Microsoft Reveals Next-Gen Console: "Xbox Series X"

[MaxAttack]

And who said they were making a sequel?, I was saying that a second chapter to Bloodborne should be expected for ps5, nothing more, specially as a launch tittle, for then seeing that it is gonna be just bloodborne1 port. Yeah elden ring and demon soul port instead. That is not Bloodborne, probably the greatest ps4 exclusive, being this last one another reason to expect a sequel. Because Bloodborne is exclusive to Playstation, whereas the other soul-like games are not with the exception of demon souls, which is also gonna be a ported remake.

I don't know, because Bloodborne has been without a doubt the best game I've played this gen on the ps4, and probably best souls ever along with ds1?

What to say to this. Because literally every single playstation user is also expecting a sequel to it at some point perhaps?

Nothing has been talked avout sequels or remasters. A remastered Bloodborne as far as I know is nothing more than a rumour at this stage.

Basically what Magpie said, mate.

Don't get me wrong, I love Bloodborne - I LOVE it. But From have always been pretty quick to distance themselves from the idea of a sequel. It's a question that comes in front of them a lot, obviously, as a lot of people clearly love the game like we do.

I don't get how, in light of the fact it's now 5 years and two full titles since Bloodborne, you'd still be expecting another Bloodborne title when we already know exactly what the next project is.

For what it's worth on the speculation side - I see From's last few years as a statement of intent that they do not want to be shoehorned into making a Dark Souls sequel every year. DS3 on every level - story, themes, etc - killed off the series and the universe beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's worth noting that after Bloodborne, From didn't really want to make DS3 very much.

I see that game as a statement of intent, especially considering the title that follows (Sekiro) is quite unlike it, and even unlike Bloodborne.

My suspicion is that Elden Ring will contain elements of Bloodborne, DS3 and Sekiro mechanics. Just because they aren't going to make a sequel, doesn't mean they aren't aware of how highly regarded Bloodborne is, and I'm sure they have put a ton of effort into understanding what made Bloodborne so successful.

TL;DR: Wait for Elden Ring. It will kick ass.

 

[ctdc67]

Basically what Magpie said, mate.

Don't get me wrong, I love Bloodborne - I LOVE it. But From have always been pretty quick to distance themselves from the idea of a sequel. It's a question that comes in front of them a lot, obviously, as a lot of people clearly love the game like we do.

I don't get how, in light of the fact it's now 5 years and two full titles since Bloodborne, you'd still be expecting another Bloodborne title when we already know exactly what the next project is.

For what it's worth on the speculation side - I see From's last few years as a statement of intent that they do not want to be shoehorned into making a Dark Souls sequel every year. DS3 on every level - story, themes, etc - killed off the series and the universe beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's worth noting that after Bloodborne, From didn't really want to make DS3 very much.

I see that game as a statement of intent, especially considering the title that follows (Sekiro) is quite unlike it, and even unlike Bloodborne.

My suspicion is that Elden Ring will contain elements of Bloodborne, DS3 and Sekiro mechanics. Just because they aren't going to make a sequel, doesn't mean they aren't aware of how highly regarded Bloodborne is, and I'm sure they have put a ton of effort into understanding what made Bloodborne so successful.

TL;DR: Wait for Elden Ring. It will kick ass.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE TOPIC.

 

[MaxAttack]

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE TOPIC.

Basically nothing mate. You can turn caps lock off. I'm perfectly happy to have my posts moderated...


...by moderators.

 

[fernandito]

Bloodborne has been a very special souls-like game and loved by everyone (not like other ds games, such as ds2 and 3), and since it is an IP owned by sony and they know it would be a megaton of a console seller (along with GT7), many were expeting a second chapter to it (about the Vampires instead of the beasts this time, the Vileblood for example?, just an idea).

That was all I meant on this subject. I'm just a little dissapointed regardless the new one is the elden ring, which again is not gonna be a ps exclusive. And my decisions on which console to buy is always based on exclusives. I mean I can play the elden ring on PC, and others on xboxX and PC as well.

 

[inCloud]

 

[MagpieRacer]

Next gen support but not necessarily Series X exclusives? Its almost more confusing than not having a list.

 

[inCloud]

Next gen support but not necessarily Series X exclusives? Its almost more confusing than not having a list.

Most likely it would support all games that XSX support, all specs except gpu(which is also the same, but with less CU) the same.

 

[Tomhlord]

So the next Forza game may not play on the Series S? That's not confusing at all...

 

[FT-1]

Pictures of the Series X in the real world

 

[MagpieRacer]

So the next Forza game may not play on the Series S? That's not confusing at all...

See now that’s what I saw in this. It’s not very clear.

Also, the Series X dashboard has been shown off, it looks like the Xbox One dashboard which is fine because they will all get the new dashboard anyway so even the dashboards will be indistinguishable between generations.

 

[inCloud]

So the next Forza game may not play on the Series S? That's not confusing at all...

It will be playable on XSS, as all first party titles. Third party titles, in theory, could skip XSS, but it is very doubtful.

Only difference between XSX and XSS is lower CU count which will lead to lower resolution

 

[MagpieRacer]

It will be playable on XSS, as all first party titles. Third party titles, in theory, could skip XSS, but it is very doubtful.

Only difference between XSX and XSS is lower CU count which will lead to lower resolution

No disc drive, and potentially slower storage judging by the lack of info there.

Which is fine if the price is right.

 

[Robin]

Here's a video going through the new dashboard,

 

[Jezza819]

No disc drive, and potentially slower storage judging by the lack of info there.

Which is fine if the price is right.

Isn't it supposed to be able to play older generation Xbox titles? Seems like it would be hard to do that with older games you only have discs for if it's not going to have a drive.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Isn't it supposed to be able to play older generation Xbox titles? Seems like it would be hard to do that with older games you only have discs for if it's not going to have a drive.

States in the list thay it won't have a disc drive, thays been widely accepted for a while that it wouldn't have one. All the older games on the XSX will have to be digital.

The tougher sell is asking consumers if they want to a buy a console thats less powerful than the previous gen one to play next gen games. I have a feeling this whole Xbox series is gonna bomb.

 

[Jezza819]

States in the list thay it won't have a disc drive, thays been widely accepted for a while that it wouldn't have one. All the older games on the XSX will have to be digital.

The tougher sell is asking consumers if they want to a buy a console thats less powerful than the previous gen one to play next gen games. I have a feeling this whole Xbox series is gonna bomb.

That means I need to get a digital copy of PC2 while it's still available just in case down the road I do decide to buy the XSX. But I would have to repurchase all of the DLC too.

 

[ImaRobot]

That means I need to get a digital copy of PC2 while it's still available just in case down the road I do decide to buy the XSX. But I would have to repurchase all of the DLC too.

Why would you have to repurchase all the DLC?

 

[Jezza819]

Why would you have to repurchase all the DLC?

It wouldn't carry over from the physical copy would it? Or is the DLC a separate thing all to it's own registered on the hard drive?

 

[redhed17]

The tougher sell is asking consumers if they want to a buy a console thats less powerful than the previous gen one to play next gen games. I have a feeling this whole Xbox series is gonna bomb.

I don't see the point of having a next gen console that can't play next gen games at their maximum quality. Bringing a more powerful version out further down the line, maybe, but having a crippled version straight from the off could be a hard sell.

Disc or no disc yes, I can understand, maximum power or not, no for me. They have obviously done the analysis of what the market will buy, and for how much. Time will tell if they are right.

 

[ImaRobot]

It wouldn't carry over from the physical copy would it? Or is the DLC a separate thing all to it's own registered on the hard drive?

I feel like it might - DLC is usually a separate file tied to the account rather than tied into the actual game file, you can notice that when you go to manage a game's files. Was the DLC purchased after purchasing the game, or was it things that came extra with the copy you bought?

 

[redhed17]

It wouldn't carry over from the physical copy would it? Or is the DLC a separate thing all to it's own registered on the hard drive?

I would imagine that games move with the user. If you already have PC2, it should be playable on whatever. Wasn't that one of their marketing things for XBox!

 

[MagpieRacer]

I don't see the point of having a next gen console that can't play next gen games at their maximum quality. Bringing a more powerful version out further down the line, maybe, but having a crippled version straight from the off could be a hard sell.

Disc or no disc yes, I can understand, maximum power or not, no for me. They have obviously done the analysis of what the market will buy, and for how much. Time will tell if they are right.

It just doesn't make sense to me at all to split the gen from the start. Whenever a newbgen comes around it should be about getting the new console, not having to trip over lists of features and technical crap to decide which one is least worst.

I really want to buy the next Xbox as I love my Xbox One X, I love Xbox, but this just stink, no exclusive games, divided consoles, the same controller, just rubbish.

 

[Jezza819]

I feel like it might - DLC is usually a separate file tied to the account rather than tied into the actual game file, you can notice that when you go to manage a game's files. Was the DLC purchased after purchasing the game, or was it things that came extra with the copy you bought?

I think I actually looked at that fairly recently and under each DLC it might say something like "you own this" or something like that. So yeah you might be right in that once each one was purchased it essentially becomes like a mini segment on the hard drive. I pre-ordered the game but I can't remember what all came with it. I know I got the season pass with it.

I checked and PC2 is only $14.95 in the Xbox store right now. If I can get everything I currently have now with the physical copy on the hard drive, then I think it's a no brainer at that price.

I would imagine that games move with the user. If you already have PC2, it should be playable on whatever. Wasn't that one of their marketing things for XBox!

It won't move if you only have it on disc like I do and Series X isn't going to have a disc drive. That's why I to make sure I have whatever will work on the new console IF I do buy one.

 

[Nexus]

The tougher sell is asking consumers if they want to a buy a console thats less powerful than the previous gen one to play next gen games. I have a feeling this whole Xbox series is gonna bomb.

It looks like the base spec next gen Xbox will be more powerful than the One X, if that's what you're worried about.

 

[MagpieRacer]

It looks like the base spec next gen Xbox will be more powerful than the One X, if that's what you're worried about.

In certain aspects it will be for sure. No doubts there. However GPU power is about 30% lower than the One X and according to the graph it wont be capable of 4k60 gaming which the One X is.

 

[Nexus]

In certain aspects it will be for sure. No doubts there. However GPU power is about 30% lower than the One X and according to the graph it wont be capable of 4k60 gaming which the One X is.

MS is making the mistake of using TFLOPS as a performance metric - this is fine when comparing GPU's of the same generation, but the One X and next-gen Xbox are using two completely different architectures (Polaris vs RDNA2). As an example, AMD's Vega 64 is capable of 12.6 TFLOPS, while the 5700 XT is capable of "only" 9.7 TFLOPS. However, you'll see that the latter is far more capable in gaming scenarios, due to the architectures being completely different (although compute performance is a different story).

As for the 4K60FPS thing, the GPU in the One X is roughly on par with an RX 580. I own an RX 480 (which is maybe 5-10% slower), and it's very much a 1080P 60FPS card (at high-ultra settings, that is). Sure it can technically run games at 4K 60FPS, but that's definitely not on high-ultra settings, not even at medium. The only way that resolution and frame rate can be achieved on that card is with either a)lower visual quality settings, or b)less demanding titles. As far as I'm aware, there aren't any titles on the One X capable of 4K and 60FPS, but I could be wrong.

I'm assuming that the 1440P 60FPS "target" on the next-gen S is with high-ultra settings.

 

[MrCrynox]

Forza 7 is 4k 60 I think...

 

[MagpieRacer]

MS is making the mistake of using TFLOPS as a performance metric - this is fine when comparing GPU's of the same generation, but the One X and next-gen Xbox are using two completely different architectures (Polaris vs RDNA2). As an example, AMD's Vega 64 is capable of 12.6 TFLOPS, while the 5700 XT is capable of "only" 9.7 TFLOPS. However, you'll see that the latter is far more capable in gaming scenarios, due to the architectures being completely different (although compute performance is a different story).

As for the 4K60FPS thing, the GPU in the One X is roughly on par with an RX 580. I own an RX 480 (which is maybe 5-10% slower), and it's very much a 1080P 60FPS card (at high-ultra settings, that is). Sure it can technically run games at 4K 60FPS, but that's definitely not on high-ultra settings, not even at medium. The only way that resolution and frame rate can be achieved on that card is with either a)lower visual quality settings, or b)less demanding titles. As far as I'm aware, there aren't any titles on the One X capable of 4K and 60FPS, but I could be wrong.

I'm assuming that the 1440P 60FPS "target" on the next-gen S is with high-ultra settings.

I know that but if you look at the general consumer who buys into the TFlops it stops making sense. But its clearly making some sacrifices if it cant hit the performance of the One X. There are quite a few games that can hit 4k60. Forza 7 being the chief title that does, F1 2020, Doom, Halo 5, Madden 18, FIFA series, Minecraft, Super luckys tale, Titanfall 2, and then plenty others which target 60fps with dynamic 4k upscaling.

I know the S is meant to be a cheaper lesser console but cheaper and on paper lesser than the previous gen is just iffy in the grand schene of things. If it can't play Forza 7 at the 4k60 the One X can, then who's buying it.

If it costs more than $300/£250 then it really is crazy.

 

[DriveSpark]

Microsofts strategy continues to fascinate and confuse me at the same time, so far we've got:

"We'll make the most powerful console ever"
"We'll undercut other consoles"
"We're not in the console market, our rivals are the GaaS services"
"We won't release any next gen exlcusives for 2 years"
"Some games will be next gen exclusive"
and now maybe "Here's a next gen console that (in some respects) is a lesser spec than the current model"

They did a game reveal presentation, which got slated for not showing the games, so they just did the exact same thing at the next one.

They'll lose money on new hardware sales
Gamepass doesn't make money
They've got a pile of investment in to studios to pay back.


Its completely chaotic.

Yes, MS can afford to support the brand - but for how long ? they still have investors to answer to. The only way this works is to ramp up gamepass prices and hope those who got in on a cheap deal renew at full price.
GaaS fits company strategy and obviously they have a great infrastructure system to support doing that and it will eventually let them stop making hardware (that they've always had a love-hate relationship with - mobile phones, Zune etc) but, christ, it looks to be a long hard road to profitability.

 

[Nexus]

I know that but if you look at the general consumer who buys into the TFlops it stops making sense. But its clearly making some sacrifices if it cant hit the performance of the One X. There are quite a few games that can hit 4k60. Forza 7 being the chief title that does, F1 2020, Doom, Halo 5, Madden 18, FIFA series, Minecraft, Super luckys tale, Titanfall 2, and then plenty others which target 60fps with dynamic 4k upscaling.

What consumers think of the TFLOPS rating is irrelevant, that's a problem for the marketing department to solve.

The One X was released what, three years ago? The RX 580 in it was smack bang in the middle of the GPU market at the time, but time has passed and now there are more powerful cards in its place. Performance is roughly equivalent to the RX 5500XT, which is near the bottom of the product stack of AMD's RDNA cards. When it was released, the 580 was higher up in AMD's GPU product stack. (And just for fun, the 580 is capable of 6.17 TFLOPS, whereas the 5500 XT is capable of 5.2 TFLOPS. The next-gen Xbox is using an RDNA2 GPU, which is once again a different architecture.)

Those games that are capable of native 4K 60FPS on the One X could also (probably) run equivalently on a PC with an RX 580 (they're not exactly demanding), but that doesn't change the fact that it's not really made for that resolution and refresh rate. It's easy enough to just drop the settings a bit and achieve 4K 60FPS, but that's definitely not the case in more demanding games. And as you said, many other games try to achieve the same with upscaling. There's nothing stopping MS from attempting to do the same with the same with the new S model. I'd assume it's easier from a marketing perspective to just have a clear-cut "this model is for 4K gaming, and this model is for other resolutions", rather than attempt to explain to customers what upscaling and native resolution means.

This is all just speculation, of course. It's a bit difficult to predict how both consoles would perform in the real world without having the equivalent desktop parts available to consumers (yet).