The next generation of console gaming is finally here, and gamers everywhere are torn apart with what to buy. It’s not just because the competition between Microsoft and Sony is hotter than ever but also because both companies had a little instance of parallel thinking and launched with two versions of their new consoles.
In Microsoft’s case, they have their next gen powerhouse, the Xbox Series X, which touts everything to love about hardware, even a disc reader, and their cheaper, digital version, the Xbox Series S. A stripped down version of the Series X, the Series S is still a really capable console ready to play any and every game available today. However, if people are still on the fence about which Micro-box to buy, there are a few benefits to look through.
10 Series S: Game Pass
Perhaps an even bigger deal than Microsoft’s own, physical consoles, Game Pass has been a show stealer within the gaming world. People have been talking about a Netflix-esque subscription service for games, and Game Pass is the best emulation of that currently known.
With hundreds of games in its library, including several new releases, Game Pass is one of the most affordable and convenient cases to switch to digital. While Game Pass is available on every Microsoft platform available, it does prove that there aren’t a lot of compromises when it comes to games on the Xbox Series S.
9 Series X: Disc Sharing
While Game Pass may make going for the cheaper option even easier, there’s no denying how fundamental disc sharing is among the gaming community. It was kind of a defining factor within the previous console war, and something that Sony in particular mercilessly made fun of during the Xbox One’s release.
While digital gaming has certainly become more popular, Microsoft isn’t willing to abandon the physical disc just yet, and there’s plenty of gamers out there that enjoy the easy sharing and collectability that always come with gaming cartridges. For those who still like to make tangible purchases, the Xbox Series X has the disc player just for that.
8 Series S: Affordability
As mentioned a couple of times earlier, the Series S has the Series X as well as most of its competitors beat in terms of price. Both Sony and Microsoft decided to pull out all the stops when it came to making the most powerful consoles possible, but that power came with a hefty price tag that made gamers everywhere look twice.
Especially during a global, economic downturn, few people are exactly ready to drop $500+ on their next machine. And while PlayStation simply opted to omit its disc player, Microsoft decided to go all in in making their alternative console cheaper and managed to shave down the Series S by $200. With a current price tag of $300US, the Series S currently acts as the most affordable transition to next generation gaming
7 Series X: Power
While the Series S has nearly everyone beat when it comes to price, there’s hardly any comparison to be made between it and the Series X when it comes to sheer power. The Series X currently boasts the biggest workhorse out of any console’s GPU, utilizing 12 teraflops at 1.8 GHz.
The Series S has nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to outputting 1440p gameplay at 120 fps, but the Series X can allow gamers to even experience 8K gaming. When it comes to playing the shinier games, the Series S can’t compete.
6 Series S: 4K-Less Players
The Xbox Series X may come with plenty of power, but that power comes at a price and not just on its own price tag. To fully enjoy all the pixels that the Series X can make, one needs a 4K (or higher) television. That doesn’t mean that next gen graphical capabilities can’t be enjoyed on modern, HD televisions, but a lot of the Series X’s power was meant to cater to next gen televisions.
Without a proper monitor to enjoy all of those shiny pixels, there’s not much use for the Series X for people who don’t have 4K televisions. If it takes buying an even more expensive television to truly have a next gen experience, it will just be more practical for some players to stick to the Series S.
5 Series X: Blu-Ray Player
Not only does the Series X offer more options when it comes to physical gaming, but it’s also a key option to consider for people who people who still enjoy films without streaming services. Going disc less doesn’t just mean that the Series S doesn’t play games on disc but that it also lacks a Blu-ray player.
This is going to inherently turn away people who may not only still use Blu-rays and DVDs but like to collect all of their films and television shows at hand. While people have enjoyed the fact that Xbox has stopped trying to be an one-stop entertainment center, many may not be willing to sacrifice that one, particular format of entertainment.
4 Series S: Size
If there’s one advantage about the Series S has over the Series X that literally sticks out to the eye (or, better yet, doesn’t), it’s the fact that it’s one of the smallest consoles released today. It’s certainly an aesthetic separation from the behemoth that was the Xbox One or the fridge that currently is the Xbox Series X.
The Xbox Series S is a tiny, unassuming box that blends in so well with its environment that it was literally shown during a press conference prior to its official announcement, and no one noticed. With different consoles, set up boxes, speakers, and voice controlled assistants taking over the living room, the Series S is a welcome addition for anyone with few space to spare.
3 Series X: Next Gen Games
While both the Series X and Series S are promising next gen experiences, the Series X is much more likely to follow up on those promises. Despite Microsoft’s mission to share games between its family of consoles, the gap in power between its next gen consoles is too great not to make a difference in upcoming games.
At the very least, this gap ensures that the Series X will be displaying next gen standards much more reliably whereas the Series S will need some, technical compromises. And when studios decide to make their games exclusively compatible with next gen hardware, Microsoft may have a harder time justifying designing games for the Series S.
2 Series S: Next Gen Will Take A While
Next gen gaming may be the dream when it comes to 8K televisions and new SSD’s, but it’s also sadly not the current reality. Few games released at launch were truly exclusive to Xbox Series and PS5 consoles, with several of the ones that did looking like they should’ve stayed on the previous generation.
This was certainly the major complaint surrounding Halo Infinite and may be a complaint for some time to come. With “true” next gen games still in waiting, there’s no reason to spend a lot of money right now when the Series S is right here.
1 Series X: Storage
While the Series S’s disc-less nature is going to free space on people’s shelves, the console’s own hard drive may pay the price for that. In addition to sacrificing a powerful GPU, the Series S also only has 512GB in storage space in comparison to the Series X’s 1TB.
This is even poor by last generation standards with several, upgraded editions to the Xbox One and PS4 releasing with terabyte drives. With games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 releasing with increasingly larger game sizes, people are going to find it tedious to juggle all of their games on the Series S, even with external drives.
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