Xbox Series S officially revealed - Releases Nov 10 for $299 [512GB NVME SSD, 1440P at up to 120FPS, DirectX Raytracing, 4K Upscaling, & More]

Mecha Meister · Sep 8, 2020

Tyaren said:
I thought this was more aimed at 1080p?

napata said:
If would need to be half as powerful as the X1X for that GPU wise and every rumour points to it being 1/3 of the XSX. It could do 1440p30fps in a 4K60fps XSX game though.

The rumoured 4 teraflops of the Xbox Series S is just a bit over what could be required to run games at a quarter of the resolution that the Xbox Series X runs them at, this could be used to provide the headroom to achieve this comfortably, or it could possibly be used to run games at slightly higher resolution than 1080p, alternatively this power could be used for things such as higher quality anti-aliasing. Realistically 1440p could possibly be targeted with more comfort with a 5.31 TF GPU, and 4 TF may be pushing it. It depends on how GPU bound a game is.

Dynamic resolution scaling could be used to help games target resolutions higher than 1080p when possible, and this machine will also likely run Xbox One X enhanced titles even better, so you could potentially be looking at 4K resolutions for last generation titles, and 1080p-1440p for current generation games depending on how GPU bound they are.

Official news of the Xbox Series S is just coming to light after months of rumours, it would be nice to see an increase in teraflops to the 5TF range which could bring 1440p gaming with it closer to reality. Shortly before the Xbox One launched it received a slight boost in power, this would be nice to see once again for the rumours specs of this machine.

wachie said:
More like a 1080p machine.

Indeed, it most likely will be that for current generation games, hopefully it will be able to run Xbox One X enhanced titles even better.

Edit - Typo corrections.

Midas · Sep 8, 2020

Neil98 said:
But will it be able to read discs? I don't see a disc reader in the console...

Nope, seems to be digital only.

Kerberosorthos · Sep 8, 2020

tobibreit said:
Good luck marketing the S and X without confusing the hell out of regular people.

299 barely needs any marketing at holiday shopping sprees. :D

Zaki2407 · Sep 8, 2020

tobibreit said:
Good luck marketing the S and X without confusing the hell out of regular people.

Hmm, Some thing like this?
Want to play next gen console game in the highest resolution and frame rate? Get Series X.
Want to play the same next gen console game in a "slightly" lower resolution and frame rate? Get Series S (Note : For Digital Download only)

Betamaxbandit · Sep 8, 2020

tobibreit said:
Good luck marketing the S and X without confusing the hell out of regular people.

wont someone think of the "regular people"!!!!!!

ron_bato · Sep 8, 2020

Ashhong said:
I'm not arguing, I was genuinely curious as I have only physical games. Calm down lol

I am calm lol. I mean you tried to correct me on my use of the term BC, when BC also applies to digital games and it's not a term that's exclusive to physical media.

How are we supposed to know how this works for physical games? We can make inferences of course, and that is if you want to use your physical games you'll have to buy the series X. I wouldn't expect MS to have some disc to digital program - if they do cool, if not, then at least you have the option to buy the series X albeit at a much higher price.

TheHunter · Sep 8, 2020

That's a really great price point.

Ok Sony c'mon. Let's get this over with.

Laserbeam · Sep 8, 2020

Very intriguing indeed.

No disc drive means it probably isn't for me, but that's a great price and if the performance is what I'm reading about then this thing seems pretty great.

DrDeckard · Sep 8, 2020

Absolute game changer!

Humidex · Sep 8, 2020

Don Draper's Hat said:
Any prices for other countries?

At $299 I'm guessing it'll be about £500 post-Brexit.

It'll be £300 pre-Brexit, £399 post no deal.

wachie · Sep 8, 2020

GamesPass is $10 per month right?

$300 for Series S + $10 x 24 = $240 = $540, so Microsoft is taking a $60 cut for the financing option ($25 for 24 months)

Using that logic and reverse calculating, I get $540 for Series X.

Considering Microsoft's endgame is to sell a lot more Series S and have people tied to their GamePass and eco-system, I think they will take a smaller cut on it, in terms of services cost.

u_neek · Sep 8, 2020

Is this still expected to be a 1080p discless version of Series X? If so, I am IN!

so1337 · Sep 8, 2020

WriterInTheDark said:
Doesn't Gamepass have some OG Xbox stuff on it

I think it does. So presumably you'd have to rely on Gamepass or buy them again if you want to have access to those old games.

It's not a total dealbreaker but this makes me consider a Series X even though I don't have a 4K TV.

Jiggy · Sep 8, 2020

That price is a killer

Voodoopeople · Sep 8, 2020

O

JasoNsider said:
I gotta say it's hilarious that people spent months insisting on peddling this meaningless measurement in TF as some universal indicator of power, and now are trying to tell people it doesn't actually matter when compared to the One X. Good grief. I hope this finally gets people to stop using TF seriously, but you just know it won't haha

It's not that crazy. Last gen, PS4 and the One were almost identical apart from the TF count and the differences were there on screen. Flip it with the Pro and the One X.

The One X and the Series S are generations apart, so a TF in one box can achieve far more than a TF in the older gen.

Conversely, the TF difference between NEXT gen boxes will mean more as between each other as they are all of the same gen once again, with comparable guts elsewhere.

Deleted member 16908 · Sep 8, 2020

JasoNsider said:
I gotta say it's hilarious that people spent months insisting on peddling this meaningless measurement in TF as some universal indicator of power, and now are trying to tell people it doesn't actually matter when compared to the One X. Good grief. I hope this finally gets people to stop using TF seriously, but you just know it won't haha

All people need to understand is that teraflops can't be directly compared across different architectures. You can directly compare the TF of PS5 and Series X because they use the same RDNA 2 GPU arch. You can't compare Series S TF to One X TF because Series S uses RDNA 2 and One X uses GCN.

Dreamwriter · Sep 8, 2020

Katana_Strikes said:
Does it now look bad a Series X for £/$200 more? That'll seem really expensive in comparison. I guess it was never meant to go down this way? but it defo makes the next model look expensive announcing a cheaper one first.

3 times more powerful, and a disc drive. No, that doesn't look bad at $200 more.

Gareth · Sep 8, 2020

I can't really say no to this at launch, I'm in.

Syranth · Sep 8, 2020

Great! I might get this after I get my PS5. I won't use it that much though since my Xbox gathers a LOT of dust and I can play most of their games on PC. Will have to see if my PS5 and PC generally cover my bases.

Deleted member 10737 · Sep 8, 2020

tobibreit said:
Good luck marketing the S and X without confusing the hell out of regular people.

this is the current iphone lineup. regular people will be just fine.

Igorth · Sep 8, 2020

I hope the 1080p res cap is just for nextgen, and can play one x games in 4k or play video apps in 4k/hdr and all that jazz.

RestEerie · Sep 8, 2020

JasoNsider said:
I gotta say it's hilarious that people spent months insisting on peddling this meaningless measurement in TF as some universal indicator of power, and now are trying to tell people it doesn't actually matter when compared to the One X. Good grief. I hope this finally gets people to stop using TF seriously, but you just know it won't haha

if not teraflop measurements, then the boyz can do their playground wars. Reminds me of 'do the math' by Atari.

Slushimi · Sep 8, 2020

With games like Yakuza Zero, Nier Automata, DQ11 and other japanese games popping up now on game pass, it seems like I might consider getting this.

19thCenturyFox · Sep 8, 2020

+ Price
+ Only next gen console with an actual console form factor
+ Common design language with previous Xbox consoles

- Giant black circle looks fugly, should have been white like the rest of the console

Summary:

2/10 - Avoid at all cost

Dreamwriter · Sep 8, 2020

tobibreit said:
Good luck marketing the S and X without confusing the hell out of regular people.

How would a single person be confused? "This one is super small and cheap, this one is huge and expensive...now, which is the more powerful one and which is the budget one? I'm so confused!"

were people confused by Xbox One X and XBox One S?

Right · Sep 8, 2020

Wow didn't expect them to confirm the price. I thought they might wait for Sony and decide whether they wanna dip to 249

gabdeg · Sep 8, 2020

That's a nice tiny console. Now confirm Series X pricing and give us a release date so Sony can go and I can preorder a Series X and PS5.

dlauv · Sep 8, 2020

JasoNsider said:
I gotta say it's hilarious that people spent months insisting on peddling this meaningless measurement in TF as some universal indicator of power, and now are trying to tell people it doesn't actually matter when compared to the One X. Good grief. I hope this finally gets people to stop using TF seriously, but you just know it won't haha

Not to detract too much from your point, which I agree with, but it matters more when it's the same architecture, right?

WhiteRabbitEXE · Sep 8, 2020

JasoNsider said:
I gotta say it's hilarious that people spent months insisting on peddling this meaningless measurement in TF as some universal indicator of power, and now are trying to tell people it doesn't actually matter when compared to the One X. Good grief. I hope this finally gets people to stop using TF seriously, but you just know it won't haha

Within the same gen with extremely similar hardware it's a useful point of comparison. Across gens with much more modern hardware against much more dated hardware it's not a particularly useful point. Pretty simple.

TerryLee81 · Sep 8, 2020

Wonder how big the SSD is for that price...

lunanto · Sep 8, 2020

THIS GEN IS GON B GUD.

300 dollars/euros is impulsive buy territory.

Lego · Sep 8, 2020

so1337 said:
I think it does. So presumably you'd have to rely on Gamepass or buy them again if you want to have access to those old games.

It's not a total dealbreaker but this makes me consider a Series X even though I don't have a 4K TV.

It does, but not a lot of original Xbox games. I wish Ninja Gaiden Black was on there.

Laserdisk · Sep 8, 2020

mavericktopgun said:
Waaaaay more powerful than Xbox One S and X. It's a Series X but for 1080p gaming.

But the X can run games in 4K now?
I understand the feature difference, but this is poor marketing when your old one is marketed at 4k and your shiny new one is 1080p

kami_sama · Sep 8, 2020

Again with the TFLOPS comparisons.
You can directly compare masurements from the same architecture. PS5, XSX and XSS are like that, so performance wise XSX>PS5>>>XSS.
What you cannot do is compare between generations, so comparisons between XSS and XOX with the FLOPS number are bad.
Same thing in PC gaming. Turing FLOPS are better than Ampere FLOPS. And don't try to compare AMD FLOPS with Nvidia ones.

BeI · Sep 8, 2020

Very impressive that you can get this for $299, but can barely get a similar CPU alone on pc for the same price.

ArchedThunder · Sep 8, 2020

MrKlaw said:
What will its BC mode do though? will it be able to play 1X versions, or will it only be playing 1S versions?

1S because it has less RAM than 1X ( because it isn't targeting 4K).

Maximo · Sep 8, 2020

This + gamepass is insane for those who dont have much to spend for gaming.

Kemono · Sep 8, 2020

Series S is the Full HD next-gen console and the Series X is the 4K next-gen console.

It's not that hard imo.

ryushe · Sep 8, 2020

Legacy said:
Series X = 4k gaming
Series S = 1080p gaming

Betty said:
Power and performance mostly. Also Series S has no disk drive.

EvilBoris said:
This one is designed to run games at 1080p

WhiteRabbitEXE said:
It's basically the same situation as X1S vs. X1X, except this time the more powerful unit (X) is the target, and the S is scaled down from there. Last gen was the reverse.

So Series S has the same CPU as the SX, with a similar GPU but scaled back significantly to give the same image output at a 1080p target instead of a 4K target. The GPU is actually about 1/3 rather than 1/4, so they gave the S some breathing room to hit that target. So in theory it'll be a little easier for the XSS to hit its target resolution than the XSX, so even if the X doesn't quite hit 4K in certain software, the S could potentially still hit 1080p.

Ah, I see. That is compelling. Thank you all.

residentgrigo · Sep 8, 2020

@RestEerie A gif that can be heard.

You can´t spell Tera without flop. Original joke, do not steal. For real though. I build PCs. I barely know what a Teraflop is.

Dobbie078 · Sep 8, 2020

So will the Series S play the older games from xbox/xbox 360 in 4K and all the new games in 1080P?

Deleted member 68874 · Sep 8, 2020

wachie said:
GamesPass is $10 per month right?

$300 for Series S + $10 x 24 = $240 = $540, so Microsoft is taking a $60 cut for the financing option ($25 for 24 months)

Using that logic and reverse calculating, I get $540 for Series X.

Considering Microsoft's endgame is to sell a lot more Series S and have people tied to their GamePass and eco-system, I think they will take a smaller cut on it, in terms of services cost.

Its Gamepass Ultimate included with All Access, so $15 a month.

Deleted member 5028 · Sep 8, 2020

JasoNsider said:
I gotta say it's hilarious that people spent months insisting on peddling this meaningless measurement in TF as some universal indicator of power, and now are trying to tell people it doesn't actually matter when compared to the One X. Good grief. I hope this finally gets people to stop using TF seriously, but you just know it won't haha

You are being disingenuous.

Mecha Meister · Sep 8, 2020

bes.gen said:
looking at stuff like unreal 5 demo etc.
there is a good chance, xsx and ps5 themselves will become 1440p machines, couple of years in the generation.

This wouldn't surprise me to be honest, techniques such as checkerboard rendering may play a big role in the upcoming console generation, as it can be more efficient to use these techniques and claw back performance in the effort to and push the boundaries further than rendering games at a native 4K resolution.
NVIDIA's DLSS shows what can be achieved with this very well.

The Xbox One X was marketed as 4K machine however there are times it does fall short of this as a result of the developers prioritizing other things than display resolution.

Deleted member 70824 · Sep 8, 2020

Now can MS finally release the new controller already? My local retailer's have very low stock of the current controller, and I need a new one desperately but I might as well hold out until the new controller releases

TechnicPuppet · Sep 8, 2020

wachie said:
GamesPass is $10 per month right?

$300 for Series S + $10 x 24 = $240 = $540, so Microsoft is taking a $60 cut for the financing option ($25 for 24 months)

Using that logic and reverse calculating, I get $540 for Series X.

Considering Microsoft's endgame is to sell a lot more Series S and have people tied to their GamePass and eco-system, I think they will take a smaller cut on it, in terms of services cost.

It's ultimate which is $15

JMY86 · Sep 8, 2020

So the cat is officially out of the bag (at last). I love the design/small form factor and of course the price. I would definitely bundle in 3 months of Game Pass as well just for the icing on the cake. This console is going to sell very well...

jbug617 · Sep 8, 2020

doyneamite · Sep 8, 2020

dock · Sep 8, 2020

Is that the current gen controller? (Oops no, that's the new controller!)

R.I.P. physical media!

I hope retail are supported well for codes in boxes, especially in terms of offering discounts.

Xbox Series S officially revealed - Releases Nov 10 for $299 [512GB NVME SSD, 1440P at up to 120FPS, DirectX Raytracing, 4K Upscaling, & More]

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