Xbox Series S Officially Unveiled at $299

[Aphelion]

Cool. The series S pretty much changes the game for me, before I had essentially no interest whatsoever in buying one of these, but now I will almost definitely pick one up eventually. It makes sense: Ive always wanted to have an xbox to play the handful of games that never come to PS/PC that I’m interested in, and Ive always had one or two friends on xbox that Ive never been able to play games with. So when these things are super cheap, I will definitely buy one. Good move on microsoft.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Watched the video again and paid closer attention this time. It is actually very interesting. Capability wise its identical, it just simply renders the games at 1440p where the X renders at 4k. It then upscales them to 4k. So while there may be some noticable scaling like there was early in the Pro and X cycles, the fraohical quality should be the same between the consoles. Its simply the rendering resolution that's lower.

 

[snc]

Teraflop for Teraflop the Series S's GPU is less then the One X, but Teraflops are not a linear measure of performace. So a single Series S Teraflop could offer far better performacne then a single Teraflop of One X performance. Plus the Series S CPU is far better then the CPU in the One X. So performance should level out or even be better on the Series S simply due to a far better CPU and more efficient GPU.

in terms of ssd and cpu is for sure generation leap but gpu even with new rdna2 arch. with it 4tf and 224gb/s bandwidth is for sure little slower than xox with it 6tf and 326 GB/s bandwidth, also xox has more ram (12 vs 10 and last 2 of this 10 in xss has very pure bandwidth of 56gb/s)

 

[rhalgr]

And that's exactly the way i see it as well,what good is a cheap console if you ain't got the compelling exclusive software and knowing sony been spending big on getting exclusive content and /or games,you make a guess where the best place is to play right?

I own all consoles, because there is no best place to play. All consoles have their advantages and disadvantages.

also xox has more ram (12 vs 10 and last 2 of this 10 in xss has very pure bandwidth of 56gb/s)

Correct and XoX had to use a good junk of the RAM to preload data like all HDD consoles. XsS will be efficiently superior in its RAM usage.

The last 2GB RAM in XsS are for the OS and those aren't bandwidth hungry.

 

[Made Adhitya]

Sorry for stupid question but is it possible to play steam games on xbox one x or s? Many thanks

 

[Moglet]

Sorry for stupid question but is it possible to play steam games on xbox one x or s? Many thanks

No, Steam is a PC platform and can't be accessed on Xbox consoles.

 

[FoRiZon]

Sorry for stupid question but is it possible to play steam games on xbox one x or s? Many thanks

No

 

[Thretosix]

We need healthy competition in the console market, Im not seeing it from Microsoft. They're all over the place with their hardware and crucially lacking in compelling software too...

Microsoft actually gets it. Not everyone has a 4K TV and even if they do the Series S runs 1440p up to 120fps and upscales to 4k kinda like how older consoles at times developed games at lower resolutions like 900p and upscaled to 1080p, for $299 it's a great deal. Also, the All Access also gives you two years of Game Pass Ultimate (access to over 100 games also lets you play the games on PC), which now includes EA Play Pass, and includes access to X-Cloud allowing you to play the games on your phone or tablet anywhere and performs quite well, to top it off you essentially buy the Series S for $240. Though without seeing PS5 pricing theirs nothing to compare the value to at this time. People playing on 1080p TVs don't need to pay $500+ for a console that still want next gen features. There's two consoles, it isn't all over the place, just two options. The Series X is for people with 4K120 and 8K TV/monitors. It's nice to have options. Especially for those who can't afford the high end model or TV. There's something for everyone.

 

[snc]

I own all consoles, because there is no best place to play. All consoles have their advantages and disadvantages.
Correct and XoX had to use a good junk of the RAM to preload data like all HDD consoles. XsS will be efficiently superior in its RAM usage.

The last 2GB RAM in XsS are for the OS and those aren't bandwidth hungry.

Lead Engine Programmer @ id Software but what he knows...

 

[MagpieRacer]

Lead Engine Programmer @ id Software but what he knows...

This is what we need. Its all well and good MS telling us what its targeting and what it can theoretically do. I want to hear from devs as to what it will actually do and how much we have to sacrifice for that lower cost.

 

[Thretosix]

This is what we need. Its all well and good MS telling us what its targeting and what it can theoretically do. I want to hear from devs as to what it will actually do and how much we have to sacrifice for that lower cost.

How is it any different than what Sony is saying? It's all theoretical until we see them in action. The Series S is targeted for a different audience. I don't get what's so hard to understand that this console is intended for people with lower incomes likely playing on 1080p TVs. What people need is patience. November 10th isn't that far away.

 

[evldave333]

Microsoft actually gets it. Not everyone has a 4K TV and even if they do the Series S runs 1440p up to 120fps and upscales to 4k kinda like how older consoles at times developed games at lower resolutions like 900p and upscaled to 1080p, for $299 it's a great deal. Also, the All Access also gives you two years of Game Pass Ultimate (access to over 100 games also lets you play the games on PC), which now includes EA Play Pass, and includes access to X-Cloud allowing you to play the games on your phone or tablet anywhere and performs quite well, to top it off you essentially buy the Series S for $240. Though without seeing PS5 pricing theirs nothing to compare the value to at this time. People playing on 1080p TVs don't need to pay $500+ for a console that still want next gen features. There's two consoles, it isn't all over the place, just two options. The Series X is for people with 4K120 and 8K TV/monitors. It's nice to have options. Especially for those who can't afford the high end model or TV. There's something for everyone.

Do they pay good wages at MS?

 

[MagpieRacer]

How is it any different than what Sony is saying? It's all theoretical until we see them in action. The Series S is targeted for a different audience. I don't get what's so hard to understand that this console is intended for people with lower incomes likely playing on 1080p TVs. What people need is patience. November 10th isn't that far away.

I dont care about Sony in this conversation. I'm talking about Microsoft and their 2 differing consoles. The Series S sounds great on paper but at what cost. The expectation on the X and PS5 is that they will push the boundaries and look fantastic etc etc. I wanna know what the S is actually going to be like in comparison. Real comparison.

I'm not saying its hard to understand, I want to know if it is going to offer an actual next gen experience. Yeah we can be patient and wait for November. Or we could be enlightened beforehand so we have a better understanding of what is being sacrificed.

 

[TypeRDC5]

This has probably already been said (new to the thread and a lot of posts to read) but I don't understand how a digital only console can function with only 500GB storage. Won't next games be even bigger in file size than current games? I already struggle with storage on my base PS4.

And considering the lower specs and the size factor won't this be a much bigger gap to the series x performance wise compared to what the One S and One X already are?

 

[Nacho Libre]

This is a demo going around on the Series S:

Even if it is 1080p@120 fps, that is impressive, as the One X can only do 60 fps (which is impressive in its own right).

 

[Thretosix]

I dont care about Sony in this conversation. I'm talking about Microsoft and their 2 differing consoles. The Series S sounds great on paper but at what cost. The expectation on the X and PS5 is that they will push the boundaries and look fantastic etc etc. I wanna know what the S is actually going to be like in comparison. Real comparison.

I'm not saying its hard to understand, I want to know if it is going to offer an actual next gen experience. Yeah we can be patient and wait for November. Or we could be enlightened beforehand so we have a better understanding of what is being sacrificed.

You're trying to find this out in a car gaming forum? I suggest looking elsewhere for your answers then or just wait until there are reviews and/or release and choose then. The specs clearly tell you the Series S is targeting a lower resolution. Possibly for people who only have a 1080p tv and don't want to spend money on a new TV. You want a next gen experience? First what to you defines next generation experience. Because everything you are going to see on the new consoles already exists on PC, with ray tracing features. The PC is also adopting the direct input SSD performance that will dance around the new consoles. I suggest you play on PC with a Nvidia Ampere GPU or possibly whatever AMD has to offer with Big Navi.

 

[ImaRobot]

You're trying to find this out in a car gaming forum?

Yes, there's a ton on information on all kinds of things from many extremely knowledgeable members here besides just car games on this forum. We can just chalk you not knowing up to you being new here.

 

[TrevorPhilips]

This has probably already been said (new to the thread and a lot of posts to read) but I don't understand how a digital only console can function with only 500GB storage. Won't next games be even bigger in file size than current games? I already struggle with storage on my base PS4.

And considering the lower specs and the size factor won't this be a much bigger gap to the series x performance wise compared to what the One S and One X already are?

Actually, games could be quite a bit smaller in size for this model (all 3 nxt gen), even compared to last gen because of the SSD. Last gen assets were duplicated a lot on the HDD to improve seek times. This is a guy from Insomniac showing off Spiderman dupes..

Theoretically, they could also go further as it's targeting 1080/1440 and digital only, MS could have a specific version of each game to download for this model (textures 4x smaller etc) Whether they do go that far though is debatable.

 

[Thretosix]

Do they pay good wages at MS?

I'm sorry you feel that way. I thought my response was helping you understand where the value might be with the Series S. Anyone making a purchasing decision should do some research before spending money. I'm personally on the edge about buying any console after Nvidia's Ampere GPU lineup reveal. Still waiting to see what AMD has to offer with Big Navi.

Yes, there's a ton on information on all kinds of things from many extremely knowledgeable members here besides just car games on this forum. We can just chalk you not knowing up to you being new here.

Nobody here has any of these new consoles to actually answer what you are looking for then. Sorry for trying to be helpful.

 

[ImaRobot]

Nobody here has any of these new consoles to actually answer what you are looking for then. Sorry for trying to be helpful.

So if that’s what you meant what exactly was the point of telling him to go look somewhere else if you acknowledge there’s no where else to go? Doesn’t exactly sound helpful.

like I said, there’s a wealth of information here besides just things about a car game.

 

[Thretosix]

So if that’s what you meant what exactly was the point of telling him to go look somewhere else if you acknowledge there’s no where else to go? Doesn’t exactly sound helpful.

like I said, there’s a wealth of information here besides just things about a car game.

You seemed to point out my low comment count and how new I am here. Perhaps I'm one of those people with the kind of knowledge you are looking for. I get responses like "Do they pay good wages at MS?" when I provide information to help. This place seems more like 4Chan for car gamers. Way to welcome people to your community. If you want to cherry pick the beginning of my comment but ignore my response about how next gen technology isn't really next gen but second gen PC technology while explaining why. So yes some of what I said may contradict itself because I'm engaged in multiple responses. Clearly this place seems like a bunch of children with tantrums to bother with. Good luck. I wasn't trying to drum up friction. This place clearly doesn't want someone from outside the community joining and offering up contributions unless you have a 10,000 comment count. Don't worry, clearly this site is not for me.

 

[Sander 001]

The Series S can still stream 4K from Netflix [I think]. That's very convenient for us!

If there's a good deal on game pass, I am sold!

 

[MagpieRacer]

You're trying to find this out in a car gaming forum? I suggest looking elsewhere for your answers then or just wait until there are reviews and/or release and choose then. The specs clearly tell you the Series S is targeting a lower resolution. Possibly for people who only have a 1080p tv and don't want to spend money on a new TV. You want a next gen experience? First what to you defines next generation experience. Because everything you are going to see on the new consoles already exists on PC, with ray tracing features. The PC is also adopting the direct input SSD performance that will dance around the new consoles. I suggest you play on PC with a Nvidia Ampere GPU or possibly whatever AMD has to offer with Big Navi.

I'm contributing to a discussion on a next gen console with my thoughts having seen a post from someone quoting a 3rd party developer contributing the the notion that it may not be as next gen as Microsoft are suggesting. As I said, its not strictly aimed at 1080p low income users, that's just false. Given that it targets a 1440p render with 4k upscaling, perhaps you yourself need to go find some information? And the whole buy a PC suggestion has been dkne to death for years if that is your best contribution then thank you but no.

My whole point is, and most people have understood it, that if we go by what Microsoft are saying, the only sacrifice for our £200 saving is the rendering resolution. Just resolution, so according to Microsoft the games will still look next gen with all the ray tracing and other clever bits of next gen hardware, just rendered at 1440p and upscale to 4k rather than rendered at 4k.. The developed has then chimed in with the point about memory and how that will be a
factor in game performance and that a lower resolution may not be enough to counter it. So how much next gen are we getting?

 

[evldave333]

You seemed to point out my low comment count and how new I am here. Perhaps I'm one of those people with the kind of knowledge you are looking for. I get responses like "Do they pay good wages at MS?" when I provide information to help. This place seems more like 4Chan for car gamers. Way to welcome people to your community. If you want to cherry pick the beginning of my comment but ignore my response about how next gen technology isn't really next gen but second gen PC technology while explaining why. So yes some of what I said may contradict itself because I'm engaged in multiple responses. Clearly this place seems like a bunch of children with tantrums to bother with. Good luck. I wasn't trying to drum up friction. This place clearly doesn't want someone from outside the community joining and offering up contributions unless you have a 10,000 comment count. Don't worry, clearly this site is not for me.

The elephant in the room is you're patronising. "helping you to understand" wow

 

[TypeRDC5]

Actually, games could be quite a bit smaller in size for this model (all 3 nxt gen), even compared to last gen because of the SSD. Last gen assets were duplicated a lot on the HDD to improve seek times. This is a guy from Insomniac showing off Spiderman dupes..

Theoretically, they could also go further as it's targeting 1080/1440 and digital only, MS could have a specific version of each game to download for this model (textures 4x smaller etc) Whether they do go that far though is debatable.

Interesting, hope that is the case as I was surprised how quickly a 500 GB HDD filed up this gen and I had the same the previous generation on 80 GB I think it was.

I haven't seen any next gen gameplay which has excited me but the SSD seems to be the real big generation leap so far.

 

[NLxAROSA]

So how much next gen are we getting?

42.

All jokes aside: I'm totally expecting there to be varying levels of 'next-gen' for the Series S, depending on the game. Some games are going to look absolutely awesome at native 1440p/60FPS (or even higher), some may drop down to as low as 1080p/30FPS at varying levels of graphical quality (numbers pulled from my behind of course, might be lower/higher).

The elephant in the room is you're patronising.

I don't think you should criticise someones attitude when you yourself post personal digs about someone being on MS payroll. There's plenty of opportunity to counter his arguments without resorting to personal digs. Play the ball, not the person.

 

[MagpieRacer]

42.

All jokes aside: I'm totally expecting there to be varying levels of 'next-gen' for the Series S, depending on the game. Some games are going to look absolutely awesome at native 1440p/60FPS (or even higher), some may drop down to as low as 1080p/30FPS at varying levels of graphical quality (numbers pulled from my behind of course, might be lower/higher).

I don't think you should criticise someones attitude when you yourself post personal digs about someone being on MS payroll. There's plenty of opportunity to counter his arguments without resorting to personal digs. Play the ball, not the person.

I think your right there. And I think that split will be most evident between 3rd and 1st party. I guess I just find it annoying that it almost sounds too good to be true. . Proof will be in the pudding, I'm sure now its out there it won't be long until we get some proper comparisons.

 

[MrCrynox]

I think your right there. And I think that split will be most evident between 3rd and 1st party. I guess I just find it annoying that it almost sounds too good to be true. . Proof will be in the pudding, I'm sure now its out there it won't be long until we get some proper comparisons.

It would be ace if it were true though, I play using a decent1080P monitor, this news almost negates the to get an X, (despite the fact that I want one).

 

[Moglet]

It would be ace if it were true though, I play using a decent1080P monitor, this news almost negates the to get an X, (despite the fact that I want one).

If using a 1080p screen the Series S is likely going to be a great buy providing you don't mind swapping games around due to the limited storage

 

[MrCrynox]

If using a 1080p screen the Series S is likely going to be a great buy providing you don't mind swapping games around due to the limited storage

It wouldn't bother me personally. I have a large external HDD already & let's be honest we only play 2-3 games at the same time anyway. I think it's a good buy but I'm in no rush, Im happy with my XB1X & base PS4, loads of games in my back log to wait for a while.