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[THE DUCK]

It was very clearly a good move for them, the argument that a digital x for 399 would have sufficed is incorrect, they moved a ton of S stock this year at $249, something they would not have been able to do with a digital X. Just wait till next year if they can hit $199 in November. This was the plan for the S all along.

 

[Chukhopops]

What opinion have I expressed do you feel is "dumb"? I have no issues if you think I'm wrong or that my opinion is flawed, but "dumb" seems like a stretch.

I think we can be civil and disagree here without throwing insults like that.

I think you misread what I said, I didn’t mean you? Just pointing out that the subject of the XSS has seen a lot of meteoric takes ever since the gen started.

Sorry if it wasn’t clear.

 

[Bojji]

Yeah, that narrative has never made sense to me. When all these games are made for PCs with lower specs than XSS, how does any of this console gen stuff even apply anymore? Hogwarts Legacy will run at 720p/30 on a GTX 960 and Ryzen 5 1400. So even if/when XSS has to eventually drop resolution more than anticipated, I don't see how it is an "albatross" when games are still made for lower spec'd systems.

Thanks to last gen ports only, of this game was current gen low specs would be around ~XSS.

This console will be become the lowest common denominator once cross gen is dropped.

 

[SegaSnatcher]

I think you misread what I said, I didn’t mean you? Just pointing out that the subject of the XSS has seen a lot of meteoric takes ever since the gen started.

Sorry if it wasn’t clear.

Fair enough!

And just to be clear I'm definitely not against the idea of a lower powered/cheaper console, but I do question some of the cut backs they made to hit that price point and wonder if it will hurt them in the long run.

 

[rickybooby87]

They should have settled on a machine that could match the PS5 for $100 cheaper. The people love a $399 box, granted, they’ve got the Bluetooth speaker for $299, but it’s so gimped and requires sizable sacrifices in IQ.

Single SKU has many benefits all the way from putting it on the shelves to logistics, manufacturing, development, COSTS, etc.

I don’t know the exact numbers but we’ve all seen the rumors, more evidence in favor of a loss leader strategy.

I imagine someone will take the reins from Phil sooner rather than later.

 

[Rykan]

Yeah, that narrative has never made sense to me. When all these games are made for PCs with lower specs than XSS, how does any of this console gen stuff even apply anymore? Hogwarts Legacy will run at 720p/30 on a GTX 960 and Ryzen 5 1400. So even if/when XSS has to eventually drop resolution more than anticipated, I don't see how it is an "albatross" when games are still made for lower spec'd systems.

The vast majority of games are cross gen games. It's going to be a much bigger issue once development only focuses on current gen machines. Hogwarts Legacy is literally designed to run on the Switch.

 

[tusharngf]

its a genius move. Given the economy now a cheap console plus gamepass is a super saving combo.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Love my s. It is great on my 1080 p tv

 

[Crayon]

Sony hasn't unleashed the raw 399 yet. The digitals are readily available on their store as gow and hfw bundles right now. They've yet to get a bunch of those out on shelves and they still have yet to let the $399 no-game units flow. They kept the digital units low volume for now and the ps5 has been effectively $500. Selling the digitals to this point was just leaving money on the table.

MS does temporary cuts and other promotions, so many people will be able to get and s for closer to 200. At some point, they should probably cut the msrp to 249 because otherwise it's going to make those 399 ps5's look really good when they finally fill shelves.

 

[Kataploom]

Genius move. Outside of North America/Western Europe/Japan consoles are very expensive items. Typically selling at way higher price than US MSRP with lower wages to boot. Series S is the only console that's somewhat affordable. Plus its lower specs mean you don't have to upgrade your 1080p TV set to get the most of it.

Also, its price might make it work as a secondary console. I have a gaming PC but down the line I might get a used one since it seems to be a great emulation box on top of a capable gaming machine.

Those laughing at your post can't see beyond their own neighborhood. Here in latam I've seen many people that would have stayed out of console generation for years moving to XSS way quicker... Nothing stops them to sell it and put the rest for the XSX later if they feel it's not enough.

Also, the XSS is mostly used as "cheap pc-like console" on a 1080p or 2K monitor, so 4K TVs mean nothing to it.

I think it's a brilliant move, a little more RAM bandwidth could have helped it with some stuff like RT but those are just gimmicks until full pathtraced lighting gets in the standard dev pipeline (and PS5 and XSX aren't even remotely powerful for that).

 

[Riky]

It offers a lot of what makes this gen much more enjoyable apart from resolution as promised.
120fps, fast loading, quick resume, FPS boost, Auto HDR and amazing backwards compatibility.
So it's a bargain really, looking forward to seeing the likes of Redfall and Forza and how it handles the flood of next gen exclusives coming Xbox owners way.

 

[THE DUCK]

Thanks to last gen ports only, of this game was current gen low specs would be around ~XSS.

This console will be become the lowest common denominator once cross gen is dropped.

No it won't, low end PC specs will continue to be the lowest spec due to sheer numbers of gamers still playing on a 1060, 1650 and mobile 3050/3060.

 

[Kataploom]

only they know.

isn't Xbox series outpacing Xbone all thanks to series S?.

that seems like a S mart move.

but even 2 years into this gen. it feel that we are still in the cross- phase (about to end this year).

we will see when real Next-Gen titles perform on that consoles.

but we could talk about consoles, architecture, business model, ecosystem or whatever....at the end of the day is all about the content and that has been the biggest mistake.

We already have A Plague Tale: Requiem, Hi-Fi Rush, The Medium and I don't know what else... I'd say the Requiem does look "just like a last gen game" until I played it, I can't see a Jaguar CPU moving that game... We'll have some current-gen only coming this year: Starfield, that new Forza, Jedi: Survivor, etc.

 

[Topher]

The vast majority of games are cross gen games. It's going to be a much bigger issue once development only focuses on current gen machines. Hogwarts Legacy is literally designed to run on the Switch.

We will see. I'm having a hard time seeing minimum PC leaping past XSS even in current gen only games. The Switch port of Hogwarts is going to be interesting to say the least.

 

[3liteDragon]

No, should've done a $399 Series X.

 

[skit_data]

Still too early to tell IMO, most releases have been crossgen and those seem to work fine.
I am 100% certain that Series S will run into bigger problems and developers will probably lower the resolution further and further below what was originally advertised as the ”normal” window (1080p-1440p).

I’d like a Series S with just a little more RAM and a little bit bigger SSD, I think that would been a much more balanced console. Actually a bit surprised neither it or Series X has had a model revision (afaik). Would be a good opportunity to at least make the storage a little bigger. MS also lowered the price for several months unless I got that completely wrong.
They should make the SSD ~ 1 TB in size and keep it at $299, I think comes off as a better deal. Would be nice with 2 more gigs of RAM too but I don’t think it’s very likely.

 

[Topher]

No, should've done a $399 Series X.

I definitely would have preferred a discless Series X at a cheaper price. I haven't used my XSX disc drive once.

 

[mrmustard]

I think the S was a smart move and i'm pretty sure it will sell better than the X. This or next year all thrid party devs will stop supporting PS4 and Xbox One. Then the casuals will have to ugrade and the past has shown that the majority of the players doesn't care about power.

 

[Bonfires Down]

As someone pointed out, I doubt a discless Series X at $399 was realistic as they would be bleeding money out their ass.

 

[Robb]

It was definitely a smart move, especially in hindsight of the pandemic.

 

[Kataploom]

As someone pointed out, I doubt a discless Series X at $399 was realistic as they would be bleeding money out their ass.

And having not enough stock while they're there

 

[Alx]

I'm playing on Series S because I needed a new console in the Xbox ecosystem and it wasn't much more expensive than a regular Xbox One S. I wouldn't have bought a full-powered new gen console due to their price, availablity and lack of true innovation. So for people like me it was definitely a good move.

 

[Heisenberg007]

No.

The proof is in the pudding. Data and numbers speak for themselves.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Besides, if you just don't want a PS5 DE and want to stay within the Xbox ecosystem, the Xbox Series X offers a much better value for money.

Series S has like ~370 GB of usable storage. Being digital only, you will most likely have to upgrade it. That gives you like ~1,300 GB of storage, but then the system will cost you $520. You can get an XSX for $500 and end up with a ~850 GB storage, much better BC, and significantly better performance and resolution.

 

[ParaSeoul]

Wasn't good then and even worse now

 

[onQ123]

No.

The proof is in the pudding. Data and numbers speak for themselves.

But it's the Xbox Series console that's selling the most so wouldn't that data & numbers speak even worse for Series X?

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

I think it makes a great budget console, or a secondary system in like another room, or a place to share one's digital games and game pass subscription.

I have a Series X in my game room for me, and a Series S in a family's bedroom so they can share my stuff. They just have a 40" 1080p tv so it works really well for them.

 

[Stare-Bear]

I would love to know the split in sales between Series S and Series X. Fact that MS are not releasing those figures tells me the series S is selling a lot more. Like a lot a lot more.

 

[bluecowboys]

You can get an Xbox Series S for 250 dollars right now and get game pass. You save money on both hardware and software.

Star field, forza motrosport, red fall, age of empires 4, and hi fi rush makes it worth it this year alone.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

Its still too early to say, but what is starting to become more clear is the lackluster performance of the Series S compared to the other consoles (PS5/Series X) and I think that gap will get bigger as we move further into next gen only games. But I think at this point no one is surprised and people that purchased the Series S probably knew this would be the case.

Xbox just has to get more great games out at the end of the day. The Series S can't do crap for them sales wise if they don't even have games that people want to play.

 

[Clintizzle]

It's a great second room console!

Those who disagree are probably poor and don't have a second gaming room.

 

[Kumomeme]

it failed at the promise of '1440p' machine. even at 1080p.

 

[Starbuck2907]

“During Microsoft's Fiscal Year 2023 First Quarter Earnings conference call, CEO Satya Nadella revealed that nearly half of all Xbox Series S consoles have been sold to those that have never previously owned an Xbox console. That's a stunning statistic, and it shows that the cheaper platform is acting as a gateway to audiences that might not have otherwise purchased an Xbox!”

https://comicbook.com/gaming/amp/news/xbox-series-s-microsoft-shocking-statistic-game-pass/

Sounds like a clear success.

 

[remember_spinal]

It's a great second room console!

Those who disagree are probably poor and don't have a second gaming room.

Or maybe they’re rich and have a series x in their second gaming room

 

[Allandor]

I think it's a brilliant move, a little more RAM bandwidth could have helped it with some stuff like RT but those are just gimmicks until full pathtraced lighting gets in the standard dev pipeline (and PS5 and XSX aren't even remotely powerful for that).

Even a rtx 4090 isn't enough to do this without tricks. It will be a long way until this really works in "realtime". Lightspeed in games that do that is really slow

But that won't make it easier to get the lighting right in games. You still need the artist that positions the lights correctly so a scene looks good. Natural light can look really awful at times


To the topic:
The series s is still a really nice console. Yes specs could be better in some places but it still manages to give a good enough picture often at 60fps in most games. Games are still fun if the game is good. Graphics doesn't matter, else the Switch would be total crap.

 

[Sw0pDiller]

You can get an Xbox Series S for 250 dollars right now and get game pass. You save money on both hardware and software.

Star field, forza motrosport, red fall, age of empires 4, and hi fi rush makes it worth it this year alone.

I am hearing this narrative for about two years allready, and stil the console is lagging behind. Plus all this endgame hope upon Starfield.... this game better not be a Bethesda bomba like so many betehsda game before it. What will be the next Jesus and savior for xbox owners? the Seroes S is for sale here for about 6 months now for as low as 219 euro... still sales are declining.

 

[FunkMiller]

Given how many games - up to and including Hogwart's Legacy - are struggling to even get to 1080p on Series S...

...dumb piece of crap, innit?

Might be a short term earner for Microsoft, but it'll be a drag on the whole industry moving forward.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Seems to be doing quite well.

I think its a great little machine so yeah. They made the right choice.

 

[adamosmaki]

Yes it was. During the whole shortage of consoles the only thing that was somewhat available at somewhat ok prices was series s and I'm sure during that period MS sold alot.
Of course now that things start to normalize and availability isn't a big issue it probably would not sell that much

 

[Pjsprojects]

I know at my lads school (UK) none of them wanted Series S for the past couple of Christmas.
It had to be a Series X even with the supply problems back then. Now however a lot of the Xbox kids that my lad knows are rapidly switching to PS5 due to the likes of Spider-Man, one even thought Hogwarts was only on PS5.

I don’t think Series S was a mistake but I do think it will hold devs back for the whole generation.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

For MS? Yes.

For the industry? No.

For the consumer? No.

If the rumors are true then in the not too distant future a digital PS5 SKU is all Sony will offer, with an optional external disc drive purchase.

I am actually shocked they didn't do that at launch. I feel that from day one, this should have been their strategy, a console with a detachable, optional disc drive.

 

[Spukc]

Yes
No
Maybe
Yes
No

 

[Crayon]

It may be true that the sx just costs more than the ps5 to make and they cant do a 399 digital version. cerny.gif

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

I don’t think Series S was a mistake but I do think it will hold devs back for the whole generation.

I don know why people keep saying this. It won't hold devs back. The only way it could have done that was if the CPU was not just worse, but significantly worse than the premium current-gen consoles.

That's not the case. Everything else (basically the GPU) is very scalable. And usually by a simple drop-in resolution.

What it would do though, is complicate dev builds on the XS consoles. More work.

 

[Crayon]

I don know why people keep saying this. It won't hold devs back. The only way it could have done that was if the CPU was not just worse, but significantly worse than the premium current-gen consoles.

That's not the case. Everything else (basically the GPU) is very scalable. And usually by a simple drop-in resolution.

What it would do though, is complicate dev builds on the XS consoles. More work.

It does make it effectively harder to make the xbox version, since you have two profiles to do. It's influence on the industry baseline is largely mitigated by the wide spread of pc hardware out there. I do expect a wide range of quality for S versions down the line. Some are going to look ragged when a studio is pushing the main consoles hard and says they ain't got time for that.

 

[bluecowboys]

I am hearing this narrative for about two years allready, and stil the console is lagging behind. Plus all this endgame hope upon Starfield.... this game better not be a Bethesda bomba like so many betehsda game before it. What will be the next Jesus and savior for xbox owners? the Seroes S is for sale here for about 6 months now for as low as 219 euro... still sales are declining.

MS already won publisher of the year in 2021 and will win again this year. Sony’s only AAA first party game this year is Spider-Man 2.

All MS has to do is stay the course and keep buying more studios. Keep growing Xbox library while at the same time shrinking PlayStation library

 

[Banjo64]

Yeah. I wish there was a small, eco digital only 5-6tf PS5. Just wish Xbox could produce regularly for it.

 

[anthony2690]

Yes & No.
I think it comes down to realistic expectations off the buyer.

Excellent for:
Buying for a child that wants to play game pass games or free to play titles, probably doesn't care too much perfect performance or high resolutions.

Not so great:
Adults that purchased the device expecting parity with series x, it's lower end hardware and you read some absolutely strange stuff online.

Plus some games are just not optimised well at all, even on series X & I only dread how they are on series s.

Wild hearts for example, I think my vrr is saving the performance, from reading comments online about performance & it's very low res with aggressive pop in.

Edit: now I think about it, I guess it's just about giving people options, it doesn't impact me as I'm on series X. So yeah I'm all for it.

 

[Hobbygaming]

We will see. I'm having a hard time seeing minimum PC leaping past XSS even in current gen only games. The Switch port of Hogwarts is going to be interesting to say the least.

Silent Hill 2 remake's requirements are higher for just the minimum specs than the S I believe

 

[Drizzlehell]

Idk, I got a Series S and it's a great little console for the less demanding crowd, I think. I already had a PC and PS5 for next gen gaming so Series S is mostly serving me as a BC and gamepass machine and for that, it's a great system. My friend also has it - he's not a hardcore gamer and he always praised it too.