Reaction: Looking Back At An Excellent First Year For The Xbox Series X|S

Got a series s around April. I was a bit hesitant about it, I had a one x but I really wanted the faster load times. I was worried I’d regret it though.
I didn’t thankfully, the series s is a blast and great value for money.
Game pass is obviously the main seller content wise, Pyschonauts 1 + 2, forza horizon 5, Gears Tactics being my favourites but also getting the chance to just mess around with other games I wouldn’t usually buy like mlb, outriders, the accent, Back 4 blood etc. And being able to mess around with those games with people I know who are on Xbox one makes it better, we don’t all need to buy these games or be on the same console to have a go at them which I really cool.
The only real downside are some of the upgrades of the one x didn’t carry over (sekiro being the biggest one for me, also Morriwind which I had just started on one x).

Walked into GAME the day pre-orders were being gobbled up. Managed to pre order the last one. It was a smooth transition and have been playing my series X ever since. First game was Valhalla and loved every second of it. 😀 then it was Watch dogs and the Ray tracing blew my socks off

Thanks to game pass I've never had nothing to play. I buy more games when they're on sale, too. Or, seeing as I knew Forza was coming out I knew I could spend the money on a non game pass game and got Lost Judgement. 😍

My wife got my Xbox S and she loves it 😀

Nice! Had a Series X for 1y in the living room and another for 10 months in the bedroom

Waited in line for eight hours to get mine and have no regrets. I love being a part of the xbox ecosystem. Have had a lot of fun replaying all the halos, playing xbox one games I never could play, and dozens of games on game pass. I'm really satisfied.

Got my Series X on launch day. Can’t believe it’s been a year already....but what a year! I vividly remember the day as I had booked the day off work, so I could wait in for Amazon to deliver my shiny new console. I think the first games I played were AC Valhalla and Dirt 5. Strangely enough, today - exactly a year after getting the Series X - I just got the new Forza Horizon 5 controller...and it looks sweeeeeet! Now, I’m off to play FH5 😀

Probably won't get one for a few years yet can finally order a ps5 directly from playstation though so hopefully be able to get my hands on one of them soon then start saving for a series console after

Love my Series X - been a Xbox fanboy since day one, but mine is now gathering dust
In April Microsoft closed my account of 17 years for a "serious violation" - don't know what I have done & they won't say.
Lost access to tens of thousands of hours of games saves & >2500 games + dlc - been buying digitally since launch of 360.
Probably the worst year in my life, not joking & have been seriously down about this and lost any enthusiasm about the XBox
Not selling it though !!

@Zag_Man
I think you summed it up practically perfect there chap.
The only thing I would add is they need to get more Series x consoles to the shops.
Consoles sales = games and gamepass sales etc and grow the Xbox environment and community.

These are my first month's with Microsoft console, been playing PS for years. I'm really glad I went with Xbox this time. It's great <3

Preordered mine, got it at launch, had it for 6 months, sold it because I thought I missed Playstation. Had a PS5 for 6 months, realised I missed Xbox so I bought a Series S. It dawned on me that I really loved my XSX for its features and Game Pass so I sold both my PS5 and Series S and bought a used launch XSX. Now I'm a happy camper 😁 True story! Loving Xbox, loving the variety in games that Game Pass offers (I discovered indies can be better and more creative than AAA games) and I'm not going to jump ship again.

I really want to get my hands on one. There's been none available in The Netherlands since launch unfortunately.
That said I do think we are still waiting for the exclusive games. It's starting to happen but I think next year will be truly telling!

The good:

Hardware has been reliable (not always the case with past console releases).
Excellent communication from the Xbox team.
Very strong 2021 line up... Psychonauts, Flight SIM, FH5, Halo Infinite etc
Good mix of content on gamepass.
Good availability of Series S.
Quick resume.

The bad:

No marquee game at launch... Halo infinite got delayed.
The cost of expanding hot storage. I understand it is relatively in line with market pricing, but it's a lot of additional cost for many people.
Lack of availability of Series X (I was lucky enough to get one at launch).
UI isn't terrible, but could have been improved.

Overall, very happy though and it feels like the Xbox team are making really positive moves to cement the future of Xbox X.

A very good 8.5/10 for year one.
If you can find a Series X, go for it, it's worth it.

Day one. Coming from an Xbox One (the chunky one) I've really enjoyed the speed, compatibility and versatility. Got a beefed up MBP 16", with comparable graphical output, but I prefer the ease of use with console. Since then I've also bought a PS5… but I prefer my XsX. Third party games look better on XsX, at least old games (like Warzone and Rocket League) and I prefer the XsX streaming over the PS5 (I boot up a game during meetings if they're a bit boring) to either computer, tablet or phone. And currently, in D2R the game is a bit buggier playing on PS5 (yeah, I got two copies…uh, stupid friends). So far XsX "is winning", especially regarding games and tech, but most of my gamer friends are "ponies" so yeah… each to their own I guess. I also have a Wii and a Switch and a X1 and PS4 hooked up, ready to go… I currently play on a production monitor (Eizo), but I'm re-prioritizing due to XsX and I'm now looking for a suitable consumption monitor… I mostly do web nowadays anyway and who cares about correct colors? Buttery frame rates is my new priority.

Bought my series S in February and I'm not gonna lie its mainly just for xbox exclusives just like my switch is purely for its exclusives whilst all my third party games i get for my ps5. So there hasn't really been a lot for me to play so far on the series S, first games I played were the medium and state of decay which has become one of my favourite zombie/survival games and can't wait for number 3.

Hopefully next year I will get more of a reason to play on it with games like redfall, starfield, stalker 2 and a few surprises I hope.

I wasn't planning on getting one right away, but I saw a xbox all access available and decided to make the jump for the series x. I'm really enjoy it and the feature like quick resume. So far i've played the medium, cyberpunk, saints row 3, forza 7, and psychonauts has so far been the game of the year for me. I'm sure I'll really enjoy horizon 5 when I get around to it when I finish up Final Fantasy 7 remake on the ps4.

I started with day 1 PS5 and it pretty much went entirely downhill by the 4th month. I loved playing it but the state of the OS (now mostly fixed) and the fact a ram module isn't under a heat sink kept me from playing it more than I wanted.
Started looking for a Series X. Three weeks went by and I had no luck, and a series S popped in front of me so I jumped at it to hold me off till I did find an X. I enjoyed the heck out of it, it was alot better than I was honestly expecting.
Ironically, I did end up nabbing a Series X about 4 weeks later lol... but that S is still a good backup if anything goes wrong with my X.
While its not perfect in xbox land either, i've still been enjoying my time with it alot more than the PS5.

Got my Series X launch day.
Have to say after the initial excitement of setting up my shiny new console it was really underwhelming as there were no “next gen” experiences to be had.
It didn’t get much action especially as I purchased the PS5 shortly afterwards and that had the fantastic Demon Souls (which is proper next gen graphics) and Astro playroom (which is demonstrated the superb Duel sense controller wonderfully).
Although many games have had series X updates which have been great it’s only now (in my opinion) that it’s really starting to show it’s worth with Flight Sim, Forza Horizon 5 and Halo also around the corner.
The future looks really bright for X box and I can’t wait for next year personally.

@flawse do you really notice a big difference between the ps5 and xsx for rocket league?

Had my Series X since day 1 and its been my main platform of choice and I do have a PS5 too...

I think that says it all...

Got a series X in June after getting GP on PC a few months prior. It is my first time on the Xbox family and I really like the system. The UI is nothing to talk about but it is snappy and that is all I want. Quick resume could work a bit better at times but when it does (most of times it does) it is fantastic and gamepass is the best value in gaming, period.

I ranked it an E because of how poorly Microsoft has handled stock issues (would've been a C otherwise). There were spots of hope when they introduced the Xbox Insider reserving system back in May but that seems to have completely disappeared. Hope I can get a Series X soon.

Outside of Gears Tactics at launch (very good game), the lineup was rough until July 2020 though Microsoft has finally started to get a steady lineup going. Whether that continues after Infinite, we'll probably find out at the Game Awards.

I’ve got 3 series Xs which have since varying amounts of use over the last year. I feel for people who want one who can’t get one though.

Had some good times this last year. Roll on the next year!

I got mine in December last year. I obviously got Game Pass. The first game I played was My Friend Pedro. Loved it. Went crazy and download 20 games. Spent December holidays playing them and had such a good time. Its been non-stop gaming since then, I've had my bad games like FIFA 21 and I've had my great games like Hades, Forza Horizon 5. I've taken advantage of backwards compatibility and recently played Bioshock Infinite 360 version that I bought for a £1. Loved that game. I've taken advantage of of Microsoft Rewards and also bought games like Sleeping Dogs and Tomb Raider 2013 in weekly sales. It's been absolute joy to have this console. GamePass is easily the greatest thing in gaming right now. I will be playing GTA San Andreas tomorrow. I have Halo to look forward to next month and next year promises to be the biggest yet. Overall love the Series X. One of the best decisions of my life buying this.

Flight Simulator was the beginning of the new generation but this article

https://kotaku.com/forza-horizon-5-is-finally-stealing-the-show-for-micros-1848034238

kind of compensate that depressing Pure Xbox review. Forza Horizon 5 represents the first of the highly anticipated new-gen Xbox games and will be followed by Halo Infinite later this year, not to mention the juggernaut that will come in the following years.

Got a Series X from day one, paid with all access, which was perfect for me. Jumped into gamepass with that (I had resisted on One X, too attached to physical games) and it's been a blast everyday since.
Still got my PS4 Pro, with a lot of backlog on it, but I only play on SX now. This console is so great, really. I truly have become, I guess, an Xbox fanboy.

Big shout out to the fine folks on this site for convincing me to buy at launch vs waiting for Christmas and especially @fraserg who sent me the correct link to use to try and get a series X. It was my first time pre-ordering and I was a bit clueless. I managed to snag a Series X and I'm so happy for it.

By far the best console ever and paired with gamepass it's really reinvigorated my interest in gaming.

Best purchase I've made since buying a used N64 from my brother's friend as a kid.

Sure would be nice if I had a new console to base my review on. Be even nicer if Microsoft could actually stop scalpers. Walmart is even in on it these days charge double msrp on their website.

I’m still trying to get my hands on either of the new consoles. I thought I was going to get a PS5 and then buy the Series X down the road a bit. But now I think I’ll jump in on Xbox first. And then get the Sony machine later. I love my One X but it’s time to upgrade if I ever can.

Managed to get an X at launch. I have been in the X-Box camp since the original, and this has been a pretty unique first year in the fact that there hasn't been a lot of titles meant specifically for the X or made for it, just a lot of games that got upgrades to run smoother or at a higher graphical fidelity. I've spent a lot of time on it playing titles that are also out on the One series of consoles, like Splitgate and Warzone. I really got into Mechwarrior 5 though, and more recently the Diablo 2 remaster. Looking forward a lot to Halo Infinite.

I have my Series S 4 whole days now and love it
Signed up for just over 2 years of Gamepass. xCloud is running like a dream, as good as Stadia in my experience on my phone. This is a major plus as I dont always have access to TV to play on that. Love being able to play on different screens.

@Zag_Man I love Gears Tactics!
Hoping for a sequel.

@Cherip-the-Ripper Yeah, absolutely. I played a couple of hours of WZ on PS5 yesterday… I had a blast, since PS lobbies can be only PS (whereas Xb lobbies are mixed up and full of PC Twitch TV-streamers)… I actually got a good KD/r. But the graphics are .… similar to PS4. Had XsX, PS5 and PS4 hooked up to the same monitor but I've now moved the PS4 to the living room (so my son can swing around in Manhattan)… so right now I'm writing from memory and I'm to lazy to verify, but I stand by my comment It's not much of a difference between WZ and RL PS4 vs PS5, they're a little bit nicer and load much quicker, but the exclusives like GoW, LoU etc are optimized and lovely. I play on a 1080p monitor, so that might matter… I occasionally set my consoles/games to render games @ 4K so I get "natural AA", but if it's a question of 30 vs 60fps I go for the latter… It might be a case of PS5 refusing to do such a thing regarding the crispness… but the textures are way less detailed on PS5 compared to XsX for me and they shouldn't be. I'm not saying PS5 is a bad console, it's just a little less polished tech wise (I'm not used to siding with M$, I'm generally all Apple and Linux…). Both are great in their own ways! Hey… I dislike Chrome etc due to it's wonky (BAD going by my old color management teachings) way of rendering colors, specifically in blending modes and gradients, and therefore I primarily use Safari… I'm weird. So take everything I write with a grain of salt

Got my ps5 June. That was a mission. I have a feeling getting a series X in time for Christmas is going to be just as big a one.
Tbh this time last year I thought flight sim looked breath taking, and fell for the Hell blade 2 trailer as a promise of things to come...but had no real need for a series X. Maybe I still don't, just like I could have honestly lived without my ps5 this year. But Xbox have been making all the right moves...as in they actually have started trying to compete (where as all last gen it felt like they didn't care either way). They've been so much more consumer friendly than Sony has been this first year. And have a solid clear road map.

Highlight was E3. You know you've had a good E3 when prominent Sony fanboy channels have mental breakdowns after it and fill Sony's silence with conspiracy theories of Abandoned being Kojima and Silent Hills - those were a good entertaining few months. And I contribute that to Xbox.

Next year is when we really get to start seeing what both these consoles can do. Both Ps5 and Xbox look to have strong years ahead. And I can't wait to be playing both their big offerings...whilst getting entertained at all the flips the narrative takes after each console exclusive release.

It wasn’t a perfect launch, but you know what Covid has altered the world so much I’m really not sure what else anyone could have done. I mean you literally have to perorder cars.

Console wise I think the ecosystem launched in a good state and it’s been a year no major issues reported. The seamless cloud save swapping is my favorite part as I hate moving things over to a new system.

Game wise this Christmas actually feels like the proper launch of the systems. Series S and X have some games to play, and people are for the first time in a long time excited about Xbox.

I’m quite happy; I just need to find my little brother a XSX now…

Got my S on day one, and the X last may, best systems I have owned till now, and I got a lot going back to nes....

I added series X to basket, and was surprised to find it available one day. A few months earlier then i thought i could get one. Came quickly 2 days early as well. Its very fast and saves me time daily. Where re-booting the Xbox 1 would take 5-6 mins. Can do so in less then 2 mins with series X. I bought it to play Flight sim. But I honestly found the game to be very boring and too technical to be fun.

I was holding out for a series X but saw that the series S was in stock a few months ago, so I got one. I love it.
The fast boot and load times are awesome, but the real winner for me is the HDR enhancements. Old (and not so old) games look and run great.
For me it's been a worthwhile upgrade even though I have yet to play a next gen game on it. Of course, that'll change on Dec 8.

Series X on day 1, and absolutely impressed, from the controller to gamepass, i have no complaints. now i just need to get an Oled 120hz LG to fully maximize the system.

oh and that Dolby Vision they just add: jaw dropping.......

The SX is a great bit of hardware and MS have gotten a lot right as they start the generation but, and its a big BUT.. having no real games for the first year is a pretty big fail in my book. They really need some big hits in 22 to recover. Still great hardware, a lot better than the PS in my humble opinion, yes I have both.

I started with the PS5 but I'll be honest, the controller was horrible and they went 10 steps back with the UI so it just gathered dust for a few months post launch. Decided to get a series X after the MS show at E3 when I seen how good Game Pass is and haven't looked back. Really impressed with the console, elite controller and what Game Pass has to offer.