2912

No, but only because I’ve been deliberately eschewing anything that demands significant processing power, so there shouldn’t be any appreciable difference. Good to hear I don’t need to bother going back to Carto, since it was cute but dull for the bit I’ve played so far. But I did just finish Katana Zero, which was enjoyable. And I’m currently filling in a bit of a personal gap with Ninja Gaiden Black.

2913

Hah! I’m going through that except on PC (since I haven’t ordered my XSX yet). I have a 3070 coming sometime this month (could be the 5th, could be the 20th, could end up cancelled) and looking at my backlog I’m trying to find games that are either not graphically intensive (if they are I’d rather wait) or are not too long (I don’t want to be in the middle of a low graphics game and keep playing it when I get a 3070).

2914
2915

Review Embargo seems to have been lifted:

2916

Actual review of series S finally?

2917

Nice. Reviews to read and watch tonight.

That said, Microsoft’s industrial design was excellent with Xbox One X, but it’s taken to the next level with the new machine, which is nigh-on silent even under the heaviest loads we could throw at it.

Worth noting:

With that said, Series X’s Quick Resume feature - which essentially dumps off game states to SSD and reloads them at will - really is worthy of praise. The ability to dip in and out of games as you like, to jump straight into the action right where you left off really is a gamechanger, and a phenomenal use of the technology. However, both myself and my colleagues have encountered titles and scenarios that are problematic with the feature and while by and large it works great, there is the sense that it’s more like an advanced beta feature at the moment, rather than the system showcase it should be.

Display support:

Next up, variable refresh rate is potentially a game changer. This required a beta firmware update for the CX that’ll roll out soon for consumers, but the bottom line is that for games targeting 60fps that don’t quite hit their performance target, VRR smooths off the experience to the extent where it’s really hard to tell the difference. I saw this in Dirt 5, Sekiro and even Assetto Corsa Competizione - which is some way off a locked 60fps, but still looks consistent in motion in a way that is simply not possible on an older display without the feature.

…

I also like the way Microsoft doesn’t hold back next-gen display features for HDMI 2.1 displays. 120Hz output on supported HDMI 2.0 displays should work just fine - you’ll just have to settle for 1080p or 1440p resolution instead (the Xbox internally scales from native resolution accordingly) and yes, assuming VESA timings work out, it’s also possible to hook up Series X to a 1440p monitor with the requisite HDMI support. Going back to the Xbox 360 days, Microsoft has provided a wealth of video output options to ensure good support with the widest array of possible displays, and it’s good to see this tradition continue with Series X.

The article also talks about the controller and has this to say about the lack of next gen games to test and Series S:

The lack of games, combined with late arrival of a retail console, means we won’t be reviewing the junior Series hardware today - but I can tell you that the form factor is cute to the point of being almost irresistible, the interface is essentially identical, it has the same display controller (meaning it can address a 4K display at 120Hz!) but you only get a paltry 364GB of useable space on the SSD vs the Series X’s 802GB, which is problematic. Quick Resume is part of the package there, but even at this early stage I feel Microsoft’s positioning of the machine as a 1440p alternative to Series X is failing to convince, with even older titles like Forza Horizon 4 and Sea of Thieves topping out at 1080p.

Less interesting as not a DF article:

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-11-05-xbox-series-s-impressions

2918

I was kind of curious as to how good the Series S was, given that Microsoft seemed to be handing every influencer they could find a Series X, but I hadn’t seen any hands on reports on the Series S.

From the GameInformer Video I posted up thread:

[On the Series S] gameplay is silky smooth with minimal pop in. Games feel responsive and perform well, offering stable frame rates and crisp visuals.

2919

Ars seems to talk about the S a bit

On the 1080p side of things—meaning, a majority of American living rooms—the idea of getting “good-enough” visuals at the same performative speed, on a smaller, cheaper console, is magical. PlayStation 5 has no counter to this SKU, and as a stopgap or “second” console purchase, it’s very intriguing: make it an Xbox Game Pass box, or connect it to the kids’ TV, or buy it as a cheap path back into modern console gaming for lapsed players who want something with more power than a Switch. (A Nintendo Switch with a TV-compatible dock still costs $299, and while it can work as a portable game machine, it can’t run modern FPS games like Doom 2016 nearly as crisply at the same price.)

So why do I struggle to recommend Xbox Series in 2020?

For starters, I’ve already run into one instance where performative parity is not an option. Thanks to embargoes, I have to tiptoe over this anecdote without screen shots attached, so bear with me. In the upcoming Ubisoft game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla , the performance gulf is currently drastic: 60 fps on Series X, and 30 fps on Series S. In this case, players cannot go into menus and toggle boosts or gains on Series S to claw those frames back. This game was provided to Ars Technica without formal acknowledgement about that difference, and as of press time, its publisher hasn’t responded to questions about whether Series S players should expect a 60 fps toggle at any point.

That scenario is precisely what I feared looking at the GPU and VRAM differences between Xbox Series. Ideally, Series S owners would assume that whatever they play will feel the same, even if it looks different—particularly thanks to parity on key system elements like Velocity Architecture and CPU. While it’s safe to assume that first-party or “exclusive” fare will be optimized by Microsoft going forward, I really need to test and confirm more games on both Xbox Series options before I can tell anyone that Series S is future-proofed.

2920

I am slightly unsure whether to get an Xbox this time around - I mean, I have a beefy PC with a 2070 super, 32 GB ram and an AMD Ryzen 7 3800X - Is there anything a new Xbox can do, that this can’t? I have it hooked up directly to me TV, so I still have the bigscreen function, and most games these days that have controller support on Xbox, have controller support on PC as well. Well, most.

Thats actually the one reason I can find, to get an Xbox - controller support that isn’t on the PC, because, if I understand it correctly, Xbox will not have any games on Xbox, tthat also aren’t available on PC, right? There are no longer any Xbox exclusives NOT on PC, or am I missing something there?

2921

Currently there are a lot of Console games on Xbox Game Pass that aren’t on PC (as well as a few on PC that aren’t on Console). So assuming you’re a Game Pass fan, I think there will continue to be reasons to have a Console. While Microsoft First Party games may all be Console and PC from here on out, I’m not sure about Third Party games.

My gaming group is switching over from PS4 to Xbox Series X, on the basis of Game Pass being terrific — not only from a economic standpoint, but because we’re now experimenting with games we wouldn’t have been willing to shell out money for, but actually turn out to be a lot of fun.

2922

oh - I was somehow sure that wasn’t the case, but I may have confused it with first party games all being on PC as well. Big fan of Gamepass though!

2923

Basically my use case for Xbox is kind of odd - other than maybe ACreed, i kind of want it for Paradox games / indie GamePass on the TV. Though Flight Sim on the TV would be fun as well. I mean, i can just hook up the PC, but it’s not as much fun.

I have no library of Xbox games to port into it, all my games are Playstation for the last several years, so most of my digital library is on PSN.

2924

It could be going forward even third party games will be on both, since the console architectures are looking more and more like PCs.

I just looked it up, and the numbers are actually closer than I thought so there are fewer Console exclusives than I remember. But here are the total Game Pass games numbers taken from the official page.

260 Console Games
223 PC Games

So at least 37 Console exclusives. Probably more, as there are some PC exclusives that would have to be offset by Console exclusives.

2925

Proper HDR, haha.

Shakes fist at Win10 HDR

2926

I got the email, my Xbox Series X is on its way to me. No doubt taking its time, since it has until Tuesday to get here. But I can see it start its little journey from Ontario, California (hey, I’ve got friends there!) so now I can start my nail-biting wait, at least about something other than the election now.

2927

Where did you order from?

2928

Microsoft store.

2929

Thanks! Keeping an eye on my Amazon order, which is still showing Tuesday delivery but no shipment yet (not a surprise).

2930

I have a theory (which may be totally wrong) that they’re shipping them based on how far you’re located from the warehouse, So if Amazon was shipping them from Ontario, California as divedivedive’s is, it’s not going to take five days to get to you in Utah. If it’s only going to take 2 days to get to Utah (even via ground transport), they might not ship it until the weekend.

2931

That’s kind of what I’m thinking, I would be very surprised to have it shipped already. Amazon knows how to get shit to people on time, I’m not going to be concerned unless it goes through Monday without a tracking number.