Xbox Series S | X Console Discussion

[Happenstance]

3 minutes ago, Goron_3 said:

The PS5 is pretty much the perfect device to me *shrugs* Perfect combo of hardware and software.

I don't expect services like Gamepass from Sony and Nintendo.

To be fair PS Now is pretty close to gamepass these days now it has the choice of streaming or downloading. It just lacks the games on release and much better marketing that MS do for gamepass but the services are comparable.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Happenstance

[Dcubed]

On 9/8/2020 at 11:29 AM, Ganepark32 said:

My one concern that I have for the Series S is something that just popped into my head based on a rumour that was going round: that to keep the cost down Microsoft might consider selling the box without a controller in the package. While not a consumer friendly way to go about things, they'd then make money on the sale of controllers at launch with this thing if that's how they're going to go.

I highly doubt they'll go for that though because even with that low price, asking people to then trump up for a controller separately would instantly kill any good will because then it really isn't £249.99/$299/€299, its an extra £50/$50/€50 at least on top. But its one way to keep the console cheap at point of sale and gain some money back on it. It's something I've heard that Sony may do for the digital PS5 to keep the cost at point of sale down as well.

Looking at figures, the All Access montly cost for this on the UK is likely to be around the £21/£22 mark. Thats insane. Gamepass Ultimate is £10.99 a month so effectively you'd be paying a tenner for the console each month over 24 months. Regardless of going for the full purchase or the All Access plan, it really is a bargain.

I do also wonder if they'll heavily tout XCloud. One of the features that is supposed to be coming for that is using your Xbox as the device to stream to. Effectively, if they achieve that for the Series S, you could theoretically still play your next gen games in full 4k60fps only they'd be streamed to your Series S through XCloud giving you the best of both worlds. Again, it makes it a no brainer for those wanting the cheapest option with the potentially the most games.

Looks like I was wrong and you were right!

https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/xbox-all-access

£21 a month is insane! It actually IS cheaper than buying the console outright! (By £10).  That's just nuts!

[Happenstance]

Has anyone used Klarna before for monthly payments? I’ve seen it popping up more and more and I see Xbox will be using it for the All Access stuff

[Sheikah]

3 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

If you're primarily interested in 3rd party games, there is zero reason to choose a PS5 over the Series X/S.  You're paying more for a worse experience.

But as shown in that screenshot above, most of the best selling games on the PS4 are (or were) exclusives, so this "third party only" gamer is surely very rare.

I would also wager that if you're primarily interested in third parties, you're more of a casual gamer, and your choice is probably dictated more or less by what console your mates have. Which given the current situation is probably a PS4.

3 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Even if Sony continue to buy timed exclusives, people will eventually just learn to wait (especially if they come to Game Pass for free).

I think it's more likely they will look at the PS5 which is getting all the exclusives and buy it instead, unless money is an issue.

3 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Sony's big USP is their range of 1st party titles.  This is a game they lost with the PS3 (and that also had Blu-ray movies on its side).  And I'm not necessarily convinced that Sony's 1st party output is strong enough to tip the balance in their favour.  Sony is not Nintendo; I don't believe that they can carry a console by themselves.

Don't see why you're not convinced, it has let them stay on top the whole generation. If you have two boxes that play the same multiplatform games with similar levels of graphical fidelity then exclusives are the main thing that would sway you one way or another.

3 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

People primarily buy Playstations for games like Fifa & COD; not TLOU.  For those people who primarily play Fifa & COD, why would they choose a PS5 over a cheaper and more powerful Series X? Especially when they have Gamepass on their side?

Again if you look at the top selling games on the system, the top selling COD game is the 24th best seller, and the top selling FIFA game is 18th. So I disagree with that point.

Also, do you think FIFA is even pushing each system to its limit? The "primarily third party gamer" you describe probably doesn't know, or care, about the extra power the Series X has. In fact I imagine they'd be buying a Series S if anything.

[Cube]

£503.76 for a Xbox Series S is definitely insanely high. 

[Happenstance]

1 minute ago, Cube said:

£503.76 for a Xbox Series S is definitely insanely high. 

It works out ok if you’d also be someone buying gamepass each month etc.

[Goron_3]

@Dcubed You're assuming people will just jump from PS5 to Xbox. People who like the Playstation brand will always stick with that. Even in the PS3 / 360 era, Microsft got virtually everything right yet the PS3 still outsold it every year thanks to its performance in places like Europe.

It's like the whole Apple vs Android debate. You can argue semantics, but in reality most people stick with one ecosystem / brand.

£21 a month for 2 years with Gamepass? Will be fascinated to see how it takes off.

[Cube]

Just now, Happenstance said:

It works out ok if you’d also be someone buying gamepass each month etc.

I don't understand why anyone would do that, though. Same with video streaming services. Having it on and off is much better value for money. 

There's also a cheaper gamespass option if you don't play multiplayer games all the time.

[Happenstance]

1 minute ago, Cube said:

I don't understand why anyone would do that, though. Same with video streaming services. Having it on and off is much better value for money. 

There's also a cheaper gamespass option if you don't play multiplayer games all the time.

I guess all I can say is not everyone is the same. I keep my streaming services all year round.

[Sheikah]

 

3 minutes ago, Cube said:

I don't understand why anyone would do that, though. Same with video streaming services. Having it on and off is much better value for money. 

There's also a cheaper gamespass option if you don't play multiplayer games all the time.

If you're someone who uses the service the whole year then subscribing for just a month here or there is actually quite bad value for money. The cost to sub to something for one month will always be more expensive than a twelfth of the cost of an annual sub.

[Cube]

Just now, Sheikah said:

 

If you're someone who uses the service the whole year then subscribing for just a month here or there is actually quite bad value for money. The cost to sub to something for one month will always be more expensive than a twelfth of the cost of an annual sub.

There's no annual sub for Game Pass.

[Happenstance]

I think there’s also something to be said for having everything under one convenient payment.

[Sheikah]

4 minutes ago, Cube said:

There's no annual sub for Game Pass.

Technically there is - you can buy a year of Xbox Live Gold and convert it to Game Pass time for 1 pound. That works out ridiculously cheaper than paying monthly sub costs.

That also shows this finance deal as not being that great, because you're essentially paying a lot more for Game Pass than you need to.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Sheikah

[Cube]

Just now, Sheikah said:

Technically there is - you can buy a year of Xbox Live Gold and convert it to Game Pass time for 1 pound. That works out ridiculously cheaper than paying monthly sub costs.

Only for as long as the printed keys last, Microsoft removed the yearly option for Gold. 

[Happenstance]

You can buy the Ultimate Gamepass for a 12 month period, I just don’t know if that one automatically renews at the end.

[Sheikah]

3 minutes ago, Cube said:

Only for as long as the printed keys last, Microsoft removed the yearly option for Gold. 

Yeah, that's true. But at this point in time, the finance option for the Series S is not good value because a much cheaper option exists. You could buy the system for 249 then buy two 12-month XBL sub codes for 80 quid total (from CDKeys), and convert it all to Game Pass. Total cost 330 quid.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Sheikah

[Dcubed]

17 minutes ago, Goron_3 said:

@Dcubed You're assuming people will just jump from PS5 to Xbox. People who like the Playstation brand will always stick with that. Even in the PS3 / 360 era, Microsft got virtually everything right yet the PS3 still outsold it every year thanks to its performance in places like Europe.

It's like the whole Apple vs Android debate. You can argue semantics, but in reality most people stick with one ecosystem / brand.

£21 a month for 2 years with Gamepass? Will be fascinated to see how it takes off.

It absolutely did not.  It squeaked past the 360 right at the tail end of the generation worldwide, but it got completely bodied in the US and UK; and yes, it was outsold in Europe for the first half of the generation.  It was only in the latter half of the generation that it regained ground in Europe (Plus it gained a bonus 10 million sales in Japan; which will definitely not happen again - Hell it'll be lucky to outsell the Vita this time around).

Edited September 9, 2020 by Dcubed

[Cube]

1 minute ago, Sheikah said:

Yeah, that's true. But at this point in time, the finance option for the Series S is not good value because a much cheaper option exists. 

That's the point I'm making! Either you're unable to take breaks in the subscription (which you could if you pay the monthly price), or there are other deals you can get that work out cheaper.

[Happenstance]

But isn’t this just the same as any contract? Not everyone can afford to pay the full whack upfront.

[Sheikah]

1 minute ago, Cube said:

That's the point I'm making! Either you're unable to take breaks in the subscription (which you could if you pay the monthly price), or there are other deals you can get that work out cheaper.

Oh yeah, don't worry, I'm agreeing with you.

[Goron_3]

Just now, Dcubed said:

It absolutely did not.  It squeaked past the 360 right at the tail end of the generation worldwide, but it got completely bodied in the US and UK.  It was only in the latter half that it regained ground in Europe (Plus it gained 10 million sales in Japan; which will definitely not happen again - Hell it'll be lucky to outsell the Vita this time around).

There wasn't a single year that generation where the 360 outside PS3 worldwide. Yes, PS3 had Japan, but you've got to remember that the 360 flat lined massively from around 2010. Microsoft poured a huge amount of money into marketing Kinect which gave it a second bump, but that was nothing but a temporary way of getting more sales. 

[Sheikah]

Just now, Happenstance said:

But isn’t this just the same as any contract? Not everyone can afford to pay the full whack upfront.

I think it's more that some people were remarking how good value the Series S was on finance, and that it was cheaper than buying the console outright. Which isn't true because there's a much, much cheaper way to buy Game Pass.

[Dcubed]

Just now, Cube said:

That's the point I'm making! Either you're unable to take breaks in the subscription (which you could if you pay the monthly price), or there are other deals you can get that work out cheaper.

Monthly plans usually work out to having you pay more overall.  But in this case? It is actually technically less than buying them outright.

Now, you can make an argument for not wanting to sub each month (baring in mind that there is no official option to pay anything other than monthly for XBGamePass), but it is actually technically a great deal as far as these things go.  It's pretty unheard of to actually SAVE money on a monthly payment scheme!

Not that I'd personally advocate for it (Hell, I just gamed the system myself the other day with the current XBLG conversion offer), but I'm genuinely surprised to see some legitimate value in such an offer!

[Sheikah]

2 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Monthly plans usually work out to having you pay more overall.  But in this case? It is actually technically less than buying them outright.

It isn't though - like you say, there's a much cheaper way to get Game Pass that you are unable to take advantage of if you sign up for finance.

In reality Microsoft have basically just upped the cost of their service which makes it look better than it is by comparison.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Sheikah

[Happenstance]

2 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

I think it's more that some people were remarking how good value the Series S was on finance, and that it was cheaper than buying the console outright. Which isn't true because there's a much, much cheaper way to buy Game Pass.

MS aren’t going to work out their finance deals comparing prices to current deals, temporary loop holes or cheap key sellers though. The finance deal they are offering is good compared to official prices.