The Xbox Series S has finally been revealed after more than a year of heavy speculation. It wasn’t revealed in the way that anyone could have imagined however, after Microsoft was forced to confirm its existence in the middle of the night after several leaks from Microsoft Insiders Brad Sams and Windows Central.
The Series S has been the worst kept secret in all of gaming, and we have known what it is for many, many months. It is Xbox’s entry level next gen console. The Series S will hypothetically play next games with the same bells and whistles as the more powerful Series X, but only at 1080p instead of 4K.
The Series S is a bold gamble for Xbox, but one that could seriously pay off. $299/£249 is an insanely good deal and is a relatively easy impulse buy. It is the same price as the widely successful Nintendo Switch and has the benefit of being much more powerful than any other console at that price point. Along with Game Pass, the Series S is almost a ‘must-buy’ for any serious gamer.
With the official announcement of the price, we expect the price of the Series X to come very soon. This will mean that Xbox will likely go first in the long game of chicken they have been playing with Sony over this reveal. It is bold, and while they may have been nudged forward due to leaks, it does mean that Xbox is seen as relatively confident in their strategy. There had been some bubbling concern that maybe Xbox wasn’t confident in their price and were waiting until the last minute to announce it.
With the Series S being $299/£249 and the Series X being (likely) $499, Xbox is aggressively pricing these consoles for the specs inside. $299 is almost a steal for what is rumoured to be inside the box, and $499 for the most powerful console ever is an incredibly good deal.
Xbox has been planning this for a very long time. After messing up with the Xbox One pricing to power ratio, it has taken them 7 years to finally be able to redeem themselves. At this point, it really doesn’t matter what the competition does. They have the most powerful console ever made at a very reasonable price, and have an incredibly inclusive and enticing console that will still be more than capable of playing next-gen games. Xbox may have a winner on their hands.
The Series S is targeted to play at 1440p, not only 1080p, as the article states.