Topic: General Xbox Series X|S Thread

So PSVR2...
Got to give Sony credit but basically cashing in the Quest/2 library (and the titles its currently missing) has addressed the "there are no VR games" image form last time.

I hope MS sees it and do something. I get their fear after Kinect 2 but they could just not make their own headset and set a minimum requirement for third-party ones. (inside-out tracking, controllers etc)

I wouldn't mind them ignoring VR if we had plenty of new games to play but so far their purchasing spree hasn't started paying off yet. If Starfield and Redfall had hit their launch dates what would this have been an almost silent first half of 23 (or is this just some play for the Activision deal)

I ordered the Astro A40 TR + Mixamp Pro the other day from Lime Pro Gaming for £159.99 which I thought was a great price as it’s usually no cheaper than £199.99 when its in a sale elsewhere. Despite me never using the site before and reading mixed reviews from other customers, it came well packed with original packaging so I knew it was brand new and not been refurbished or anything. It only took a couple of days to be delivered, even with free delivery.

I was excited to set it up and start playing with an Astro headset again since I had a great experience with the gen 1 version years ago. However after updating the firmware and connecting it to my Series X I immediately noticed that it didn’t sound as good and as loud as my old gen 1 A40. I’ve switched between Dolby Atmos and using Astro’s own EQ settings via the Astro Command Centre but while Dolby Atmos is enabled it sounds exactly the same as when I was using my Apple earphones while connected to the controller. So I switched to use Astro’s EQ settings using the Dolby processor on the mix amp but it sounded even worse without Dolby Atmos. This is not what I expect from a headset that costs £249.99 at its usual price.

I’ve seen from forums people saying that the audio quality is a downgrade due to it using USB rather than an optical port which my gen 1 had. I’ve tried the optical port with the new headset while it was connected to my tv as the Series X doesn’t have one but again the sound was awful. Another thing that I noticed was missing from the audio settings on the Series X is that bitstream is no longer an option with only uncompressed stereo, Dolby digital and DTS being the only options. I always used bitstream out with my gen 1’s but I have no idea how to get my new gen 4’s to sound just like the gen 1’s. I miss the simplicity of just connecting my gen 1’s and just start playing, these days they expect you to mess about with audio settings and adjusting EQ bars to get the best out of the headset.

Here is a great chat with Michael Pachter - who even talks about CMA blocking and what that could mean for 'UK' customers as its a 'regional' case - not going to 'stop' a deal go through...

It's an hour long chat - but worth watching to see/hear what's likely to happen and/or potential outcomes, the timelines etc - even what 'could' happen if things don't go as 'expected' but MS still completes the deal...

Does anyone else have an issue with games randomly not having sound? I generally get an hour on a week night to play after everyone's in bed so I went to boot up the system (fine, with sound) went to Wo Long - no sound - so I quit out and closed the app restarted - no sound - went to setting and shut the console down turned it back on again no sound on Wo Long tried Hogwarts no sound, Sonic Mania no sound. Tried Cuphead & Sonic 2 both fine. I even turned it all off removed all the cables and restarted, those games still didn't have sound.

@Decoy_Snake sometimes I have a few seconds without sound when booting from quick resume but never permanent like that

@Balta666 its happened a few times then works fine just wondering if anyone else has had the same

So when you buy digital games, do you get points that can be used towards future digital purchases and if so, how? I'm sure this has been talked about to death, but I haven't been an Xbox owner for very long.

@NintendoByNature You need to sign up to Rewards on Xbox so that you can 'earn' points through various methods. I think you can sign up on the console or just search Microsoft Rewards, sign up with your MS/Xbox account and then you'll earn points on purchases...

@BAMozzy cool, I'll have to get on that.

Anyone unable to buy gold? Tried now and says bank can't authenticate payment method even though before I bought the cheapest ancient coins for Sea of Thieves to make sure my card worked because the same message popped up when trying to redeem game pass ultimate from reward points. Now I'm locked out of my paid online games and game pass.

I have an issue. Couldnt find any solution. My xbox is constantly crashing at begin. Most after "Press A to continue". My screen freezing then pass to dashboard. Sometimes console turning off just. My xbox is out of warranty. Tried every solution from Microsoft. I even replaced thermal paste. Some games works normally some no. Like flight simulator, cyberpunk, mk11, sekiro, warzone 1, wu long evertthing seems ok. But games like hifi Rush, fortnite, borderlands 3, apex legends, warzone 2, atomic heart, fh5 is crashing constantly. I cant just play them. They are crashing all the time at the same spot while loading. Most people was sending console for repair. Mb there is someone who fixed that. Thanks for any advice

@Czesiek126 This site can't advise on ANY self-repair options at all so if you have tried EVERYTHING Microsoft themselves suggest, there is really nothing else anyone here can advise either.

It's very difficult to diagnose the issue and as you don't have any warranty, the only thing I can suggest is paying for a repair or a replacement..

@Czesiek126 Seen as you are out of warranty, you are probably better off just getting a new box mate. Out of warranty repairs were scandalously priced last time I looked.

Just checked it out. £189 for a Series S and £284 for the X. Daylight robbery in my opinion. My first one stopped reading disks so i just bought a new one. I use the old one for retroarch now.

@GarbonZoni you are right. The sad site of this is I bought used console 1 month ago. I tested while buying. Everything was fine, fifa, cyberpunk working well. When I downloaded fortnite it crashed :/.

@Czesiek126 That's a bummer mate. Hope you didn't pay too much. Take it to cex , see if you can recoup some of the money spent then put it towards a new one.

Ruh-roh. This doesn't seem like the sort of attention Sony's going to enjoy.

Aww Jesus, not in here aswell. Sigh.....

I agree with the person above me. We really don't need to discuss that in this thread. That's about Sony, and this is about the Series consoles. It's already a topic that is a dicey one to discuss, so adding to it here isn't a good idea imo.

@Ralizah Is it surprising? Sony - a Japanese company lobbying the US to block a deal between 2 US companies that would actually benefit BOTH, keeping Jobs and income coming into the US.

You have Sony with a lead in EVERY market trying to claim this deal is anti-competitive as it would leave Sony unable to 'compete' with MS despite the fact they still own the biggest Exclusive Library only on Playstation that 'forces' people to buy or miss-out and 'allegedly' uses their Dominant position - especially in Japan to prevent Xbox from being able to compete. Final Fantasy is a massive game in Japan and even if Xbox had it, wouldn't seriously impact their 'dominant' position, but they 'block' MS regardless.

Lobbying US government to block 2 US companies from 'merging' to be 'more' competitive with Sony whilst both those US companies have little/no chance to Compete in Japan because of Sony - its only right that the US lobbies Japan for 'fair' trade as they 'expect' fair trade in the US...

There is a BIG difference to put your money into owning IP's, owning the Studio's and Talent behind a game to bring those to your Ecosystem Exclusively, make them part of your 1st Party Content going forward vs going to a 3rd Party and using your money to 'BLOCK' that studio from releasing on a specific Platform/service. I'd have NO ISSUE with Sony if they bought Square Enix or just bought Final Fantasy and the Studio behind it - as 'annoying' as it maybe for gamers on 'other' platforms, at least you know what to expect. Square Enix can't make Tomb Raider anymore and Amazon may decide to make that Exclusive to their Gaming ecosystem. Point is, if they own it, they have that right - but paying to 'block' others is absolutely ridiculous...