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Can I be honest here...I don’t think the Xbox Series S is going to last very long into the generation.

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
I still can't believe Microsoft released a console that, in most ways, is weaker than their console from last generation (the One X) and are calling it a next-gen console.

In a world where a fully-powered PS5 is only $100 more, the Series S makes no sense.

But, unfortunately, I disagree with the OP. We are stuck with this thing all generation and all games will HAVE to account for it, which will limit the quality of games, even on proper next-gen hardware like the Series X and PS5.

I'm curious as to how many times you are going to go into a thread spouting misinformation about the S. In most ways it's more powerfull than the xbox one x.
In addition, the x was a mid gen refresh, not last gen. The S destroys the regular xbox, a system from which most people upgrading would be coming from.

I guess since your saying the S is weaker than the xbox one x, you must be going by teraflops as the metric, so I guess by that then you think the series X is signicantly more powerfull than the ps5, right? (Clearly it's not based off what we are seeing, but you must think this since you don't understand the hardware at all based on what you are saying about the series S, since it's flat out wrong)
 
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kikkis

Member
Biggest problem with x said the ram capacity, there is no such thing as 4k assets you can just quickly lower the resolution of without the game looking like complete ass afterwards. With ssds texture budget can be pretty low on ram meaning you can have bigger animation and geometry budgets and you can't really down size those without big trade offs in terms of game play as well.

Another problem is like mentioned games won't target native 4k resolution unlike Microsofts pr would have you belive, so 1440p game on ps4 would mean sub 900p on xss if you assume best case scenario of linear scaling.
 

NahaNago

Member
It is going to last simply because Microsoft is now targeting 3 platforms now. With the inclusion of pc, creating a weaker version of the game for xbox one series s should be a lot simpler since they have to target a wide range of machines.
 

BlackTron

Member
Plausible I guess but perhaps a bit of wishful thinking (we would all be better off without the lowest denominator dragging down game design, so as our luck would have it, it's probably here to stay).

Your stated reasons though, sorry you lost me lol...so you think the S will be discontinued because you're not satisfied with fps/res options on games? Sorry but that's like a switch owner complaining about the same, and expecting Switch to bomb because of that...yeah right.

The real trouble is...the gen has already started and we already have the series S, even if they stopped selling it tomorrow, they have a commitment to all the current S owners to have all the games run on the thing. So they have to shackle down games and ensure compatibility no matter what, they have to "do the work" for both systems, so they may as well keep the S around. At least that way they get a lower price device out of it...better than making an S compatible version of every game just for a small user base that bought S when it was out the first year.

Series X may have more horsepower, but PS5 wasn't forced to bring along its little brother dragging it down. I still think this was the wrong strategy long-term, but there's no changing it now.
 

Boy bawang

Member
I tend to agree. It's not just a resolution downgrade as I first hoped, it's concomitantly the framerate, the resolution and the ray tracing, more often than not and even on cross generation games. I don't even have a 4K display, but I'd rather go for a series X as I feel that most games won't even have a performance mode on series S when the generation will abandon cross gen games.
 

KRYPT83

Member
Series S is fine it has more 120fps games available then PS5. Xbox is looking mighty fine and people laughed when Phil talked about the power of the cloud well now it's real with series x server blades, 4 N 1 Blade which eventually will help offload graphic computation and elevate your consoles soc. Imagine if in Starfield the server blades handle partical effects and AI advancements. This is the reason Kojima wants to work with Microsoft
J4EGujd.jpg
 

sendit

Member
Series S is fine it has more 120fps games available then PS5. Xbox is looking mighty fine and people laughed when Phil talked about the power of the cloud well now it's real with series x server blades, 4 N 1 Blade which eventually will help offload graphic computation and elevate your consoles soc. Imagine if in Starfield the server blades handle partical effects and AI advancements. This is the reason Kojima wants to work with Microsoft
J4EGujd.jpg
yu9dftn.jpg
 

Kumomeme

Member
even ps4 and end of generation struggle to run some of game, surely will be similliar toward xsx and ps5.

imagine weaker xss. im suprise if it still could 'survive' after middle of generation.
 
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The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
Can we get this as a sticky through the entire generation just to see how many replies it gets instead of making a new thread about this every second day for 7 years.
 

Bankai

Member
I’m already noticing discounts of the series S (Amazon Europe for example), when Series X and PS5 are really hard to find. I also think Series S won’t last and I would never go for it.
But hey, it still is a cheap entrypoint to go Gamepass.
 

supernova8

Banned
Well if various publishers (not just the ones that Microsoft owns or recently bought) want to be on Game Pass, I would imagine it will be a hard requirement from Microsoft.

Even outside of Game Pass, I imagine Microsoft is telling publishers that Xbox Series S/X is a pair and that they will not allow development for one without the other. I suppose developers could just get really lazy and make a Series S game that then runs exactly the same on Series X but I doubt that considering the big power difference (and that everyone would see through it when PS5 games run massively better than on Series X despite Series X being practically the same performance-wise).
 

bender

What time is it?
Series S is fine it has more 120fps games available then PS5. Xbox is looking mighty fine and people laughed when Phil talked about the power of the cloud well now it's real with series x server blades, 4 N 1 Blade which eventually will help offload graphic computation and elevate your consoles soc. Imagine if in Starfield the server blades handle partical effects and AI advancements. This is the reason Kojima wants to work with Microsoft
J4EGujd.jpg

The could is back bayyybeeee. Can't wait for Crackdown 4.
 

Old Empire.

Member
Most casuals are happy with 1080p and 1440p resolution.
Series S is doing 120fps, thats pretty amazing for the spec.
Currently most gaming monitors at a budget price are 1440p. So the S is perfect.
 
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cormack12

Gold Member
I think you're looking at it through western market eyes. At the moment it's a bedroom box/xcloud/retroarch/settle as xsx is out of stock here.

But the overall strategic markets are going to be India, Brazil etc. And they are targeting India to expand gamepass on mobile devices. Its valued at $1 billion by the WEF. Though most of those are mobile.


There is no doubt an aim and a drive to expand gamepass in these markets and also convert some of those mobile gamers into console gamers. That's not an easy conversion/expansion in Western markets.

You also have to look at the tail end of generations being longer because of the fact they don't really start in those markets until a couple of years everywhere else. A lower entry point will drive earlier adoption. In a couple years that will be cheaper again.

Yeah the DE for PS5 has the same price point currently but obviously has dependencies on Internet access for the big releases and stability, and ties you to the SEN prices/sales. So it's not an apple to apple comparison.

It might run out steam in our markets as the xsx probably settles at £399 and PS5 maybe next year, with sales of £349. But yeah I think it's here to stay provided the units move and up to now they are.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
We are heading for "Xbox certified" hardware of all shapes and sizes in the future. This is about building a brand and getting it into as many hands as possible.

Eventually the Xbox Series X will be the "Series S" in the relationship when we get Series X Pro ;)
 

Blade2.0

Member
I think it will last but be upgraded in 3 years. Series X hardware will be put into series S form factor. Series X will be upgraded to series X pro status.
 
I don't live in the US, I live in Brazil.
Isn’t Brazil really messed up in terms of console prices because of the tariffs? The Series S might not be as attractive as it is in other markets if it’s got a insane price tag on it compared to other places.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
The thirst for an Xbox must be real then. Here, you can pick up an S no problem still. Its been like that since launch. It seems Amazon germany even sells it for 277 euros, which is a discount.

An X has been impossible to get since launch. Perhaps the wait is too long and people settle for S nowadays.
 

FunkMiller

Member
The Series S will last the generation for the same reason people still game on PCs with 1060s. Not everyone either wants, or can afford, the latest and most expensive tech, and not everyone wants to game at the absolute maximum resolution or frame rate. There are still plenty of people out there who game on a Ps3 or a 360.

This forum tends to get a warped view of gaming across the general audience because we're all enthusiasts who probably want the best and most advanced gaming experience.

Series S isn't going anywhere. It's the budget gaming console for this generation and a lot of people will be happy to buy it.
 
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cormack12

Gold Member
The Series S will last the generation for the same reason people still game on PCs with 1060s. Not everyone either wants, or can afford, the latest and most expensive tech, and not everyone wants to game at the absolute maximum resolution or frame rate. There are still plenty of people out there who game on a Ps3 or a 360.

This forum tends to get a warped view of gaming across the general audience because we're all enthusiasts who probably want the best and most advanced gaming experience.

Series S isn't going anywhere. It's the budget gaming console for the this generation and a lot of people will be happy to buy it.

Yep, there's a reason EA still provided updates for Fifa 19 on the PS3/360 for example.

 
I'm the only one who got his hands with the series x from my neighborhood and friends, it's not fun having something unique but can't share the experience with them.
 

FunkMiller

Member
Unfortunately I believe all X games are also required to work on S? So it's gonna drag the entire generation down. A real shame.

I used to think this too, but it's not really any different to games being designed to run on 3090s and potato set-ups as well. Playstation will be the platform that will probably push things more and be more innovative, as they can design exclusively for that console, but Elder Scrolls 6 is still going to be amazing on a 3000 series and a Series X, but will run okay on a Series S and 1000 series.
 
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Even a lot of my friends who are more than casual gamers don't have 4k TVs and stuck with their launch PS4/XBONE all generation. Most of my mates dont have 4k tvs, but play the main Cods, Fifas, Fornites, and GtAs, as well as the big releases.

Why all of a sudden would those people care about 4k gaming when they havnt cares about it for the past 5 years and have no interest in buying a 4k TV.

I know alot of people say the console is aimed at casuals but how do you define casuals because alot of my "half way between casual and hardcore" gamer friends are happy with the XSS or would get one.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
I used to think this too, but it's not really any different to games being designed to run on 3090s and potato set-ups as well. Playstation will be the platform that will probably push things more and be more innovative, as they can design exclusively for that console, but Elder Scrolls 6 is still going to be amazing on a 3000 series and a Series X, but will run okay on a Series S and 1000 series.

Yeah, but having to accommodate weaker hardware means you can't do certain things that you can't really scale down smoothly. But GPU stuff is usually the easiest thing to scale down I suppose, would have been much worse if the S had a significantly slower CPU or SSD.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Even a lot of my friends who are more than casual gamers don't have 4k TVs and stuck with their launch PS4/XBONE all generation. Most of my mates dont have 4k tvs, but play the main Cods, Fifas, Fornites, and GtAs, as well as the big releases.

Why all of a sudden would those people care about 4k gaming when they havnt cares about it for the past 5 years and have no interest in buying a 4k TV.

I know alot of people say the console is aimed at casuals but how do you define casuals because alot of my "half way between casual and hardcore" gamer friends are happy with the XSS or would get one.

Those people you talk about are pretty much the definition of "dudebro" casuals though. Sports games and shooters.
 

FunkMiller

Member
Yeah, but having to accommodate weaker hardware means you can't do certain things that you can't really scale down smoothly. But GPU stuff is usually the easiest thing to scale down I suppose, would have been much worse if the S had a significantly slower CPU or SSD.

Yeah, that's right. I think once you understand the fact that Microsoft's ethos towards XBox is now the same as it is towards PC gaming, the logic of the Series S becomes more apparent. I'm not massively keen on the idea that some games may be limited because they need to run on older or less capable equipment, but it's not like it's a new thing. It's being going on for decades with PC gaming.

Going forward, it's really going to be Sony on one side of the equation - pushing hardware as much as possible to sell consoles and create games unplayable on any other platform, and Xbox/PC on the other - designing the best games possible that also have to downscale to accommodate lesser tech.

Time will tell which ethos is the more successful, but I actually think both are very valid approaches, given that Sony's approach has netted them huge success over the years, while PC gaming has also gone from strength to strength. Xbox lost the fight in the console space last gen, so it absolutely makes sense for them to shift over to the PC gaming model, where they are likely to achieve far more, especially with GamePass.
 
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$200 is the perfect price point.. I am sure it will get there soon enough.
I agree - $200 is the perfect price point. Perhaps it will get there eventually or maybe for big sales like black Friday. I think it would do extremely well if they got the cost to $250 and then lowered it for special events.
 

ManaByte

Member
Eventually the Xbox Series X will be the "Series S" in the relationship when we get Series X Pro ;)

I really don't think we'll see mid-gen refreshes this cycle. We saw them last time because the Jaguar CPUs were underpowered from Day 1 and the real purpose of the PS4 Pro was to boost PSVR performance. This time the Zen CPUs and RDNA2 GPUs should provide enough headroom for the entire generation.

P.S., hope you stick around dude. Good seeing you back.
 
I think it's for broke people who don't already have an xbox one.

Either way, the value makes no sense to me. Maybe at 200$, but even then, it would take space in my livingroom. It can't keep up with 60fps gaming at a resolution that is sometimes lower than last gen games, so if you have a PS4 at least it's not 100% an upgrade. Under no circumstances would I recommend this machine to a friend.

Like the series X I can see someone being happy with it and I can see them having no regret about the purchase, but someone who has a series S will at some point have an itch to upgrade and get a taste of "next gen".
 

Derktron

Banned
I think it will hit $99 at some point and that will make it a big deal.
I think it will, that would be a great value point, especially now it can also be an Xbox Cloud Gaming device through the web browser, it will probably be at $200 not $99 just yet though.
 

Rickyiez

Member
Series X will be Series S 2.0 when Series X Pro coming out . Simple solution , and series s will continue on as a Fortnite , FIFA machine 😂
 

TTOOLL

Member
Isn’t Brazil really messed up in terms of console prices because of the tariffs? The Series S might not be as attractive as it is in other markets if it’s got a insane price tag on it compared to other places.

Sure, but both Series X and PS5 are like double the price and have been sold out since their launch.
 
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