I think entry level or companion device is exactly the segment Microsoft is aiming for with it. It'll be the most accessible way to get into gamepass in the future when Xbox one is phased out.
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Xbox Series S owners, how are you finding the system after 3 months?
- Thread starter oni-link
- Start date
How hard is it to get Retroarch and PS1/2 emulation on the system?
I love ours. Got one for my daughter for her good grades.
It's also a great value for the amount of time they use it. Storage is an issue though, and my parents bought her the extra seagate storage for Xmas which means I prob should have just gotten the X, but whatever. We love it, and I love how compact it is to fit in my setup.
Plus my current TV only does 120FPS @1440P anyways.
We basically just use it as a Gamepass machine. Basically been playing Jedi, Rogue Squadron, Spirit Faire, Tetris Effect, and Destiny 2. Hell my daughter beat Tetris in a week, and it was worth it just for that.
It's also a great value for the amount of time they use it. Storage is an issue though, and my parents bought her the extra seagate storage for Xmas which means I prob should have just gotten the X, but whatever. We love it, and I love how compact it is to fit in my setup.
Plus my current TV only does 120FPS @1440P anyways.
We basically just use it as a Gamepass machine. Basically been playing Jedi, Rogue Squadron, Spirit Faire, Tetris Effect, and Destiny 2. Hell my daughter beat Tetris in a week, and it was worth it just for that.
While I have an X I did snag a S for my 14 year old son. He LOVES it.. I did buy an external HDD for all his Xbox One Games to play off so the internal is not filled with games that can run off an external. I am blown away when I watch him play just how good it looks and how fast it runs, seems just as fast as my Series X. If he ever wants to play some of his disc games he can play on my system.
I can not express how crazy it was to open the box and see just how small this thing is..... If they could have put a 1tb drive in it .. they would prob own the next gen market (if they could make enough of them). Pair this with gamepass and it is one heck of a deal..
That big black vent on the top is VERY important.. it needs to be wide open and it will get warm.
I can not express how crazy it was to open the box and see just how small this thing is..... If they could have put a 1tb drive in it .. they would prob own the next gen market (if they could make enough of them). Pair this with gamepass and it is one heck of a deal..
That big black vent on the top is VERY important.. it needs to be wide open and it will get warm.
IF you keep it open every time you use it and it has enough free space to ventilate, I guess its ok.
If you plan to keep it closed every time, well definetly not a good idea.
Would it be ok seated flat on a carpet do you think? Big fan pointing upwards. Basically, my media unit isn't exactly the best at storing consoles, but I'd put it on the floor behind it. The white would blend in nicely.
I like it a lot. More than I thought I would initially. The BC of 360 games issue is a bummer tho. And, from aesthetics standpoint, it's very cute to look at
Is there space where it could stand up behind or next to the TV?
The console is honestly so small, it would probably be fine that way, and it would get enough airflow that way as it would be vertical and outside the TV unit
I'm still stunned by how small it is, and yet how effective it is. I have a Series S on a 1080p TV in our bedroom, and honestly like I don't really notice much or any of a difference on most of the games that I play, compared to the 4K TV and the Series X on our living room TV.
The hard drive size is small and limiting, but I've got about 5 games installed to it and it's kinda the "Secondary console" and so I'm okay with that having a smaller catalogue than the main Xbox (which is 1TB and I have a 3TB external drive, non-SSD for that one). In the future I'll probably get one of those NVME external memory cards and swap between the two systems, so like have games installed to the "main" Series X, games installed to the Series S, and then have a handful of games installed exclusively on that external drive and swap it depending on what I'll be playing on (I frequently get booted out of the living room for ... The Real Housewives of Orange County / Utah / etc, or pre-pandemic, when my wife would have friends over)
I still can't get over how small it is.
The hard drive size is small and limiting, but I've got about 5 games installed to it and it's kinda the "Secondary console" and so I'm okay with that having a smaller catalogue than the main Xbox (which is 1TB and I have a 3TB external drive, non-SSD for that one). In the future I'll probably get one of those NVME external memory cards and swap between the two systems, so like have games installed to the "main" Series X, games installed to the Series S, and then have a handful of games installed exclusively on that external drive and swap it depending on what I'll be playing on (I frequently get booted out of the living room for ... The Real Housewives of Orange County / Utah / etc, or pre-pandemic, when my wife would have friends over)
I still can't get over how small it is.
I initially had one, returned for a Series X. Now I'm probably gonna sell my PS5 and buy a Series S for my work room instead.
loved the look, and it performed admirably
loved the look, and it performed admirably
Who knows. They don't really care doing PR for game pass on PC. But probably not everything is available.
Possibly. My only bugbear about the S is that there is a great shelf/open space on the right of my TV unit, which would unfortunately mean the great big fan would point directly onto the side of the unit as it is on the left of the S.
It's great.
A small form console that I barely notice for my room, I really dig it.
Big plus is that I can barely hear it. I'm replaying the original port of Demon's Souls on PS3 and I forgot how much that thing sounds like a jet engine lol.
A small form console that I barely notice for my room, I really dig it.
Big plus is that I can barely hear it. I'm replaying the original port of Demon's Souls on PS3 and I forgot how much that thing sounds like a jet engine lol.
Saving $300 especially with the GPU shortages and the price increase between Ryzen 2 and Ryzen 3 doesn't get you as much as it would've. Plus for some, having just the box and controller to worry about is easier and/or more convenient than having the whole PC to worry about, in terms of replacements, etc.
PC can be a good option, and a good option in the long term too, but right now it's not especially in terms of value for money or simplicity (ie, trying to find the parts to build a system).
I own an X but have recently been playing a lot on my 1080p screen instead and part of me wonders if I made the wrong choice because games still look pretty darn good and sharp
2 and 3, always. Developers' games become better-performing the longer they're able to get a handle on the system's specs and better understand them, not worse.
I bought a Series X, sold my one x for 300, and bought a series s as well.
I do a lot of travel so I'm looking forward to it being my travel box.
I do a lot of travel so I'm looking forward to it being my travel box.
Regardless of resolution or performance, the Series S is the console for those who just want to play games. There is nothing wrong with that. I want one to have in a spare bedroom or travel. I have played on it and it is really cool how small it is.
I love it. I've recently decided not to get a PS5 but rather save up for a PC but I'm still really pleased with it. The controller is probably the best I've ever used, GamePass/Games with Gold is excellent, I'm back to achievement hunting, and it's been fun revisiting so many 7th gen titles.
I don't know how they do it now, there should be a thread here somewhere about it. I've tried installing Retroarch on my PC and a Raspberry Pi and I've always quit because it was too hard. Some people have said it's taken them 20 minutes to set it up on a Series S. I think now you need to buy Retroarch now along with another app on the store to access system files.
Here's the discussion page.
The $299 XBOX Series S is an Emulation Beast | MVG | ResetEra
However, I've still been tinkering over a month trying to get everything perfect but so far it's played every Sega CD and PS1 game perfectly. Some PS2, GameCube, and Wii games are normal and some are rough but it hasn't really been optimized yet.
I think one of the people working on one of the cores doesn't even own an Xbox Series S|X so I can imagine it will take time before most games are running in a playable state.
Hope this helps. It's honestly worth the hassle and this is coming from someone who used to feel like a complete idiot when dealing with anything Retroarch.
Ah thanks
I have a Pi 3 with Retroarch which works well for NES to PS1, but it would be cool to have this on the S as well
That said, I built (lol) my Pi in 2017 and had a lot of help from this community, but I've not done anything like that since so I'd likely need help again
I struggled like crazy but somewhere in that thread there's a Discord that was extremely helpful with any and all questions and that helped me majorly. I have all the cores/overlays/BIOS/roms/inputs/etc all set up but right now I'm working with thumbnails and it's a pain but it's coming along. The Series X|S is probably the best console out there for retro gaming.
EDIT: The ONLY issue with the Series S is the SDD size but I got a cheap 128GB USB 3.0 drive and just toss everything on there.
I absolutely love it. Looks great on my 1080p TV (haven't tried my 1440p monitor yet), the SSD is amazing and Gamepass is a godsend.
So much in fact that I am holding off on my PS5 purchase (there is an unopened one sitting next to me which I am selling) until there is 1440p support and more games that actually interest me.
Edit: Oh yeah and coming from a PS4 Pro it is just stunning how quiet this little box is. It is completely inaudible. And it looks amazing.
So much in fact that I am holding off on my PS5 purchase (there is an unopened one sitting next to me which I am selling) until there is 1440p support and more games that actually interest me.
Edit: Oh yeah and coming from a PS4 Pro it is just stunning how quiet this little box is. It is completely inaudible. And it looks amazing.
I wanted to buy one, but it seems that it'll be a bit less than just "the same games in 1080p". There are multiple cutbacks on top of the resolution which have me worried for the future, so I guess I'll just pass.
I have a X in the main gaming room, will probably move the ps5 from the bedroom and give to the kid and replace the bedroom with a S.
I was playing it at my cousin's and I love it.
I was playing it at my cousin's and I love it.
I have noticed that the people who own both the XSX and the XSS really like the XSS. People who only own the XSS really like it. Just do it.
I can play many games at 120fps 1080p on this tiny beast and that is an awesome experience. Fuck 30fps ever again. And once more developers start hitting the 1440p that this machine is capable of doing ... chef's kiss! As many PC gamers know, 1440p at 120fps (or higher) is a very good place to be when gaming.
I can play many games at 120fps 1080p on this tiny beast and that is an awesome experience. Fuck 30fps ever again. And once more developers start hitting the 1440p that this machine is capable of doing ... chef's kiss! As many PC gamers know, 1440p at 120fps (or higher) is a very good place to be when gaming.
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It is kind of funny that the people who seem to like it have the S or they have an S and an X and they think the S is great
The people who doubt or dislike the S don't own it or they only own the X and have no experience with the S
I like it, pretty compact and stylish GamePass little machine and a good companion to my main gaming machine (a PS5), very smart and cost-effective. Although I have to say I am a bit disappointed with the fact that the cuts already being made on its games make Microsoft's "like XSX but at 1080p/1440p" claims feel like blatant lies (and they should be called out about them if this keeps up). I was expecting resolutions to be sub-1440p, the games not getting the 60fps/performance mode of its big brother, but I am getting no raycasting in many games (despite the GPU having the capabilities and being one of the differentiator facts from previous gen) and sub-1080p resolutions instead.
Assuming you have the equivilant processor and RAM that can handle for Series S quality, and the controller, how much does an equivalent graphics card cost? Also will the EA gamepass be included in PC Game Pass eventually? Game selection between the two is different, and you don't have the backwards compatibility of many past console exclusives. The two are not the exact same experience even if you have the equivilant PC.
Edit: It's also not practical for a ton of people to have their PC hooked up to their larger television for the same experience a console will give you.
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All this talk about about upgrading a gaming pc, as I type this on my iMac. PC gaming is not option in my Mac household.
I did have big plans to build a gaming PC last fall but I am glad I held off as I still cannot source a 3080 card. Much rarer that the fabled PS5 Digital Edition.
I did have big plans to build a gaming PC last fall but I am glad I held off as I still cannot source a 3080 card. Much rarer that the fabled PS5 Digital Edition.
I would say for the casual gamer not so worried about 4K quality, it is a hell of a deal along with gamepass.
I'm assumimg you have or think about getting a gaming desktop PC and already have a controller.
Getting a used GPU from someone who upgraded GPU can be enough for Series S quality and more. Aim for above 1060 3GB VRAM and you should be good to go (like a 1060 6GB) playing all games in 1080p 60fps hooked to a TV. (A 1660 Ti is best though.) Used GPUs can be sold later without much loss when the most bang for the bucks GPU RTX 3060 Ti 8GB is available.
Oh really? What games don't have RT on the S that do on the X?
One thing I noticed is that its the third time that the console crashes in a weird way.
I always put in the "Standby mode", every time it starts with the pad connecting correctly then stop working after a few seconds. Then the console is not operable via the pad nor in wifi nor with cable. I try to power it off and on, and then the screen is all "flickering". I power off again, unplug it. Wait a few seconds, a power it on again. Everything is fine.
Also some game have crashed after trying to start them again after stand by.
Not worried at all by the hardware, looks like more something software related that sometimes doesnt load up correctly.
I hope the updates are frequent, i didn seen any (i think) until now... or are these installed without notice? Firmware update I mean.
I always put in the "Standby mode", every time it starts with the pad connecting correctly then stop working after a few seconds. Then the console is not operable via the pad nor in wifi nor with cable. I try to power it off and on, and then the screen is all "flickering". I power off again, unplug it. Wait a few seconds, a power it on again. Everything is fine.
Also some game have crashed after trying to start them again after stand by.
Not worried at all by the hardware, looks like more something software related that sometimes doesnt load up correctly.
I hope the updates are frequent, i didn seen any (i think) until now... or are these installed without notice? Firmware update I mean.
Got a pc with a 3090 sitting at my place and bought a series s for my gfs place. I like it so far but we don't game often at her place. She is not really invested in gaming but i got her to try out lego indiana jones and she likes it. We now watch the movies for a bit, then play that part then countinue playing. I hope to get her to play the star wars games too but we shall see. We also played some co-op racing games and even tried "A way out" but the game was a bit to hard to get for here with the split screen and, 3d movement and 3d camera.
Are the any good couch co-op platformers on xbox?
Maybe some 2d ones?
Are the any good couch co-op platformers on xbox?
Maybe some 2d ones?
