Xbox Series S | X Console Discussion

[Ashley]

 

[Will]

I’d love to see the documents they put together when deciding this stuff. Just think about it, someone had to have the idea, then put together documentation for it, then present it to the execs, who then agreed, and then nobody said anything about it to stop them. In 20 years time there will be a Microsoft giga-leak with this document in it and I can’t wait to read it.

[Goafer]

It wouldn't be so bad if they were so damn similar. 

XBox: fine.

XBox 360: also fine, clearly different from the previous gen.

XBox One: What, like everyone has been calling the original XBox?

XBox One S/X: Ok I guess

XBox Series S/X: Oh for fucks sake...

 

Microsoft seem to have no clue how to name consoles. First you had to differentiate between the OG Xbox and the XBox One, and now there's a negligible difference between the One and the new gen.

Their branding is normally pretty good, which is why it's so strange that they can't get the names even remotely right.

Then again, just look at Windows...

[Sheikah]

I did see someone on Twitter (not sure who) point out that if they started with numbers they would have always been one behind Sony so if you end up with PS5 and Xbox 4 on the shelves there will be a 'natural' (incorrect) assumption that the PS5 is 'better' or 'newer' than Xbox 4.

Microsoft could just jump a number if they want to, like with Windows 10.

[Ashley]

2 hours ago, Sheikah said:

8 hours ago, Ashley said:

I did see someone on Twitter (not sure who) point out that if they started with numbers they would have always been one behind Sony so if you end up with PS5 and Xbox 4 on the shelves there will be a 'natural' (incorrect) assumption that the PS5 is 'better' or 'newer' than Xbox 4.

Microsoft could just jump a number if they want to, like with Windows 10.

Yeah but that was to overcome bad legacy code. No excuse this time... Hopefully. 

[Julius]

Retail boxes:

Looking clean. Very easy to distinguish between the two, good idea I think to go with different colours for them at launch. 

[Will]

4 hours ago, Julius said:

Retail boxes:

Looking clean. Very easy to distinguish between the two, good idea I think to go with different colours for them at launch. 

Looks really nice, from a design perspective I think they’ve done a great job. I’m a huge fan of how the X looks.

[Happenstance]

They just look like two speakers to me. I think I’ll pass on the Xbox, I've already got an Amazon Echo which does the job for me.

Edited September 15, 2020 by Happenstance

[Aneres11]

8 hours ago, Julius said:

Retail boxes:

Looking clean. Very easy to distinguish between the two, good idea I think to go with different colours for them at launch. 

Yeah also a fan of the boxes. And the console design in general. 

I'm tempted by one, especially given the monthly cost with All Access included. Or whatever they're calling it now. 

[bob]

I’m a huge fan of how the X looks.

Is that because the X looks like a huge fan?

[Cube]

9 hours ago, Julius said:

Retail boxes:

Looking clean. Very easy to distinguish between the two, good idea I think to go with different colours for them at launch. 

The Xbox Series X box is just really, really unsettling. It's like it's going to attack me.

It legitimately makes me shiver. It belongs in a horror film.

[Happenstance]

1 minute ago, Cube said:

The Xbox Series X box is just really, really unsettling. It's like it's going to attack me.

It legitimately makes me shiver. It belongs in a horror film.

I quite like the box but I can imagine the top part of the Xbox pulsing on it, almost like it's breathing.

[drahkon]

1 minute ago, Cube said:

Xbox Series X box

[bob]

The Xbox Series X box is just really, really unsettling. It's like it's going to attack me.
It legitimately makes me shiver. It belongs in a horror film.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypophobia

[Goron_3]

I'm still a bit gutted that the Series S is really tall and not a smaller, GameCube sized box

[Julius]

Pre-orders going live at 08:00 next Tuesday here in the UK at major retailers. 

Good luck to those looking to secure one! 

[Ganepark32]

Curious to see whether the All Access plans are being offered online through GAME and Smyths or whether you have to go in store to do it.

Suppose I'll have a nosey on the 22nd and see and if it is available, I'll probably just put in my order for the Series X. The PS5 would be my preferred platform choice but I don't think I can afford it at launch and I don't know if I'd be able to actually get hold of one. With All Access, I'm already paying for Gamepass Ultimate and I don't have a gaming PC so I can justify signing up as its not adding much more to my monthly outgoings as opposed to a full whack of £450 for the hardware (likewise for the PS5) when there'll likely be added costs to sorting things out for Christmas with not being able to meet up with family this year.

[Julius]

1 minute ago, Ganepark32 said:

Curious to see whether the All Access plans are being offered online through GAME and Smyths or whether you have to go in store to do it.

Suppose I'll have a nosey on the 22nd and see and if it is available, I'll probably just put in my order for the Series X. The PS5 would be my preferred platform choice but I don't think I can afford it at launch and I don't know if I'd be able to actually get hold of one. With All Access, I'm already paying for Gamepass Ultimate and I don't have a gaming PC so I can justify signing up as its not adding much more to my monthly outgoings as opposed to a full whack of £450 for the hardware (likewise for the PS5) when there'll likely be added costs to sorting things out for Christmas with not being able to meet up with family this year.

Yeah, it's really strange how little we know about how All Access is going to be working over here, and where it will be available from. 

While there are some parts of All Access I'm not too keen on as I've mentioned before, strictly from the lending perspective for younger adults in a weird position right now, I think it's a wholly coincidental consumer-focused move in the times of COVID (I can imagine they were going to go with pricing model before anyways).

It's honestly a shame Sony aren't doing the same I think, just because, again, that's a lot of money to drop today, with how messy things have become in a COVID world. I know they don't have a worthy alternative to Game Pass, but bundle the PS5 in with two years of PS Plus at something like £19.99 per month and I think you've got a pretty good deal going. 

They don't need to, I guess, is the reason that they probably won't do it. Stores will sell out their Day 1 allocations of PS5's and likely end up with back orders, and PlayStation focusing on the generational leap more than a service means I don't think it really suits their narrative. 

But still, ideally, from the perspective of what's friendly to the consumer? Kudos to Xbox for sticking to their guns on this, they have a clear plan now, and I hope they do well in realising it. 

[Cube]

Singing people up for a proper financial contract (which will impact your credit score) is not consumer friendly, especially with everything that's going on at the moment. The advertising mentions Klana but people will need to be aware of what that is, I don't think people will be expecting the same kind of financial commitment as they do with other stuff. 

For the Xbox Series S, you're essentially applying for a £510 loan.

[Julius]

3 minutes ago, Cube said:

Singing people up for a proper financial contract (which will impact your credit score) is not consumer friendly, especially with everything that's going on at the moment. The advertising mentions Klana but people will need to be aware of what that is, I don't think people will be expecting the same kind of financial commitment as they do with other stuff. 

For the Xbox Series S, you're essentially applying for a £510 loan.

Yeah, that's what I mentioned before as being my biggest issue with it too.

Like with smartphone contacts, I think this should only be something you sign up to if you're confident that you could otherwise buy it outright - I would view it as an exercise in building my credit score if that's the case, and a reasonable way to spread out the cost - but again, it's for those with some level of financial maturity/knowledge.

Unfortunately, I think you're probably going to end up with quite a few university students and people in not-so-secure jobs who don't have that level of security yet going with this option, when it's probably not what's best for them. Plus, we're going to get an entire wave of people becoming unemployed once that furlough bubble pops. 

It's tough. If you have the money and/or job security anyways you might as well go with this option to spread it out(/build your credit file if that's what you're looking for), but otherwise it becomes a bit of a weird one.

I mentioned this before and it's hard to land on either side of this, because it's down to the individual at the end of the day, but I deal with a lot of people in debt and that default, and it's never a fun conversation to have. I'm grateful that my job feels super secure right now, but still, things can change in the blink of an eye with the world as it is right now, and I'd be pretty miffed (to put it lightly) at myself if I ended up damaging my credit file over a console. 

Hopefully not too many end up in that weird spot, but as with all lending, it's unfortunately inevitable. Have no idea what Klarna's behind-the-scenes looks like in terms of how they handle customers in difficulty, or if they just send them to Citizen's Advice, Step Change, et al. But even that isn't really their responsibility, so I don't know 

[Sheikah]

How is what Microsoft are doing any different from just getting a loan, or buying from somewhere like Very? I don't see how they're doing something different to what is already available for a host of products.

[Scratch]

I hear if you don't pay Microsoft's loan they don't send regular bailiffs, they send Master Chief!

[Ashley]

33 minutes ago, Sckewi said:

I hear if you don't pay Microsoft's loan they don't send regular bailiffs, they send Master Chief!

Or worse, Bill Gates

 

[Ganepark32]

Interesting if true. While there will undoubtedly be less people clamouring for the new Xbox consoles on Tuesday than there were for PS5 these last 2 days, people are rightly worried that specific times will play right into the hands of scalpers, especially when it comes to stock of the Series S. Whereas we had a rough idea of the number of hardware Sony is bringing to market by the end of the year, there's no indication as to how many units Microsoft will have which could also cause some issue.

Probably doesn't affect many here but for those few that are looking to pre-order, looks like you might want to have multiple retailer options set to go for 8am BST/9am CEST to make sure you get a pre-order in. Though remember that if you're going for All Access, its only through Smyths and GAME.

I'm still trying to decide if I want to grab a pre-order for the Series X to replace my One as its the launch model of the One so its getting a little long in the tooth. I'm already paying for Gamepass Ultimate and the media/streaming app options have work out better on the Xbox this gen because my partner uses it to watch stuff on ITV and we're able to beam from the Fite.tv app for things as well without needing to use the Internet browser.

Probably end up putting in an order but suspect I'll need to be quick online for the All Access which I suspect isn't going to be the quickest to set up unless they do that later once they've confirmed orders/just before release when you've been allocated a unit.

[Cube]

Klarna only takes a few minutes to fill in the details, then it will go into a "pending" state. Acceptance speed can vary as it's doing a hard credit check but typically within one day, and you arrange payment details to Klarna from there.