PlayStation And Xbox Consoles With The Most Storage Space

Key Takeaways

• Game console storage is crucial for avid gamers due to large game sizes like Call of Duty (190 GB).
• Many consoles have limited storage, forcing gamers to delete games regularly for space.
• Each console has varied storage capacities, with later models boasting larger sizes to accommodate game sizes.

If you are looking for a new game console, you may be choosing based on storage space. Games such as Triple-A games take up huge amounts of space (Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War is 190 GB), so it’s important to choose a game console that can support what you like to play.

Many gamers manage by deleting games and freeing up much-needed room in the hard drive. History tells us that consoles have always had somewhat limited storage capacities. Both Microsoft and Sony have released several consoles over the years, each with different hard drive capacities. These are ranked by advertised storage capacity. Keep in mind that some of this storage will be used for operating systems, not games.

Updated on October 21, 2024, by Mackenzee Hardyk: With the new PlayStation 5 Pro being released soon, we’ve decided to update this list to bring it up to date so you know how much storage space each PlayStation and Xbox console has. Whether you are looking to purchase a new console from either Sony or Microsoft or just curious about storage space, we’ve got you covered.

17 Original PlayStation

The original PlayStation was released in 1995 when memory cards were essential for data management. It also didn’t have a hard drive, which illustrates the massive updates to console design over the years. It was part of the fifth generation of consoles and competed with the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64.

According to PlayStation, the original PlayStation was the first of its kind to sell 100 million units worldwide. It put games like Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider on the map, and it offered multiplayer gaming through link cables before the internet took off.

16 PlayStation 2 And PlayStation 2 Slim

The PlayStation 2, released in 2000, was a necessary step forward for Sony. Most iconically, it included a DVD player to serve both gamers and movie enthusiasts. The bulky console introduced the twin analog sticks, which has been Sony’s controversial signature ever since.

The PlayStation 2 Slim came with an 8 MB memory card, though there are larger memory cards available to store your save files on. It was a neat model, as it could play not just movies, but music CDs as well and play previous PlayStation games.

15 Original Xbox

Microsoft jumped into the console game at a much later date than Sony – 2001. The original Xbox had 8 GB of space in its internal hard drive as opposed to the PlayStation 2, which didn’t have a hard drive at all. It also came with slots for memory cards, but they were no longer necessary for saving games.

With that being said, it was nice of Microsoft to give players an easy way to bring games to a friend’s house. As well as the user-friendly approach, the introduction of Halo was another big reason for Xbox’s success.

14 PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 had several iterations over its life span with hard drive space ranging from 20 GB to 180 GB. It was first released in 2006 and also had a slim version. At a certain point, games were getting bigger and storage became an increasingly important part of consoles.

One of the PlayStation 3’s signature games, The Last of Us, was 26 GB, which wouldn’t even fit on the earliest model. Some of its few advantages over the Xbox 360 was Blu-ray capability and free PlayStation Network support.

13 Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 was released in 2005, and just like the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 had several models throughout its life cycle ranging from 20 GB to 250 GB. The 250 GB internal hard drive was much more accommodating to the large install sizes.

The 360’s biggest exclusives like Halo 3, Fable 2, and Gears of War were all about 6 GB. As well as the bigger hard drive offering, the Xbox 360 had superior online functionality and a better-feeling controller than the PlayStation DualShock.

12 Xbox 360 E

The Xbox 360 E was released in 2013, just months before the Xbox One was released. It was given a completely new design from the Xbox 360 and the Xbox 360 S, which also happens to look more like the modern Xbox.

The Xbox 360 E was the last Xbox Microsoft would release that had a disc drive that popped out. It had a bigger hard drive which made the 360 E faster, and also had a better graphics processor, which improved the games’ performance and graphics.

11 Xbox 360 S

The Xbox 360 S was released in 2010, five years after the Xbox 360 was released. It’s a slimmer, more compact version of the 360, and it was created in effort to solve the overheating problem the Xbox 360 would experience.

Besides solving the ‘Red Ring of Death’, it also included a port for the Kinect, which is a motion censor accessory that would eliminate the need for a controller for certain games. The Xbox 360 S was also quieter, and ran faster than the original 360.

10 PlayStation 3 Slim

Three years after the PlayStation 3 arrived, the PlayStation 3 Slim was released, and it was quite an improvement from the PlayStation 3. It had a better cooling system and consumed less power. True to its name, it’s about a third of the size smaller than the PlayStation 3.

Unfortunately, this is also when Sony’s backward compatibility was ended, which means the PlayStation 3 Slim did not have the hardware to run PlayStation 2 games. None of the upcoming Sony consoles would pick this feature back up.

9 PlayStation 3 Super Slim

The PlayStation 3 Super Slim, released in 2012, was the final version of the PlayStation 3 that was dropped. It has a sleeker look to it and comes in a few color variants such as black, white, garnet red, and blue.

One of the bigger differences between the Slim and the Super Slim is the auto disc loading, which is being able to insert and withdraw a CD from a console without having to touch it. Some reviews have suggested this makes the Super Slim more durable.

8 Xbox One And PlayStation 4

The base Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were both released in 2013 and came with the same 500 GB hard drive. Further iterations improved on the storage size, but those were heavily advertised as new consoles altogether.

This was the generation where install sizes started to skyrocket and to keep all your games, you had to delete installs and keep the saved data or buy an external hard drive. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare alone is about 190 GB, and it’s constantly getting updates.

7 PlayStation 5

The PlayStation 5 released in 2020. Its 825 GB is smaller compared to its competitor, the Xbox Series X, especially when you take pre-installed material into account.

Along with the normal operating systems, the PlayStation 5 also comes with Astro’s Playroom installed and ready to go. With those additions, the PlayStation 5 actually has 667.2 GB of free space. Keep in mind, you can delete Astro’s Playroom when you’re done with it.

6 PlayStation 4 Slim

The PlayStation 4 Slim was released in 2016, three years after the PlayStation 4. It’s of course, a smaller version of the PlayStation 4. Between the PlayStation 4 and the Slim, there isn’t much too much of a difference.

The Slim offers a quieter version of the PlayStation 4 and a better cooling system. It was also about $100 cheaper to buy upon its’ release date. The low down is, if you had a PlayStation 4 or the Slim, you certainly did not need the other.

5 Xbox Series S

The Xbox Series S was released at the same time as the Xbox Series X in 2020. The Series S is the smallest Xbox to be released, though it is quite mighty. While it is not as powerful as the Xbox Series X, it is cheaper.

The Xbox Series S is completely digital, with no disc drive, so you will have to get your games online instead of through a CD. Series S still has backward compatibility as well, so you can play every game that has been released for the Xbox.

4 PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One X, Xbox Series X

We have a triple tie for fourth place, only one of which comes from the current generation of consoles. The PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X are both new additions to their respective consoles, and they have a massive storage upgrade.

The Xbox Series X is the newest console of the bunch, and it shares a 1 TB hard drive with the others. These hard drives are necessary for the game hoarder, but they may not even be big enough to hold an expansive library.

3 PlayStation 5 Slim

The PlayStation 5 Slim was released in 2023 and it is the only PlayStation Slim version Sony is still producing everywhere, as the PlayStation Slim 4 was discontinued in Japan.

The biggest difference the PlayStation 5 Slim has from the PlayStation 5 is not having a disc drive. This means that the only place you can buy games for the PlayStation 5 Slim is on the PlayStation store, eliminating the need for physical copies of games. Due to the lack of a disc drive, it is also $50 cheaper.

2 Xbox One S

The Xbox One S was another upgrade to the Xbox One, but it didn’t offer true 4k gaming like the Xbox One X. If we’re speaking strictly of storage size, one version of the Xbox One S reigns supreme. It offers the biggest hard drive for consoles yet at 2 TB.

It’s likely that the next iteration of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will reach this, but until then gamers can install the most games on the Xbox One S. The console also comes with a 500 GB and 1 TB hard drive.

1 PlayStation 5 Pro

The PlayStation 5 Pro costs $700 and is the most expensive console from Sony yet. The console comes with 2TB of storage and is a digital-only console unless you buy the disc drive, which is, of course, optional.

The PlayStation 5 Pro is supposed to be more durable than the PlayStation 5. The specs show the Pro has more GPU and faster memory, meaning the rendering rate of games will be greatly improved with a great boost in graphics.