This week, Microsoft formally announced the Xbox Series S on Twitter, after a hefty dose of leaks forced the company’s hand. One of the first elements of the Series S to leak was its 512GB internal Solid-State Drive or SSD for short. And while many are ecstatic at the prospect of playing the next generation of video games at a budget price of $299, some are cautious of the possible storage limitations that could arise. This worry has led to Microsoft attempting to assuage those concerns.
If this generation has proven anything, it is that the file-size of AAA big-budget video games is not going to slow down. Popular games with rich graphics and constant updates for multiplayer, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, have come close to 200GB in size. These massive file sizes are often times necessary to deliver on the detail, depth, and quality that is expected by the modern-day game player. But it is causing a growing concern for both players and developers that the next-generation of consoles will be able to keep up with these ballooning game sizes.
In a leaked press briefing that was likely planned for next week to announce the Xbox Series S, Head of Platform Engineering and Hardware Liz Hamren said of the 512GB SSD:
“When we move to SSD technology we get much, much higher performance, but of course that higher performance comes at a higher cost. And, y’know more storage is always better, so we were trying to balance the storage drive size as well as cost and we landed on 512.”
As SSDs are still relatively expensive, the price does go up rather quickly for larger sizes. In the video, Hamren also cited how important it is to have an accessible price point for the launch of the next generation of consoles. Thus 512 GB was the best Microsoft could offer while still keeping the Series S at the very accessible $299 price point.
Hamren also reiterated on the fact that the Series X will support external storage, just like the previous generation of Xbox’s, so as gamers run out of space and as the cost of SSDs go down, gamers should be able to upgrade when they need to. This does seem like an ideal solution, as while it is possible that games will continue to grow in size, the file size of games will not double overnight. So the Series S will likely be able to hold 3 to 5 AAA games at launch.
Another advantage this next generation of consoles will have is that for both Xbox Series consoles and the PS5, SSDs are mandatory. This means that the added speed of an SSD over a traditional HDD can allow for more loading and streaming of compressed data that would have taken too long on previous generations. The PS5 is being haled as having a custom SSD that could change the very nature of game development, and it is likely that the Xbox Series S and X’s custom SSDs will not be that different.
The Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X will release for $299 and $499 respectively on November 10.
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