In 2023, the memory on the Xbox Series X is still PS5 | 2 times more expensive than Xbox One

It’s been two years since the release of the 9th generation of consoles. Whether it’s Microsoft’s Xbox Series X|S or Sony’s PlayStation 5, the latest home consoles have never looked better, their games have never looked better, but they’ve never been so heavy on storage. A problem that is especially expensive on Xbox today.

Memory on the Xbox Series X|S is always a delicate question

All owners of the Xbox Series X|S are already in this situation. You know, that situation where you have to choose which game to uninstall on your console to accommodate a good big RPG that’s close to your heart or install the latest battle royale ever (we’re not targeting any FPS in particular). What to do when more and more games exceed 100 GB on your machine’s internal memory and an internet connection is essential to install any game?

For several years now, games have continued to increase in weight, something that has been regularly seen in several recent titles.

• Microsoft Flight Simulator: 144.9 GB
• Forza Horizon 5: 129.5 GB
• Red Dead Redemption 2: 123.4 GB
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare II: 116.4 GB
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Full Edition: 57.7 GB
• Chivalry 2: 22.6 GB
• FIFA 23: 46.1 GB

As you already know, it’s easy to run out of storage space on your Xbox without realizing it, especially since Xbox Game Pass is available and many games are easy to access and install. Between the Xbox Series X’s usable 802GB or the Xbox Series S’s usable 364GB, you’ll agree that the list of games to store fills up quickly.

Of course, not all gamers have the same video game consumption, not all have Xbox Game Pass, and it’s always possible to easily sort to keep only the games you’re currently playing. T (if you have a good game) connection). Nevertheless, installing your games so that you can play them easily and quickly remains a basic need for all gamers. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s offering falls short at this level.

Memory upgrade on Xbox Series X|S: all white or all black

As you probably know, there are currently not many solutions to increase the memory of the Xbox Series X|S:

• Sorting and deleting games
• Use an external HDD with a USB 3.0 port
• Use a Seagate memory expansion card

Suffice it to say, after spending good money on one of Microsoft’s two consoles, it’s normal to be reluctant to spend a hundred euros (or even two or three) on a storage device. The USB 3.0 external HDD solution remains one of the most common, but the Xbox Series X|S does not allow running optimized games. So when all the games coming out today are optimized for the new consoles, the possibilities are very limited.

Indeed, it is possible to use an external drive (or even several) through the USB ports of your console. The latter must be formatted for this particular use, and you can store your games on it and move them to the internal SSD. Only Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games can be run from an external hard drive.

If your Xbox Series X|S’s SSD is full and you want to install and run a game optimized for this console, then you have only one solution left, a Seagate memory card.

A Seagate card is an expensive device and there is no other alternative today

Seagate SSD Card for Xbox Series X and S

Just in 2020, just before the release of the Xbox Series X|S, Seagate introduced an officially licensed Xbox memory expansion card. Despite some slight fluctuations over the past two years, the prices of the three available versions have remained in the same range and are currently:

• Seagate 512GB memory expansion card: €179.99
• Seagate 1TB storage expansion card: €234.99
• Seagate 2TB memory expansion card: €489.88

Such prices are explained by the fact that these cards use the same foundations as the Xbox Velocity Architecture and therefore allow you to enjoy the same performance as when the game is installed on the console’s internal memory.

However, the prices offered are not impressive at all. A Seagate 1 TB memory expansion card costs about the same (or even more) than a single Xbox Series S, and the same goes for a 2 TB memory expansion card, which is close to the Xbox. Series S. Xbox Series X. It’s even more interesting to buy an extra Xbox Series S and use its 521GB for a similar price or even less than a 1TB card.

Additional memory is 2 times less on PS5

All this is more annoying, because Sony, on the contrary, offers more diverse and open solutions to increase the memory of the PlayStation 5. The PS5’s SSD has 825GB, but 667GB is actually usable. Looking at the possibilities offered by the PS5 today, the solutions are more than the Xbox, but at the same time cheaper:

• Sorting and Deleting Games (Eternal Classics)
• Use an external SSD or HDD with USB-A or USB-C (without being able to run next generation games on it)
• Use a FAT or exFAT formatted USB drive to store PS4 memory data and footage
• Install an additional SSD via a dedicated expansion port

Yes, if the first solutions may seem classic, the last one is certainly the most interesting. From September 2021, Sony has made it possible to effectively use the existing expansion port on the PS5. In order to integrate an additional SSD into the PS5, certain restrictions must still be met.

It should be a PCIe Gen4 or newer compatible M.2 NVMe SSD with a read speed of at least 5500MB/s, and it should of course follow the dimensions of the slot on the PS5. This technique is confirmed and explained by Sony on the brand’s website, with several explanations showing how to disassemble your console and add an extra SSD to it.

In terms of price, it is cheaper to buy an M.2 NVMe SSD made by a third-party manufacturer. For example, the Samsung 980 PRO Series SSD now costs €120 for 1TB and €230 for 2TB.

The calculations are quick, adding memory on the PS5 today costs half as much on the PS5 as it does on the Xbox Series X|S. Microsoft made a promise when the new Xboxes went on sale “Give players more choice” More than Seagate cards, but two years later, gamers are still waiting for the end of this monopoly. Many of you regularly let us know about it on social media or on our Discord server, so rest assured we’ll keep you updated if new options become available.

Microsoft Communication in 2020