Microsoft Xbox Discussion Part II

[chicagoskycam]

Well there IS a pandemic going on now.

I've been sick for the last 8 months so all the momentum I had was lost (11K followers on Twitch).

ehh I would think for a streamer, there is redundancy with games on Xbox/PC, why have both when those games are available on PC and you have much more storage space as that was your initial complaint.

I just think your OP was a bit of BS and I don’t believe you’re streaming 20 games or so across three systems at one time. Most streamers a playing a few and the most popular at the time

your complaint on storage is still kind of silly. Increasing the storage increases the cost and most people don’t need it, for the minority that really does , they can pay for it. It’s simple economics

 

[chicagoskycam]

I was thinking about buying the x, but the S was in stock so I just went for it. Holy shit I love this thing. I bought game pass ultimate for $1 for a few months use which has EA play included as well, been playing Fight Night which is a 360 game online got my ass whooped but it was fun, NHL 20 (I think 21 is set to come in April), It has NBA 2K as well, Sunset Overdrive, Fifa. I'm loving the experience so far. It doesn't do 4k but I'll be playing on a monitor anyway so that doesn't matter the refresh rate is a great addition with 120hz at 1440P. I've tried other features as well the cloud feature isn't quite ready it did work for some games, remote play is still something that is still being developed and isn't quite there yet. This cloud feature is currently only available on mobile and not the console itself which I find strange. The thing I love the most is switching between games and hardly any load times and the old Xbox games.

The one thing I hate about the S is the storage, I'm not sure why they would give it only 512 GB vs the 1TB the x has considering its the digital only console and the official expansion cards are $300 (cad) which is ridiculous, I'm sure theirs an alternative solution to this.

there really is not but you can store games on an external and transfer them back and forth.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Well there IS a pandemic going on now.

I've been sick for the last 8 months so all the momentum I had was lost (11K followers on Twitch).

Oh ok

 

[crazychimp]

there really is not but you can store games on an external and transfer them back and forth.

Did not know that I'll give that a try thanks!

 

[crazychimp]

I'm really loving the original Xbox/360 games in gamepass brings me back to good times, I really enjoy the mix of old and new games hopefully they add more to the line up. I was really into the Splinter Cell series growing up and found out that one of the games in the series that's not available on PC is available to buy on console!

 

[aleshemsky83]

Some quick Gears 5 questions

Do PC and Xbox have crossplay even if youre using M+kb? Also is there a way to see player count on the different game modes?

Also, I get motion sickness insanely easily. Is there any way to stop the camera shake when you sprint? Edit: nevermind its in accessibility.

2: oh wtf its not possible to turn it off in deathmatch?

 

[tacogeoff]

.

I've been sick for the last 8 months so all the momentum I had was lost (11K followers on Twitch).

DAMN! that is good. I think I have had 1 to a max of 5 people watching me play Warzone lmao.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

The one thing I hate about the S is the storage, I'm not sure why they would give it only 512 GB vs the 1TB the x has considering its the digital only console and the official expansion cards are $300 (cad) which is ridiculous, I'm sure theirs an alternative solution to this.

Because the Series S is a budget console. It’s target audience is potential next-gen gamers who aren’t trying to spend $500 USD plus tax for a console. One of the easiest ways to bring the production costs down is a smaller SSD.

I imagine the storage space is a little frustrating, but you’ve got to make some sacrifices to save that much money.

 

[crazychimp]

Because the Series S is a budget console. It’s target audience is potential next-gen gamers who aren’t trying to spend $500 USD plus tax for a console. One of the easiest ways to bring the production costs down is a smaller SSD.

I imagine the storage space is a little frustrating, but you’ve got to make some sacrifices to save that much money.

True, but the X has many other features that bring the price up other than just storage, way better GPU, 4k, disc drive etc. I would have shelled a little more $ for just a little more storage. I don't care for the other stuff.

It's all good though I don't mind placing some games on external storage and installing them onto the console later. I know I'm not spending a ridiculous amount for that expansion card though lol.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

True, but the X has many other features that bring the price up other than just storage, way better GPU, 4k, disc drive etc. I would have shelled a little more $ for just a little more storage. I don't care for the other stuff.

It's all good though I don't mind placing some games on external storage and installing them onto the console later. I know I'm not spending a ridiculous amount for that expansion card though lol.

I think it comes down to two things..

1. How much is Microsoft paying for the SSD's? I'd be curious to know how much it would actually cost them to upgrade the console from 512GB to 1TB.

2. At what price does the Series S not become a budget console? It's $380+tax in Canada. At what price point, above that, would people say "I can't afford this for my kid for Christmas" or "I might as well just go with a Series X?" Right now I think there's enough of a price difference for it to be a good alternative, but the closer it gets, the more it goes away, obviously.

You're right about the expansion card being crazy overpriced, though. At one point I imagine a cheaper alternative will come out.

 

[aleshemsky83]

I think it comes down to two things..

1. How much is Microsoft paying for the SSD's? I'd be curious to know how much it would actually cost them to upgrade the console from 512GB to 1TB.

2. At what price does the Series S not become a budget console? It's $380+tax in Canada. At what price point, above that, would people say "I can't afford this for my kid for Christmas" or "I might as well just go with a Series X?" Right now I think there's enough of a price difference for it to be a good alternative, but the closer it gets, the more it goes away, obviously.

You're right about the expansion card being crazy overpriced, though. At one point I imagine a cheaper alternative will come out.

Also they're already likely selling at a loss with the Series S. Even an extra $20 cost is a lot when you're talking about 10s of millions of units. That's setting aside that doubling the storage means you have to actually secure double the storage to make the same number of Series S consoles when there's a global shortage of everything.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Also they're already likely selling at a loss with the Series S. Even an extra $20 cost is a lot when you're talking about 10s of millions of units. That's setting aside that doubling the storage means you have to actually secure double the storage to make the same number of Series S consoles when there's a global shortage of everything.

Also good points. I’m under the impression that all consoles sell at a loss, at least Sony and Microsoft, but I may be wrong on that one.

 

[CatchyTune]

Also good points. I’m under the impression that all consoles sell at a loss, at least Sony and Microsoft, but I may be wrong on that one.

yeah im pretty sure hey sell consoles at a loss, but make huge profit selling disks for $80 (or even digital purchases which arent physical).

 

[CatchyTune]

Because the Series S is a budget console. It’s target audience is potential next-gen gamers who aren’t trying to spend $500 USD plus tax for a console. One of the easiest ways to bring the production costs down is a smaller SSD.

I imagine the storage space is a little frustrating, but you’ve got to make some sacrifices to save that much money.

i dont understand what the purpose of the series S is... i heard its a more affordable option, but if you're gonna spend $400 on a new console why not spend the extra $200 on a better new console? if you really cant afford a new one you wouldnt be able to spend $400 in the first place. $200 isnt a massive difference in price.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Also good points. I’m under the impression that all consoles sell at a loss, at least Sony and Microsoft, but I may be wrong on that one.

yeah im pretty sure hey sell consoles at a loss, but make huge profit selling disks for $80 (or even digital purchases which arent physical).

I've read the disc version of PS5 is roughly break even, but I'm not sure about series X

i dont understand what the purpose of the series S is... i heard its a more affordable option, but if you're gonna spend $400 on a new console why not spend the extra $200 on a better new console? if you really cant afford a new one you wouldnt be able to spend $400 in the first place. $200 isnt a massive difference in price.

$200 is a lot of games, it's also several years of gamepass. Plus if you're getting it for your kid to play fortnite or for yourself to just play CoD it really makes no difference.

 

[CatchyTune]

I've read the disc version of PS5 is roughly break even, but I'm not sure about series X

$200 is a lot of games, it's also several years of gamepass. Plus if you're getting it for your kid to play fortnite or for yourself to just play CoD it really makes no difference.

yes, but unless you are really trying to pinch pennies spending the extra $200 shouldnt be a big deal. maybe i sound like a dick here idk. but i dont think theres a huge difference between spending $400 and $600.

 

[aleshemsky83]

yes, but unless you are really trying to pinch pennies spending the extra $200 shouldnt be a big deal. maybe i sound like a dick here idk. but i dont think theres a huge difference between spending $400 and $600.

Point is, you can take that $200 and spend it on other things and depending on your use case there's no difference between an X or an S. Don't get me wrong I spent an extra $150 or whatever for the disc version of PS5, but I'm just making the argument.

 

[CatchyTune]

Point is, you can take that $200 and spend it on other things and depending on your use case there's no difference between an X or an S. Don't get me wrong I spent an extra $150 or whatever for the disc version of PS5, but I'm just making the argument.

if you are on a budget thats true. but if you really wanted you could spend the extra $200 and still buy the extras.

i actually dont know a lot about the series X/series S differences. looking at xbox's website the series S doesnt support 4k?

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

if you are on a budget thats true. but if you really wanted you could spend the extra $200 and still buy the extras.

i actually dont know a lot about the series X/series S differences. looking at xbox's website the series S doesnt support 4k?

I guess more casual gamers, and people who really need that $200.

The biggest difference is what you said - no 4K, and 1440p instead. It also has a lesser GPU and processing power, smaller SSD (512GB), and no disc drive. It’s also very small, like much smaller than it looks in photos.

 

[aleshemsky83]

if you are on a budget thats true. but if you really wanted you could spend the extra $200 and still buy the extras.


i actually dont know a lot about the series X/series S differences. looking at xbox's website the series S doesnt support 4k?

I guess more casual gamers, and people who really need that $200.

The biggest difference is what you said - no 4K, and 1440p instead. It also has a lesser GPU and processing power, smaller SSD (512GB), and no disc drive. It’s also very small, like much smaller than it looks in photos.

It depends on the game really. There are games the series S doesn't even do 1080p, but that's a handful. For a lot of games these days anti-aliasing gas gotten pretty good and there really isn't much difference between 1440p and 4k. I played Miles Morales and Demon's Souls and there is genuinely next to no difference between the 1080p 60fps modes and the 4k 30fps modes in image quality because of how awesome the anti-aliasing has gotten.

Also, even if you're not on a budget, there's still a mental line you draw for yourself. I could afford it if it was $1000. I wouldn't buy it though. You weigh what the thing gives you vs the cost. If you're not getting that much extra for the $200 based on the games you play and how the S can run them, you're getting it for a younger family member and they don't need all the best stuff and/or you don't own that many physical games it's probably better to buy the S.

$200 is really a way bigger price difference than you're making it out. It's almost another series S. At the very least it's a good option.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

i dont understand what the purpose of the series S is... i heard its a more affordable option, but if you're gonna spend $400 on a new console why not spend the extra $200 on a better new console? if you really cant afford a new one you wouldnt be able to spend $400 in the first place. $200 isnt a massive difference in price.

It’s fairly obvious what the purpose of the Series S is. It’s targeted at non-hardcore gamers who don’t care about 4K and Playstation fans who want into the GamePass ecosystem but don’t want to pay the extra $200. By all accounts its sold pretty well early on here. There’s still a large amount of people who don’t have 4K TV’s.

 

[CatchyTune]

It’s fairly obvious what the purpose of the Series S is. It’s targeted at non-hardcore gamers who don’t care about 4K and Playstation fans who want into the GamePass ecosystem but don’t want to pay the extra $200. By all accounts its sold pretty well early on here. There’s still a large amount of people who don’t have 4K TV’s.

yeah that makes sense. and you're right, i didnt even have a 4K tv until last week.

 

[Dolemite]

if you are on a budget thats true. but if you really wanted you could spend the extra $200 and still buy the extras.

i actually dont know a lot about the series X/series S differences. looking at xbox's website the series S doesnt support 4k?

I've got an S and the biggest difference is drive space. I've got Five games on the internal drive and its 93% full. I had to delete two games to get Outriders to install this morning. I'll need the 200 dollar 1 TB drive to play more X/S optimized games.

Lack of 4K is the other biggest difference.

There's other things on the Series S that's broken like EA Play and the internal Twitch app. They either don't work or have very limited functionality.

 

[JaegerDice]

This was another reminder for me of just how many resources Microsoft has to leverage (in any industry they choose, basically).

With this one deal, they made more money than the entire Playstation division at Sony made in 2019.

Microsoft Sells Three Bethesdas Worth Of Minecraft Goggles To The U.S. Military

 

[Jussi]

So my UGP ran out on Monday and I used a 12 month Live Gold code. Today I checked if the 1 euro offer was available for me but no so I planned to use a 14 day UGP code to turn the Live Gold into UGP and then use the two 12 month EA Play codes I bought for a combined 42,50€ to get 8 months of UGP. Except the 14 day code was meant for new users. So I bought one month of UGP from Microsoft's site and see that instead of around 5 months of UGP, I have a full year.