Personal take here.

I have two kids and 3 of the Microsoft cubes, 2 switches, and a PC… I own the cubes because my kids literally took over the first two boxes because of the game pass.

I genuinely do NOT give a single crawling, swimming, or flying fuck about console preference. In my life I have owned at their peak Hype (or just before/after) literally every console to include that one Sega portable who’s name escapes me. Ive always gone for what works best for me.

Currently the Xbox is THE BEST VALUE for kids. The game pass sucks if you’re an adult gamer with specific preferences but my kids (and my wife) LOVE IT! If you told me they played half of the 400+ games on the list I wouldn’t be surprised. It seems like every day they’re playing something new and having a blast.

Sony definitely has the best exclusives but in regards to volume and variety (the things most kids care about) nobody can touch Microsoft right now.

If you’re hesitant, pick up a series S ($199 for the console AND a month or more of gamespass) and try it out for a month. If they don’t like it… Hold on to it for the Microsoft exclusives and buy a used PS5 when the after Christmas report cards come out…

The desire to be a sweatlord diminishes when you have a mortgage, a car note, and a family to feed.

I’m looking to get drunk and get up to some shenanigans. Or wander Skyrim for the 10,000th time.

We may be older, slower, and prone to frequent bathroom breaks but we make up for it in meanness and craftiness!

I lost my touch a decade ago and have almost no time (4-8 hours a week if I’m lucky) to even attempt to tighten up my shooter reflexes.

That being said my game sense (I think that’s what it’s called) is so much better. I get absolutely shit rocked in shooters like tarkov and squad when going toe to toe with people but I’m a lot better at setting up engagements and in squad (when time allows, which is almost never) I can squad lead and completely change the flow of the map/game for all 100 players on the server.