On paper, the Xbox Series X's 1TB SSD capacity beats the PS5's 825GB SSD. However, according to those who have had hands-on time with Microsoft's game console, the actual storage capacity is only 802GB.

Since next-generation games will be quite large, one gigabyte is critical. Therefore, the loss of 198 GB of space would be quite a blow, and that space could be used to store a number of next-generation titles, as well as a number of older games that the Xbox Series X will support through comprehensive backward compatibility.

IGN reports that this loss of storage capacity is due to the Xbox Series X's operating system taking up that space, which is not uncommon as the same thing is seen with PCs and smartphones. However, it is quite surprising that the operating system takes up nearly 20% of the Xbox Series X's SSD capacity.

So if you plan to keep a reasonable amount of games installed on the Xbox Series X, you will likely need a 1TB proprietary expansion card, which is quite an expensive upgrade considering that Seagate's expandable SSD for the Xbox Series X costs over $200. This is an upgrade.

Xbox Series X games can be stored on an external USB 3.1 hard drive, but to run them, they must be transferred to the console's SSD; IGN reports that this is done very quickly, but it does does not remove the need to manage it. However, older Xbox games can be run directly from an external hard drive.

The Xbox Series S with a 512GB SSD could face the same problem. However, Microsoft has stated that since the target resolution of the Series S is 1440p, games will not require storage-consuming 4K assets and game install sizes will be smaller

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Developers could be smarter about how they compress games and handle assets to minimize the install size of next-generation titles. As it stands, however, storage upgrades seem inevitable for both the Xbox Series X and PS5.

Pre-orders for the PS5 are open, as are those for the Xbox Series X and Series S, but stock sells out quickly, so it is recommended to sign up for alerts at your preferred retailer to ensure you don't miss your chance to get one.