Xbox Series S Officially Unveiled at $299

[ykiki]

For people who buy their own consoles, sure - but then the marketing of names isn't for them. It's for parents buying the console for their kids and don't have a clue.

I can foresee several household tiffs at Christmas because little Timmy wanted the Xbox Series S and mummy and daddy got him the Xbox One S - or worse, getting the One instead of either Series because the other two are clearly related to each other but the one with its own name must be the best one... and it's called "the One". Or they got whatever the salesman said was the right one to buy.

This is why "PS5" is boring but right: it's unequivocal. It's a PlayStation, called 5. You aren't going to get it muddled with a PS4, or think the 4 is newer and better somehow. The Xbox's names are less clear and need a little explanation to the uninitiated.

Lol, this would've been my parents (and now I'm in my 50s). We kids liked Star Wars and for my parents anything sci-fi was Star Wars.

 

[MagpieRacer]

DF compared 4.3TF RDNA1 with One X. The RDNA1 GPU performed better and lockhart has a RDNA2 GPU like XsX and PS5 with further optimization aka more bang for the buck/TF.


If the rumored specs are true then the console won't cause issues for developers.
The Wii U got hammered, because the product was uninspiring and took the wrong lessons from DS handheld success. Switch took the right ones.

But mainly its name was awful. Which had the knock on effect that MS are at risk of with a lack of understanding. People didn't know it was a new console.

 

[evldave333]

They've got it. Nintendo have sold 61 million consoles. That beats the Xbox1 with no more than 40 million. (AMD sold 150 million chipsets for this gen consoles and 110 million of them are in PS4's)

They are not competition for anything.

MS taking a leaf out of Sony and Nintendo's book and producing more of their own in house unique content would make the gaming world so much more vibrant for us all.

 

[rhalgr]

They've got it. Nintendo have sold 61 million consoles. That beats the Xbox1 with no more than 40 million. (AMD sold 150 million chipsets for this gen consoles and 110 million of them are in PS4's)

They are not competition for anything.

eh, AMD said 150+ and a insider comment on it. Switch still sold better, but your numbers are wrong.

 

[Tornado]

The Wii U was hammered and treated like an addon for the Wii because that's practically how Nintendo marketed it. All of the advertising just showed the same demographic from old Wii ads playing games that looked like Wii games using Wiimotes plus a new tablet controller; then a console that looked like a Wii itself sorta shown at the very end. In comparison no one seemed terribly confused before that when Nintendo just kept appending adjectives to their consoles and handhelds for their first fifteen years in the industry; and outside of the disastrous first year of the 3DS (which also was marketed terribly just before the Wii U was marketed terribly, launched woefully overpriced and with a lineup whose main title was an N64 game) there wasn't much confusion when they did it again for another decade.



Perhaps Microsoft has the potential to be caught in the same trap (and I've already noted that playing this stupid game with the second SKU has made them look foolish and undermined their own ideas), but they've already cleared the hurdle of at least making the SeX look completely different to any Xbone (and presumably the SeS will look similar); whereas the Wii U (on the rare chance when the actual console was shown off at all) looked nearly identical to the console it was replacing. And since I can't imagine Microsoft is going to start the generation with too many conquest sales to begin with, I'm somewhat skeptical about clueless parents being so clueless that they go out to buy the newest Xbox for Christmas and then accidentally buying the same Xbox little Johnny already had.

 

[aguia]

Sony does not have this problem. playstation, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 is the next one, needed to play Gran Turismo 7, the 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, is the 1 I don’t have, and Xbox.

 

[Tornado]

They've got it. Nintendo have sold 61 million consoles. That beats the Xbox1 with no more than 40 million. (AMD sold 150 million chipsets for this gen consoles and 110 million of them are in PS4's)

They are not competition for anything.

They've sold twice as many Xbones as they did original Xboxes in comparison to Sony selling fewer PS4s than they sold PS2s. The original Xbox itself was absolutely competition for the PS2; and Microsoft is probably somewhat content that they managed to keep much closer than they did then without losing billions of dollars on the venture in the process after the first year of the Xbone was such a nightmare.



With all the rumors that Sony is going around trying to moneyhat everything third party being reported after the fallout from the Spiderman thing, it certainly seems like Sony considers Microsoft as competition enough.

 

[MagpieRacer]

They've sold twice as many Xbones as they did original Xboxes in comparison to Sony selling fewer PS4s than they sold PS2s. The original Xbox itself was absolutely competition for the PS2; and Microsoft is probably somewhat content that they managed to keep much closer than they did then without losing billions of dollars on the venture in the process after the first year of the Xbone was such a nightmare.



With all the rumors that Sony is going around trying to moneyhat everything third party being reported after the fallout from the Spiderman thing, it certainly seems like Sony considers Microsoft as competition enough.

Sony would be stupid to consider anyone other than Microsoft competition. Nintendo is pitched at such a different audience and demographic and price wise is just such a different level to anyone else. Be interesting to see how this gen pans out but I expect the PS5 to outsell the Xbox Series S X 720 Two by 3 to 1.

 

[ImaRobot]

The WiiU got hammered for its name. It was too similar sounding, didn't roll off the tongue and wasn't clear enough to the genpop that it was a new console, and sufficiently flopped. The Xbox is actually a very similar case to this.

It's odd that you say this right after talking about using a name scheme that fits so similarly to the WiiU.

 

[MagpieRacer]

It's odd that you say this right after talking about using a name scheme that fits so similarly to the WiiU.

Mainly because Microsoft seem so intent on using it. In an ideal world it would be called something different to properly differentiate from the previous consoles. If they are intent on Xbox being the brand and S and X being the flavours then the Series part doesn't need to exist. I'm highlighting the Nintendo part as a reason why its a odd decision.

 

[ImaRobot]

Mainly because Microsoft seem so intent on using it. In an ideal world it would be called something different to properly differentiate from the previous consoles. If they are intent on Xbox being the brand and S and X being the flavours then the Series part doesn't need to exist. I'm highlighting the Nintendo part as a reason why its a odd decision.

It doesn't make it any less odd.

 

[MagpieRacer]

It doesn't make it any less odd.

If you say so.

 

[Wolfe]

Sony would be stupid to consider anyone other than Microsoft competition. Nintendo is pitched at such a different audience and demographic and price wise is just such a different level to anyone else.

Not the Switch, not this far into its lifespan. Publishers have porting houses like Saber Interactive and Panic Button bending over backwards to cram popular third party titles onto the Switch, and it is the go-to console for indie developers and indie fans alike. Nintendo is now effectively pitched at a wider audience than Sony/Microsoft, with overlap -- Dark Souls, Mario, Doom, Animal Crossing, Crysis, Stardew Valley, The Witcher 3, Pokémon, Cuphead, Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc. all on one optionally-portable platform.

It is a different kind of console with different selling points, but its software library now belies the assumption you describe. Although it was something in the cards anyway, Sony and Microsoft are now competing with Nintendo when they tout streaming PS/XB games to smartphones.

 

[inCloud]

There's rumor that new controller has warranty until November 5 2021. Release date?

 

[GTPNewsWire]

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

Xbox Series S Seemingly Confirmed Again, But Still Not Officially Revealed

This article was published by Andrew Evans (@Famine) on September 1st, 2020 in the Gaming category.

 

[BFIFE22]

Microsoft pretty much screwed the marketing team over by naming the third gen Xbox the One. Makes it hard to come up with any logical progression.

360 was a smart way to not be perceived as a generation behind (Xbox 2 vs PS3)

 

[Bornhall]

Microsoft pretty much screwed the marketing team over by naming the third gen Xbox the One.

They've pretty much been unable to name anything properly since Windows 3.11, if you ask me. Internally maybe, but it feels more about marketing monikers than anything else these days.

 

[ZedNinetySix]

How can they screw up revealing their **** so bad? Its been all over the place...

 

[BSDShoes]

Am i reading this correct. Its less powerful than the xbox one x??

If so what would be the point of that and who would buy a non 4k console at this time if you already have an XB1?

Doesn't make much sense if the Series S is less powerful than the One X, even at different resolutions.

Xbox One S (1080p, discs, HDD)
Xbox Series S (1080p, no discs, SSD)
Xbox Series X (4K, discs, SSD)

Actually my One S does 1440p (though at 60Hz, 1080p can do 120Hz) since I play it through my 1440p/144Hz monitor, why would the Series S be 1080p when the One S has 1440p support. Hopefully that isn't true.

 

[Tired Tyres]

How can they screw up revealing their **** so bad? Its been all over the place...

That's easy. They gave the job to the YTS tea boy after a meeting with the boss who informed him there wasn't a full time position for him anymore so he'd be gone after his temp time was up. After a heavy night out feeling sorry for himself after finding out his girlfriend had run off with his, now ex, best friend.

 

[ZedNinetySix]

That's easy. They gave the job to the YTS tea boy after a meeting with the boss who informed him there wasn't a full time position for him anymore so he'd be gone after his temp time was up. After a heavy night out feeling sorry for himself after finding out his girlfriend had run off with his, now ex, best friend.

Sounds fun

 

[Novalee]

https://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-series-s-leaked-render-reveals-console-design-and-299-price.


The console is white, and features a black cooling grill in the top portion of the unit when standing upright. It has a USB-A port on the front, and while it's hard to see in the render itself, our sources have confirmed that Xbox Series S does not have a disk drive.

In addition to the design, the leaked render also reveals that the console will cost $299 when it launches later this year. That should undercut the upcoming PlayStation 5 considerably, and allow Microsoft to price the Xbox Series X higher to accomodate for the additional GPU power.

If the price is correct , i might be interested.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Doesn't make much sense if the Series S is less powerful than the One X, even at different resolutions.


Actually my One S does 1440p (though at 60Hz, 1080p can do 120Hz) since I play it through my 1440p/144Hz monitor, why would the Series S be 1080p when the One S has 1440p support. Hopefully that isn't true.

1440p was an update. The S already used upscaling techniques anyway. I imagine the series S will do the same but all signs point to it being significantly less powerful then the XSX and XOX.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Its official. £249, $299

 

[Samus]

Why wouldn't you just make the grill white? Makes it look like a cooker hob or something. Impressively small though.

 

[Moglet]

Why wouldn't you just make the grill white? Makes it look like a cooker hob or something. Impressively small though.

This was my first thought too, why wouldn't you at least make the grill white? It looks like a speaker.

 

[FT-1]

I'm so glad Microsoft didn't screw the UK market over with the conversion rate of the Series S. It's really good value, can imagine a lot of these under Christmas trees. 👍

 

[Mr Grumpy]

The only thing I don't get with this machine is afaik it's not 4k but 1440p yes?

So although all other technical wizardry can put it in line with the 1X, the 1X can still run Forza @60fps but this cant/won't.

Combine that with the fact that most TVs (not including newer ones) either run 1080p or 4K but nothing in between means for most people they'll be stuck with 1080p resolution.

By all means make it cheaper/less powerful/no disc drive & all that but it still should of been optional 4k even if it means 30fps.

 

[strela]

Wow look at that price tag! I was expecting at least a £100 more tbh. How much was the X1X again? £450 or something? Nice.

 

[Daz555]

A lot of kids are going to get the "wrong" Xbox from their grandparents this Christmas.

I like the idea of a 1080P console that can still play all next-gen games but Microsoft's naming standard and release cycle is going to cause massive confusion.