Xbox Series S Officially Unveiled at $299

[MagpieRacer]

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.

I think the problem with buying either really is the lack of console exclusives. If Microsoft, Xbox and Phil Spencer are true to their word then all the firdt party exclsuives will release for the Xbox One as well for the next 18 months to 2 years anyway. Potentially in a weird way, makes the decision to buy a PS5 a little bit easier potentially, depending on its launch line up. But it does at least seem to be getting console exclusives.

 

[MrCrynox]

I think the problem with buying either really is the lack of console exclusives. If Kicrosoft, Xbox and Phil Spencer are ture to their word then all the firdt party exclsuives will release for the Xbox One as well for the next 18 months to 2 years anyway. Potentially in a weird way, makes the decision to buy a PS5 a little bit easier potentially, depending on its launch line up. But it does at least seem to be getting console exclusives.

I agree. The only benefit to a new Xbox atm is the fact that all your existing catalogue of games will load faster & run better. Is this enough ? I'm not convinced atm.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

So in the UK you get....

For £21 pm, 2 year contract
XBSS, gamepass ultimate, ea play, X Cloud streaming.

For £29 pm, 2 year contract
XBSX, gamepass ultimate, ea play, X Cloud streaming.

Either way you look at it that's a pretty sweet deal, that's a lot of games to get you started & even if the SS only has 500gb storage you can just stream the heavy games.

 

[NLxAROSA]

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.

Another thing to keep in mind is that any dev who has actual access to a XSX/XSS devkit is likely under NDA, so they won't be talking about this on Twitter/Reddit/etc. They will be speaking to MS directly. That means devs responding on Twitter = no access to actual hardware, so also speculating (which doesn't mean it has no value at all, but something to keep in mind). Once the NDAs come off we'll get some real info from devs.

I'm very interested in this one, but not pre-ordering. Need more real-world benchmarks/comparisons.

 

[Famine]

For £29 pm, 2 year contract
XBSX, gamepass ultimate, ea play, X Cloud streaming.

Either way you look at it that's a pretty sweet deal

Xbox All Access for the XSX will cost £696 over two years.

Bought separately, the console is £449, and Game Pass Ultimate (which includes all the other things) is £1 for the first month and £10.99 a month thereafter. Over two years that adds up to £702.77.

The deal is thus a £6.77 saving over two years - just under 1%, or about 28p a month - which doesn't seem all that sweet to me. Aside from not having to put up the up-front cost of the console, I'm not totally sure what the incentive is; if they at least made it £21.98 cheaper you'd get two months of XBGPU (equivalent) free...


Edit: For XSS it's actually the same price to go the All Access route.

 

[Moglet]

It does make me wonder if they're going to increase the price of Game Pass Ultimate once the new consoles come out. Unless they've confirmed they won't and I've missed it.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Xbox All Access for the XSX will cost £696 over two years.

Bought separately, the console is £449, and Game Pass Ultimate (which includes all the other things) is £1 for the first month and £10.99 a month thereafter. Over two years that adds up to £702.77.

The deal is thus a £6.77 saving over two years - just under 1%, or about 28p a month - which doesn't seem all that sweet to me. Aside from not having to put up the up-front cost of the console, I'm not totally sure what the incentive is; if they at least made it £21.98 cheaper you'd get two months of XBGPU (equivalent) free...

Think of it like this, how many people would own a high end smartphone if they had to pay out £800 in one go every 2 years? Spread that out @ £35 pm looks more appealing.

For people like me, I'll just buy the console outright, I do the same with my cars/phone in life aswell, the only thing I got on finance (mortgage) is my house & virgin media.

But for people who can't afford to do that then it's the same thing as driving around in a nice BMW, Audi or Merc even though they're claiming benefits

By the way I do agree with your view on it, I'm just seeing from another perspective, it works for people that need this method.

Back in the 80's people on the bread line used to do this with TVs & VHS players as well, you just couldn't afford to buy one outright, I should know we were one of them families back then.

I even remember having a TV that you had to put 10p in the slot for an hours viewing or 20p for 3hrs & we only had 4 channels back then.

 

[snc]

Principal engine programmer at id Software

 

[TJ13]

Think of it like this, how many people would own a high end smartphone if they had to pay out £800 in one go every 2 years? Spread that out @ £35 pm looks more appealing.

Or every year.
Since some need those new Samsung Phones.

Wouldn't you have to sign a contract saying that it will be x/month for 2 years?
Also here I think after 1 year you can "buy" out the rest of the time and upgrade.

Either way I think for me is Pay all now and not have to worry about 2 years worth of things.
Let alone what if you lost your job next year?
Moved?
Started a family?

 

[NLxAROSA]

Aside from not having to put up the up-front cost of the console, I'm not totally sure what the incentive is

There's no incentive. Just a different option for those that don't want to pay up front.

What would make it work for me: A pure subscription service where you just pay a monthly fee and rent (don't own) the console. Gaming-as-a-service. Like my ISP lends me a modem with my internet/TV subscription and they own it/are responsible for replacing it when it's broken/outdated.

 

[Famine]

Think of it like this, how many people would own a high end smartphone if they had to pay out £800 in one go every 2 years? Spread that out @ £35 pm looks more appealing.

I did:

Aside from not having to put up the up-front cost of the console, I'm not totally sure what the incentive is

Back in the 80's people on the bread line used to do this with TVs & VHS players as well, you just couldn't afford to buy one outright, I should know we were one of them families back then.

They still do - it was the entire business model of Bright House (and that only collapsed this year as an effect of COVID), and big electronics stores still offer finance deals (usually 0% over an initial period too)...

... but that doesn't change the fact that this XBAA thing isn't really a good deal, never mind a sweet one. Running the maths makes it really clear: with XSX you save 28p a month compared to buying the individual parts, and with XSS you're £25 worse off with the "deal".

"Buy this, it's only slightly better than a getting it on finance from Comet" isn't an incentive. "Buy this and get two free months of Game Pass Ultimate" would be an incentive. That'd work out at £28.37/month for XSX and £20.03/month for XSS.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

I did:


They still do - it was the entire business model of Bright House (and that only collapsed this year as an effect of COVID), and big electronics stores still offer finance deals (usually 0% over an initial period too)...

... but that doesn't change the fact that this XBAA thing isn't really a good deal, never mind a sweet one. Running the maths makes it really clear: with XSX you save 28p a month compared to buying the individual parts, and with XSS you're £25 worse off with the "deal".

"Buy this, it's only slightly better than a getting it on finance from Comet" isn't an incentive. "Buy this and get two free months of Game Pass Ultimate" would be an incentive. That'd work out at £28.37/month for XSX and £20.03/month for XSS.

Ha ha, funnily enough me & the wife were talking about bright house the other day. Maybe deal was the wrong term to use. But in general if you pay outright you get things cheaper than spreading the cost, car insurance & tax spring to mind.

Regardless some people prefer/have no choice but to pay monthly for things, this is the incentive/opportunity for them to do that.

 

[MagpieRacer]

It shows that MS see it as a service rather than simply hardware. I know I'm stating the obvious there but the mobile phone comparison is a pretty good one. You aren't just buying the phone over 2 years, you buying the service to go with it as well, and depending on the network a good chunk of extras with it too. My EE plan for example gives me unlimited data, BT sport mobile and a frw yearly upgrade should I wish to trade my phone for the new one at no extra cost.

Its an almost identical model, combining the hardware with the gold, gamepass etc. Few people go out and buy their mobiles outright (certainly in the UK), its mainly contract and pay monthly based and makes iPhones and expensive android phones attainable. What all access will do if nothing else is give more people a way in as @Mr Grumpy alluded to, and from that get more hardware into peolles hands quicker than perhaps Sony could. Price dependant on the PS5 naturally.

 

[sirjim73]

It shows that MS see it as a service mkrebtjan simply hardware. I know I'm stating the obvious there but the mobile phone comparison is a pretty good one. You aren't just buying the phone over 2 years, you buying the service to go with it as well, and depending on the network a good chunk of extras with it too. My EE plan for example gives me unlimited data, BT sport mobile and a frw yearly upgrade should I wish to trade my phone for the new one at no extra cost.

Its an almost identical model, combining the hardware with the gold, gamepass etc. Few people go out and buy their mobiles outright (certainly in the UK), its mainly contract and pay monthly based and makes iPhones and expensive android phones attainable. What all access will do if nothing else is give more people a way in as @Mr Grumpy alluded to, and from that get more hardware into peolles hands quicker than perhaps Sony could. Price dependant on the PS5 naturally.

What's a "mkrebtjan"? Think I saw one in Star Trek once

 

[ImaRobot]

I think the problem with buying either really is the lack of console exclusives. If Microsoft, Xbox and Phil Spencer are true to their word then all the firdt party exclsuives will release for the Xbox One as well for the next 18 months to 2 years anyway. Potentially in a weird way, makes the decision to buy a PS5 a little bit easier potentially, depending on its launch line up. But it does at least seem to be getting console exclusives.

That's one thing I was wondering as well. While Xbox seemingly wont be getting any exclusives for a bit of time, what exactly is PS5 launching with? I can't find anything substantial, and what I did find didn't interest me that much, at least not enough to fork down the money to get it at launch. With what I'm seeing so far, it seems more likely I'll get the Xbox Series X first seeing as I have many games for the One X already - That plus what my friends purchase is going to weigh into it, and so far it seems like that's Xbox as well.

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.

I actually didn't say a single thing about your low post count, but it was a combination of things actually. One of the clear indicators of you being new is your join date, which is very clearly written on your profile. Another would be your post count, yes. The other would also be the fact that you're dismissive of knowledge being available because "its a car game forum." I wasn't part of the discussion, nor was my post meant to offend. I was simply stating there's a lot of knowledgeable people here from all kinds of walks of lifes, experiences, and profession. There's a lot of knowledge here outside of gaming, and because you being so new, you just wouldn't have been aware of that.

That you misunderstood that seems to reflect on your own energy you're putting out. I didn't cherry pick anything, I was merely pointing out that it's not exactly unheard of for someone to be knowledgeable in things outside of just a car game here. Perhaps you are one of those people with that kind of knowledge, but when you say go look elsewhere, it makes it seem like maybe you're just not.

You didn't get responses like "do they pay good wages at MS?" You got literally one response that said that. If you have an issue with someone, associate it with the actual person you have an issue with rather than trying to connect to the many people that said nothing of the sort.

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.

There's no reason why your own thoughts should be contradictory just because you're talking to multiple people. Either way, you're quite clearly projecting if you're getting so upset.

I wasn't trying to drum up friction.

Never said you were. I think you saying that boils down to you not understanding the point in which you responded to, as well as you seemingly thinking anything contradictory to your point is seen as an attack.

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.

Clearly, if you're unable to have a conversation with someone just because they disagree with a single point you said. Good luck with conversations with people who don't agree with you 100% of the time in the future.

EDIT: and @Thretosix seems to have quit the site in a absolutely ironic way, throwing a massive tantrum by editing everything in his profile to make note of why he left the site

 

[Mr Grumpy]

What's a "mkrebtjan"? Think I saw one in Star Trek once

Don't you know?

Why you need one of them if you're going for a asdgghjkl of course.

 

[Darla Starch]

Don't you know?

Why you need one of them if you're going for a asdgghjkl of course.

After you guinanansns off to Phlony, of course.

 

[MagpieRacer]

That's one thing I was wondering as well. While Xbox seemingly wont be getting any exclusives for a bit of time, what exactly is PS5 launching with? I can't find anything substantial, and what I did find didn't interest me that much, at least not enough to fork down the money to get it at launch. With what I'm seeing so far, it seems more likely I'll get the Xbox Series X first seeing as I have many games for the One X already - That plus what my friends purchase is going to weigh into it, and so far it seems like that's Xbox as well.




It was a combination of things actually. One of the clear indicators of you being new is your join date, which is very clearly written on your profile. Another would be your post count, yes. The other would also be the fact that you're dismissive of knowledge being available because "its a car game forum." I wasn't part of the discussion, nor was my post meant to offend. I was simply stating there's a lot of knowledgeable people here from all kinds of walks of lifes, experiences, and profession. There's a lot of knowledge here outside of gaming, and because you being so new, you just wouldn't have been aware of that.

That you misunderstood that seems to reflect on your own energy you're putting out. I didn't cherry pick anything, I was merely pointing out that it's not exactly unheard of for someone to be knowledgeable in things outside of just a car game here. Perhaps you are one of those people with that kind of knowledge, but when you say go look elsewhere, it makes it seem like maybe you're just not.

You didn't get responses like "do they pay good wages at MS?" You got literally one response that said that. If you have an issue with someone, associate it with the actual person you have an issue with rather than trying to connect to the many people that said nothing of the sort.


There's no reason why your own thoughts should be contradictory just because you're talking to multiple people. Either way, you're quite clearly projecting if you're getting so upset.


Never said you were. I think you saying that boils down to you not understanding the point in which you responded to, as well as you seemingly thinking anything contradictory to your point is seen as an attack.


Clearly, if you're unable to have a conversation with someone just because they disagree with a single point you said. Good luck with conversations with people who don't agree with you 100% of the time in the future.

EDIT: and @Thretosix seems to have quit the site in a absolutely ironic way, throwing a massive tantrum by editing everything in his profile to make note of why he left the site

I think there's a few confirmed for at least holiday 2020 so should coincide with release:

Spiderman: Mile Morales
Deathloop (timed exclusive)
Jett
Godfall
Astros playroom

Then there's a few unconfirmed and a few rumours around the likes of Ratchet and Clank and Gran Turismo.

Granted these won't be to everyones tastes and there's not much to get tongues wagging but it's more than Xbox has for launch right now.

That's certainly an epic way to quit

 

[ImaRobot]

I think there's a few confirmed for at least holiday 2020 so should coincide with release:

Spiderman: Mile Morales
Deathloop (timed exclusive)
Jett
Godfall
Astros playroom

Then there's a few unconfirmed and a few rumours around the likes of Ratchet and Clank and Gran Turismo.

Granted these won't be to everyones tastes and there's not much to get tongues wagging but it's more than Xbox has for launch right now.

That's certainly an epic way to quit

I'm interested in Spiderman and Godfall but not enough to purchase on Launch. If GT7 manages to be a launch title that could potentially sway me to outright buy the PS5 and maybe get on that payment plan for the XSX, that way I can just have both at the same time. Best of both worlds, all my Xbox games wont just be wasted money, and I'd still be able to switch back and forth if my friends want to play.

 

[NLxAROSA]

If GT7 manages to be a launch title

We all know the odds of that happening.

 

[ImaRobot]

We all know the odds of that happening.

You're absolutely right. I edited my post to reflect how big that if is.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

There's a rumoured Series V (all digital series X), some are speculating over the code name.

Obviously it's well......

 

[MagpieRacer]

There's a rumoured Series V (all digital series X), some are speculating over the code name.
View attachment 957061
Obviously it's well......

Why tho..

 

[Nacho Libre]

Discless version of Series X?

 

[Robin]

If people are willing to shell out for the Series X they won't mind the extra they have paid for the drive even if they don't use it so a diskless Series X is kinda stupid. Similarly if it's less powerful than the X, sits above the S and is diskless that's even more stupid because who exactly is that aimed at?

3 consoles in the range (Series X, S, One S) is already plenty choice enough imo.

 

[TS050]

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.

The storage issue is a weird catch-22. Assets and textures don’t need to be duplicated anymore, but thanks to the power of the consoles, textures will almost assuredly be of a much higher quality (the ones used in the Unreal Engine 5 demo were at 8K), taking up more space

There's a rumoured Series V (all digital series X), some are speculating over the code name.
View attachment 957061
Obviously it's well......

What’s the point?

4 consoles in the range sounds kinda silly to me as well

 

[MagpieRacer]

The storage issue is a weird catch-22. Assets and textures don’t need to be duplicated anymore, but thanks to the power of the consoles, textures will almost assuredly be of a much higher quality (the ones used in the Unreal Engine 5 demo were at 8K), taking up more space



What’s the point?

4 consoles in the range sounds kinda silly to me as well

Frankly, 1 has always been enough for me. I understand the mid gen bump thing but I just don't get having multiple launch consoles anyway, nevermind 3.

 

[TrevorPhilips]

The storage issue is a weird catch-22. Assets and textures don’t need to be duplicated anymore, but thanks to the power of the consoles, textures will almost assuredly be of a much higher quality (the ones used in the Unreal Engine 5 demo were at 8K), taking up more space

True, but this gen was absolutely woeful for both dupes and texture compression to save on seek, decompression on load and decompression on fly times. I expect a LOT better next gen. I'm sure MS has a solution, I have not looked, but I know for certain that PS5 has a vastly improved controller (the custom decompress equates to 9 Zen2 cores the conventional way even with the very heavy Kraken compression) so I expect all textures will be compressed a lot better and not duped this time round.

Another thing I hate about digital games is that I have to DL all the localisation files. Some games are just gigs and gigs of audio i'll never need. It's stupid.

 

[ImaRobot]

Another thing I hate about digital games is that I have to DL all the localisation files. Some games are just gigs and gigs of audio i'll never need. It's stupid.

To bad they just don't give you an option to opt out of any you don't need, but the way things are now, don't you basically have to install it whether you have the disc or not? I haven't bought a physical game in a while so I can't really remember if there's any difference in HD space they take up.

 

[TJ13]

Now lets add a 3rd one.
Called Xbox Series V.


Rumor has it that this one will be the same as the XSX but without the drive.

So lets see.
XSX for 499
XSS for 299
XSV for 399