Topic: General Xbox Series X|S Thread

@Pastellioli @Yousef- Yes, that's it. It's absurd, but I'm happy to see the fitting gameplay and music. I enjoyed Perfect Dark Zero more than the original, mostly because of the gameplay improvements.

Xbox has published an article about the Game Pass updates that start today.

https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/subscriptions-billing/man...

Game Pass for Console didn't make sense because it was the only tier without online services, so I suspected that it would be removed. This is something I posted when it was introduced.

Subscriptions everywhere have got more expensive, but there is something interesting about these changes, specifically the removal of Game Pass for Console and the addition of Game Pass Standard.

Xbox Game Pass Standard gives you hundreds of high-quality games to play on your console. It also features all the benefits of Game Pass Core, such as online console multiplayer and select member deals and discounts, including up to 50% off select games. Some games available with Game Pass Ultimate on day one will not be immediately available with Game Pass Standard and may be added at a future date.

My guess is that Standard will include most Game Pass titles, but some high-profile and best-selling games won't be available immediately. That tier costs the same as the old price of Ultimate. The equivalence acknowledges that some people were not willing to pay for the all-included tier, which is something that have been repeated a lot lately on the forums.

Although the best value is apparently Game Pass for PC, you still need to pay extra for the hardware, that is not optimised for gaming unlike an Xbox console and, consequently, wastes energy and heat. You also need to deal with hardware configurations and online cheaters. Most importantly, there is no backwards compatibility on PC (Xbox, Xbox 360 and some Xbox One games).

After having checked all the changes carefully, the best value is Game Pass Ultimate, but Core might be better if you are willing to pay for the games that you want and you don't play many. Maybe Game Pass Standard is for you if you don't want to pay extra for the high-profile games. Like always, you can save money if you buy more than one month online, on Microsoft's website or elsewhere. As a bonus, you also get free credit if you browse on Bing instead of Google and every time you trigger quests rewards while playing console games, even when you are not subscribed or are not playing Game Pass titles.

Oh thanks for your insigths @Banjo- hm the best strategy to me seems if possible to try to stack up some months on the service. That way you get some months to see how things evolving.

@oliverp Hi! I have Ultimate for one more year, but I don't know if I can add Core and then upgrade it or just add more Ultimate with prepaid cards before they get more expensive. I don't think that I can add something that is not Ultimate, it wouldn't make sense.

EDIT:

OK, I just checked the current conditions. If you are subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate and you add a 1-year Game Pass Core code, you get 4 months. If you are not subscribed, you get 8 months, twice as much! Basically, wait until your subscription expires before converting.

https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/subscriptions-billing/man...

Seems Xbox are kind of answering the question about why they aren't making a Handheld console - because they can't make something 'cheap' enough to sell and 'compete' with these options.

It needs at least the specs of the RoG Ally or 'better' to get the 'performance' expected and be the price of a SteamDeck as a 'Console'. With mobiles becoming increasingly more capable of running modern games - even if its using 'AI' to run at the visual and/or frame rate level you want in the near generations of mobile tech advances - look at what an ipad M4 or Surface Pro can do now for something so slim and with a big screen to run...

Point is by the time they have designed , built and had it verified and certified to release in various countries to comply with all their laws etc., mobile tech will advance - again Look at the RoG Ally - first Gen PC handheld, how will Xbox Compete? It's better to make sure you know 'Xbox' is ON PC Too....

Maybe if you buy a RoG Ally and use Game Pass to play games you'll realise Xbox isn't 'just' the Console anymore - its much more than 'just' the console and there will come a time when modern games will run Console like settings natively and Handheld PC's offering a more performant and dedicated gaming features - like built in controllers.

TV's too can offer the cloud experience so 'no' console required - even if 'limited' in content, it maybe 'enough' for some - the casual who just wants to turn on the TV and Play something - its funny seeing Starfield recommended next to some TV show. So they are growing the Xbox Brand, the Xbox Community, the Xbox name and even the Xbox IP's - whether you can play on 'Playstation' Day or Date - like Minecraft or Call of Duty, timed exclusivity - like Sea of Thieves or Hi-Fi Rush, they are all Xbox games owned by Microsoft.

I hope there is still a place for a console but how long before you have handhelds playing the same game and more at faster frame rates and decent visual settings on their 1080p screen than a $500 Console having to push 4k and compete with the 'best' PC's and deliver the frame rate of their hand held devices (Mobile or PC/tablet)...

Anyway with the way tech is going, they could still make a box with AI to compete with High end PC's at a reasonable price without Physical media but dedicated specifically for Gaming with its UI and design to play at 4k/60 and 'look' almost as good as the PC's best 'ultra' settings for a reasonable price for that particular market - rather than shift back to PC as these become powerful and cheap enough to run any modern game in more 'gaming' focussed devices - like RoG Ally, MSi Claw or Lenovo Go (or at least their next or even 3rd gen releases...

@BAMozzy Honestly if I wanted to play Xbox on the go I have my phone. All I would have to get is something like the Backbone. I would sooner do that then by a handheld console, and it's cheaper too.

@Banjo- Yeah guess we dont know how the system at MS works. I was more thinking about the possibility to stack up after the change when the new system is in place.

The way I see it, MS's new Game Pass changes have now become more akin to Sony's PS+
PS+ Essential/Game Pass Core - offers Online access and 24-36ish Games - Sony's are offered monthly and MS's are always available but will get rotated out. Both $10 a month but GPC is $75 vs Sony's $80 a year
PS+ Extra/Game Pass Standard - offers a large Collection of old and 'newer' games but won't get the big First Party AAA games Day/date (nothing to say either won't offer indies or some 3rd party games day/date, maybe Online games with other monetisation built in - like Season passes etc) but neither offer their biggest 1st party games day/date. Both of these are also $15 a month

The 'Premium/ultimate' tier is different in that Sony offers PS1-PS3 titles where as MS will offer Day 1 new Releases. You do get Game Pass PC, Game Pass Cloud and EA Access too with Ultimate but its the 'top' tier in both Services and more tailored to each individual platform holder. So maybe the Day 1 vs 'old' PS1-PS3 games is why this is the most expensive of the two 'premium' tiers at $20 vs $18 on Sony

I'm not happy about the Price increase either - especially after it went up relatively recently and they did say they wouldn't put prices up. We all know though that you can shop around to get 'better' prices than stated.

So whilst I am NOT happy with the Price increase, it would still seem to be in-line with the Market Leader (as in Sony). Game Pass Core and Standard have the same monthly cost, Game Pass Standard and PS+ Extra have the same monthly cost and neither offer 1st Party Big releases day date and its their Premium sub services where they differ - one offering really old games, the other offering new releases day/date but slightly more expensive a month.

Again NOT justifying MS's price increases but trying to put it into perspective. You can often shop around, do activities (MS Rewards for example) and/or find loopholes to get things cheaper on both platforms so I'm only comparing based on both Sony and Microsoft's own Blog posts on pricing - but the fact is that the pricing isn't that different on EITHER console. Whether it's still 'worth' it though will come down to individual choice - its not as though any game is 'exclusive' to a Sub Service and if you don't Subscribe, you can't buy the game to play instead. Its more about whether you'd rather have the option to play on a Sub service instead of having to pay £70 up front for, having a Sub service for a library of games to try (even if not Day 1) to bulk out your options, or just paying for online access and whatever 'games' that lets you play is a bonus - whether the extras of each 'higher' tier offers enough of a reason (like Day 1 releases, Play Anywhere on PC/Cloud, EA Access etc) to justify the cost to you.

In my case, with a Gaming Laptop & Handheld PC as well as a Series X, its still a no brainer to remain on GPU as I get the benefits of Game Pass for PC. I also have a Samsung TV with Game Pass built in so I can take advantage of Game Pass Cloud. And with games like BO6, Stalker 2, Indiana Jones and Avowed expected in the next 'few' months left of 2024, I'll get my moneys worth. I still get 'value' - maybe 'more' now because MS seem to have 'more' games coming - MSFS, Fable, Perfect Dark, Clockwork Revolution, South of Midnight, Doom the Dark Ages, Gears of War: E-Day etc....

@Tasuki yeah - I think that's what MS would expect most to do so making their own Handheld Console probably wouldn't sell in the quantity they'd need to make it 'cheap' enough with Bulk orders of Chips etc..

It seems better to support existing Hardware like Mobiles (hence buying King too) and Handheld PC's as that is where the bulk of the market is...

@Banjo- Will likey do the same.

@Yousef- As much as we LOVE the Console, its clear that it's not the ONLY option for gamers or for Microsoft to get gamers into their ecosystem. With Cloud and PC options too, MS can still reach that market and get people into their ecosystem. If they can't sell enough Consoles because those markets are 'choosing' to access Xbox primarily through PC or Cloud, then why keep pushing money into trying to get those into the Console.

SteamDeck and Handheld PC's, whilst not 'Xbox' Consoles also offer 'Xbox' games day/date and if they 'prefer' to play on the go, they'll buy these over a Series S/X too and now with Samsung TV's and Amazon Firesticks, they can get the 'casual', the gamer on a 'tight' budget etc - a small monthly fee to play a LOT of games.

By the time the 'next' gen of Consoles comes, who knows what 'Mobile' tech can offer - not just 'streaming', but the chips inside these 'small' and portable devices - inc Handheld Gaming PC's. AI too is advancing so these devices could use AI upsampling, AI frame gen etc to deliver fantastic visuals, play the latest games etc and have a 'bigger' library than ANY Xbox or Playstation console. So maybe gamers will dictate if there is still enough of a 'Console' market for Microsoft or whether their Strategy has moved those gamers more towards PC (for Native gaming) or Cloud. After all, Streaming is the most popular way people consume other Media but Hardcore Music or Movie buffs for example will still prefer high end hardware for the 'best' experience. With MS, they have the streaming option and 'custom' Hardware option (PC) ranging from 'Handheld' low spec hardware up to the very best Desktop build to suit a wide range of budgets.

As I said, I'd like to think that there would be enough of a Market for a Console from MS but I think it will become the 'least' popular device for playing 'Xbox' with PC's dominating the 'native' experience and Cloud becoming the most common. You don't see 'Hifi' systems these days or really Bluray/DVD players that much anymore. So I do wonder whether we will see Consoles as Chips get more and more powerful, AI too is advancing rapidly so maybe people will not buy 'consoles' when their hardware already plays those games.

Instead of a 'new' Xbox, maybe we will get a Surface Handheld PC with some way to 'dock' to a Monitor/TV for the 'big screen'...

Game Pass Standard not offering Day 1 despite MS saying 'every' game will come to Game Pass Day 1 - funny how a year ago when 'Gold' became 'Game Pass' Core, that no-one expected Day 1 games or complained about MS saying every game will come to Game Pass day 1 and now should expect to get Day 1 in that too...

I bet no one even knew they had a 'Game Pass Console' tier or subscribed to it - because they would also 'need' Game Pass Core - 2 Subscriptions. Therefore they either chose Core for Online access or 'Ultimate' for Day 1 Games and big Library in 'one' convenient package.

Until they changed, Game Pass tiers were 'odd'
Game Pass Core - online access and 30ish games - NO Day 1
Game Pass Console - a larger library of games inc Day 1, but NO Online access
Game Pass Ultimate - Game Pass Core, Console, PC and Cloud as well as EA Access

So you'd need Core and Console to play ALL the games/Content in the Console tier otherwise a large amount of that content was behind another Paywall

Now
Game Pass Core - online access and 30ish games - NO Day 1
Game Pass Standard - Game Pass Core + a much larger Library (no Day 1)
Game Pass Ultimate - Game Pass Standard + Day 1 and Game Pass PC/Cloud as well as EA Access

Now each is a Single Sub and each allows you access to the FULL Content (inc Online) offered - whether 30ish games with Core or Day1 with Ultimate...

Apart from the 'price' increase to Ultimate, I'm NOT affected and I bet the entire Console playerbase aren't affected either (other than prices) as none were Subscribed ONLY to Game Pass 'Console', the ONLY tier that has changed by swapping out Day 1 in favour of enabling Subscribers to play 'Online' and have access to ALL content offered in Game Pass, not just 'offline' content (without a 2nd Subscription to GPCore). As I said, I bet 99.999% of Console Game Pass Subscribers either sub to Core (no Day 1 but Sub for Online access) or Ultimate because it was the most convenient and single Sub solution.

@Yousef- @Pastellioli There have been way too many negative rumours about Xbox that were false since the Zenimax acquisition. Microsoft will still be making consoles because there is no reason not to for a software and hardware company that has become one of the most important -if not the most- publishers worldwide and that is ahead of Sony in gaming revenue after the acquisition of ABK.

Their business strategy and economy includes, of course, PC and mobile, so I'm not sure how much will they market consoles in the future. In most territories, Xbox consoles haven't been advertised for years. They probably should try harder about that, because consoles are part of the business, even if the console market is limited.

There is an "Xbox is doomed" mantra online and a new Xbox drama every week, but numbers say that everything is fine, because the number of consoles sold doesn't mean much this generation, just look at Sony and how worried they are about their exclusives not selling enough on PS5. The important thing here is that Microsoft earn billions just with subscriptions every year, not to mention the digital store. Nintendo is doing great with hardware and software, especially because many of the games are full-priced ports, but I don't know if Switch successor will be as profitable. I doubt it.

EDIT: On top of the drama, there are fake news, like when it was reported that Hellblade II was not even the 100th best-selling game at launch, Ben using a physical releases chart as source. Hellblade II wasn't released physically. Truth is, it debuted in 10th on the Steam (digital) charts, in spite of being a Game Pass title on console and PC.

@Pastellioli Everything you said is right. The fake news and made-up rumours spread quickly, but also when they are denied officially, you barely see anyone referring to the facts! Like the example I posted above, but there are dozens of them.

Microsoft could certainly market Xbox a lot better, but I'm not completely sure about denying every piece of fake news or rumour, because Nintendo and Sony don't address them and being the only one doing so is like accepting being targeted constantly.

Xbox is targeted constantly, anyway. When the "leakers" and "insiders" said that Microsoft was dropping hardware, releasing every game for PS5 and that Call of Duty was not going to be included in Game Pass, Microsoft denied all that around a week later in a podcast. A few days later, more gloomy rumours started showing up already. Some people have made a living out of this.

The agony of Xbox is an online mirage exaggerated by some posters. If you talk in real life (or party chat), 99.99% of Xbox players aren't worried about any of this. I'm sure that Microsoft isn't that worried either when they see their financial reports.

However, Microsoft shouldn't rest on their laurels. Firstly, they need to supervise all their teams properly, because some of them have been working in chaos, like The Initiative until Crystal Dynamics came to the rescue. Secondly, they should improve their current marketing efforts, even if it's as simple as marketing certain games and the platforms where you can play them on. I thought that they stopped doing that because of the ABK acquisition, so we might be surprised by a marketing campaign when Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is out come October.

@Yousef I know how that feels.

@Yousef- I beat a few games and posted about them on Last Game You Beat.

I just noticed that Crash Bandicoot N.sane Trilogy is the third most popular title on Game Pass right now, just behind FC24 and Minecraft, sandwiched between them, Forza and Call of Duty. This proves that Xbox users do like platformers. Please, Microsoft, time for Banjo-Kazooie!

@Pastellioli You couldn't have said it better! I was surprised to see Crash so high on the ranking. There are so many great IPs there, especially Rare's IPs: Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Viva Piñata, Jet Force Gemini and, well yeah, Grabbed by the Ghoulies. I loved that one on Rare Replay (1080p 60fps).

Do you think it's worth getting a series S (1tb) in 2024?

I've had S and X in the past so I know both are good but I just wondered if the S in 2024 is still a vaible option.

Is it struggling with new games?

I'm a casual gamer and have a PS5 so unless games become barely playable i'm not going to notice. Most gaming I will do on PS5 but i'm looking at the S so i can play the new flight sim and try call of duty without paying 70 for it on ps5.

@BolkaRover That really depends on 'you' and whether or not you think it's 'good enough' for you. I can't answer whether or not you will get what you want/expect from it - enough to feel like it was a worthwhile purchase or not.

I personally think its not 'struggling' as such - maybe can't always offer the same 'features/modes', but its like the PS4/XB1S from last gen in that regard which wouldn't get 'Performance' or Higher Quality/resolution visuals the PS4 Pro or XB1X could. The Series X is likely to give you a very similar level of experience to the PS5 in that regard and the Series S, by comparison, would seem to be 'struggling' because it maybe can't do the 'couch co-op', maybe won't have a '60/120fps' performance mode or offer the Ray Traced shadows/reflections (but does use alternatives).

So it depends on whether or not you feel its too much of a drop off in resolution for example after being used to PS5 - especially if you have a 4k TV. But the 'games' aren't radically different, still offer the same story etc. CoD for example may not look quite as 'good' on Series S vs Series X/PS5 but looks and plays better than on last-gen... Its also the 'cheapest' Hardware option for being able to download and play games with Game Pass.

It really does depend on you though - whether or not you'll use it 'enough' that you feel it was a worthwhile purchase. Yes it can save you money, but spending money on Hardware and a Game Pass Subscription to save $70 on CoD and maybe play Flight Sim might be more 'expensive' than just buying CoD on PS5. If you really want to play Flight Sim and/or other Xbox exclusives (timed or otherwise) - like Indiana Jones, Stalker 2, Fable, Perfect Dark etc, then you'll get more 'use' from your Hardware/Subscription to get more value and it be more worthwhile..

Thanks for the replies guys. Very helpful. I will def be interested in Fable and Indiana Jones so I think at such a low price the series s is gonna be worth it for me.

@BolkaRover Would personally not get one.. Also I understand some devlopers struggle to get their games running on the Series S so you are not doing them any favors if you buy one.