• Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

PaultheNerd

Member
Dec 25, 2018
616
The main drawback will certainly be SSD space, but I'm hoping within a few months even, we can see competitors offering cheaper expansion drives than what Microsoft is offering or a nice holiday sale to get the drive to <$200.
 

JigglesBunny

Prophet of Truth
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
31,101
Chicago
Reviews are all pretty much saying what most have expected - if you intend on playing more than indie games or a handful of large blockbusters, you're going to need that expanded storage and the value proposition becomes hard to justify at that point when the Series X is sitting right there.

I don't think Phil's prediction that this will sell more than the Series X will ever come true as the value that seems apparent at first blush just isn't there upon closer inspection. As the IGN review stated, this seems to have a very specific use as a secondary console but there's almost no way to justify using it as a primary machine.
 

zaxil456

Member
Aug 4, 2020
1,562
I mostly just got an S because it was the only pre-order I could snag. I'm hoping to trade in the console eventually for an X.
 

zYuuKwn

Member
Jun 15, 2020
351
I wanted to have this option to not download the 4K textures but for the XSX :v

I'm not a sucker for 4K yet (I'm holding on my old shitty tv till the day I can afford an CX or similar) but I would love to play stuff at 1080P with Ray Tracing and stuff (What I currently do on PC), without the need to hog my SSD with huge games with 4k textures added
 

RivalGT

Member
Dec 13, 2017
6,393
Backwards compatibility seems...way better than expected? Sub 1080p Xbox One games get boosted to 1080? I assumed only dynamic resolution and fps games would just hit ceilings more often. That's really surprising.

Okay, this has got me even more excited. There's so many games I've been looking forward to jumping into from this past generation but was concerned about how S would handle them. That Ace Combat 7 footage running at 60fps on Series S instead of the 40ish on Xbone is so good.
360 games with X enhancements will get boosted
Example RDR1 will be 1440p

xbox one games with Dynamic resolution will likely hit its highest target
So halo 5 will likely hit 1080p at all times

Also all games will get AFx16 and improved loading. And auto HDR
 

brain_stew

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,727
Performance and loading times look absolutely great. Tiny, cool and quiet, really impressed with what Microsoft have done for the pricepoint. It's absolutely a next generation console just at a lower resolution.
 

henriquezero

Member
May 14, 2020
53
Backwards compatibility seems...way better than expected? Sub 1080p Xbox One games get boosted to 1080? I assumed only dynamic resolution and fps games would just hit ceilings more often. That's really surprising.

Okay, this has got me even more excited. There's so many games I've been looking forward to jumping into from this past generation but was concerned about how S would handle them. That Ace Combat 7 footage running at 60fps on Series S instead of the 40ish on Xbone is so good.
I'm the same boat as you. I have a 1080p TV and dont want to got a 4K by now, my most concern was if Xbox One S games still be 900p on Series S and mostly of them get boosted 1080p based on this review

JUST PREORDERNED MY SERIES S GUYS!!!
 

Prine

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
15,724
So we got some game size there (Jeff Grubb), general next gen games coming in at around 37 to ~48GB. Thats pretty good at this stage.
 
Last edited:

brain_stew

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,727
Backwards compatibility seems...way better than expected? Sub 1080p Xbox One games get boosted to 1080? I assumed only dynamic resolution and fps games would just hit ceilings more often. That's really surprising.

Okay, this has got me even more excited. There's so many games I've been looking forward to jumping into from this past generation but was concerned about how S would handle them. That Ace Combat 7 footage running at 60fps on Series S instead of the 40ish on Xbone is so good.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting that at all. Running all Xbox One games at 1080p with 16xAF, auto HDR, completely locked framerates and dramatically reduced loading times is a really nice set of automatic upgrades. Backwards compatibility looks great.
 

Ambient

Member
Dec 23, 2017
7,060
Yeah, I wasn't expecting that at all. Running all Xbox One games at 1080p with 16xAF, auto HDR, completely locked framerates and dramatically reduced loading times is a really nice set of automatic upgrades. Backwards compatibility looks great.
Sorry I'm trying to find on reviews if these backwards compatibility enhancements require games to run off the SSD or if Xbox One and 360 games for example can get these benefits of an external hard drive.
 

Winstano

Editor-in-chief at nextgenbase.com
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
1,828
Straight questione

Is this the best choice for me, playing on a 1080p TV screen, being interested in Gamepass and considering how I will wait for a cheaper and smaller Ps5 slim version once at least three great Sony studio exclusives Will be available (probably Christmas 2021 or Spring 22 for me)?

If you're happy to chop and change games every now and then, I'd probably say yes. Obviously we don't know how this will fare against some other games going forward but right now? It's a really solid entrypoint into the new gen. Particularly if you're sticking with 1080p for a bit

Sorry I'm trying to find on reviews if these backwards compatibility enhancements require games to run off the SSD or if Xbox One and 360 games for example can get these benefits of an external hard drive.

You'll see the resolution and frame rate bump etc, but not the loading times

Yes, sure! Is it any good?!

;)

Eh, s'alright ;)

(Seriously though, it's a good second box. If you've got a PS5 on order, or if you have a PC, or if you're still on 1080p, or you're not *that* fussed about all the terry-flops, then it's great)
 

SolidSnakeUS

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,595
Sounds like a great option for a second console. Will keep my preorder.

Is this really a thing? Do people basically own more than one of roughly the same console in the same household? I can see it being owned by different people in the same household, but one person owning multiples...

I knew someone in college who owned 3 Xbox 360s in the same place and that is just baffling.
 

brain_stew

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,727
Sorry I'm trying to find on reviews if these backwards compatibility enhancements require games to run off the SSD or if Xbox One and 360 games for example can get these benefits of an external hard drive.

Backwards compatible games can run off a USB HDD. If you use a USB SSD you'll get the same super fast load times, if you use a mechanical USB drive, load times will still be faster than Xbox One but won't match internal or external SSD speeds. Even with a mechanical drive, you still get quick resume from the internal drive.

All the performance and visual enhancement will remain regardless of where you boot the game from.
 

Vanillalite

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,709
Not trying to be mean and most of the criticisms are fair. That being said if your like the IGN review testing on your 4K LG OLED you're probably not the market for this.

Wish they'd told us how it looks/performs on older 1080p TVs. Also wish more reviews showed us the difference in file size between the X and the S in a wider variety of games.
 

Elven_Star

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,958
Kinda disappointed it only delivers 30 fps even at 1080p in some titles. I don't care about 4K as I'm gaming on a 1080p screen anyway, but the fact that even last-gen games are not running at 1080p60 is not exactly heartwarming. Maybe patches can fix these issues, but right now, I'm not convinced. Gonna wait at least a couple of months.
 

zuf

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,890
Backwards compatibility seems...way better than expected? Sub 1080p Xbox One games get boosted to 1080? I assumed only dynamic resolution and fps games would just hit ceilings more often. That's really surprising.

Okay, this has got me even more excited. There's so many games I've been looking forward to jumping into from this past generation but was concerned about how S would handle them. That Ace Combat 7 footage running at 60fps on Series S instead of the 40ish on Xbone is so good.

Damn that's nice, I was playing Plague Tale Innocence on the One S last week just before I sold it and was hoping for a resolution boost on the S as it looked a bit blurry. Everything getting bumped to 1080p is some good work from MS.
 

Transistor

Vodka martini, dirty, with Tito's please
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,127
Washington, D.C.
Not trying to be mean and most of the criticisms are fair. That being said if your like the IGN review testing on your 4K LG OLED you're probably not the market for this.

Wish they'd told us how it looks/performs on older 1080p TVs.
That's actually a really good point right there. The Series S was never meant for people willing to drop a few grand on a 4K OLED.
 

brain_stew

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,727
Not trying to be mean and most of the criticisms are fair. That being said if your like the IGN review testing on your 4K LG OLED you're probably not the market for this.

Wish they'd told us how it looks/performs on older 1080p TVs. Also wish more reviews showed us the difference in file size between the X and the S in a wider variety of games.

The MVG review is really good lots of measurements of performance, install sizes and loading times.
 
Oct 27, 2017
4,919
Kinda disappointed it only delivers 30 fps even at 1080p in some titles. I don't care about 4K as I'm gaming on a 1080p screen anyway, but the fact that even last-gen games are not running at 1080p60 is not exactly heartwarming. Maybe patches can fix these issues, but right now, I'm not convinced. Gonna wait at least a couple of months.
For backwards compatible titles, if the original console version had a framerate cap then it would need an update from the developer to unlock it to 60 fps. It's an issue whether you're playing an Xbox or Playstation BC game, hopefully developers make console versions more future-proof going forward.
 

brain_stew

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,727
Damn that's nice, I was playing Plague Tale Innocence on the One S last week just before I sold it and was hoping for a resolution boost on the S as it looked a bit blurry. Everything getting bumped to 1080p is some good work from MS.

Their backwards compatibility team are one of their biggest assets in my book, they've done some incredible work.
 
Oct 25, 2017
2,133
Is this really a thing? Do people basically own more than one of roughly the same console in the same household? I can see it being owned by different people in the same household, but one person owning multiples...

I knew someone in college who owned 3 Xbox 360s in the same place and that is just baffling.

I mean second to my Playstation 5 when I eventually get it. But yeah, people do this, especially if kids are involved.
 

nekkid

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,823
Seems this size issue isn't just a problem with third-party as we learnt yesterday with the new Call of Duty:
The IGN review shows screenshots of the installed versions of Gears 5 and it is significantly less on the S. So this isn't true, unless they've done some weirdness with copying the game between the two.
 

Cloud-Hidden

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,987
I'm having the hardest time deciding whether Xbox One X to Series S is an upgrade. Like... I want the Series S as a companion console to my PS5, but that means I'm mostly interested in GamePass games and older Xbox and XB360 titles. It bothers me that the Series S can't run those back compat games at the higher resolutions that the One X already offers.

So other than the much faster hard drive... Why would I upgrade from a One X to a Series S at this point?
 

Windrunner

Sly
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,487
I'm having the hardest time deciding whether Xbox One X to Series S is an upgrade. Like... I want the Series S as a companion console to my PS5, but that means I'm mostly interested in GamePass games and older Xbox and XB360 titles. It bothers me that the Series S can't run those back compat games at the higher resolutions that the One X already offers.

So other than the much faster hard drive... Why would I upgrade from a One X to a Series S at this point?

I would argue that it's a downgrade. It will be a few years before it makes any sense going from One X to Series S.
 

Jaded Alyx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
35,352
Sounds like a great budget option. Not really geared toward any of the enthusiasts on this forum.
Guess I should cancel my preorder
Is this really a thing? Do people basically own more than one of roughly the same console in the same household? I can see it being owned by different people in the same household, but one person owning multiples...

I knew someone in college who owned 3 Xbox 360s in the same place and that is just baffling.
Second/secondary console usually means someone has a main console (or PC) that they buy most games on, while the other console is for a few specific games. The Switch is a good example for many here.
 
Last edited:

IDreamOfHime

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,427
The storage is worrisome, but I'll still buy a Series S for gamepass when I can walk into a store and just pick one up (or I see a good deal on Amazon, haha).
 

arrado

Member
Jan 1, 2020
1,634
I'm having the hardest time deciding whether Xbox One X to Series S is an upgrade. Like... I want the Series S as a companion console to my PS5, but that means I'm mostly interested in GamePass games and older Xbox and XB360 titles. It bothers me that the Series S can't run those back compat games at the higher resolutions that the One X already offers.

So other than the much faster hard drive... Why would I upgrade from a One X to a Series S at this point?
You'd also go from 1TB to 500GB.. If I were in your situation, I'd just wait and get a Series X when there is some kind of sale.
There is not really any exclusive content for Xbox Series, you are not missing out on something. That One X will be fine for the next year.
 

SolidSnakeUS

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,595
Guess I should cancel my protest

Second/secondary console usually means someone has a main console (or PC) that they buy most games on, while the other console is for a few specific games. The Switch is a good example for many here.

Ahh ok, I was thinking second console as in like two of the same. Gotcha.

Yeah Switch is my second console behind PS4/PS5.
 

Cloud-Hidden

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,987
I would argue that it's a downgrade. It will be a few years before it makes any sense going from One X to Series S.
You'd also go from 1TB to 500GB.. If I were in your situation, I'd just wait and get a Series X when there is some kind of sale.
There is not really any exclusive content for Xbox Series, you are not missing out on something. That One X will be fine for the next year.
About what I was thinking. Thanks for confirming.
 

AppleBlade

Member
Nov 15, 2017
1,711
Connecticut
Is this really a thing? Do people basically own more than one of roughly the same console in the same household? I can see it being owned by different people in the same household, but one person owning multiples...
I never did until I had a wife and kids. Now it's basically a necessity. I don't want to play mature games in front of my kids or hogging the console when I want to play so the Series X goes in the basement/man cave. If the kids want to play games or if we're doing some family game time, there's the Series S in the living room. The $200 that I saved by goes with a Series S instead of a Series X has already been used to purchase 3 years of GamePass Ultimate which I'll be sharing across the 2 consoles.
 

Optmst

Member
Apr 9, 2020
471
In the upcoming Ubisoft game Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the performance gulf is currently drastic: 60 fps on Series X, and 30 fps on Series S. In this case, players cannot go into menus and toggle boosts or gains on Series S to claw those frames back. This game was provided to Ars Technica without formal acknowledgement about that difference, and as of press time, its publisher hasn't responded to questions about whether Series S players should expect a 60 fps toggle at any point.
arstechnica.com

Xbox Series X/S review: Beautiful, powerful—but whatcha gonna play?

Finally, you can enjoy our first lengthy tests of the weirdly positioned $299 Series S.
 

Vanillalite

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,709
Is this really a thing? Do people basically own more than one of roughly the same console in the same household? I can see it being owned by different people in the same household, but one person owning multiples...

I knew someone in college who owned 3 Xbox 360s in the same place and that is just baffling.

Yes, but I have kids. Like we currently own two switches, and I might get a second Series S if my other child wants one.
 

Fredrik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,003
I think this is a great option for those of us with kids getting into gaming. My son is still too young, but if I was looking to add a second console for him, as someone already in the Xbox ecosystem, this would be a great addition.

Options are great. More fun for everyone.
I hadn't thought about that but yeah it's actually great. Honestly, even the small SSD could be of use since I'm already trying to not spoil them with too many games so they learn to finish games before jumping to something new.
 

Deleted member 11008

User requested account closure
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
6,627
For third party games I think so, but many first parties are going to get proper upgrades for the XSS.

I see. I was thinking how nice certain One games run better at Series X (like Sekiro and MHW), but I know I want a PS5 too and maybe those game run flawless or close to. I guess my idea to get a Xbox Series S + PS5 in the following months is not that bad idea I think.