Xbox Series S/X: Thread 02

[nonny]

UK price has been confirmed as £449 for Series X.

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Great stuff. I've got £460 MS store credit saved up from buying CDKeys cards and MS rewards.

[Tobal]

on all access listed but not for preoder, £28.99 for 24 months with gamepass ulimate, which also got EA play access for no extra costs... 60 more games i think.

[teddymeow]

News may as well go in here as well but EA Access titles are now included with game pass.

It's EA Play included. Or is that the same thing now?

[wakka]

EA Play is the new name of EA Access. [MENTION=2540]teddymeow[/MENTION]

I had to Google it earlier which is why I know!

[Family Fry]

Aye, sorry, it’s been SO long since I cared about EA Access or subscribed they changed the name to EA Play without me noticing.

[nonny]

Yeah sorry its the new name for EA access.

My personally I dont really care for it but its a nice extra inclusion for anyone into Madden, FIFA, UFC, NFS, Battlefield.

[teddymeow]

It's last year's sports games though. Those FIFA players will still buy the new version. Win-win for EA.

[wakka]

Better than a poke in the eye though. Bolsters Game Pass even further. Series S is a pretty sweet deal.

[teddymeow]

->Open Spoiler<-

Here's the thing though, in theory say you have a kid who has a One S and plays Fortnite and FIFA in his room all the time, as a parent you're going to look at the Series S and think that you're going to be buying them a new system to continue doing the exact thing they already do assuming you look into what the systems offer. Remember, the principle here is that the broadly uninformed parent couldn't give a rats ass about resolutions so their kid has access to exactly the same content, exactly the same future content, exactly the same sub offers etc without spending an extra penny right now (that's discounting that someone looking for a budget way to experience Fortnite etc on Xbox would still have the One X now as a better option) and because budget strapped little timmy likely won't be getting a 1440p supporting tv to go with his new machine.

There's the future proofing argument but essentially the cost conscious would be better off waiting a year or two and saving money in the long run.

And then there's the sales pitch that led to that moment. We're expected to be sold on the idea that the Series X is the best hardware, but also that the Series S's only difference in performance will be resolution? So millions of core gamers are expected to pay 2x the amount for a Series X purely to run 2160p instead of 1440p? And we're expected to look at this argument and think that PS5 in any way has cause for concern because it's 10Tflp? It renders the discussion about system power completely and utterly redundant and instead makes it about price which is absolutely fine but in doing so it effectively means the Series X is doomed at retail because it's a largely redundant device delivering too little for too much that can be had for much less money.

And also, let's be honest, kids don't ask their parents at Xmas whether they can a new games machine and when asked which one respond "any will do, I'm not fussy". The number of kids going next-gen based primarily on the ability to continue playing games like Minecraft, Fortnite etc and mithering for an Xbox this year will be ones already playing them on Xbox One and that won't be a sea of people given the lame rate of sales XBO has had for several years now and how proportionately low Game Pass subs are to systems sold and XBL accounts that are open. For seven years their mates have all been largely been playing these games on PS4, PS5 will be the default move for them and they'll ask for that system to their poor mithered parents because the very last thing they'll think of is a £249.99 price tag unless it's to bully the kid at school for being from a poor family because he's got the "cheap, rubbish" option when his mates have Series X's and PS5.

I mean all this is moot because lost in the discussion is the real reason why the beleaguered parent won't buy a Series S regardless of price.

The Nintendo Switch

It does all that is being talked about and it utterly and completely dominates the casual, youth and mass market spaces. It's what will be asked for, it's what parents who are battered by TV ads on kids shows will think of and it's what supplies content for that audience. Xbox has absolutely nothing to offer the casual gamer that Switch doesn't already cover in a much more appealing and robust way and the Switch is peaking, not near end of life so its strangehold of sales isn't going anywhere. That leaves more informed buyers and for them the message has been clear all along when it comes to Xbox sales:

-Low price doesn't matter, One S covered this and has lagged behind its rivals by a huge margin all its life
-Top performance and multi-platform performance doesn't matter, One X nailed every sales pitch Series S and X are relying on and world shrugged
-Game Pass doesn't support a platform

10m users in a few years is great, and the service is great. Microsoft is better off for it existing but Xbox One never shifted gear because of it. Game Pass gives you access to hundreds of games but the context of those games is key. Bar odd exceptions they're old games, or ones most wouldn't even acknowledge if they weren't already subbed and stumbled across them. The first party titles are the key hook but they didn't shift enough hardware units for MS to begin with, they simply don't have the required level of appeal to them to compete at their rivals levels. Game Pass has been and remains, a delicious and unforgettable side dish, it's not the main meal which is missing in action.

I know this is all an awful lot of downer points so I'll simply and crisply add:

Whilst I think it's design is unnecessarily ugly, the Series S is undoubtedly a great price and say you were already an Xbox player who needed a system for another room or some context relevant situation I can see an appeal now that its price is set as being at a good level. Same if you haven't been into the Xbox ecosystem and fancied it, the Series S with Game Pass could be a good option to sit alongside your primary system. It's not a case that it's without merit, just that the sales pitch is lacking.


I have an Xbox. It plays many past games and will play the next-gen games Microsoft releases in the coming years, it was cheap too and I get 60fps in most of their first party games. Game Pass is great too and I bought it via Access so it only costs me so much per month and I can upgrade it if I want at a later date - which Xbox model am I describing?

The answer is, all of them as it doesn't matter. No-one's cared for years now and they still won't for years more. The critical thing here is that MS has engineered great hardware but changed pretty much nothing else in terms of branding, sales pitch and the single most decisive factor - content.

GTAV, Fortnite, Call of Duty, Animal Crossing, Mario, Spider-Man, Minecraft, Apec Legends, COD Warzone, PUBG, Destiny 2 etc

Where in that is a casual gamer going to go, "Xbox is clearly the best option for me to access these games"?. Truth is, most casuals won't even be aware the Series S is a thing so behind is the social media footprint Series S and X have compared to the rival systems.

Here's what I think will actually in practice be the most common situation:
The vast majority of PS5 intended buyers won't be swayed. A chunk of people saving up for a Series X will suddenly now be thinking that they can get a Series S for half the price and if they can find an extra £100 they can probably buy a PS5 as well.

Yes, potentially a scenario where Series S contributes to PS5 sales without increasing Xbox ones. Then in the new year sales still stall.

And yes, MS absolutely do care and it isn't all about Game Pass eco-system numbers. Every facet of the Series S and X's designs screams "We're obssessed with our rival Sony"

Breath [MENTION=345]Neon Ignition[/MENTION]

Slow day at work?

[Neon Ignition]

Day off

[teddymeow]

Day off

You lucky, lucky b*stard!!

[Neon Ignition]

Thought I'd sneak one last rest in before it begins again...


Another thing, why is MS taking the Tory approach to pre-orders? 22 Sept? Why? Why allow time for other distractions to potentially steal impulse sales etc Just get the thing started!

[Team Andromeda]

Microsoft is killing it, loving the pathetic excuses coming from the Defence Force. If only MS actually showed off the games running on the systems?

[hudson]

Microsoft are killing it, loving the pathetic excuses coming from the Defence Force. If only MS actually showed off the game running on the systems?

eh? Killing what exactly? Sounds like you're trying to fish for a fanboi fight lol you okay?

[Team Andromeda]

eh? Killing what exactly? Sounds like you're trying to fish for a fanboi fight lol

Price, Subscriptions and Actual dates...