official retail price move more than any console here, up €200 in a single 2026 adjustment, which historically correlates with softer second-hand resale prices as buyers wait for the next discount cycle rather than pay full price used.

Switch 2 is the newest platform of the three by nearly a year, having launched in June 2025, and Nintendo hardware has traditionally held its resale value better than PlayStation or Xbox equivalents across previous console generations, partly because Nintendo rarely discounts its own hardware directly. If resale value factors into your decision at all, historical patterns favour Nintendo hardware, though Switch 2 doesn’t yet have enough of a track record post-launch to say that with total confidence.

5 Real-World Buying Scenarios

Specs are abstract. Here’s how the choice plays out for five different types of Irish gamer.

• The commuter gamer: Someone doing a daily Dart or bus commute into Dublin city centre wants a console they can actually play on the move. Switch 2 is the only real option here; neither PS5 Pro nor Xbox Series X has a portable mode.
• The one-TV household with kids: Families sharing a single living-room TV where multiple people want to play different things during the day benefit from Switch 2’s ability to undock and move to a bedroom, freeing up the main screen without needing a second console.
• The visual-fidelity chaser: A player upgrading from a base PS5 specifically to see the jump in ray tracing and image clarity in games like Pragmata should budget for PS5 Pro; the PSSR upscaling difference is the most visible upgrade on this list.
• The budget-conscious multiplayer gamer: Someone mainly playing online shooters and sports titles, and not chasing the best possible visuals, gets more value from Xbox Series X at €799.99 than PS5 Pro at €899.99, especially paired with Game Pass Ultimate’s day-one access to new releases.
• The retro completionist: A player who cares more about replaying GameCube and N64-era classics than chasing new releases is best served by Switch 2 and a Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription, since neither Sony nor Microsoft offers anything close to that specific catalog.

Migration Guide: Moving Between Ecosystems

If you’re switching platforms rather than adding a second console, here’s what actually carries over and what doesn’t.

1. Check which of your current digital library is cross-buy. Most first-party Nintendo and Sony titles are not transferable between platforms; digital purchases are tied to the storefront account, not the game itself.
2. Cloud save data does not transfer between PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo accounts automatically. Cross-platform titles (Fortnite, Minecraft, most live-service games) generally do carry saves via the publisher’s own account system rather than the console maker’s.
3. If you’re moving from PS5 to PS5 Pro, use Sony’s built-in console-to-console data transfer over Wi-Fi or a wired LAN connection; this preserves saves, settings, and installed games without needing to re-download everything.
4. If you’re moving from an original Switch to Switch 2, Nintendo’s System Transfer tool moves your user data, save files, and eShop purchase history, but requires both consoles to be present during the transfer.
5. Trade-in value matters more than people expect. Retailers in Ireland regularly run console trade-in promotions that can offset 20-30% of a new console’s cost, particularly around major release windows.
6. Factor in accessory costs. A second set of controllers, a new microSD Express card for Switch 2, or additional storage for PS5 Pro or Xbox Series X can add €50-150 on top of the console price itself.

Pros and Cons: PS5 Pro

• Pros: Best-in-class upscaling via PSSR, most consistent 60fps-plus performance across recent titles, largest internal storage of the three at 2TB, strong exclusive lineup.
• Cons: Most expensive of the three at €899.99, no built-in disc drive, TFLOPS advantage doesn’t always translate to real-world resolution wins over Xbox Series X.

Pros and Cons: Xbox Series X

• Pros: Cheapest home console at €799.99 after its 2026 hike, best backward compatibility program of the three, Game Pass Ultimate offers the strongest day-one value, built-in 4K UHD disc drive.
• Cons: Suffered the largest single price increase of any console here (33.3%), 1TB base storage is the smallest of the two home consoles, exclusive lineup is thinner than Sony’s in 2026.

Pros and Cons: Nintendo Switch 2

• Pros: Only portable option of the three, cheapest by a wide margin even after its price rise, unmatched retro library via Switch Online, most family-friendly first-party catalog.
• Cons: Lowest raw performance ceiling, smallest internal storage at 256GB, resolution and frame rate both fall well short of the home consoles in demanding titles.

Warranty and EU Consumer Rights in Ireland

All three manufacturers sell into Ireland under the same EU consumer protection framework, which guarantees a minimum two-year manufacturer warranty on new hardware regardless of what any individual retailer’s return policy says. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo each also run their own direct warranty programs on top of that statutory minimum, typically handled through the same customer support channels used across the eurozone rather than an Ireland-specific process. In practice, this means a faulty PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X, or Switch 2 bought from an Irish retailer within the first two years should be replaceable or repairable free of charge, and retailers cannot legally shorten that window through their own terms and conditions.

Where this matters practically is disc-drive and Joy-Con failures, historically the most common hardware complaints across all three ecosystems. Nintendo’s Joy-Con drift issues on the original Switch generated enough consumer complaints that some EU regulators pushed for extended warranty coverage on the affected controllers; Nintendo has redesigned the Joy-Con 2 attachment mechanism for Switch 2 specifically to address the drift complaints, though it’s too early to say definitively whether the redesign has solved the underlying problem at scale.

The Verdict

There isn’t a single winner here because these three consoles aren’t actually competing for the same purchase decision. If portability matters at all, Switch 2 wins by default; nothing else on this list can go in a backpack. If you want the sharpest picture quality on a TV and don’t mind paying the most for it, PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling makes it the clear pick, and the Pragmata benchmarks back that up directly. If you want the best value home console with the strongest backward compatibility and the most content-dense subscription service, Xbox Series X at €799.99 undercuts PS5 Pro by €100 and, per Digital Foundry’s own testing, sometimes beats it on raw resolution anyway.

The one number that should weigh on every Irish buyer’s decision right now is the €400 total spread between the cheapest and most expensive machine here. That’s not a rounding error, it’s most of the cost of a second console, and it’s worth sitting with before assuming the most powerful hardware is automatically the right buy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the PS5 Pro worth the extra €100 over Xbox Series X?

It depends on what you value. PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling produces a noticeably sharper image in supported titles like Pragmata, and its 2TB storage is double the Series X’s 1TB. But Digital Foundry’s own testing has shown Xbox Series X matching or beating PS5 Pro on raw output resolution in multiple 2026 titles, so the extra €100 buys better upscaling technology more than it buys raw power.

Can Switch 2 play the same games as PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X?

No. Switch 2 runs its own library of Nintendo-published and third-party titles built for its hardware, plus a growing number of “Switch 2 Edition” upgrades of existing games. It cannot run PS5 or Xbox software, and vice versa. Some third-party multiplatform titles do release across all three, but not all of them, and Switch 2 versions typically run at reduced resolution and frame rate compared to the home consoles.

Why did Xbox Series X get such a big price increase in 2026?

Microsoft’s August 2026 price increase, which took the 1TB disc Series X from €599.99 to €799.99 in Europe, was reported alongside broader Xbox Game Pass tier restructuring. Microsoft has not published a single official explanation specific to Ireland, though industry reporting has tied similar hardware price rises across the sector to rising component and memory costs.

Does PS5 Pro have a disc drive?

Not built in. PS5 Pro ships without an integrated disc drive, matching the PS5 Digital Edition’s approach, though Sony sells a separate external disc drive accessory for players who want physical media support.

Which console has the best backward compatibility?

Xbox Series X, by a clear margin. Microsoft’s backward compatibility program spans a large portion of the Xbox One library plus curated Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles, some enhanced for Series X hardware. PS5 Pro covers PS5 and most PS4 titles but doesn’t reach back to PS3-era or older discs natively. Switch 2 covers most original Switch software.

Is Nintendo Switch 2 powerful enough for modern AAA games?

It can run scaled-down versions of many current AAA titles, but with real trade-offs. Digital Foundry’s Pragmata testing found Switch 2 running at an internal 540p docked (upscaled to 1080p) with frame rates in the 30-40fps range, well below the locked 60fps both home consoles hit in the same game. It’s a capable machine for its form factor, not a PS5 Pro or Series X competitor on raw output.

Will Switch 2’s price rise again after September 2026?

Nintendo hasn’t announced any further increase beyond the €469.99 to €499.99 change confirmed for Ireland. Given that Sony and Microsoft have each raised prices more than once since their respective launches, a further Switch 2 increase isn’t out of the question, but nothing has been confirmed at the time of writing.

Which subscription service offers the best value in 2026?

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at €20.99 a month offers the most content for the price, bundling day-one first-party releases, cloud streaming, and a PC library. PlayStation Plus Premium at €16.99 is cheaper and has a stronger classics catalog but lacks day-one first-party access in the same way. Nintendo Switch Online remains the cheapest entry point for online play, with its Expansion Pack tier standing out specifically for retro game access rather than new releases.

Can I use my old Switch microSD card in a Switch 2?

No, not for expanded storage. Switch 2 requires the newer microSD Express standard, which is physically compatible with the card slot but runs at significantly higher speeds than the microSD/microSDHC/microSDXC cards used by the original Switch. Old memory cards can still be used to play digital games downloaded on the original Switch through backward compatibility, but you’ll need a new microSD Express card for any new digital purchases on Switch 2 itself.

Does Xbox Series X support 8K gaming?

Microsoft’s Series X spec sheet lists 8K support, and PS5 Pro’s spec sheet lists similar 8K capability, but in practice almost no current-generation games actually render at native 8K on either console. Both figures are closer to a theoretical output ceiling for the HDMI hardware than a realistic gaming resolution; the vast majority of 2026 titles on both consoles target 4K or dynamic resolutions well below that, not 8K.

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