BPX069: Xbox Series S/X - 18 Months On

[Neon Ignition]

Completing the hat trick, we reach the third of these look backs with Microsoft's addition to the newest generation of consoles

We are now a year and a half in to the generation and despite the rumour mill constantly sputtering about a revision of the Switch and occasionally also about a PS5 Pro we typically hear little for Xbox considering Microsoft has positioned itself as the console maker best positioned and most likely to make new iterations of its hardware. The Series S/X though arguably doesn't need a new run of machines anytime soon as it is without doubt the platform that is in the least rush to embrace the power of its hardware. Instead Microsoft continues to primarily rely on Game Pass and the wealth of access it provides to multiple generations of software. Coupled with a pandemic launch and a lower priced entry level SKU, they have managed to regain some solid ground where the Series X alone would have struggled to do so.

How have you found your experience of the Xbox Series S/X to be up to now?
Where do you currently stand on the consoles?
Does the future look bright for the Series S/X to you and would your current time with the system make Series S/X2 an easy sale to you?

[Asura]

As a gaming-PC owner the Xbox machines are, at this point, totally irrelevant to me. I struggle to remember the name of the latest one.

[nonny]

I'm a little indifferent to them to be quite honest. They are solid machines but as we all know the release cadence on exclusive content is still an issue.

From a purely hardware point I think they hit the mark. I like both consoles in terms of looks with the Series S being really the nicest overall. Plus I also really appreciate the stuff they can do in terms of smart delivery, quick resume, auto HDR and FPS boost. As a result you've got a pretty solid machines that play everything new and make the very most of older titles.

It really is that first party pipeline that stands as the Achilles's heel.

So yeah, they're solid enough but I can't say I love them as there's one major issue they need to resolve.

[CMcK]

I’ve had the Series X since launch and it’s my go to system for last and current generation gaming. Although the current generation only feels like a half step at the moment. Gamepass is a brilliant way to try and play games. What really keeps me using the Series X though is the controller. It’s just so right. The d-pad is the best ever which is great for the shmups I enjoy. And to be fair Quick Resume is a real quality of life improvement too. The backwards compatibility features aren’t something I thought I would use too much but have been a pleasant surprise.

[dataDave]

The PC kills the need for an Xbox. I do use the controllers though. I’ve got free Gamepass which I dip into occasionally as well, so at least they get a bit of my attention, which is more than I give Sony.

[Lebowski]

I've had a Series X since October last year i love gamepass as it lets me play loads of new indie and mid tier stuff for a relativity cheap price. id not owned an xbox for a number of years so it let me catch up on loads of xbox exclusive games id missed too.

The issue I've found with a lot of xbox stuff is it lacks innovation and lot of the flag pole series are feeling a bit past their glory days, Halo forza horizon ect are not bad games but i cant shake that feeling like I'm retreading old ground. Take Gears of war id read lots of good things but it really felt very old school in its level design, like i was being funneled from set piece to set piece and choke point to choke point, That really breaks your feeling of immersion and exploration.

The xbox Ui could do with a lot of work too, pressing the xbox button doesn't always do what its supposed too and this makes the whole Ui feel really clunky, sometimes it brings you back to the dashboard sometimes it dose nothing and if you hold it to long it brings up a prompt to shut the system down.

I've also ran into a number of bugs one that required me to completely format the xbox and start again, i thought the thing had completely broken as apps or games would load and i got the message "getting things ready constantly before it quitting out and locking up" this was a known bug and was related to switching to the power save mode. you can also run into issues if you fill the hard drive up too full too as this causes issues with performance and crashing with the recommendation to keep it below an 80% install rate for your hard drive.

The PC kills the need for an Xbox. I do use the controllers though. I’ve got free Gamepass which I dip into occasionally as well, so at least they get a bit of my attention, which is more than I give Sony.

Id disagree a pc that can do gaming at the same level as an xbox series x would cost you over double the money.

[Ouenben]

The xbox Ui could do with a lot of work too, pressing the xbox button doesn't always do what its supposed too and this makes the whole Ui feel really clunky, sometimes it brings you back to the dashboard sometimes it dose nothing and if you hold it to long it brings up a prompt to shut the system down.

Sounds like you have a glitchy xbox or controller. The Xbox guide button always works perfectly for me, press for the mini guide to pop up, long press to turn off controller/console or restart the console. Press guide button then A button to go back to the main dashboard.



I love the Series X, I have all three current gen consoles but it's by far the most played one. I have the 1TB expansion card and a 5TB external drive for standard xbox one games/Series X games I want to store rather than delete and redownload. I like how customisable the home dashboard is with the groups and pins etc. and I really really like quick resume, being able to pop in and out of a bunch of different games is probably my favourite 'next-gen' feature and I really miss it when I play PS5 or Switch... Very good backwards compatibility too with digital and disc puts Sony and Nintendo to shame.

I dislike that I always seem to get about 1/3 to 1/2 of my max download speeds on games (even with most recent game suspended) and having checked online it seems like a common problem on Xbox. 100-120mbps is still fast enough but I'd like to be able to get up to 300mbps which Steam can download at on my laptop. The UI/system can feel a bit clunky and buggy at times, the updates section often takes ages to load what games need manual updates.

I got the Elite series 2 controller and it's a very nice feeling controller with an astoundingly good battery life (and rechargeable) but they seem to be built out of cardboard internally as my bumpers have stopped working properly, and the controller seam has even started coming apart on the left side. Very common to have issues with these controllers according to the net, which is disappointing for a £160 controller.

Gamepass is the best thing to happen for gamers since wireless controllers as standard. I rarely buy games anymore because of it, and when I do I use my Microsoft reward points to buy them. Easy to amass about 23-26k a month which is £15-20 of Xbox credit.

[Lebowski]

Sounds like you have a glitchy xbox or controller. The Xbox guide button always works perfectly for me, press for the mini guide to pop up, long press to turn off controller/console or restart the console. Press guide button then A button to go back to the main dashboard.



I love the Series X, I have all three current gen consoles but it's by far the most played one. I have the 1TB expansion card and a 5TB external drive for standard xbox one games/Series X games I want to store rather than delete and redownload. I like how customisable the home dashboard is with the groups and pins etc. and I really really like quick resume, being able to pop in and out of a bunch of different games is probably my favourite 'next-gen' feature and I really miss it when I play PS5 or Switch... Very good backwards compatibility too with digital and disc puts Sony and Nintendo to shame.

I dislike that I always seem to get about 1/3 to 1/2 of my max download speeds on games (even with most recent game suspended) and having checked online it seems like a common problem on Xbox. 100-120mbps is still fast enough but I'd like to be able to get up to 300mbps which Steam can download at on my laptop. The UI/system can feel a bit clunky and buggy at times, the updates section often takes ages to load what games need manual updates.

I got the Elite series 2 controller and it's a very nice feeling controller with an astoundingly good battery life (and rechargeable) but they seem to be built out of cardboard internally as my bumpers have stopped working properly, and the controller seam has even started coming apart on the left side. Very common to have issues with these controllers according to the net, which is disappointing for a £160 controller.

Gamepass is the best thing to happen for gamers since wireless controllers as standard. I rarely buy games anymore because of it, and when I do I use my Microsoft reward points to buy them. Easy to amass about 23-26k a month which is £15-20 of Xbox credit.

https://www.gamesradar.com/xbox-is-w...ely%20resolved.

its an issue that I've had on both the controllers you press the button and its a good few seconds sometimes before it registers you've pressed it, its probably more obvious if your jumping between systems on the ps5 if you press the PS button you get instant feedback and a snappy UI the xbox by comparisons feels sluggish and unresponsive.

you mention the HD situation i think its a really crap system. on amazon they have the 1tb seagate drive which is the only one you can use for series x games for 184.99 with a rrp of 249.00, that rrp is over half the price of a series x just to add more storage. on ps5 a drive that offers double the speeds is between 100-140 on a regular basis.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I don't own one.
But two things I really like about it:

1. The build quality. Its a fantastically built bit of tech, maybe up there with the best. It feels quality, which unfortunately is rare when it comes to consoles. While the ps5 uses some good materials and care, I think the Xbox trumps it. That doesn't mean I like the design, just how it's built and the materials it uses.

2. It's embrace of the pc world by including FULL VRR support (unlike Sony) and a host of sound and video settings that clearly loops round MS experience with the pc market.

Unfortunately though, I cannot express how disappointed I am in MS. After the Xbone they needed to be out of the gates like a shot. The final 3 years before the SeriesX launched their game output basically ground to a stop. I, like many others, assumed this was because they were ramping up on the next console. But no, they just didn't seem to be doing anything. Yes the games are coming, but to that I say 'Late is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear'

[Tobal]

Indifferent, the lack of 1st titles is the major let down, Halo Inf while fun never mixes it up enough to warrant reply and there's better more varied MP found elsewhere, Gears i've been not gotten into since finishing 3, still have 4 and 5 to play but i just don't like the look of the new characters. Horizon 5 is alright and i now have 2nd hand wheel for i'm enjoying it alot more but its alot of grinding to open up the game but that's par for course with driving games nowadays. Ori series is another i need to get into, downloaded the 1st one after playing it on cloud for MS points.

Main highlight is gamepass, i've played alot more games than i have in years (not counting emulation/retro) and finished them after starting them up for points. And the ease of play between PC players helps with a wide range of co-op games i can play with a friend when one or both us don't want to spend £30-50 on a experience that might be crap like Sniper Elite 5, Turtles, Aragami2 (decent Tenchu co-op clone).

Cloud just works so well when hunting reward points, played quite a few games through it and even installed a couple afterwards.

I'll second the lag problem with the Dashboard after pressing the home button, full shutdown should be a option on the close menu and not hidden away in the power settings (or holding the power button the console itself) and occasional problem getting the reward apps to work consistently, however i like how quick it is to get to the full game list i have, what's new on gamepass and managing updates and upgrades are just far superior to PS5.

[nonny]

Hold Guide for 2 seconds, push up on stick, press A... console powers down.

Been a shortcut for that for at least 8 years now...

You can also setup double-tap on guide now to tell the TV input to switch back to Xbox.

[Ouenben]

Hold Guide for 2 seconds, push up on stick, press A... console powers down.

Been a shortcut for that for at least 8 years now...

You can also setup double-tap on guide now to tell the TV input to switch back to Xbox.

He's not talking about a normal shut down but a power cycle/soft reset of the console/clear of the cache.

[nonny]

He's not talking about a normal shut down but a power cycle/soft reset of the console/clear of the cache.

Ah ok gotcha... fair enough.

[fishbowlhead]

If MS made as many games as they did special edition consoles they’d be competing on a more even footing in the console market.

Good hardware.
Garbage interface.
Redundant if you have a gaming pc.
Good value if you don’t have a gaming pc (very good value hardware and gamepass wise).

[nonny]

I like the UI. I like it a lot more than the PS5 one...