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Is the $299 XBOX Series S REALLY worth it? | MVG - Xbox Series S review

NullZ3r0

Banned
The Series S is for people that only play FIFA/COD/Madden/2k. Its not for anyone on this forum or any hardcore gamer in general
The Series S is for people who would normally have gone with the One S or PS4 this holiday because next gen is too expensive.
 
The Series S is for people who would normally have gone with the One S or PS4 this holiday because next gen is too expensive.
They don't need to "go" for a One S or a PS4, because they already own those things.
That's my main source of skepticism towards Series S; they are marketed towards people who can't afford to upgrade to next gen fully, but also have little reason to upgrade at all period because their existing consoles already play the games they want and to come in the near future. The non-crossgen next gen mainstream third party games won't show up for a few more years and therefore, there is no reason to buy a Series S.

"But Series S offers better graphics!"
If they cared about that then they would buy a proper next gen machine.

"But PS5 is too expensive!"
Then they would just play their fortnite and COD on their current gen hardware that they already own.

"But next gen games will come in two years!"
Then there is no reason to buy a Series S today. They can wait two more years until the price has dropped.
 
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KungFucius

King Snowflake
Of course it is worth it for those that want a system that can play all the latest games and don't care that it will be downscaled on their system. It is also worth it as a second system to the PS5 if the person just wants access to MS exclusives. It is useless if you have a PC with a half decent GPU and can hook it up to your TV without too much hassle. It is also going to be gifted quite often, possibly to someone who will exchange it for an upgrade to digital PS5 or full blown console from MS/Sony. I think MS needs to offer an easy exchange / upgrade path for kids who were given the cheap one as gifts.
 

bxrz

Member
>Not for hardcore gamers/FIFA/Cod players.

That's a hot take. There are hardcore CoD and FIFA players too. Some spend 10+HR days on them, what gets the hardcore pass? Doom? Assassin's creed? Because the two games you mentioned could be harder/more frustrating than those at times.
You know what I mean, stop being difficult...
 
The two “gamers” in my work have sold their one x for a series s preorder. They gloat how one console and game pass is all they need. I think this will be a more common outlook for many people who only play a few big name games per year.
 

dxdt

Member
Another 100$ gets you better games, double the available storage, better graphics and performance.
I think the S makes more sense as a second system in the household for your kids or a second bedroom. For $600 you could get two kids each their own console that would otherwise cost $1000.

It's also sooo much smaller that someone might buy it for traveling purposes.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
I think the S makes more sense as a second system in the household for your kids or a second bedroom. For $600 you could get two kids each their own console that would otherwise cost $1000.

It's also sooo much smaller that someone might buy it for traveling purposes.

You might be right, but we have gamer kids at home, my nephews. PS5 makes much more sense, as they are now mostly playing fortnite online without PS Plus, also they can play other free2play games like Warframe etc. On Xbox you can't play free to play games without Gold, and GamePass seems to require Gold (Ultimate) for online MP as it seems.

So overall, it's the worst next gen ever, not an opinion, because it doesn't appeal to its targeted audience.
 

reinking

Gold Member
I have been seeing a lot of defense for the Series S from people that ordered a Series X. it is similar to how a lot of people brag about Game Pass being so cheap but they only paid "$1" for 3 years. MS has some good things going but as more information comes out about the Series S the less impressive it looks. I almost preordered one but decided to go with the Series X. For those that could not afford anything else I hope you enjoy it but with lack of first party titles I think I would have kept my One X for BC and saved up a little more for the Series X.
 
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wipeout364

Member
Microsoft is trying to create a new paradigm. They are no longer talking about generations they are talking about software as a continuum and allowing the consumer to spec up their hardware as their life situation allows, not everyone has 500 dollars to drop on a console and not everyone can buy a 3080 or a iPhone pro.. This is essentially the PC and phone way of doing business.
 

LarknThe4th

Member
Seems like the perfect system to play backcompat on, but if ya want to play next gen only then the drive size is gonna be a big problem

Not too bad I guess, definitely not ideal for next gen only though
 

Max_Po

Banned
At 299, this thing is a completely waste of money. I think it should be 249 and at most 279 with uBluray drive. I would have pick this up for my parents who use user show shit Amazon firestick and perhaps game when I visit them...

Also the people claiming this is Fifa/COD/Madden/2k ... yea that crowd don't buy digital.
 
Microsoft is trying to create a new paradigm. They are no longer talking about generations they are talking about software as a continuum and allowing the consumer to spec up their hardware as their life situation allows, not everyone has 500 dollars to drop on a console and not everyone can buy a 3080 or a iPhone pro.. This is essentially the PC and phone way of doing business.
But without exclusive software anytime soon, why spend $299 for no reason this year? All the major third party games will still run on Xbox One. Not buy and wait is the cheapest option.
 

NullZ3r0

Banned
They don't need to "go" for a One S or a PS4, because they already own those things.
That's my main source of skepticism towards Series S; they are marketed towards people who can't afford to upgrade to next gen fully, but also have little reason to upgrade at all period because their existing consoles already play the games they want and to come in the near future. The non-crossgen next gen mainstream third party games won't show up for a few more years and therefore, there is no reason to buy a Series S.
This is misguided. Previous gen console still sell significant amounts during the first year of a new generation. New owners who would have been relegated to only being able to afford a One S or a PS4 can now afford a next gen system and play next gen games.
 
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This is misguided. Previous gen console still sell significant amounts during the first year of a new generation.
And that is right, but they don't pay the first adapter tax. They are willing to wait until a whole gen is already over. So they won't buy it this year or even the next. They will NOT buy a brand new machine at MSRP.
 
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Javthusiast

Banned
But without exclusive software anytime soon, why spend $299 for no reason this year? All the major third party games will still run on Xbox One. Not buy and wait is the cheapest option.

I never had an xbox, playstation guy here. I pre-ordered a Series S to use gamepass and play microsofts first party games as well as new third party games like Cyberpunk, which would fry my basic ps4 probably.
Will get a ps5 in a year or so, because so far it has nothing I wanna play outside of Miles that I will play on my ps4 in addition to the huge ps plus and psn bought games backlog I have. Plus games like Demon's Souls, Ratchet, Horizon 2 etc. won't cost fucking 80!!!€ by the time I get a ps5.
 
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wipeout364

Member
But without exclusive software anytime soon, why spend $299 for no reason this year? All the major third party games will still run on Xbox One. Not buy and wait is the cheapest option.
Why would you buy an Iphone this year and not wait? Or why do you buy the iphone 11 instead of the 12 pro or regular 12? Why did you buy a 2070 last year instead of a 2080? Who knows? You probably had some financial pressures, or didn't think you needed it. People make lots of decisions for various reasons the xbox series S is out there, buy it or don't, its not the best but its better than an xbox one s for the same price and will play next gen titles.
 
Of course it is worth it for those that want a system that can play all the latest games and don't care that it will be downscaled on their system.
That already is the case for Xbox One for the next two years though, at least for the mainstream games.
The two “gamers” in my work have sold their one x for a series s preorder. They gloat how one console and game pass is all they need. I think this will be a more common outlook for many people who only play a few big name games per year.
They are owners of Xbox One X, that makes them non-casual. It just happened that they are actually downsizing from what they usually buy. Good for them. But that is a different customer base from the alleged casual market people are saying Series S was for.

Sony has a different plan; they would sell the previous gen for cheap to the casual market. The same plan they had since Playstation 2 came out all those years ago.

Why would you buy an Iphone this year and not wait? Or why do you buy the iphone 11 instead of the 12 pro or regular 12? Why did you buy a 2070 last year instead of a 2080? Who knows? You probably had some financial pressures, or didn't think you needed it. People make lots of decisions for various reasons the xbox series S is out there, buy it or don't, its not the best but its better than an xbox one s for the same price and will play next gen titles.
There are people who buy things day one, and those who don't. You can tell who don't, by finding out they don't actually own a current gen machine yet. And those people will not be buying Series S at its literally most expensive time, its first release year.

It is not about financial pressures, for a lot of people gaming isn't their major hobby. For them, PS4 games are fresh and new. And a $199 PS4 slim would be what they would be waiting for to replace their aging PS3.

"But what about upgrades" and "But what about saving money!" are contradictory arguments. In trying to do both, Series S will fail at both.
 
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Kataploom

Gold Member
....

"But what about upgrades" and "But what about saving money!" are contradictory arguments. In trying to do both, Series S will fail at both.

It's also a dumb argument cause "for $100 more you have a better deal", I guess they call it to paying more for new games in the long run.

Also, XSS storage can be expanded using cheap SSD afaik
 

MrS

Banned
It's a bad deal at launch that's only going to get worse as we get further in to the generation. The X is just better in every way and you're mugging yourself off if you buy S. If you can afford 299, you can afford 499. If you really can't afford 499, wait a month or two til you can because you'll miss nothing this year by waiting anyway.
 
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Pallas

Member
It’s perfect for those on a budget and just want to use Gamepass. If you’re looking for power, and a more complete console and plan on still buying physical copies of games, then the series X is for you.
 

bxrz

Member
You might be right, but we have gamer kids at home, my nephews. PS5 makes much more sense, as they are now mostly playing fortnite online without PS Plus, also they can play other free2play games like Warframe etc. On Xbox you can't play free to play games without Gold, and GamePass seems to require Gold (Ultimate) for online MP as it seems.

So overall, it's the worst next gen ever, not an opinion, because it doesn't appeal to its targeted audience.
Horrible take, Fortnite isn't a next-gen game. Why are you getting a new console to play Fortnite? Give them a PS4 if thats the case.
 

gtrwll

Member
Series S looks like the most tempting choice as a second console out of the options, as I have Gamepass for the next 2+ years and can’t really justify the cost/value difference. There’s more than enough content to keep me occupied between the Nintendo exclusives.
 

AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
Another 100$ gets you better games, double the available storage, better graphics and performance.

Which is why this console is just a bad prop. If you wanted to argue "Xbox only!!" then another $220 gets you 1TB, so why not just pay $200 for another 0.5TB and 3x the power?

Also, XSS storage can be expanded using cheap SSD afaik

Buy cheap you mean expensive and proprietary?
 
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Kataploom

Gold Member
Which is why this console is just a bad prop. If you wanted to argue "Xbox only!!" then another $220 gets you 1TB, so why not just pay $200 for another 0.5TB and 3x the power?



Buy cheap you mean expensive and proprietary?

Those and also actual normal PC SSDs or HDDs, where in PS5 you won't even have a choice to backup the games you don't play anymore
 

Senua

Member
It's a bad deal at launch that's only going to get worse as we get further in to the generation. The X is just better in every way and you're mugging yourself off if you buy S. If you can afford 299, you can afford 499. If you really can't afford 499, wait a month or two til you can because you'll miss nothing this year by waiting anyway.
Speak for yourself bro.

Way easier to convince mummy to buy a Series S for christmas than the X...that reminds me I've still gotta ask her!
 
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NullZ3r0

Banned
And that is right, but they don't pay the first adapter tax. They are willing to wait until a whole gen is already over. So they won't buy it this year or even the next. They will NOT buy a brand new machine at MSRP.
You miss the point. The fact that older generation consoles still sell is proof of the price conscious consumer. At $299 the Series S is targeting those gamers. With GamePass and flawless BC the Series S changes the rules. There's literally no reason to buy a previous Gen product this time around. The 4th Gen Xboxes are the most compatible consoles ever it literally makes no sense to get anything else if you only have $299 and want to play the best versions of Madden, FIFA, and COD at that price.

Its like people on here have no concept of the price-conscious consumer. Some people just aren't willing to pay more than a certain price for a product. That's why lower end options exist for most products.
 

wipeout364

Member
.

There are people who buy things day one, and those who don't. You can tell who don't, by finding out they don't actually own a current gen machine yet. And those people will not be buying Series S at its literally most expensive time, its first release year.

It is not about financial pressures, for a lot of people gaming isn't their major hobby. For them, PS4 games are fresh and new. And a $199 PS4 slim would be what they would be waiting for to replace their aging PS3.

"But what about upgrades" and "But what about saving money!" are contradictory arguments. In trying to do both, Series S will fail at both.

Like the lower priced Iphone failed? or the 3070 will fail? Also how big a price drop on systems are you expecting, I think I only saw about 30 to 50 dollars over the whole last generation; PS4 is still 379 as is xbox series s in Canada, I think they were 449 at launch. I expect no price drops for three to four years.

Edit: also where are you getting that 199 price for PS4 I just checked a bunch of US sites and they all say 299.99 or more?
 
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They are owners of Xbox One X, that makes them non-casual. It just happened that they are actually downsizing from what they usually buy. Good for them. But that is a different customer base from the alleged casual market people are saying Series S was for.

Apologies, I always say One X when talking about the One. I dont know what model of XBOX One they had.
 
I'm getting an S for my son at his Mom's house and an X for my house, so he can play next-gen stuff over there and play his games when he comes to my house too.

I'm really glad they're making this.

Good way for him to look forward to coming to your place as opposed to his moms. =)
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Seems like a false economy to me, if you want a next-gen Xbox, would only ever consider recommending series X.
Its not like there's anything fundamentally wrong with S, just that I highly doubt that buying more internal storage will be realistically avoidable for most buyers.
 

SonicSleuth

Member
I honestly cannot figure out why you would buy an XSS if you have an X1X. And without actual next-gen games to evaluate, it's a hard pass. You can use an X1X for a perfectly great 4k GamePass machine, and that's something XSS can't do. If the argument is that you crave 120fps or whatever, you'd buy an XSX, not an XSS. And the "We don't have 4k TVs" argument is kind of a weird one. You can get a 65" 4k TV for $230 today. If you don't have ANY Xbox systems, fine. I get that. Buy an XSS and call it a day, sure.
 

SonicSleuth

Member
Yeah... plenty of X360/indie games to have fun with...
But... you could pick up a used Xbox One for about $100 today and play GamePass on that if 4k isn't something you need. And have a Blu-Ray drive. If gaming isn't a big deal to you, why in the hell would you drop $300 when there are millions of Xbox Ones on the resale market that would work just fine?
 

Tschumi

Member
Let's take bets on whether or not it'll last the duration of the generation~ or how long it'll last until they release a pro version that is essentially like a digital edition PS5 and costs much more.
 

Megatron

Member
Not really, it's full of compromises and it's not clearly better than the 1X. It has a faster I/O, bit it's tiny. It has a better cpu, but the GPU has worse performance, even if it has better features. It can't do backwards compatibility like the 1X can, which is the only reason to get a new Xbox at the moment as it launches with no next gen games.

Well it does launch with next gen games, just no next gen exclusives.
 
But... you could pick up a used Xbox One for about $100 today and play GamePass on that if 4k isn't something you need. And have a Blu-Ray drive. If gaming isn't a big deal to you, why in the hell would you drop $300 when there are millions of Xbox Ones on the resale market that would work just fine?
Exactly.
Why do I need to buy Series S is I can play EXACTLY the same games on One S
Doesn't make sense whatsoever
 
You are aware of the fact that at some point games won't appear on last gen consoles?

What nonsense is this?
And when that time comes, you could buy the Series S. Likely at a discount and with bundled games. What is the point of buying Series S at its most expensive in launch month, and then wait two more years to run games for it?

For nearly a year, Xbox customers claim that exclusive next gen games don't matter. Well, we will soon see that theory put to the test. Do casual gamers really want to pay a $299 premium to run games they could already run on current gen consoles they already own?
Why wouldn't they just wait until the actual next gen games come out, THEN buy it? In the mean time their existing Xbox One will still run Fortnite, Madden and COD. Isn't that what Spencer meant about being "consumer friendly"?
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
Horrible take, Fortnite isn't a next-gen game. Why are you getting a new console to play Fortnite? Give them a PS4 if thats the case.

The argument was that it's better value for kids. With another $100 you can get better graphics/performance, double the storage, best exclusives, and 100% free to play games without PS Plus. So they would play games like Spider-man that you can share it with them, and Sackboy occasionally while playing 100% free games most of the time.
 

Riky

$MSFT
For those here who said that their are going to buy this console, please reort back of your experience, because we all others in Xbox ecosystem are getting XSX, but I would be still interested to hear from you guys.

I'm getting both on Tuesday, really looking forward to Series S, I'll post comparisons.
 

Riky

$MSFT
XSS as a secondary console?

Yeah, I have a One X on my main TV in the lounge with the full 4k HDR surround sound experience, then a One S in the bedroom on a 1080p TV. They will replace those consoles, when the wife is watching stuff downstairs I can play a bit of COD and Forza on the Series S.
 

Riky

$MSFT
You are aware of the fact that at some point games won't appear on last gen consoles?

What nonsense is this?

Exactly, it isn't actually the platform holders who decide when next gen takes over, it's Activision and Rockstar. As soon as Call of Duty and GTA VI are only on next gen then the uptake by the mainstream picks up.
 

Self

Member
What is the point of buying Series S at its most expensive in launch month, and then wait two more years to run games for it?

Then what's the point of buying next gen consoles at all. They sure will drop in price in the future and the games won't dissappear out of existance. Your argument doesn't make any sense.

People buying a Series S right now, can play all current and future MS games on Series S for a budget price.
Meanwhile they can enjoy all the advantages of a next gen console design. Don't know why people are over-complicating the issue all the time.
 
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