Does Xbox Series S Maintain the Threshold of Gaming Consoles?

Xbox has released Series X/S consoles since November 2020. These consoles marked the fourth generation of consoles from the Microsoft subsidiary. The Xbox Series X was targeted for higher-end gaming. On the other hand, the Xbox Series S contained fewer features. This fact meant Series X would be a more popular alternative for hardcore gamers. But the reports have shown otherwise!

The Series S has emerged as a better seller among the two Xbox current-gen consoles. Microsoft recently revealed that the cheaper but less powerful Series S greatly outsells the Series X, taking up to 75% of all sales. Critics think this is due to the simple fact that Series S maintains a threshold for the other consoles present in the market.

Critics praise the Xbox Series S for upholding standards

Recently, critics from Digital Foundry sat down to discuss about latest releases on consoles. During the discussion, the topic of image quality and frame rate in the latest current-gen console came up. All critics agreed Xbox Series S was the best in the bunch. This fact may prove shocking to many casual gamers as the price point of Series S is lower compared to other consoles.

Currently, Xbox Series S is available for $299.99 in the US. On the other hand, the Series X and PlayStation 5 are both available for $499.99 in the US. But why did the critics praise Series S if it is cheaper and has less feature-rich hardware? Well, according to John Linneman, “Series S is potentially useful in that it kind of sets like this minimum requirement that maybe has a positive impact on the other machines.” 

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Creating a game optimized for the hardware of Xbox Series S, while still making the game as graphically stunning as possible presents a challenge for the developers. They have to brainstorm about what features they want to cut and what features they would like the game to have, while still making it a pleasant experience for gamers.

Why is Series S so popular in the console sector?

This makes Series S a sort of threshold for the developers to match. Even Linneman agrees with this, as he said, “I mean conceivably without the Series S, who knows how low they would go on the other ones.” If the Series S did not exist, Series X and PlayStation 5 games would be worse and there would be fewer games being made on 60 FPS. If left alone, developers would make games that could only get 30 FPS on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. The Series S potentially stops this and keeps them in check.

While Series S acts as a threshold developers have to cross, it also has other uses. Its low price acts as an entry point for many casual gamers to the console world. Many gamers would choose to buy a lower-priced Series S rather than invest in a $200 more expensive console. Having consoles available for both sections of gaming has proven beneficial for Xbox.

Another factor is game optimization. The recently released Alan Wake 2 runs on 60 FPS on Xbox Series X and on 30 FPS on Series S. However, the developers have done a commendable job and presented loss-less graphical settings. The 60 FPS option in Alan Wake 2 is just the same graphical setting as the Series S which is 30 FPS, meaning both offer a consistent output of 1440p.

What does the success of Series S mean for Microsoft?

The critics praising the Series S and gamers also loving it speaks volumes about the console’s future. It was revealed in March that Microsoft is allegedly working on a successor of current-gen consoles. Furthermore, the leak points, Xbox is targeting a 2028 release window for the rumored console. But with the staggering success of Series S coupled with the cult following it has amassed from the critics, Microsoft surely will be looking to build upon it.

They have already started to build upon it with the ‘Ellenwood’ update for Series S. In the documents presented during the FTC vs. Microsoft case, information about an updated Series S came forward. The company is looking to refresh the console with faster Wi-Fi, reduced power, and 1TB of internal storage.

This update will refresh the interest of gamers in the console in 2024 till the expected newer-gen console is launched in 2028. And if the current success of Series S is to be accounted for, Xbox will certainly be launching a higher-end and a lower-end variant of the next-gen console. Till then, the Xbox Series S will be the one to uphold the gaming features in the console community.

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