Which begs the question, if the ps5's SSD isn't going to make much difference compared to the xbox one series x, why did they bother, just buy a cheaper slower one and get a beefier gpu/cpu.
There must be a reason why they think this SSD will make a difference. We will find out this year I'm sure.
I imagine 3rd party games will be better on the xbox, but first party games will be utilised properly on the ps5 tech
That's a reasonable assumption. You have to remember that Sony having seen the MS specs weren't going to focus on the things they're weaker on. By the same token you could ask why MS use fixed clock speeds and want to emphasis that - probably because they know it widens their advantage over PS5 performance.
The thing with an SSD is it makes a big difference in certain and specific situations - obviously loading across the board and steaming assets but not in every game. And many have said there are diminishing returns with speed of I/O throughput. We'll see in fullness of time but a lot of spin going on right now. Peopl