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[Ogbert]

Hello glorious hive mind.

Just wanted to ask people with a Series S if it’s worth it? Please, save the console warfare; just genuine advice.

I have a PS5 but am tempted with Gamepass. Can’t really stretch to a Series X at the moment, but am keen to get an idea of Series S performance.

If the Series S is too lacklustre, I’ll wait a few months and pick up the X.

 

[Three]

Performance is lackluster but if you're ok with 30fps, lower settings and no raytracing then I don't see why not. If you just want to try gamepass but dont have the means for an X at the moment maybe just try GPU for a month and stream a couple of games to see what it's like.

 

[acm2000]

do what i did, get a second hand series s to see how much you play it along with game pass ultimate naturally.

by the time you want to upgrade to an X you can resell it for similar to what you paid in the first place.

as a tiny little ultra silent game pass box that basically costs nothing to run in electricity its great for the money, its just not best suited as a main console.

 

[Ogbert]

Performance is lackluster but if you're ok with 30fps, lower settings and no raytracing then I don't see why not. If you just want to try gamepass but dont have the means for an X at the moment maybe just try GPU for a month and stream a couple of games to see what it's like.

Is it 30fps across all the main first party titles? Gears, Halo etc.

 

[AV]

It's a budget device, you get what you pay for. We're already seeing limitations with things like no split-screen co-op for BG3.

As a side console to your PS5, if you're gonna invest in Game Pass, the value is there.

 

[Three]

Is it 30fps across all the main first party titles? Gears, Halo etc.

No, gears and halo have high framerate modes because they are essentially xbox one games with performance boosts but a few newer games that are current gen specific are 30fps on S and often 60fps on PS5/X.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Hello glorious hive mind.

Just wanted to ask people with a Series S if it’s worth it? Please, save the console warfare; just genuine advice.

I have a PS5 but am tempted with Gamepass. Can’t really stretch to a Series X at the moment, but am keen to get an idea of Series S performance.

If the Series S is too lacklustre, I’ll wait a few months and pick up the X.

If i were you friend i'd just save up for a XSX

It's not just the extra horsepower for recent games, it's also the fact that backwards compatibility is also better on the XSX.

Cheers

 

[winjer]

A console will be used for several years, so the cost difference to a Series X or PS5, will be diluted into cents.
The Series S already has several games that had to be compromised significantly, and this trend will only get worse.
Just pay a bit more and get a much better and solid experience.

 

[GHG]

Unless you're planning on pairing it with a smaller 1080p screen and don't care much for performance then save up your money until you can get the real deal.

 

[scarlet0pimp]

Honestly this place hates the S your going to be told no.
Personally I think it's a great console. If you have an older tv perhaps a smaller 4k model or old 1080p then it's awesome. Or perhaps you don't have room for the X in your TV cabinet, the S is tiny and sips power.
If you want the best graphics though have a decent tv and can fit it in save for the x

 

[Mowcno]

I don't know what the used market is like in your country but in the UK a used series S is incredibly cheap, half the price of new.

From Cash Converters you can get a Series S with controller from £127 delivered or without a controller from £106. At that point it's incredibly good value.

Buying a new series s on the other hand isn't that good value for money. (£250)

It's a solid console paired with a 1080p TV it's biggest downside is the storage.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I bought it mainly to play backwards compatible games from the 360 and OG Xbox, and a lot of them have resolution and FPS boosts so that's great. Considering the overall low price of the console, I was super happy with my purchase. I also tested a bunch of Gamepass games on it and was actually blown away how well a lot of them are running considering that it's a budget console. I half expected that most Xbox One and current-gen games will only run in 30 FPS modes but there's actually quite a lot of them that run at 60 frames, albeit only at 1080p so there's a payoff.

I assume that you don't have a gaming PC if you're considering this option so my recommendation is this: if you can hold off to save up some more cash for Series X, then I would do just that. However, if Series S is all that you'll be able to afford now or in the future, then it's still a great little console that will open up plenty of options for GamePass and backwards compatible games, and at a great price.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Absolutely not. Buy a second hand Series X for around the same price of a new Series S.

 

[Rykan]

The only scenarios where getting a Series S makes sense are if you already own another gaming platform (like a PS5 or a capable gaming PC) and you want it specifically for playing Xbox exclusive titles. If you want to do anything more with it, do yourself a favor and get a proper Series X.

 

[mrmustard]

Asking on GAf if the XSS is any good is is like asking in a vegan forum if chorizo is any good.

I had it for a couple of weeks and was surpirsed how good the 1st party games looked. I think for casuals, smaller games and 1st party it's a good choice. But i wouldn't buy one if i planned to play 99% of the time AAAs like Cyberpunk and had a decent 4k tv.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Think of it as a faster, smoother PS4 with modern releases and digital Xbox backwards compatibility. It was a good investment for me, but your mileage may vary.

 

[Banjo64]

Had one and sold it. Sold my PS5 too.

Can try and give a balanced view.

The hardware quality of the console is good, whisper quiet and solid build quality. It feels like a premium product in the hand.

The controller is hit and miss. Tactile feeling but poor build quality straight out of the factory, make sure your A button doesn’t stick and that your bumpers are working fine. Batteries doesn’t work for me.

Memory didn’t bother me, but I don’t play any 100gb games.

The console performance was good in terms of last gen games like Ori and Gears 5 @ 120fps. However Elden Ring looked dog rough IMO. I stopped playing after a few mins and completed on PS5 instead. Hogwarts Legacy also looked shite IMO. It didn’t cut the mustard for me in terms of performance with recent games.

Overall I’d avoid in 2023. It’s not worth the money unless you only plan on playing older releases on a casual basis.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Is it 30fps across all the main first party titles? Gears, Halo etc.

Buy a used series X. Most of the people who will tell you a Series S was worth it is because they bought it when the price on Series X secondary market was still high.

Just opened a local site and I can get a Series X with two controllers + a charging station for 380E, or a Series X with two controllers and two years warranty for 350E. It can go as low as 300 for one without warranty.

 

[Bernardougf]

If you are a nintendo fan it sure is worth it. Same concept.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Save up for the X... saving up longer for a PC build would be even better.

 

[Mr Moose]

What screen will you be using?

 

[Banjo64]

OP I’d also say review the libraries on Game Pass and PS Extra as IMO there’s a lot of cross over.

 

[deriks]

Yes, but mostly for a secondary thing. I mean, I have a SX on my house, but a SS on my folks, just to continue shit

 

[Kenpachii]

best value for your money really, with gamepass would absolute get one.

 

[Damigos]

Not worth it. Please dont support old tech. See what happened with Baldur's gate

 

[cireza]

Series S is fine with a 1080p screen. It will give you access for cheap to a lot of great games.

 

[Portugeezer]

It's a literal gamepass machine. If you don't mind some blurry graphics and worse performance (which somewhat acceptable given the price), then yeah, it seems like a decent secondary machine.

Not worth it. Please dont support old tech. See what happened with Baldur's gate

The time for that has long passed. It's already supported and is 75% of the Xbox consoles out there.

 

[FunkMiller]

No. Why would you want to game on a hamstrung, weak piece of hardware when the much better alternative isn’t that much more?

 

[Banjo64]

Series S is fine with a 1080p screen. It will give you access for cheap to a lot of great games.

As someone who used it for over 2 years with a great, small 1080p monitor (ex2520) I’d still say that it doesn’t look good when displaying the latest games (Elden Ring and Hogwarts are still cross gen so it could get even worse).

 

[UltimaKilo]

Had one and sold it. Sold my PS5 too.

Can try and give a balanced view.

The hardware quality of the console is good, whisper quiet and solid build quality. It feels like a premium product in the hand.

The controller is hit and miss. Tactile feeling but poor build quality straight out of the factory, make sure your A button doesn’t stick and that your bumpers are working fine. Batteries doesn’t work for me.

Memory didn’t bother me, but I don’t play any 100gb games.

The console performance was good in terms of last gen games like Ori and Gears 5 @ 120fps. However Elden Ring looked dog rough IMO. I stopped playing after a few mins and completed on PS5 instead. Hogwarts Legacy also looked shite IMO. It didn’t cut the mustard for me in terms of performance with recent games.

Overall I’d avoid in 2023. It’s not worth the money unless you only plan on playing older releases on a casual basis.

Played all of Starfield on the Series S and it was great. It's my main console along with my Switch. I play in a 1440p monitor and the console has had zero issues with new releases.

Great machine for the price.

 

[JCK75]

I mean I got a Series X.. but gladly jumped on a cheap Series S for my son..
he's more than content.

 

[cireza]

As someone who used it for over 2 years with a great, small 1080p monitor (ex2520) I’d still say that it doesn’t look good when displaying the latest games (Elden Ring and Hogwarts are still cross gen so it could get even worse).

It is fine for the price point, and you get to play a ton of BC games (One, 360, OG) as well. This is less than 300$ with a great controller.

 

[GiganticGoat]

Have both a series x and series s. Series x being my personal console and the S the family one. Currently playing through Starfield on the S and not once have I thought wow, this is gimped. Deffo worth the money.

 

[MonkeyClaw36]

Performance is lackluster but if you're ok with 30fps, lower settings and no raytracing then I don't see why not. If you just want to try gamepass but dont have the means for an X at the moment maybe just try GPU for a month and stream a couple of games to see what it's like.

It all depends on the games. First Descendant for example looks like hot sick on the S.
MK1 and MK11 both run @60 fps 1440P
Forza 7 and Horizon both run @60 FPS 1440P
Starfield is a true achievement on the S, it looks absolutely stunning
All CoDs run at 60 FPS 1440P as well

There are cutbacks in games of course, but it depends on what you want to play.

 

[Deerock71]

I've had the S since Christmas of whenever it launched, and it's been great. Better yet to all the haters, it's not going anywhere, since it's nearly 75% of Microsoft's install base this gen. Ponder that while these fine folks tell you the X is the way to go.

 

[MonkeyClaw36]

No. Why would you want to game on a hamstrung, weak piece of hardware when the much better alternative isn’t that much more?

Ehhh the alternative costs almost twice as much?

 

[Team Andromeda]

Just get a Series X and be happy. Series S is ace for emu mind

 

[Mahavastu]

I know the Series S only from the Digital Foundry videos, but thats enough that I would not buy it.
There are many games which do not offer a 60fps mode when the XSX has that. Or the resolution goes down to levels which I do not believe look good, even on a 1080p screen. For XBox one games you only get the usually 900p version of the Xbox One S, not the pimped up High Res OneX version.
I am pretty sure that I would be pissed when I would have spend money on it.

As I (and others) suggest, save a bit longer and get a XSX or maybe get a used one, when you get those on more affordable price points.

 

[violence]

My Series S is purely a backwards compatibility machine. My game pass subscription works on PC so I tend to play the games there.

 

[Mephisto40]

If you have a PS5, a series s is pretty much all you need xbox wise, I've got both, and am happy I didn't pay for a series x

I got the series S on release, and it's basically sat there collecting dust until Starfield released

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Series S is a great gamepass machine and a perfect compliment to pair with a PS5 (as long as you realize it wont compete with the PS5 and ignore the BS that some spread)

 

[Banjo64]

Played all of Starfield on the Series S and it was great. It's my main console along with my Switch. I play in a 1440p monitor and the console has had zero issues with new releases.

Great machine for the price.

Well you’re talking about a 30fps game whereas I played my 2 examples at 60fps and 40fps, so obviously IQ would take a bigger hit.

 

[analog_future]

On the used market, I'd say yes. You can get a Series S used for under $200 really easily. It's not hard to find them for $150 if you look.


New at $299? No. And the 1TB for $349 is pointless when you can get a PS5 Digital for $50 more.

 

[ShirAhava]

Old games, emulation and cross gen (which is almost everything)

Series S is awesome.....Series X is the system I don't think is worth it at all

you can even stream 12tflops games via game pass

 

[Drew1440]

Unless you have a 4K display or have older 360 games on disc, go with the Series X.

 

[Rykan]

I think it's hilarious that people keep calling this a “Gamepass machine”. It is literally the single worst system for Gamepass.

 

[Mephisto40]

I think it's hilarious that people keep calling this a “Gamepass machine”. It is literally the single worst system for Gamepass.

And yet it's the method most people use to access gamepass games

 

[Rykan]

And yet it's the method most people use to access gamepass games

There's no data that supports that claim. It also doesn't change the fact that it's the worst system for gamepass.

 

[TVexperto]

I got it for 100 Euros, its the best gaming deal ever, I play Starfield, Seo of Thieves etc on my 65 inch oled with gamepass...its insane how much power is in that small thing.

 

[Mephisto40]

There's no data that supports that claim. It also doesn't change the fact that it's the worst system for gamepass.

I think the fact that 75% of xbox owners have bought a series S this gen is facts enough tbh

It might be "worse", but the series S is the sole reason gamepass hasn't completely flopped this gen