Gaming

PlayStation 4 or Xbox One are still fine to use

If you own PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, there is no need to replace them immediately after release of their latest editions. They are still useful

If you still have a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One (X) at home, do not immediately dispose of them when you PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X scored. Or well, you are of course completely free to sell that old stuff if you really don’t do anything with it (so that you can buy more games for the new generation of game consoles); but whoever keeps has what. You can still use the older game consoles for other or the same purposes. In this article, we will discuss the main options available.

Use it in another room

You can use the old PlayStation 4 or Xbox One in another room. For example, the bedroom, a child’s room or a game room (perhaps this is the start of a new game room). This way you get access to everything the system has to offer wherever you have it. If you put it in the bedroom, you can easily set up a movie. And if you have space for a game room, you also have the space to withdraw from the living room for a while. Being able to game in peace is worth a lot.

Use it for multiplayer

Online gaming with your friends is super chill of course. But some games only really come into their own when you are playing the same game in the same room. That can be a couch co-op game (where you sit next to each other on the couch and play on the same screen) or a hybrid form of offline and online gaming. Grab your old console, connect another screen and play an online cooperative game that is also playable on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. That’s the nice thing about it backward compatiblity; your old games remain playable.

Take a subscription

With subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass (and in its extension: Game Pass Ultimate) and PlayStation Now, younger siblings can still use the older hardware for a long time to come. Both plans offer access to a wide range of games released on Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One (when you go for Game Pass) or PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 (when you go for PlayStation Now). You put down your old console, take out a subscription and just play what the services have to offer.

Make it a game server

The new generation of game consoles do not have a lot of space on their SSDs. Of course you can connect a hard drive and thereby gain access to more games, but that can also be a waste of your space when there is little space available. Especially when you plan to use the Remote Play function. This allows you to play your Xbox One or PlayStation 4 titles on supported devices, such as a smartphone, tablet or PC. By stuffing your old consoles with your favorite games, you can play anywhere in the house that you feel like playing.

This is how you set up Remote Play for Xbox One | This is how you set up Remote Play for PlayStation 4

Use it as an entertainment center

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are also great media centers. You can download many streaming apps for both platforms, such as Netflix, YouTube, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, Plex and many more. This gives you access to everything that all these services have to offer in an instant. In almost all cases you do need a subscription. So you can also consider investing in physical discs for movies, series and documentaries. Both consoles play Blu-ray discs and DVDs. The Xbox One even supports the CD.

Read more?

Would you like to read more about Xbox and PlayStation game consoles or related matters? Then take our sections with tips and advice once through. There you can read, for example, which games you can best play, how you select a TV for your new consoles and find out more about it Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia.