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Xbox have really knocked it out the park with the Series S imo

DonJorginho

Banned
For an ERP of £250/$299, The Xbox Series S offers a really great deal for people planning to upgrade this year.

Make what you will of the rumoured 4TFs it holds, but the Series S if the full leaked video is anything to go by, offers support for 120FPS at 1440p, 4K upscaling for games, 4K media playback, support for DirectX raytracing, and a custom NVME 512GB SSD.

That is a great deal for £250, they're obviously planning to make up losses with this by it being discless, but this means for many people, Next Gen is not so unaffordable on launch, I mean this will retail for the same price as you can get a PS4 Slim on Argos on it's own atm, so it to me anyway, screams of great pricing.

Now obviously Sony will have to respond, they love to undercut/rival competitors price wise so I can see them retailing the PS5 Digital Edition for around £350 which would offer them a bit more leeway with customers, as despite how beloved Sony are and the vast majority of people want to get a PS5 over an Xbox Series X, this Series S will appeal to almost every casual buyer and parent as the affordable way to entertain for many years to come.

Me personally? I will be getting this and a PS5 as this means I can experience Gamepass and all it has to offer for a very affordable price, whilst still getting my preferred choice down the line in the PS5 (when HZD II comes out will be when I pounce).

Series-S.png
 
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YoodlePro

Member
I honestly don't know what to make of it, yes the price is pretty sweet but I want to see the games first.
I'm not a serious day&night gamer, my gaming time is precious and limited and I definitely have the funds to feed this habit so my question is why in the hell would I buy this instead of the PS5 + upgrade my PC for those games I want to experience on PC or strategy games which don't run on the PS5?

Of course, I'm not the target market of this console, but many would fall into this
 

DonJorginho

Banned
I honestly don't know what to make of it, yes the price is pretty sweet but I want to see the games first.
I'm not a serious day&night gamer, my gaming time is precious and limited and I definitely have the funds to feed this habit so my question is why in the hell would I buy this instead of the PS5 + upgrade my PC for those games I want to experience on PC or strategy games which don't run on the PS5?

Of course, I'm not the target market of this console, but many would fall into this
I get that completely, and for many gamers who already have a PC this is meaningless.

But this is a great and cost effective way of experiencing all the next gen third party titles and first party Xbox titles.
 

Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
In this economy, a $299 console that can do 1440p and play all the new games is likely the sweet spot.

I don't know if it's a console war-winning move. Possibly not by itself, but it's a really, really strong crystal ball move. Props to them.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Wonder if Halo Infinite and Craig was being shown on Xbox Series S not X at the presentation... maybe thats why it looked like a last gen game?
I dont see how splitting 4tfps and 12tfps Is a good idea...

And games don’t matter anymore, launch games?
All a sudden the strategy is to sell Xbox consoles again? And the strategy isn’t gamepass only?

Its an Xbox Series X but weaker... will have the same issues going forward but weaker and will last less going forward this generation
 
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Punished Miku

Gold Member
I said years ago that this is the only way I will ever be back in the Xbox ecosystem.

I'm locked into Nintendo no matter what. Locked into Sony no matter what.

This gives me an option to consider picking one of these up for Gamepass. Can play Ninja Gaiden 2 60 fps, and have every Xbox exclusive as well for cheap. Pretty much all I wanted from it.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
Wonder if Halo Infinite and Craig was being shown on Xbox Series S not X at the presentation... maybe thats why it looked like a last gen game?
I dont see how splitting 4tfps and 12tfps Is a good idea...
Halo Infinite was running on a PC I believe, but that still doesn't write off the game looking off to accommodate older gen, I would say that is the Xbox One/One S holding it back however and not the Series S and One X
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Wonder if Halo Infinite and Craig was being shown on Xbox Series S not X at the presentation... maybe thats why it looked like a last gen game?
I dont see how splitting 4tfps and 12tfps Is a good idea...
It has been shown on PC, don't worry it's just 343 who sucks. Watch this video by NXGamer NXGamer
 

-Arcadia-

Banned
Quite frankly, with Microsoft’s current focus being on GamePass and cross-gen games, as they develop games across a variety of platforms and services...

This is a better box for that, than the Series X. At least right now. It’s no small wonder it’s had a better showing, because it’s actually in sync with Microsoft’s current goals.

That will change once the Series X gets a chance to strut it’s stuff.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
Quite frankly, with Microsoft’s current focus being on GamePass and cross-gen games, as they develop games across a variety of platforms and services...

This is a better box for that, than the Series X. At least right now. It’s no small wonder it’s had a better showing, because it’s actually in sync with Microsoft’s current goals.

That will change once the Series X gets a chance to strut it’s stuff.
Right on the money there, this makes the Series X seem unimportant now aside from those who want the AAA graphical experience and discs.
 
Great little console.
I wonder how good it will be in the end.

Looking forward to the DF comparison videos.

(bit sad it doesn't play old game discs, with the Xbox back compatibility being that good).
 
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In this economy, a $299 console that can do 1440p and play all the new games is likely the sweet spot.

I don't know if it's a console war-winning move. Possibly not by itself, but it's a really, really strong crystal ball move. Props to them.

It's not a 1440p console with 4tflops, is it? MS said it's 1080p
 

Compsiox

Banned
It's not a 1440p console with 4tflops, is it? MS said it's 1080p
We don't know the official specs yet. Just some resolution and fps counts.

I also don't think they'd be advertising 1440p specifically if only indies would be running at that resolution. I definitely think its more than 4tf.
 
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Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
I don't see how Sony can counteract this. We'll see, though.

You gotta hit the premium notes really well to counteract a much cheaper competitor. It's quite challenging to do, but Sony has inertia in its camp simply because PS4 was much more popular than Xbox one, and that will help them to some extent.

Hard to say, tho, until we know the actual price.
 
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We won't know how it's going to effect game development until it's been out lomg enough to be passed crossgen titles.

I know the XSS's defenders keep saying games will just be identical, but at a lower resolution, but this is seriously underpowered. I just cannot see how this isn't going to adversely affect next gen development.

Look at how badly the XO often ran games this gen compared to PS4, or the massive gulf in quality is between games on Switch compared to everything else. Yet those power gaps are nothing compared to how far behind the PS5 and XSX this thing will be, and we're seriously meant to believe that won't adversly effect things?

This isn't a bargain in my mind, or MS being noble, customer friendly geniuses, this is pure greed exploiting the poor, ignorant and budget conscious to make a fast buck any way possible, and not giving a damn about what's actually best for the wider gaming industry and games themselves as a medium.
 
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Hezekiah

Banned
I don't see how Sony can counteract this. We'll see, though.
They don't need to. PS4 and it's massive games library will continue to sell for budget gamers. For hardcores who want next gen, most aren't going to want a 4tf machine and the technical limitations that come with it under their TV for the next 6 - 7 years.

PS5 will easily sell out over the first year, it's all about the games for Sony.
 
I believe the only compromise we have with Series S is reduced resolution; it will do everything else like 60/ 120fps, RT etc. albeit at reduced resolutions.
 

-Arcadia-

Banned
I’d be wary of calling the generation. Sony has incredible consumer goodwill, and from Day 1, a next-gen looking game, with plenty more well on the way. That will go a long way towards convincing fans to part with their money.

It’s more like Microsoft just executed a move so deftly, we can begin to take them seriously as a competitor again. This is a really, really solid strategy.
 
Jesus, Microsoft really cant win, no matter what they do.
Not even slightly true, they just have to make good games again.

All this other bollocks with gamepass, play anywhere, xcloud, and the XSS would be completely unnecessary, if they were knocking out 1st party bangers the same way Sony, Nintendo and they themselves used to do in the late X1/early 360 years.
 
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keram

Member
For an ERP of £250/$299, The Xbox Series S offers a really great deal for people planning to upgrade this year.

Make what you will of the rumoured 4TFs it holds, but the Series S if the full leaked video is anything to go by, offers support for 120FPS at 1440p, 4K upscaling for games, 4K media playback, support for DirectX raytracing, and a custom NVME 512GB SSD.

That is a great deal for £250, they're obviously planning to make up losses with this by it being discless, but this means for many people, Next Gen is not so unaffordable on launch, I mean this will retail for the same price as you can get a PS4 Slim on Argos on it's own atm, so it to me anyway, screams of great pricing.

Now obviously Sony will have to respond, they love to undercut/rival competitors price wise so I can see them retailing the PS5 Digital Edition for around £300 which would offer them a bit more leeway with customers, as despite how beloved Sony are and the vast majority of people want to get a PS5 over an Xbox Series X, this Series S will appeal to almost every casual buyer and parent as the affordable way to entertain for many years to come.

Me personally? I will be getting this and a PS5 as this means I can experience Gamepass and all it has to offer for a very affordable price, whilst still getting my preferred choice down the line in the PS5 (when HZD II comes out will be when I pounce).

Series-S.png

Wait what, all digital but only 512 GByte SSD?

What will remain after reserving space for OS/UI? About 400GB or even less?

Xbox One reserves 138GB for OS
 
Fully agreed OP.

A lot of people have tunnel vision and don't the big picture strategy Microsoft are clearly adopting. This console is NOT designed to attract gamers who want the highest-fidelity visuals. It's about making next-gen accessible to as many people as possible.

As a parent, when you walk into a store - you don't think about allegiances, console wars, "what is better", Teraflops (LOL) or any of that nonsense. You look at price. This is clearly designed for parents looking for buy their kids a console for Christmas without blowing their bank account.

Never did I ever think Microsoft would compel me of all people to buy their console. But this + gamepass is insane value. For £249!? It's a steal.
 
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