Microsoft Officially Reveals The Xbox Series S, £249 Confirmed

Let's Go !! X gon' give it to ya

Going to save even more now lol. Need some spare change in case my dog has to go to the vets/rspca. If things go as I hope this will be my first non-pre owned console. I need to smell new console smell.

$299 is a ridiculously low price point, if true.

Wonder if this means there is indeed a crazy chance for the Series X to cost as little as $400... Or $450?

Edit: I guess the accuracy of this leak means that the XSX is indeed $499.

@Tharsman
That's exactly what I was going to post. We know MS has plenty of money to play around with and obviously if a company is going to release a console it's going to want to move as many off store shelves as possible. Phil Spencer has also hinted in interviews he's been told he can go low to undercut Sony. All the sudden it's not out of the question that $400 is a possibility. Throw in a month of Game Pass Ultimate and it could be a very hot ticket item, at least in the North American market.

Not a fan of the look of it from that angle, Hopefully we get more pics for it soon.. That 300 dollar price tag though i bet has sony worried..

That’s an interesting look... I’m down with it. But I’m more interested in the specs and how it compares to current gen.

I'll probably stay on PC for now given the 6 months I've been furloughed without unemployment benefits (thanks US govt), but one day I might get this. Already had to replace my PC and VR HMD as both died from board failure, so I'm even less in the mood to get new hardware. The lack of a disc drive is big to me though, I can live on 1080p, but losing my disc backlog is bad. I don't even buy discs anymore, but I used to and don't want to lose it all. I replaced my Xbox One power brick and it works again so I have that to play discs.

That likely locks in that I will go with an S model. Might work my way into the X line during the hardware refresh in two or three years though.

That is an insane price point for launch. S is going to occupy a huge market share this holiday season for sure.

People thinking this means Series X will be cheaper now too, I think the opposite. I think Series X at $499 or higher is more likely now.

@Jacko11 I think it guarantees a $499 price point for Series X myself. I think $599 will still be considered poison and would be happy to be wrong in the opposite direction.

Very impressive on both fronts if this info is true, I'm sure these will do very well at those prices!

@Gamer83 Ya, I remember him saying how he wants the console to be affordable, and that's always stuck with me, so feel like it definitely can't be more than 500 dollars for SX. 500 is still like a premium price, but I think it's affordable and so much value considering you can't even build a PC to match SX without it costing like 1300 dollars lol

The Xbox Series S looks really nice to be honest, though I will still be sticking with the Xbox Series X myself!

Hmm, my prediction matches this leak...

https://www.purexbox.com/forums/xbox-series-x/general_xbox_series_x_thread?start=220#reply-224

I hope that PS5 is 500 as well and PS 5AD 400 so Microsoft is not undercut by Sony like in 2013.

300$!!! A fantastic price!!!

At that price then the rumours about it being weaker than the xbox one x may be true, this is for the people who want to play the next gen games but not with next gen graphics or speed, and also can see some xbox series X games not being compatible with this

Whereas sonys digital only console will be the same of the normal ps5 just without the disk drive, so I think sonys will cost more

@playstation_king Series S is not weaker than Xbox One X. It has the same CPU as Series X and lower GPU for lower resolution output so it's more powerful than PS5 in terms of CPU but with a 1080p/1440p-capable GPU.

@BlueOcean oh OK I'm sure there was an article on this site saying it was either weakwr or in par with the xbox one x, il have a look

If the dashboard isn't full of adverts like the 360 and xbox one was then I may pick up one of these after Christmas

@playstation_king Look here:

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2020/08/here_are_the_latest_rumoured_xbox_series_s_specs

Great pricing. I see some comments on the pricing of the Series X. I saw $500 on Wario64's twitter.

@BlueOcean how much ram and teraflops did the xbox one x have?
Also 4 teraflops compared to 12 teraflops? Surely It will struggle to play some of the games, that's why I think some games will only be compatible with X

@playstation_king No because of two reasons. Firstly, you can't compare current-gen TFLOPS with next-gen TFLOPS. Secondly, I did the maths (easy because CPU is the same) and Series S has enough GPU and RAM to run the same games as Series X at 1440p and more than enough to run the same games at 1080p.

@BlueOcean oh ok so what is teraflops used for? As for what I understood the xbox one x had 6 teraflops and 12GB RAM, meaning the xbix series s is weaker than the last gen "Pro" consoles

@playstation_king For what I told you (graphical capabilities when everything else is the same) and you are comparing next-gen and current-gen TFLOPS which doesn't make any sense.

Series X renders at 4K, 4K is 4 times as many pixels as 1080p. 12 TFLOPS (4K) /4 = 3 (3 TFLOPS would suffice to render 4 times fewer pixels).

If you consider the fact that PS5 is supposed to render at 4K with fewer TFLOPS and similar (slower) CPU than Series X, then it's PS5 which will have to sacrifice resolution or frame rate. Series S is not designed for 4K so it doesn't have any bottlenecks.

Great deal if true! Can get back into some Sea of Thieves again for the first time in 2 years

@themightyant Same SSD according to leaked specifications. They're saving costs with the simpler cooling system, no disc drive and 1080/1440p GPU. GPU and advanced cooling is the most expensive part.

@themightyant thanks for that think I understand it a bit better now

@playstation_king "themightyant thanks for that think I understand it a bit better now".

Wasn't I clear enough? 😆

A $299 price point !?!

That’s insane if true.

@BlueOcean your info helped aswell just replied to last person who replied to me but your info was included lol

Once Microsoft officially confirm that the series s will definitely play every game coming to xbox series X then I will get this in January along with a ps5.

@playstation_king I see.

@themightyant Yeah, according to the leaks is same as Series X except the GPU and RAM. It makes sense since they play the same games and the SSD is part of the Velocity Architecture. The SSD of Series S might be smaller than 1 TB but I doubt it, it's a digital console. Then again, PS5 is 825 GB.

It's incredible good value but so is Series X considering that it's a monster.

@playstation_king Series X renders at 4K, 4K is 4 times as many pixels as 1080p. 12 TFLOPS (4K) /4 = 3 TFLOPS would suffice to render 4 times fewer pixels, provided that the CPU is the same. Series S has 4 TFLOPS (according to leaks).

Well that clears that up. Smart move by MS, be interesting to see if Sony has a counter up their sleeve, suspect not.

£499 isn’t an absurd price for a console when you factor in the lack of price rises for video games over the last 20 years. I paid £50 for Majoras Mask in 2000 and £50 for Breath of the Wild 2017. Game prices haven’t risen in 2 decades.

The PS1 was around £299 when so picked that up in 1996. Most other items of consumer electronics have tripled in price since then.

@RadioHedgeFund This frozen gaming price is a part of why we got alternative (and sometime abusive) monetization systems, actually.

As much as I like knowing the price, I feel the Xbox leakers, that seem to be Xbox fans, did the console a disservice by robbing them of the oppirtunity to reveal their price after Sony. If the rumor that PS5 will be 500/600 for their versions is true, it would had been a big market bomb to announce after.

@Tasuki what drugs you smoking?
If they price to close to the series s then noone buying that one - the series s has to be competitive against the series x too

Fantastic price for the series s. Really liking the design aswell. It’s the bigger brother of my one s😀. I reckon this will be Xbox biggest seller out of the two that they have. Well played Xbox with that design & price point👍🏻

@BlueOcean ah ok so if I don't have any interest in getting a 4k tv then there's no point in getting the X and stick with the S instead?
Also as primarily a playstation player would it best for me to get the S (as all I want to do is play the xbox exclusives) or just get gamepass on my phone and get a razer Controller? Or will there be any exclusives (next gen) that won't be coming to the mobile game pass?

@TheNewButler get them all plus a Nintendo switch then enjoy a very happy gaming life 😂 minus the negative bank balance

I think the Series S may be the way to go for me! I have a gaming PC and intend to upgrade that in the near future, so think the X might have been overkill (and too expensive for my wallet) in addition to that.

Provided the specs are all right, I could see this as being an excellent companion console for when I'm not able to use the PC or just want to sit in the lounge and enjoy Game Pass games.

@Kamalen Given the option of IAP or paying £80 for a game I'd take the IAP. At least they can be avoided.

How much of an upgrade is this on xbox one s?
Big graphical difference and faster performance?

Wow at that price I'm tempted to get the Series S at launch, if the only real difference is I play at lower resolutions but still get higher framerates and all the other benefits

@Somberpizza Its already a HUGE DOWNGRADE from the Xbox One S for simply 1 reason. The Xbox One S had 4k movie disc playback capability, this does not. For me,for that reason its a no go.

@Tasuki XSX and PS5 are gonna be 500, no less.

@hulkie ok but I dont stick DVDs in it besides for that what else

@RadioHedgeFund Not entirely true. N64 cartridges were reportedly up to $30 to manufacture. This cost is pretty much completely ignored with disc-based games, since their manufacturing price is only a few cents. PS1 games were around €30-40. In the GameCube/Xbox/PS2 the average price was around €50. That increased to €60 with the PS3/360 and Wii U. These days a lot of AAA games are already €70 digitally. Breath of the Wild was one of the first ones to adopt this price. And €70 is going to be a lot more prominent going into next gen. Games prices have increased where I live at least.

The rise of digital also means that publishers earn more per game, and then all the digital-only sales, like DLC, micro-transactions, season passes, etc. The average revenue per game has gone up according to inflation. Don't worry about that. They're making more per game than they used to.

£249.99?! Wow. Your move Sony.
If they include 12 months GamePass, I'd definitely bite

@hulkie agree on the lack of disk drive, 4k br playback specifically.

Hope we hear news soon on One S continuing production at a $200 price for a while longer.

Whoa £249.99 UK price...
What an amazing entry point for next gen hardware..
Your turn Sony..

Very smart move from MS. For those that aren't bothered about 4k - and there's a LOT of parents and budget-conscious buyers out there - it's a machine that plays the latest games at a bargain price.

Personally, I'm probably going to be buying a PS5 as the games just appeal to me a bit more, but this gives me a perfect way to play the likes of Fable, Hellblade and Forza, so I'm almost certainly going to pick one up eventually.

So it looks almost identical to an Xbox One S, has a controller that looks almost identical to a One S and has a name that's almost identical to an Xbox One S....

Microsoft didn't learn from Nintendo's confusing naming and marketing of the Wii U, did they?

@BANJO £250 🤯 insane can’t believe it’s cheaper than a switch

@sandman89 I didn't think of that but yes, £30.00 less at launch..
This should sell well in the UK..

This will fly off the shelves for those more casual gamers playing COD, FIFA, Fortnite etc.
These types of gamers aren't bothered about 4K.
If they throw in a 1 month trial, or even 14 days, for Game Pass, then job done.

As someone who games on all three and mainly digital only, at £250 this is rather tempting.

Q) What do you think of this first look?

A) I think it looks fantastic. The Xbox Series S is strangely adorable and more creative looking than the design ideas others were thinking of.

That said, with no disc drive, I won't be getting one. It has however reinvigorated my excitement for the next generation of gaming and the hinting of an affordable pricing for the Xbox Series X at under 500 (if it follows the same patterns as the Xbox Series S, then an Xbox Series X could be a very enticing £450 in the UK currency) is lovely news to my ears. It's surprising how a confirmation of a price and date can have such impact on the hype for a system; I look forward to official reveals of those for the Xbox Series X!

I'll get a Series X down the line. This is a cool option, though.

At £250, this is really tempting, but I still can't buy it. I wanted the XSS to replace my X1S, but without a disc drive it just can't. I'm mainly all digital, but I still have loads of 360 discs, and bluray movies.

Had it launched with a disc drive, this would have been a day one purchase.

I like the design of it, it looks closer to the one S/X design that the series X. I'll still getting the series X. Could see a lot of people being tempted to get this and a PS5. Think with this price point the series X will def be under £500. I'd guess £450 for the series X.

This is an awesome move by Microsoft. I’ll be getting the Series X, myself, but this is a great option to give people.

Good price point. But all digital and only 500gb of memory? Add in those memory cards and this could be just as expensive. Series X it is!

I'm already noticing some spin in the social medias:
People that claimed true 4K is a waste of horsepower and 144pp checkerboarded to 4k is more than good are already saying the resolution of the Series S can't count as true next Gen. 😅

Wow, that's a great price. I mean I would have preferred a more square design like that Concept everyone used for a while, but this still looks great.

@playstation_king Yes, if you don't have any interest in 4K, you'd better buy the Series S which is extraordinary good value.

@TheNewButler I think its heavily dependant on game, but competitive gamers have always prioritized framerate over resolution. Min settings, max draw distance, just good enough resolution to see if that Pixel is a player you need to snipe.

Console games don't usually allow for such customization, though, but if it did competitive players would still get Series X and lower settings so framerate was rock-solid 120.

Only a pony would say that Series S is not a next-gen console, it's exactly like the Series X bar the GPU and RAM and no bottlenecks since it doesn't support 4K. Actually, more powerful than PS5 in terms of CPU 🤣. It's a brilliant move by Microsoft.

@themightyant Yes, 512 GB confirmed by the leaked trailer. Good thing it upscales games to 4K. Overall, it's insane value although I'll get Series X.

@Tharsman

Yea the Ponies like to spin the narrative to whatever suits their love of their plastic box wars.

Just like when the Xbox One & PS4 launched......Ponies said it was all about power. Then the One X came out & then power didn’t matter anymore. 🙄

@KelticDevil Next generation specifications will both matter and not matter depending on if they're talking about Series S or X.

Spoiler alert, the reveal trailer has been leaked. It's really good.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1303252607759130624

massive move from MS for me £250 is a crazy price for a next gen console (even if its not all the bells and whistles) I can see it going well at Christmas, its what they want a cheap way to tie you into gamepass.

@BlueOcean

Yea if Microsoft markets this console correctly, this is a huge win for Xbox. The more casual gamer will eat this console up & us in the hardcore crowd will have the Series X.

That leaves Sony stuck in the middle where they don’t win power or price. There is literally no reason for me to get a PlayStation (not that I would have anyways).

It’s an interesting strategy by Xbox. If you factor in Game Pass, this new Series S is a ridiculous bargain.

Sony must be pissing their pants right now, Looking at that 299$ price tag.. Xbox out here making moves..

@KelticDevil It's literally a Series X without the expensive GPU and digital-only, with a smaller SSD and renders at native Quad HD but it's also able to upscale to 4K. I'm interested in Series X but Series S is an absolute bargain, best value of the next generation, even for people with a 4K TV.

@Bmartin001 Also, consider that PS5 is aiming at native 4K with a weaker CPU than Series S and a weaker GPU than Series X. I can't wait to see those Digital Foundry analyses.

This is a pretty great price and specs, like really good. definetely not this holiday, as I'm getting a ps5, but In a couple years when I'm out of uni, I will definitely get this. It cannot be ignored.

The XB1S upscales to 4k so that isn't necessarily a big deal - even your 4k TV can upscale to 4k and some TV's are actually superior to consoles as they know a lot of TV consumed is still SD let alone HD on a 4k TV.

Maybe we will see DirectML upscaling in some games at some point in the future but as MS didn't state the upscaling would be ML (or AI) enhanced, like they state they are using DirectX Ray Tracing, I would NOT assume that they are referring to any 'enhanced' form of upscaling solution...

@BlueOcean @Bmartin001 I think all In all, Sony and Microsoft are on even footing going into the next generation. And that is great for competition within the industry, I don't doubt fantastic games will come from both sides. Now, to see if Valve will join in as well...

@GilbertXI And I'm very happy because Xbox One suffered from Don Mattrick's messy management and Phil Spencer has been improving every single thing Xbox-related since then. Microsoft has great hardware and great studios now.

Sony stalked Microsoft this generation and then undercut them and cancelled any DRM plans. Microsoft had to backpedalled. Sony is stalking Microsoft now, they revealed the console and the specifications after them and they still haven't revealed any price but, this time, Microsoft is doing things right 😊 so they have a chance.

@BlueOcean Yep. It is believed that Sony might reveal more things literally tommorow. It was definitely a smart moved Sony pulled at E3 the start of the generation. Although I personally don't care much for gamepass (for reasons that are stupidly subjective e.g I prefer physical, even though it doesn't mean anything nowadays), but Phil Spencer is doing a fantastic job. I can't wait to see more from both Sony and Microsoft.

@GilbertXI Yeah, now that Microsoft are revealing their price plans you can bet Sony will pop up soon 🤣. Good thing Microsoft is not messing up like in 2013. Both will be alright this time 😊.

@BlueOcean oh damn, it's actually been half confirmed by a UK retailer for tommorow. Between that and the more Xbox news, and the rumor for a Nintendo direct(scoff, although if it's a partner showcase that shows silksong, I will be more than happy), the Ubisoft forward event is going to be absolutely buried.

Edit: Hyrule warriors: age of calamity just got announced, bye bye Ubisoft

Any Canucks on here? So a $499 USD price for XSX would be $600 CAD? The series S sounds pretty great for a casual gamer console. O would get it if it had a disk drive but it doesn't so XSX for moi.

@Xiovanni umm budget conscious players care more about the vastly cheaper digital sales over physical buy back programs. I mean GameStop is going bankrupt here in the US. This will speak to a lot of people particularly price conscious parents hit hard by Covid.

Wow thats cheap for whats on offer. If game pass is included then even better. In fact Its even cheaper than a Switch with the base unit. Wonder if the Switch will get a price drop due to this?

Great news to wake up to this morning here in the U.K.
Now just the series x price and release date, then let my preorder begin.

I can see Xbox creating some sort of Xbox360 success again here.
Was in CEX at the weekend and there was more people trading and buying xbox360 games than anything else, which was a bit surprising.

That’s rather impressing. It’s also a good tactic by Microsoft, announcing the price of the «light» version first, and when the X is announced at a higher price, they can point to the cheaper version for those that say it’s too expensive.

@KelticDevil what about the games on Playstation? You can disagree with me if you want but power isn't what shifts consoles its the ganes that are on there. Thats the only area Microsoft fall down on at the moment but the studios acquired is a right step.

@Kopite

I disagree. I only have an Xbox & I have lots of exclusives & games to play. My backlog is ridiculous. So I am sick of the tired narrative that Sony fans like to say that Xbox “has no games”. 🙄 It’s ridiculous.

Just because all Sony fans want are single player, one & done, 3rd person action/adventure games......great for them. Go play on PlayStation. I like variety & some multiplayer in my games. And I love a lot of the exclusives Xbox has, single player or otherwise.

And there are many more on the way. 👍🏻

@KelticDevil
I do agree with your comments on this.
But for whatever reason be it game’s or marketing tactics etc, selling consoles to the masses PS4 in this case, Sony did hit the nail on the head this generation.
We shall see what happens next generation, but whatever we think those Sony exclusives do help sell the Sony console.
Just like the xbox360 exclusives shifted many xbox360 back in the day. With gears of war, Forza, Forza Horizon, Halo, Mass Effect, Fable. The list goes on.

@KelticDevil I never said Xbox had no games theres no need to go straight on the defensive and theres no need to label me either I don't have a horse in the race I play whatever has games that interest me.

Xbox have fallen from what made the 360 a must play machine for me personally and like I said the studios acquired is a step in the right direction for me.

I also think that saying a single player game is a "one and done" experience is very short sighted if a game is good it will have replay value, single player or multiplayer, its like saying a film or an album is a one and done experience.

You know what woud sell the Series S even more? If you had the option to buy an external disc drive.

@KelticDevil Well said, I’m too sick of PS fans saying Xbox “has no exclusives” because they can play them on their PC but not everybody owns or even want to game on a PC, myself included so the “no exclusives” comment is totally irrelevant to me and non-PC gamers.

Your also spot on about the majority of PS exclusives being single player, 3rd person action/adventure gamea that are one and done type of games. There is no denying that they are some top quality PS exclusives like The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone just to name a few but that’s the reason I’ve sold 3 PS4’s over the years because once I’ve completed a game and another isn’t out for a year or two then that’s when I sell the PS4 again and just return to the Xbox One for all my gaming needs. I’ll get a PS5 in a few years when there’s plenty of exclusives out for it.

@MaccaMUFC again I didnt say it had no exclusives or games its just not been the heights of the 360 and again saying a single player game is "one and done" is very short sighted, being a single player game doesn't mean it can't be played more than once does it?

No1 question: Nov 10th for UK too or US only?

Glad everything is confirmed now! This thing is gonna do so extremely well I think!

@MaccaMUFC Microsoft and Nintendo have more "gamey" games, Sony is all in for cinematic single-player experiences with mediocre gameplay and multiplayer most of the time. I have a PS4 and some of its games have impressed but mostly for the cutscenes and the voice acting.

@Kopite Yes, Xbox needs more variety, that's why they have acquired so many studios. In any case, some of my favourite games of the generation are Microsoft exclusives and although I miss Banjo, Viva Piñata, Fable (confirmed to get a sequel on Series X), etc., I don't have enough time to play all the Xbox games I'm interested in.

@Darylb88 The release date has not been officially confirmed, that was part of the leak, so we'll have to wait for the official announcement to know the release date. 10th November might be the global release date because every source says it will be a global launch.

EDIT: 10th November confirmed.

@BlueOcean On the trailer Xbox confirmed November 10, but only on main US account so wanted to be sure as I'm based in the UK.

@FraserG @Darylb88 Cool, I watched the trailer but must have missed the date. Thanks.

@BAMozzy TV up scaling can be horrifically inconsistent from TV to TV, plus it adds input lag (because chips on these tvs tend to be slow as hell.) Some high end models might make a good job of upscaling, but got a console that devs want to be consistent, nativt upscaling is critical.

That said, yes I been thinking about the possibility of the XSS using DirectML based upscaling... The techniques used by Nvidia have proven to be jaw-dropping. This little console has the potential, be it at launch or later down the line with an update, to deliver some impressive visuals.

@BlueOcean again I said the studio acquisitions were a good thing and im looking forward to seeing what everyone has to show. I'm looking forward to seeing gameplay for Fable and Avowed but I can't get over hyped on a short CG trailer, as time goes on im looking forward to seeing them in action.

and isn't that a problem for people who play games on any platform that they don't have enough time to play the games there interested in?

@Kopite I love that I have plenty of games to choose from, to be honest. It's not a problem for me. That makes the waiting for Banjo-Kazooie (not announced), Fable, Avowed, Everwild much easier.

@BlueOcean I don't think Sony had DRM plans to cancel. They just kept their mouths shut on the topic because even with rumors it was clear from miles away that MS was running with siscors and Sony was happy to let them do it and laugh as Xbox stabbed themselves on the face.

Main reason I'm sure of this is that MS, being a software company, still had to push day one console software updates to remove all that DRM functionality, requiring day one access to internet because of the daily check-in stuff.

A day one PS4 had none of that stuff and would work perfectly fine on a house with no internet connection. They didn't have time to go through manufactured consoles to change this, so it likely was never in their roadmap.

@mousieone digital sales are rarely, if ever, better than physycal sales. Hell right now you can preorder most the next Gen games for $50 if you buy physycal, when digital price is 60.

Retailers like Amazon and Walmart will gladly give up some of their cut to move as much volume as possible, and months later, do a deep cut to get rid of lingering inventory.

Physycal has always been cheaper, in average.

@Tharsman well written. The reasoning makes sense. But you should probably expect the usual regular fanboys here to say to you that your a sony fanboy & that you should go back to pushsquare

@Dezzy70

Very true. Microsoft (and Don Mattrick) completely screwing up the launch of Xbox One hurt the most. And because of that, the PS4 became the popular console by far & the “Xbox has no games” narrative was born.

But even though Phil Spencer has done a great job trying to change that narrative (in my opinion), there still seems to be people out there that think that is the case.

I get that not all people will like Microsoft’s exclusives. But for people to say or hint that tired & untrue excuse of them having no games is 🙄 to me. Almost the whole July showcase was exclusives! Lol.

Edit - spelling.

@MaccaMUFC

Well said! 👍🏻

@Tharsman I didn't say that PS4 had DRM at launch but that it was ditched before launch so, obviously, you didn't find any issues with your launch PS4. Perhaps @NEStalgia can explain a bit more but I have heard that Sony had DRM plans and backpedalled after seeing Microsoft shooting themselves in the foot. It wouldn't be surprising, honestly, that Sony just decided to ditch what didn't work for Microsoft and I don't find any reason to not believe this when they undercut Xbox One and they always have eye on what Microsoft is doing.

@kuliddar indeed! If I could just hook an external 4k blueray drive... That would be huge!

@FraserG That's great news, a couple of American outlets were speculating that it may be a US launch and a later date for rest of world. I shall be getting one on day one!

@Tharsman One more indication, PS4 has a camera app installed that you can't erase and that uses the PS camera. Likely, they were planning to bundle PS4 and camera together and backpedalled after seeing that Kinect 2.0 got lukewarm reception.

@Cyrus29 I had plenty of people call me a pony when I refused to be part of Don Mattrick's vision.

I wanted power.
I didn't want a camera and mic in the middle of a NSA mass spying scandal.
I wanted to share disks without no internet garbage.
And I definitively didn't want to pay extra for all the things I did NOT want.

So yea, Xbox hard core fan base insulted me plenty. Didn't take names, maybe some here insulted me back then. 😅

But I meant it all then, and now Xbox has the power, and PS5 has the intrusive microphone...

@BlueOcean doubt they wanted to bundle the camera. Sony has always liked over-charging for accessories. The app being there is harmless and basically just an OS feature until the camera was purchased and hooked up. Day one consoles definitively didn't scream at users for not connecting that camera, as Xbox kept doing for a long time.

@Tharsman What does have to do with not being planned as bundle? Perhaps it wasn't mean for the same things as Kinect. PS4 OS is bare-bones simple. If you include it and raise the price is the same as selling an accessory.

@BlueOcean there WAS a bundle at some point. Optional one. My point is they didn't ever plan to force the camera on all their PS4s. Besides, despite Sony love to upcharge, the camera was not an extra $100.

Keep in mind PSMove for PS3 was nowhere near as successful as Kinect 1.0 for 360, only reason Sony had for a camera was game streaming and eventual release of VR.

So we can see some things from looking at the design, It seems it is also using a single 140mm fan same as the Series X with a large air intake on the side (It could be a smaller 120mm fan on second look). This is a solid cooling layout that will move a fair bit of heat without to much noise. It also points to what is likely in the box. It will need the same CPU design and core count. MS is already running the SX version at reasonable speeds which will not build a lot of heat so we have a lot of heat design left on the table for the GPU. This unit will get 100% of sales through xbox services so will generate secondary revenue. I can not really see them putting in a 4TFlOP GPU. In fact I think this will have something like a 5600 with 7.4 FP32 TFLOPs.

@Tharsman I’m going to have to agree to disagree with you on this one.

Ok so the Series S is $380 CAD so based on this conversation a $499 USD Series X will be $633 CAD... Hopefully just stick to $600 CAD vs $625 or even $650.

@Tharsman Of course it can vary from TV to TV - hence I said 'some' TV's can be better - indicating that also some could be worse too. However the point still stands that its not necessarily anything to be excited by - other than it might do a better job than your TV and at least it won't incur any additional lag. Not ALL TV's though add Lag, Sony's were known for adding Lag a few years ago but Samsung and LG TV's had no additional Lag for HD resolution (meaning the TV would be upscaling to fill the screen).

My point was also to say that 'Upscaling' to 4k is ALSO a feature of the XB1S (and the X too for any content, inc Games that run under 4k). Setting the output to 4k on these consoles meant that the Console would upscale any lower resolution content to 2160p and send that to your TV so your TV would receive an upscaled 4k image.

If MS had stated 'Direct ML' upscaling to 4k, then I would be more 'excited' at the potential - however, this is NOT mentioned but they do mention DirectX Ray Tracing. This leads me to believe that image quality on a Series S would be 'similar' to the PS4 Pro - which also upscales many 1440p native resolutions to 4k - so you still get that 'softer' look. I say 'similar' but of course there can be a difference with the developers, the engines and post processing but principally, the upscaling could be no different.

Its still a step up from 900p (or less) on XB1S and you also have to consider that the Console adds 'next' gen features and higher frame rates. It may run a game like AC:Odyssey at a similar resolution and frame rate to an XB1X, but unlike the X, it can offer RT, faster loading as well as the higher more stable frame rates where the CPU is a bottleneck.

Making a big deal out of 'upscaling to 4k' as some are here is ridiculous. Did they also make a big deal out of the XB1S upscaling its often sub 1080p games to 4k too? No - because they still looked like upscaled low(er) resolution games - in some cases, upscaled by 9x. Its often better to upscale once, rather than twice - upscale to 1080p and then the TV upscale that upscaled image to 4k - but its still 'upscaled'. I could understand 'excitement' if MS had stated DirectML upscaling to 4k but they didn't say that...

@Tharsman

I hear ya. Mattrick pissed me off so much that I traded in my 360 for a PS3 right during the heart of the generation.

No lie.....the kid at Gamestop asked me “Why?” when I told him I wanted to trade my 360 for a PS3 Slim. I told him....”You’ll see.” Lol.

Sure enough, Mattrick’s vision was garbage & almost killed off the brand I had been enjoying since the OG Xbox launch.

Then Sony pissed me off with my PS3 dying & their completely disrespectful handling of my Vita (idiotic memory card prices & them calling it a “legacy console” like 2 yrs after launch) & having their 1st party stop making games for it....... 😡

By then Microsoft had kicked Mattrick to the curb & I came back home to Xbox. I got a lot of flack from Xbox fans back then too, so I hear ya. The 360 was the popular console back then (if you don’t count the Wii) & that brings out the toxic fanboys. Funny how most of them ended up on PS4 now. Lol.

Very interesting. A 1440p console sounds like a nice mainstream appeal. Almost makes me wonder what the X's appeal is. $300 is in line with rumors and guns straight for Switch (ouch!) that's smart! It makes me think if this is the main console, then X has to be high priced just to make it a premium halo (not Halo) product. OTOH it seems crazy they'd charge $200 more for 25% more resolution and a BD drive if they went with the $500 price.

@Tharsman @BlueOcean I don't have links at this point, but yes, both MS and Sony were planning the exact same DRM scheme. Just like the jump to x86 itself it was primarily a concoction (conspiracy?) of the major publishers, of ramming their agendas down consumers throat. They already got their way on PC, and they were going to use last gen as a way to force it on console, too. It wasn't a "Microsoft idea" - it was an industry idea, and the major firms got MS and Sony to comply with what they wanted in a console (just a PC), and the distribution system they wanted (DRM all digital, cut out used sales.)

MS crashed and burned on stage, Sony had time to do a last minute change of plans before their show, and declare they're sticking with the old distribution model. At that point it's not like they were going to get guff from the publishers after watching MS get skewered hours earlier. MS got to take the fall for the industry and Sony got to revise their plans just before going live as a result, and came out smelling like a rose.

That's not a knock on Sony doing anything shady. That was smart business, if you had the same plan as your competitor and the market just torched your competitor for it, you change your plans too rather than leaping in the blaze with them. But the reality is it's not fair for gamers to keep blaming MS as the "bad" one versus Sony the "good" one on the DRM scandal. Fingers should really point at 2k/Acti/EA/Ubi first, and Sony/MS both for going along for the trainride to heck.

@NEStalgia Yes, exactly that.

@Xiovanni Buy Series X.

@Xiovanni Keep their Xbox One if they can't afford a next-gen console.

@Xiovanni It's not like all Xbox consoles are digital-only. People have a choice.

@Xiovanni I’m super careful about my eBay purchases; you can get burned if you’d like.

This is still so odd. Cat and mouse pricing, then ms reveals date and price.... In the s, but no price on x..... This could mean it comes in high, could shock us and go low... Or it's still 500 and the whole wait is silly. Can't imagine cheaper than 1x, and yet $100 over s would be a game changer.

@NEStalgia Microsoft didn't have a choice, someone leaked the price. Those sources say that Series X will cost 500 which was what I expected so 200 more than S and let's hope that Sony don't undercut Microsoft at the last minute and ruin SeX launch...

@BlueOcean They'll undercut. That's what they do.

But ms can undercut that still too. Leaked 500 isn't announced 500 after all. If Sony can change drm an hour pre show, ms can change price.

Free with medium softdrink!

@NEStalgia Yep 😆. Let's see how this continues...

So... You wanna play RDR2 and COD? Sorry, you can't... Not enough space... Buy phisical instead... Oh but you don't have a disc Drive... Well, buy another console then...

Anyone know if 1440p 120fps will work on 2.0 HDMI 4K TV?

@TheNewButler that's not the point... But ok...