Since the PS5 and XSX has to dip all the way to 1080p to use RT at a playable frame rate, it says a lot about how demanding their RT implementation is. And look, they didn't let the Series S hold them back as everyone fears. They just said no RT for the Series S.
We're talking about a console that's like 10x6x2.5 inches and probably draws maybe 100-ish watts under load (based on the Series X power draw). There just has to be some expectations regarding that. Sure, Watch Dogs will have some RT on the Series S but it's probably gonna be a pretty basic implementation compared to whatever DMC5 is doing. It's gonna vary game to game.
This is a weird comment. MS has been marketing and Phil Spencer has been talking as if the differences between Series S and X is going to be minimal and that you only really have to worry about resolution. Now studios are coming out saying that they can basically pick and choose if they want to run RT and other stuff on their games? Had I known that, I would have just looked into getting a Series X myself instead of seriously looking at Series S.
I think they believe the more casual market, or someone running on either a small screen or a 1080p screen simply won't notice the difference. It runs the new COD, the new 2k, Fortnite, etc. for only $299, and has all these cool game pass games. For a lot of people that's all they want, and they're not analyzing whether the shadows are set to Medium or Ultra details, or whether those are screen space or RT reflections. We already know games can look really nice using settings like that.
I will agree the marketing could have been more specific, but it's a bit hard to convey since every game is going to handle its downscaling to Series S differently. Some will just need to bump down the resolution, some will turn down textures or shadows or ray tracing or geometry detail, or some combination of any of those things.
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