2020, Video game console
WISE Score
Sony's console for kids old enough for its best games: Astro Bot for the whole family, Spider-Man for teens, and a $649.99 price.
The PS5 has a few of the best family games made this decade, starting with Astro Bot. Most of its biggest exclusives are aimed at teens and adults, so it fits best from about 10, when a kid is ready for Spider-Man and wants to play with PlayStation friends.
It is also the most expensive way in. After two price increases the disc model is $649.99, before PlayStation Plus for online play.
Best from about 10, when Spider-Man-level action is fair game and online friends start to matter. A 6- to 9-year-old will love Astro Bot and Sackboy, but there are not many more like them, and a Nintendo Switch has far more. For 13 and up, the PS5 has the strongest story games of any console.
Sony's own biggest games skew teen and older, from Marvel's Spider-Man 2 to The Last of Us. The family games are excellent, but there are fewer of them than on Switch.
Astro Bot, Sackboy and Ratchet & Clank are some of the most inventive games anywhere, and the DualSense controller makes play feel physical.
Console settings and the PlayStation Family app cover age limits, spending, playtime and messaging, but setup takes more steps than Xbox or Nintendo.
Strong story games for teens and a few standout creative games for kids; little here is built to teach.
Sony's PlayStation 5 launched in November 2020, got a slimmer redesign in November 2023, and added a more powerful PS5 Pro in November 2024. It is the console most associated with big story games, and that cuts both ways for a parent.
The current PS5 with a disc drive, next to its DualSense controller.
Sony raised prices twice in eight months. Since April 2, 2026 the US prices are $649.99 with a disc drive, $599.99 for the Digital Edition and $899.99 for the PS5 Pro, which ships without a disc drive. The disc model is the only one that plays used and borrowed games.
Astro Bot is a cheerful platformer about a tiny robot that won Game of the Year at The Game Awards in 2024. Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a co-op platformer a parent and kid can play side by side. Add the LEGO games and Minecraft and a 7-year-old has plenty to do, but a Nintendo Switch has many times more games made for that age.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2, the kind of game most kids buy a PS5 for. It is rated T.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is rated T and is the game many 10- to 13-year-olds ask for by name. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart suits the same age. Past those, a lot of Sony's catalog is rated M. The PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers add a rotating library of hundreds of games, mature ones included, so set the age limit before you add a subscription.
Parental controls live on the console and in the free PlayStation Family app, which Sony launched in September 2025. You can set an age level for games and apps, daily playtime, a monthly spending limit, and who can message or voice-chat with your kid. They cover the same ground as Xbox's controls, spread across more menus.
Online multiplayer in paid games requires PlayStation Plus, which starts at $10.99 a month for the Essential tier. Fortnite and Roblox are free to play online without it, and both have voice chat to set up.
If your kid's friends play on PlayStation, that usually decides it. If not, an Xbox Series S with Game Pass costs less up front, and a Switch fits a kid under 10 better.
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