Xbox is dead – here’s why I want to buy this compact gaming PC on Black Friday instead

Well, the humble Xbox may not be long for this world. Microsoft has effectively confirmed that we’ll likely only see one more console generation after the current-gen (and terribly-named) Xbox Series X, with the company’s gaming strategy shifting to supporting its games across other platforms, including PlayStation and PC.

The good news is that with Black Friday closing in fast – and Sony also taking steps to make its first-party titles available on PC – there’s never been a better time to make the shift to PC gaming. I took the leap more than a decade ago, leaving my tired old Xbox 360 in the dust to buy a pre-built gaming PC, and I couldn’t be happier about it – while the upfront cost might be greater, it’s definitely saved me money in the long run.

Aside from the initial price, the big problem is that many of the best gaming PCs can’t seamlessly replace a console. They’re usually just too big; my first gaming PC was a real chunky boy, sucking up dust underneath the desk in my tiny student accommodation bedroom. But if you want something powerful, future-proof, and compact enough to fit inside your TV stand, I’ve got the answer: the 2025 Asus ROG NUC.

Now, this thing is practically a new release, so you can’t expect to see massive deals on it yet, but I’m personally hoping the discount below gets a little deeper as we edge closer to Black Friday. Right now, the RTX 5070 Asus ROG NUC is down to $2,349 (was $2,499) at Amazon, while the RTX 5060 model is $1,964.99 (was $2,099).

I really can’t understate how great the new ROG NUC is. I gave it a near-perfect score in my review last month, citing the unarguably high retail price as my main criticism against this powerful yet sleek and compact PC. Quite frankly, any sort of discount pushes it closer to that coveted 5-star rating in my mind.

For what it’s worth, I’d advise springing for the RTX 5070 model. If you’re already dropping upwards of a cool thousand bucks on a PC for gaming, opting for the 5070 over the 5060 will ensure your system is more future-proofed for handling more demanding games as time goes on – though of course, both models have access to Nvidia‘s fancy new DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation tech for boosting your gaming performance.

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