Xbox Series S/X: Thread 02

[wakka]

Also note that it's only MS first party this applies to. Sure AC Valhalla and some other titles arriving soon are offering smart delivery "buy once" upgrades but I don't believe MS is going to enforce developers outside their own studios to work up and down the hardware scale of outside of the two new consoles.

They won't need to - I would expect third party devs to do that as a matter of course anyway. The first major next gen exclusive third party software I remember on PS4 and Bone was Mortal Kombat X, which was more than 18 months after the consoles dropped. Even then there was third party cross gen stuff for a little while after, like MGS5, which came out nearly a full two years after PS4 and Bone but still released on PS3.

When people complain about it, the concern is more that MS are holding back their own first party stuff which I think we'd all rather see as a megaton showcase of new tech, rather than something that needs to concern itself with running on ancient hardware.

As for how games look/scale across these consoles. Wait for reviews and comparisons from people smarter than us... Digital Foundry I am sure will be all over Halo Infinite when the end product hits all platforms. Then we will see.

To be fair I reckon they must've put their best foot forward on this already. We're only a couple of months from launch. We know it's far from a graphical barnstormer, and it's hard not to see how having to make sure it works well on Xbox One isn't part of that.

I would expect it to perform incredibly well on Series X. Like full 4K, 60fps+. Actually it kinda reminds me of Ridge 7 on PS3. That ran at 1080/60 at launch, which hardly any game after did, because it was basically a PS2 game.

[nonny]

Halo Infinite just got very interesting really. I mean I agree we're just 3 months from launch at best and the graphical flare shown in the gameplay looked off but to me what was more interesting is all the stuff coming out off the back of that.

Multiplayer is free and 120fps... Ray Tracing will be patched in after launch etc... There's some crazy stuff in there that you'd love to be on the inside circle of the decision making and know what is really going on.

Maybe they have been in development hell but at the same time aiming for stuff like this it conflicts what we've been shown to some degree.

So for me I'll pass judgement on it based on launch code.

[wakka]

Yep, from a performance perspective I’d expect it to be very strong indeed on the Series X.

I’ll be honest though, I’d have much preferred a God of War style complete reinvention with eye watering next gen graphics. It is what it is though. I’ll deffo be giving it a bash on my ol’ reliable One S.

[Cassius_Smoke]

So for me I'll pass judgement on it based on launch code.

Which is great, and exactly as it should be. But unfortunately for MS a lot of people have already passed judgment on it.
I've rattled on about this before, but if you are showing off your game in a game show designed to tempt people to buy your game, you better be damn sure the game your showing looks it's best.

Anyway, it's all looking very confusing from a marketing perspective.

Edit: You don't see a Lexus advert and the car kind of looks half baked and then later Lexus says 'oh its OK, we'll change the front end and spice it up a bit.' Too late, you've shown the car now.

[CMcK]

I can understand why people are concerned about Halo Infinte’s appearance but bear in mind the presentation of a game is one of the last things that is worked on right up until launch. The core game engine and level design etc needs to be working properly before the shiny shine gets polished in the run up to launch.

I can’t understand why people are struggling with the approach MS is taking with the Series systems. Cheaper 1080p model for more cost conscious gamers who normally wouldn’t upgrade early in a generation. And the full fat 4k HDR model for typical early adopters who buy systems early doors irrespective.
If the specifications of the S vs X models were so important to people outside of gaming and tech forums the 4Pro and 1X would have flown off the shelves. All the general public cares about is the price. And the Series S gives people a chance to join the next generation sooner. Most peeps don’t care about 4k etc and can’t even tell they are still watching the SD versions of channels on their 4k TVs. DVDs are still outselling Blu-ray because people care more about price than picture and sound quality.

[Family Fry]

GAME Online currently have.

Xbox One X 1Tb FH4 £349.99
Xbox One S 2Tb Gears 5 £399.99
Xbox One S 1Tb FIFA 17 £249.99

At this rate, come November Xbox One stock will be none existent brand new.

Xbox Series S
Xbox Series X

That’s it, no Xbox One console in sight to buy new, no Xbox One ads, it will just Xbox Series S/X.

[teddymeow]

Except Microsoft have already said that the Xbox One S will continue to be offered in the product line.

[randombs]

Why wouldn’t a Series S be a better proposition than an Xbox One X?

It might not do 4K, but the rest of the experience would be similar to the Series X - the fast SSD as standard, suspend/resume for multiple games, the new 3D audio stuff - whereas the One X was made just powerful enough to play ordinary Xbox One games in 4K. Sure, a bunch of games offer 1080p/60 options but those were something to entice people not ready to upgrade their TVs. And it still functions like an Xbox One with a UI and features designed for a much less powerful system.

I imagine a typical game panning out like this:

Series X: 4K/60fps
Series S: 1080p/60fps

Xbox One X: 4K/30fps
Xbox One S: 1080p/30fps

Remember when game boxes for cartridge games used to say on the back how many MB the carts where? They could bring that back but for how many Flops the game uses.

Or a throwback to home computer games: “Screenshots from Xbox Series X version”

[wakka]

Yeah, I agree. Even with the fewer flops, I’d rather have a Series S by far. It’ll be guaranteed to run the newest games all gen long, whereas a One X wouldn’t be.

[CMcK]

Why wouldn’t a Series S be a better proposition than an Xbox One X?

It might not do 4K, but the rest of the experience would be similar to the Series X - the fast SSD as standard, suspend/resume for multiple games, the new 3D audio stuff - whereas the One X was made just powerful enough to play ordinary Xbox One games in 4K. Sure, a bunch of games offer 1080p/60 options but those were something to entice people not ready to upgrade their TVs. And it still functions like an Xbox One with a UI and features designed for a much less powerful system.

I imagine a typical game panning out like this:

Series X: 4K/60fps
Series S: 1080p/60fps

Xbox One X: 4K/30fps
Xbox One S: 1080p/30fps



Or a throwback to home computer games: “Screenshots from Xbox Series X version”

Digital Foundry comparisons will be hilarious in the future. It’ll be like Master System versus Mega Drive screens in ye olde games magazines. Maybe that’s what Microsoft is counting on and can drop the One S quickly.

[wakka]

I actually think there's a place for the One S to stick around, just not as something to play the latest stuff on. It's a great value machine to play the huge back catalogue of Bone software on if you've not owned a current gen machine, or want something for a kid.

I think the price should come down though. To £149 at most.

[nonny]

It's all going to hinge on pricing. I'm expecting Series S to be really low, like just a shade above the One S and easily the obvious choice if you want a cheap entry into next generation features but at a 1080p resolution.

As for Halo Infinite. People pretty much wrote off Halo in the run up to Xbox launch and it turned out being a complete masterpiece. Obviously these days launch doesn't mean final code... If Infinite is indeed a platform for years they'll patch it and refine it like crazy. They're also purposely going for that old school aesthetic as well, based on fan feedback. I'm not sure whether a God's of War complete 180 reimagining is necessary but hey... Time will tell. This is what they've gone for let's see how good they can make it.

[EvilBoris]

It’ll all hinge on price. Especially here in the UK where we are super price sensitive.
Also there is a special prize for the first person who un-ironically complains about the US vs UK price of either next generation machine, whilst totally ignoring VAT.
Bonus points for phrases such as “rip off Britain” “the uk being screwed on price , AS USUAL” “looks like they just took the dollar price and swapped the $ for £!!!!”

[Cassius_Smoke]

Just a thought. If you preorder any of the next gen consoles, within 12 weeks it'll either be on its way or already delivered. Pretty exciting.

[CMcK]

It’ll all hinge on price. Especially here in the UK where we are super price sensitive.
Also there is a special prize for the first person who un-ironically complains about the US vs UK price of either next generation machine, whilst totally ignoring VAT.
Bonus points for phrases such as “rip off Britain” “the uk being screwed on price , AS USUAL” “looks like they just took the dollar price and swapped the $ for £!!!!”

Plus you’ll get free Covid19 with the US model...