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[Yoboman]

Thread is not to discuss if Series X "holds back games" or anything of the like, but rather whether it was necessary from a business POV

With the launch of next gen consoles, MS made the unique choice of launching the low powered Series S alongside the main console

Seemingly there could have been a few advantages to this approach that we theorised at the time of announcement

1) Gain a competitive price advantage
2) Flood the market to gain the lead in unit sales with the easier to manufacture unit
3) Offset the impact of of the generational price increase

While they got the price advantage, it was minimised at launch by the $400 PS5 DE.

However I think it did help with them being able to message a $499 Series X, and disguise the higher cost of entry at launch.

I dont think it has helped them in driving larger adoption rates and I think overall the majority of users - particularly those in the launch phases have not been discouraged by high prices. Reflected in people buying PS5 and Series X way above market price

We are getting closer to the point of Pro consoles starting to come out in the next 24 months so it may be a case where Series S starts to become even more redundant

 

[Punished Miku]

Yes. People were too skeptical after One. Needed a cheaper entry point for people to try as a 2nd or 3rd console. Will probably always be needed.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Series S was not necessary by any means, but Microsoft wanted to tap into the casual gaming market. The type of people who don't give two shits about 4K gaming and who only care about playing the latest games at the lowest cost barrier of entry.

 

[FBeeEye]

Yes. People were too skeptical after One. Needed a cheaper entry point for people to try as a 2nd or 3rd console. Will probably always be needed.

Your opinion is like a mushroom. It's a shitake.

This has nothing to do with the One. Its more about the Xbox Series being like other products. Multiple SKUs to attract different market segments. People buy what they can afford. The Series S still plays COD, Madden and Fortnite fine.

 

[Kamina]

They thought it to be necessary and it sure has a place on the market, but it isnt really necessary for the Xbox brand to succeed.

 

[feynoob]

Yes.
Younger audience don't care about power. As long as they get a toy, which can play COD, fifa, warzone, fortnite and other games.

Power is only for forum and social media enthusiasts.

 

[Topher]

Absolutely necessary particularly when targeting being the "value" option with Game Pass. I'd guess if it not for XSS then Xbox overall would be far behind Xbox One at this point in the generation.

 

[FrankWza]

 

[PuffyCan]

I think it helped a lot, but should have been as powerful as the One X.

 

[Kuranghi]

If you plan to only buy Fifa and CoD its a good buy, as soon as you buy more than 15 digital games you've spent the money you saved by buying it over the Series X.

I've been meaning to rewatch both of these cheers for the reminder!

 

[M1chl]

Clearly helped a lot in chip shortage, due to smaller chip in comparison to XSX/PS5. Outside of that, well probably as a game pass machine.

 

[rofif]

The low cost argument is the worst one.
This piece of crap is only 100$ cheaper than ps5 digital...

 

[DarkMage619]

The low cost argument is the worst one.
This piece of crap is only 100$ cheaper than ps5 digital...

It's $150 cheaper than the PS5 DE if you can even find the PS5 in most places in the world. You might not know this but MS lowered their prices of their console and Sony raised theirs.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

Xbox would have half the sales because of supply and production issues with the Series X especially earlier on, without the S filling in the void. Which would mean half the revenue, half the power to get people into GP, half the players buying games, and half the MTX/DLC/skins or extra accessory/controller purchases.

Also PS5D had no impact on the S at all. Sony even slowed production of it a few times and you couldn't find it, only the regular PS5. I would say the S minimized the impact of the PS5D.

 

[adamsapple]

It was necessary for the vision they had of the device.

 

[TLZ]

Thread is not to discuss if Series X "holds back games"

 

[rofif]

It's $150 cheaper than the PS5 DE if you can even find the PS5 in most places in the world. You might not know this but MS lowered their prices of their console and Sony raised theirs.

ps5 de is 400 in usa
and xbox ss is 300 there.
Other parts of the world of course 50 more for ps5.

Still not worth it to sacrifice power and great games for this much

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Necessary? No, but its a big hit. The dorks around here "don't get it" but millions of casual gamers fucking love the thing a don't give a shit about how it stacks up against the Series X or PS5.

When the dust settles this gen the Series S is going to look like a big brain move on the part of MS.

 

[amigastar]

I didn't notice it was even a thing. So for me Series S is not relevant.

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Your opinion is like a mushroom. It's a shitake.

This has nothing to do with the One. Its more about the Xbox Series being like other products. Multiple SKUs to attract different market segments. People buy what they can afford. The Series S still plays COD, Madden and Fortnite fine.

Doing new things that haven't been done before is generally viewed as a bad thing by the folks that trip over their dicks to gatekeep a hobby they fail to realize has already saturated the world. Gaming isn't niche anymore, its about as mainstream as you can get --- and just like computer hardware and cell phones and everything else, as you pointed out, different SKUs at different prices just makes sense.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

It’s way too early to say but I don’t think they needed a series s.

They could have just created a disc less series X instead.Once they can lower the price for the series X. The series s will become pointless. This is why I think it was a mistake to make the series s.

I think once they can create a cheaper disc less series X, they will discontinue the Series S model. Xbox loves console refreshes, They did a lot with the 360 and Xbox one.

 

[Celcius]

They should have just gone with the series X imho. By the time you get the S and then add more storage, you’re basically there cost-wise anyway.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I got an s and it’s great. Really like it. I wouldn’t have bought an Xbox if it wasn’t out there so for me it is great. Awesome gamepass machine

 

[TheDrunkenMerchant]

Not necessary but I'm glad it exists. I love it. Fast and slick. Only downside is shit hard drive space for an all digital console.

 

[Slicker than your average]

No it was Phil's sad attempt to cover all bases to try and sell more HW than Sony. Now we will have a gimped gen.

People keep saying it's a good seller. The things been in stock since launch and has never sold out.

 

[reksveks]

Probably, especially for markets where it has historically struggled in.

 

[dem]

Not necessary but I'm glad it exists. I love it. Fast and slick. Only downside is shit hard drive space for an all digital console.

I'd say this is definitely the biggest problem with it.

No hard drive space.. and the cost of the expansion card is frickin absurd.

 

[Lone Wolf]

ps5 de is 400 in usa
and xbox ss is 300 there.
Other parts of the world of course 50 more for ps5.

Still not worth it to sacrifice power and great games for this much

Series S is $250 right now. There are also deals for $240, as well as $250 with a free $50 target gift card. That’s the main reason for the S. Can price reduce much better than the other consoles. They are going to sell a ton this holiday.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Necessary for MS? Technically no.

 

[Banjo64]

Still not worth it to sacrifice power and great games for this much

Guess I must love shit games then as my Series S has seen far more game time than my PS5 DE.

 

[reinking]

I think this holiday season will give us a definitive answer. The way they are pushing the Series S in sales and promotions we should see a significant jump in units sold. With manufacturing issues during covid it looks like it was the right move. I do not believe they could match Series inventory with just the Series X units even if they focused on a single console.

 

[PhaseJump]

ps5 de is 400 in usa
and xbox ss is 300 there.
Other parts of the world of course 50 more for ps5.

Still not worth it to sacrifice power and great games for this much

 

[DarkMage619]

ps5 de is 400 in usa
and xbox ss is 300 there.
Other parts of the world of course 50 more for ps5.

Still not worth it to sacrifice power and great games for this much

The US is ONE country. The entire rest of the world the PS5 DE is $450. In the US the XSS is $250. That is $150 less than PS5 DE.

Xbox Series S gets $50 cheaper for Black Friday

The temporary price drop comes as part of larger Xbox Black Friday sale

www.polygon.com

 

[AJUMP23]

Seems to be doing well as a product.

 

[Edgelord79]

No it wasn’t necessary for Microsoft.

It may have helped proliferate Game Pass though.

 

[Valt7786]

Its great as a gamepass/fifa-cod machine sure, but devs shouldnt be tied to making games for both S and X if they want to create a more demanding game.

 

[CeeJay]

It's absolutely necessary as part of Xboxs strategy this gen.

Lowest option is streaming to a device you already own. Followed by Series S as a low priced dedicated device aimed at kids, casuals or a second TV in a bedroom that is more likely to be a smaller 1080p. Then you have the Series X at the high end dedicated. Then you have PC to round off the most flexible, diverse and joined up single ecosystem in gaming all underpinning Gamepass.

I really don't get why Series S triggers so many people. Any other type of product from food to fridges to phones have multiple tiers aimed at different pockets and different demographics. It's what consumers generally expect.

 

[Edgelord79]

I really don't get why Series S triggers so many people. Any other type of product from food to fridges to phones have multiple tiers aimed at different pockets and different demographics. It's what consumers generally expect.

Enthusiast forum. The %1 of the people with the best of everything are not going to like a product that isn’t the most cutting edge.

Reality though is probably different.

 

[rofif]

Lol looks like I triggered some people who needs their 250-300 justified

 

[bentanchorbolt]

No it was Phil's sad attempt to cover all bases to try and sell more HW than Sony. Now we will have a gimped gen.

People keep saying it's a good seller. The things been in stock since launch and has never sold out.

That's weird because I go to stores all the time and see them in stock and then they aren't in stock, they restock, gone again a few days later, and so on. I think you want it to sell poorly but the reality is, especially in this economy, its quite the hot ticket. As for it gimping this gen, what a shit take.

$250 for a system that plays the same games at the Series X but half the price. Unsure why this console angers so many but here we are.

 

[reksveks]

Me looking at the ps us direct and PS uk direct store looking for a standalone ps5 de to no luck. Only digital one available is a bundle.

Psa you can freely buy a disc bundle from the UK ps store at the moment.

Looking at the amazon UK year chart:
- PS5 disc edition #27
- digital not in the top 100
Looking at the amazon US year chart:
- ps5 disc HFW #40
- ps5 disc #43
- digital not in the top 100.

I do think the digital one is generally alot less avails and that's ignoring the splits that we can see from JP's numbers.

 

[Kacho]

I don’t think we can answer that yet. In theory it’s a smart move.

I’d sooner buy my kids a Series S than I would a Series X or PS5. That’s for sure.

 

[Slicker than your average]

That's weird because I go to stores all the time and see them in stock and then they aren't in stock, they restock, gone again a few days later, and so on. I think you want it to sell poorly but the reality is, especially in this economy, its quite the hot ticket. As for it gimping this gen, what a shit take.

Maybe little shitty stores. The thing has been in stock in Amazon the entire time so let's cut the bs.

 

[MisterXDTV]

They will still be last place even giving away Series S for free so it doesn't really matter

 

[semiconscious]

for me, it was necessary from a consumer point of view. i'd never've gotten a series x...

 

[ACESHIGH]

Series S is a beast. An emulation powerhouse that will play all games at 1080p. Great form factor too. If I didn't have a gaming PC I would get one just for the emulation prowess alone.

Plus is the only affordable console in third world countries these days.

 

[THE DUCK]

Yes, it was a smart idea and this Christmas will be the first year that flushed that out in spades. The DE didn't affect it as much as you suggest, since they were extremely hard to buy for a very long time. Even now I can't walk into a store and get one, even though some stores have the disc version.
Also if you wanted gamepass and had a restricted budget, the PS5 wasn't even an option.

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Maybe little shitty stores. The thing has been in stock in Amazon the entire time so let's cut the bs.

Unsure how not selling out completely on Amazon indicates a product isn't selling very well. It doesn't need to have the demand of the Series X and PS5 to sell well. Have to admit tho, its somewhat refreshing seeing you get triggered by a box that plays games.

 

[BouncyFrag]

I love my series s. I just got a ps5 and have no problem bouncing between the two.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

It's gonna haunt the whole generation as PS5/XSX need to babysit it.