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GamingBolt: A Year After Its Launch, Is The Xbox Series S Worth it?

DragonNCM

Member
I got it as my second console with gamepass after I got PS5 on launch & I can tell you it is a very good deal. Special if you have kids.
Kids don't care about console power or 4k or 120FPS, they just wana play. Must say I was a pleasantly surprised also with how this little 300$ console handles
all new & old games. Sure it is not on pare with my PS5 on power lv but will do the job for Microsoft exclusives. Microsoft exclusives will be always well optimized.
 

wolywood

Member
If you have Gamepass the storage issue is less of a concern now since cloud gaming has been activated for most users. I've tried it and the streaming works surprisingly well, much more stable than the PC/browser version.
 

MikeM

Member
I personally wouldn’t buy one. But i’m also someone who can easily afford both a Series X, PS5 and their subscriptions without blinking an eye. In saying that, Series S is for those not in my financial position (or just don’t care for more gaming power) so while I don’t like it and devs probably hate its limitations, I see why it exists.
 

Gavon West

Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
I personally wouldn’t buy one. But i’m also someone who can easily afford both a Series X, PS5 and their subscriptions without blinking an eye. In saying that, Series S is for those not in my financial position (or just don’t care for more gaming power) so while I don’t like it and devs probably hate its limitations, I see why it exists.
Because you can afford every option doesn't take away from the fact the Series S is still very much a viable option for someone interested in gaming. I can afford all the options myself, but, because I'm not a hardcore gamer, the S suits my needs more than fine. It's an excellent console. What the hell does how much money I make have to do with it??? Genuine question.
 

KAL2006

Banned
Personally I think it's a pointless machine. Yes there is a market for it but I don't know if that market is that big. Budget gamers play on tablets, laptops, and last gen consoles where majority of games like Fortnite are still getting updates on. It's not really worth the extra development hassle to make a game for another SKU. These have been on firesales all the time in the UK with crazy trade in deals, and you can grab one for around £200 on eBay and Facebook marketplace making me think many have had these as unwanted gifts.

Power isn't everything, if there is a trade off such as Switch with its portability, this isn't portable it's just a weaker system. Most games are cross gen these days so people who don't care about lower could have carried on gaming on last gen systems. By 2024 when cross gen games are no longer around I'm sure PS5 and Series X would be cheaper in used markets as well as having more stock that isn't selling out constantly. The fact these are always in stock shows the demand isn't there for the Series S.
 

DragonNCM

Member
Personally I think it's a pointless machine. Yes there is a market for it but I don't know if that market is that big. Budget gamers play on tablets, laptops, and last gen consoles where majority of games like Fortnite are still getting updates on. It's not really worth the extra development hassle to make a game for another SKU. These have been on firesales all the time in the UK with crazy trade in deals, and you can grab one for around £200 on eBay and Facebook marketplace making me think many have had these as unwanted gifts.

Power isn't everything, if there is a trade off such as Switch with its portability, this isn't portable it's just a weaker system. Most games are cross gen these days so people who don't care about lower could have carried on gaming on last gen systems. By 2024 when cross gen games are no longer around I'm sure PS5 and Series X would be cheaper in used markets as well as having more stock that isn't selling out constantly. The fact these are always in stock shows the demand isn't there for the Series S.
I think Series S targets more of a third world country's(like mine) . Here Series S sells like hot chocolates.
There was few Series X sitting on shelves for a week or to before some one buy it.
500$ in my country is like 2 month wage.
 

marjo

Member
The problem with the PS5 DE is that you're stuck paying high prices for the games youu want to play. You can't shop around for a good deal. You can't buy something second hand. And you can't sell something when you're done.

The Series S has the same issues if you want to own games, but has Gamepass as an attractive alternative. If you're on a budget,the Series S will end up costing way less than a PS5 DE. Over time, I think even regular PS5 would be more cost effective than a DE.
 

KAL2006

Banned
I think Series S targets more of a third world country's(like mine) . Here Series S sells like hot chocolates.
There was few Series X sitting on shelves for a week or to before some one buy it.
500$ in my country is like 2 month wage.

Can no one just grab a PS4, Xbox One, cheap laptop or PC, most likely they already have those systems and once exclusives hit the system I'm sure Series X will be cheaper around 2024. But you are right I didn't think about markets outside of US and UK. I assumed Microsoft ported their games to PC targets those markets, same reason why Sony is porting games to PC now.
 

KAL2006

Banned
The problem with the PS5 DE is that you're stuck paying high prices for the games youu want to play. You can't shop around for a good deal. You can't buy something second hand. And you can't sell something when you're done.

The Series S has the same issues if you want to own games, but has Gamepass as an attractive alternative. If you're on a budget,the Series S will end up costing way less than a PS5 DE. Over time, I think even regular PS5 would be more cost effective than a DE.

The best budget console is Series X and PS5 Disk Edition. Going to a trade in store and buying games for dirt cheap, borrow and reselling games.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
What's funny about this, I think there was a 90% chance this was the intended sell through price for the series S until the pandemic/shortages hit, by about this time.
I suspect $249 was the planned launch price that was pulled back last minute as they realized they didn't need to sell it that low to move units.
$300 was probably always the intended MSRP with drops to $249 on sale. Microsoft is continuing with the two console $300/$500 price point paradigm they started with One S/One X halfway through last gen. Chips at these production sizes don't drop in price like they used to, either. We didn't see permanent drops to $200 last gen and I doubt we see it ever again. I'm guessing that instead of dropping XSS to $200 they'll just release upgraded systems at the current prices in a few years and keep the "series" going.
 
Can no one just grab a PS4, Xbox One, cheap laptop or PC, most likely they already have those systems and once exclusives hit the system I'm sure Series X will be cheaper around 2024. But you are right I didn't think about markets outside of US and UK. I assumed Microsoft ported their games to PC targets those markets, same reason why Sony is porting games to PC now.

Riiight.

So people should stick to PS4, xbox one, cheap laptop till 2024 instead of a new gen system that almost always has 60fps option, at least has image quality like PS4 pro, will play next gen games like Redfall, Starfield etc.
 

Riky

$MSFT
The problem with the PS5 DE is that you're stuck paying high prices for the games youu want to play. You can't shop around for a good deal. You can't buy something second hand. And you can't sell something when you're done.

The Series S has the same issues if you want to own games, but has Gamepass as an attractive alternative. If you're on a budget,the Series S will end up costing way less than a PS5 DE. Over time, I think even regular PS5 would be more cost effective than a DE.

You get better deals on Xbox as third party key sellers are allowed, I don't buy many games from the Xbox store digitally.
 

BigLee74

Member
I personally wouldn’t buy one. But i’m also someone who can easily afford both a Series X, PS5 and their subscriptions without blinking an eye. In saying that, Series S is for those not in my financial position (or just don’t care for more gaming power) so while I don’t like it and devs probably hate its limitations, I see why it exists.
xuaETWo.gif
 

KAL2006

Banned
Riiight.

So people should stick to PS4, xbox one, cheap laptop till 2024 instead of a new gen system that almost always has 60fps option, at least has image quality like PS4 pro, will play next gen games like Redfall, Starfield etc.

It's a strange one, if you care about image quality why would you get Series S and not X. If you don't care you would stick to last gen systems. This weird middle ground is what I mean about why I think the market is small for the system. As for next gen only games there are not many of those at the moment. Starfeild is fall 2023 and that's if it doesn't get delayed, not too far from the wait until 2024 comment I made from before.
 

IndividualTP

Neo Member
One year after I'm more than satisfied with my Series S, I still play on a Full HD and even on PS3/PS4 I kept few games installed so XSS has been a great deal so far :messenger_grinning:
XSS also is a viable option for those who want to try Xbox ecosystem but don't want to spend 500 for something which could not satisfy them...
 

SkylineRKR

Member
XSS is great, I play it more than my PS5 since Quake and Scarlet Nexus dropped on GP and now FH5.

Its value is a bit diminished compared to the PS5 DE which is fully powered for 100 more. But PS5 has no GP. I prefer the Xbox ecosystem for a variety of reasons, like GP, BC, Smart Delivery (I had to do the save thing on FFVII R, its horrible), streaming, refunding, keys etc.

Ultimately this is a system that costs about the same as an old PS4. Its more powerful than the Pro, offering next-gen features like fast loading, 120hz, RT (limited but its there), quick resume etc. A huge focus on 60fps as well (nearly all releases are 60fps on XSS, barely anything is on last-gen).
 
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TheMan

Member
I have one, no regrets. That said I also have a ps5, so maybe I’d feel differently if the S was my only next gen console. Also I have a decent PC so in theory if the S can’t handle a game (this has not been an issue at all btw) that’s also a fallback. It fits in nicely as a gamepass box and streaming device for the tv in our bedroom
 
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Topher

Gold Member
I returned my XSS after a month. The glaring issue for me was the lack of storage space and the expensive upgrade solution. It was just a better deal overall for me to wait for the XSX.

If you sign up to Rewards and set Bing up as your default browser on your phone and computer you’d probably have well over £50 of credit saved up in a year. Probably more.

Since April I’ve made just over £65 but I do the 3 tasks a day and get some for playing Xbox too.

I've had my XSX about one and a half months. I used MS Rewards points to get three months of Game Pass Ultimate and I bought the Dolby Atmos app for my headphones. I'm already back up to 20,000 points and will have plenty left over after I buy another three months of GPU. My goal is to not actually pay cash for anything I play on XSX. Everything is coming out of Rewards points.

MS Rewards is really great.
 
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Riky

$MSFT
It's a strange one, if you care about image quality why would you get Series S and not X. If you don't care you would stick to last gen systems. This weird middle ground is what I mean about why I think the market is small for the system. As for next gen only games there are not many of those at the moment. Starfeild is fall 2023 and that's if it doesn't get delayed, not too far from the wait until 2024 comment I made from before.

No it's fall 2022.
 

Chukhopops

Member
It's a strange one, if you care about image quality why would you get Series S and not X. If you don't care you would stick to last gen systems. This weird middle ground is what I mean about why I think the market is small for the system. As for next gen only games there are not many of those at the moment. Starfeild is fall 2023 and that's if it doesn't get delayed, not too far from the wait until 2024 comment I made from before.
Not sure if typo? Plus there are actually not that many Xbox cross gen games left, Starfield, Stalker 2, Redfall are next gen exclusives.
 
Got the series S to be a cheap Destiny 2 machine to be left in the living room whenever I could not play on my PC. But it's growing on me. Gamepass is great. And with the Xbox ecosystem, it's like an extension of my PC.
And the series S is so small, silent, and easy to set up. For instance, I brought it to my bedroom to play It Takes Two with my wife. It's sitting right there close to that PS5 monstrosity.

I still want to buy a series X someday though. But now I'm considering keeping both instead of selling the series S.
 

MikeM

Member
Because you can afford every option doesn't take away from the fact the Series S is still very much a viable option for someone interested in gaming. I can afford all the options myself, but, because I'm not a hardcore gamer, the S suits my needs more than fine. It's an excellent console. What the hell does how much money I make have to do with it??? Genuine question.
Hence why I inserted the “or for those who don’t care for the power” verbiage. But don’t kid yourself that cost is not an attraction for the Series S. And for many, especially in less developed countries, the Series S makes way more sense simply for affordability.
 
It's a strange one, if you care about image quality why would you get Series S and not X. If you don't care you would stick to last gen systems. This weird middle ground is what I mean about why I think the market is small for the system. As for next gen only games there are not many of those at the moment. Starfeild is fall 2023 and that's if it doesn't get delayed, not too far from the wait until 2024 comment I made from before.

Its a great upgrade for those with base consoles. Chances are you are on 1080p screen with those machines. Series S slots in without disrupting anything. You get a boost to frame rate and image quality and all next gen games.

If you are on enhanced systems, chances are you already have 4k display. Then Series X makes more sense.
 

Little Mac

Member
I love mine. Forza looks awesome on it in performance mode. Storage isn't an issue for me. I have like 8 or 9 games on it at the moment. If you can afford an X, and actually find one, by all means grab that. But for everyone else the S is a amazing console at $300. And with gamepass its a great value. Buy the S. Save money. Have fun this holiday with Forza and Halo and trade up to the Series X Pro Edition two years from now when all the acquisitions start churning out banger after banger. My two cents at least.
 
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cireza

Banned
It is great for gamers to have the option of accessing the current generation at a 299$ price point. Series S delivers exactly this. It will keep its appeal for a long time because of this.
 

KAL2006

Banned
Its a great upgrade for those with base consoles. Chances are you are on 1080p screen with those machines. Series S slots in without disrupting anything. You get a boost to frame rate and image quality and all next gen games.

If you are on enhanced systems, chances are you already have 4k display. Then Series X makes more sense.

While I agree I still think that's a tiny market. People who give a fuck about improvements will go for Series X and PS5, people who don't will buy their cross gen games on last gen systems.

There still isn't a big game that's exlcusive to Series S and not on PS4/XB1.

I keep seeing Series S in stock eberwhete and fire sales so I think I am correct with that the market for this system small. Microsoft could prove me wrong but unfortunately they don't like sharing hardware sales figures I wonder why lol.
 
I have recommended the Series S to two of my friends who have children who are getting older and have somewhat outgrown the types of games found on the Switch. Both of them have absolutely loved the console + Gamepass, and what you get for the price. For budget conscious gamers or parents buying their child a console I think the Series S is hard to beat. It's also not hard to hook up a external drive to it for storage. Now if either of their children really got into gaming in a more than casual way I would highly recommend the XSX or PS5, but honestly it is hard to beat this system budget wise for casual gaming.
 

Shut0wen

Member
I love mine, only got it because i know its going to be a couple of years until i can walk into a shop and get a series x so i thought fuck it why not, like many people have pointed out its memory is the worst, its so fucking shit, i guess i could get a hdd to have many games in stalled on there and move them to the series s hard drive but i cba to buy one but other then that its a great console especially for the price of it, its almost as cheap as a switch
 

elliot5

Member
I love mine, only got it because i know its going to be a couple of years until i can walk into a shop and get a series x so i thought fuck it why not, like many people have pointed out its memory is the worst, its so fucking shit, i guess i could get a hdd to have many games in stalled on there and move them to the series s hard drive but i cba to buy one but other then that its a great console especially for the price of it, its almost as cheap as a switch
slap an HDD external and it's the same price as a SWOLED lol
 

DaGwaphics

Member
I've enjoyed mine. If I had equal access to a XSX, would I have gotten that? Probably. But, the XSS is no slouch.

I don't get the logic that no one wants one either. They've apparently sold millions of them, being available isn't a bad thing. There are certainly people that will not jump on a $400 system, but might on a $300 model. Proof of that is in the secondary wave of buyers that typically develops after console prices get cut.
 

Godot25

Banned
It's great system for certain kind of people
1. People who don't care about resolution
2. People who primarily plays on PS5 but wants to play XGS/Bethesda games
3. Casual gamers

Only "bad" thing about Series S is storage
 
Series S is a waste but it will continue to be justified because impatient people purchased it because they couldn't find a Series X and they need to justify their purchase... :messenger_grinning_smiling:

With all the cross gen games coming out why not just continue to play the Xbox one X until you can get a Series X? It doesn't make sense to me but whatever .....
 

DragonNCM

Member
I love mine, only got it because i know its going to be a couple of years until i can walk into a shop and get a series x so i thought fuck it why not, like many people have pointed out its memory is the worst, its so fucking shit, i guess i could get a hdd to have many games in stalled on there and move them to the series s hard drive but i cba to buy one but other then that its a great console especially for the price of it, its almost as cheap as a switch
I have 4TB SSD storage on mine & works grate. I downloaded games & stored there, if I need to play some X/S enhanced game I just transfer on console ssd & play.
 

elliot5

Member
Series S is a waste but it will continue to be justified because impatient people purchased it because they couldn't find a Series X and they need to justify their purchase... :messenger_grinning_smiling:

With all the cross gen games coming out why not just continue to play the Xbox one X until you can get a Series X? It doesn't make sense to me but whatever .....
that implies someone has a One X laying around... if you're new to Xbox they don't make those anymore AND they're often more expensive than a Series S aftermarket lol.
 

mekes

Member
Somebody I knew was selling theirs for £150 so I thought why not? I last owned an Xbox around the mid-point of the 360. I've only had it for 6 weeks or so but I like it a lot. No complaints here. Nice little console.
 
Here's the thing about value - it should be pretty apparent when value exists and it somewhat speaks for itself (not only from the perspective of the product itself but also in terms of demand and buzz within the general public).

If people are constantly needing to be told something is the "best value" then it's probably not.



In the GPU world performance per dollar metrics are more important than price alone.

That's why the cheapest GPU is never the most popular one and Nvidia's best seller tends to be their XX60 series GPU for each generation.
People generally opposed to the Xbox brand were never really the target audience for the XSS anyway. The biggest detractors aren't Xbox customers. The value proposition isn't in question. Why should anyone listen to someone who doesn't even own the device?

The GTX 1060 remains one of the most popular GPUs on despite the fact that there are numerous more powerful and expensive alternatives available. Not sure what your point was but the fact still remains you can't buy a more powerful current gen console or PC for an equal or lower amount. It's a good thing MS gave an alternative for people to enter this generation without breaking the bank.
 

MrFunSocks

Banned
That's why I said it depends on the person, but if you need more than 500gb on the Series S and 1tb would be sufficient then the Series X is the more appealing of the two in my opinion as I'd rather have 1tb storage with Xbox Series X specs than a Series S with 500gb more than the Series X for roughly the same price.
Remember that you can still use external drives to store Series S/X native games, and then just move them to/from the internal storage when you want to play them. It's fast as hell transferring them too. IMO the small SSD size of both the S and X is only something that people that don't even intend on buying one are concerned about. I've got 2x4TB drives hooked up to my Series X and have no need to buy the storage expansion card. I'll get an S eventually as well to replace my Xbox One that is hooked up to the TV in the lounge room that's currently acting as a xCloud machine. I've got a One X that's just sitting around gathering dust because it can't use kinect which my wife loves using for dance games.
 
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Rykan

Member
. The value proposition isn't in question. Why should anyone listen to someone who doesn't even own the device?
The fact that it is literally the only next gen machine sitting on shelves, readily available during a massive shortage says otherwise.
The value proposition is absolutely in question and it's apparent that the vast majority are choosing to wait to get a proper next gen machine over the series S.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
That's why I said it depends on the person, but if you need more than 500gb on the Series S and 1tb would be sufficient then the Series X is the more appealing of the two in my opinion as I'd rather have 1tb storage with Xbox Series X specs than a Series S with 500gb more than the Series X for roughly the same price.

Exactly. And personally, I don't want to bother with moving games back and forth from cold storage. 1 TB, relative to the install size of the games, should be the minimum about of space for Xbox Series, imo.
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
The SeriesS would be a problem if modern game engines were not extremely scalable.

We are already seeing this with cross gen games like forza horizon 5, despite being on the xbox one the current gen version leverage the power of the new consoles and PC in a noticeable way.

Another example of this is the switch, but the seriesS is in a far better position compared to the xsx/ps5 then the switch is compared to the x1/ps4.

I have not seen a solid argument why the seriesS would be an issue.
Ive seen some people say that with the extra power of ps5/xsx devs could do some crazy particle or fluid system, but if they do that game @1600p then that could be lowered for the seriesS which would lower the render budget considerablely and if thats not enough, they can lower LOD levels, other effects, reflections etc etc
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Series S is a waste but it will continue to be justified because impatient people purchased it because they couldn't find a Series X and they need to justify their purchase... :messenger_grinning_smiling:

With all the cross gen games coming out why not just continue to play the Xbox one X until you can get a Series X? It doesn't make sense to me but whatever .....

A waste of what exactly? A waste in the bedroom on a second TV? A waste for a 6yo to play roblox on? A waste hooked up to a 1080p TV from 10 ft away? Or the ps5 owner that just wants to play the odd xbox game or see what gamepass is like? Such lame generalities like everyone in the world is a hardcore gamer or doesn't own two or 3 tv's.
 
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