
Microsoft confirms compact, $299 Xbox Series S - 0-_-0
https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/08/microsoft-confirms-compact-299-xbox-series-s-next-gen-game-console/
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kvn_95
I admit I'm a bit confused about Microsoft's strategy here. So they're
releasing two Xboxes at the same time: series X and series S, with the S
positioned as the less powerful version of the X, with the promise that it can
play the same game as the X.

The X seems to be a direct competitor to the PS5 [0], hardware-wise.

Wouldn't the release of the S and the X together forces game developers to
code for the lowest common denominator (i.e. the S) and makes development more
complex for the Xbox? Or is it a strategy to undercut the PS5 (normal edition
and digital edition) in price?

[0] [https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/ps5-vs-xbox-series-x-vs-
xb...](https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/ps5-vs-xbox-series-x-vs-xbox-series-
s-full-tech-specs-comparison)

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megameter
One hypothesis I saw months ago from a techtuber channel was that the cheaper
model will support a game streaming subscription business down the line,
making the hardware itself mostly a content delivery box. If true, cheap
hardware with a cheap subscription will upend the existing console biz models.

That specific idea works to the extent that streaming games over the internet
pans out(so far, countless overhyped failures). But a version of the plan
where devs are given two SKU targets up-front would in fact be an evolution of
how the last generation played out, where a mid-generation refresh happened
and turned out not to be a complete waste of time.

Being able to launch with price discrimination reflects on how gaming tech
isn't moving all that quickly now. The graphics fidelity is still going up but
in a controlled fashion: higher screen resolutions, bigger textures, heavier
shaders. The biggest underlying technical change of the coming generation is
an emphasis on fast SSDs, and even a $299 SKU can have one of those.

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rdtwo
I wonder if one will do 4K and the other is 1080p limited. Seems like 4K one
might be a too big of a power bump so maybe 2k with upscaling

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msie
Wow, the new Xbox is almost here? I haven't even opened up the XBox One I
bought several years ago. Probably too late to sell it for a good price too.

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0-_-0
Well if it's unopened it might be worth a fortune someday, so hang on to it!

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rasz
Put it next to your Beanie babies, and $20 ATARI 2600

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syspec
Consoles have been converging in terms of hardware a bit more each generation
(closer to PC's each time).

But this time around both the PS5 and Xbox Series X are:

* AMD CPU * AMD GPU

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bwat49
They were AMD CPU/GPU last time around as well

