Playstation 5, Xbox Series X Bring Sony-Microsoft Rivalry To A New Generation

The Microsoft Xbox Series X and the Playstation 5. Courtesy Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment hide caption The next generation of video game consoles is now here. Both Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Sony's Playstation 5 hit stores this week -- the newest chapter in an ongoing face-off between Microsoft and Sony. At the start of the 21st century, Sony was in control of the video game market, with fans lining up in packed stores to buy the Playstation 2. But less than a year later, Microsoft would release its first ever video game console. The Xbox was big, ugly and powerful; the commercials advertised a new dimension to console gaming: An emphasis on online multi-player and connectivity. None of this was enough to topple Sony's reign at the time, but the Xbox did announce the arrival of a new competitor.