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In past console generations, you tended to think about Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo in fairly concrete terms. Nintendo was the outlier, forging its own strange path with consoles like the Wii, 3DS and Switch. These were consoles less about processing grunt and more about curating unique, tactile experiences. Microsoft and Sony, on the other hand, felt more like mirror images competing in the world's longest staring contest. Aside from key exclusives, the games were the same. For the most part, the processing power was the same, the control pads were the same. Sometimes even the components were similar. Choosing a PlayStation or an Xbox, for the most part, was like deciding which fridge to buy. At the end of the day, they all do pretty much the same thing. The PlayStation 5: a gigantic, hyper-designed piece of technology built to announce its presence. It's a difficult object to ignore. The Xbox Series S and Series X, on the other hand, are consoles designed to disappear. The Xbox Series X is a big unit, but understated. The PS5 looks like a spaceship by comparison. This generation, success for both Sony and Microsoft will be measured with different yardsticks. Sony, you suspect, will remain focused on the number of consoles shipped, the amount of games sold. Microsoft is concerned with building its subscriber base and absolutely everything -- console sales, exclusive titles, even wild cards like the upcoming cloud gaming service Project xCloud -- is focused directly on that singular goal. Time will tell which strategy will work best. In the end it's possible that both -- in their own ways -- will be successful plays. But this generation, for the first time in decades, Sony and Microsoft are playing very different games. ou can preorder the new Xbox Series X game console starting tomorrow, Sept. 22, but if you're not sure yet where to place an order for the next-gen Xbox, consider GameStop: The store is offering up to $200 in trade credit toward the purchase of the new Xbox. That would bring your net price down to $300. You can also apply that same credit to the Xbox Series S, which would leave you with a final price of just $100. (Just for the record, you can also apply the credit to a PlayStation 5 preorder.)