Xbox General discussion **No Order Chat Here**

Treppen

Wow it's really going crazy prices at the moment for the S and X. About a month ago there were a few teaser Xs going for 299, but now they've rocketed up to 400+ and a tonne of Ss are being advertised for 299. I'd say they'll all swop places once the S is practically finished and the X will be 450

Vyse Remastered

It will be interesting at the July event to see if they reveal a lower tier system, the much speculated about Series S platform. I'm somewhat confused over how a lower powered system could compete on a next gen level unless it will be more of a streaming platform. I know digital foundry have done a number of videos about it so it is definitely a possibility (lower resolutions etc.)

The other alternative is that they will take the same approach as Sony and just remove the drive although I think this unlikely.

rob808

I hope lockhart not real they be better of.following sony with all digital xbox series x.I think lockhart will hold back xbox series x where as sony won't have that problem.

It 4TFP console i don't think it be able to keep up later on in the generation with the xbox series x.I wonder how many people would buy a lockhart.

recyclops

If lockheart was something similar to stadia using the Xcloud base it could work, a gamepass subscription model would be brilliant for those only interested in casual gaming and not pure power.

now the big question is if its possible especially in this country.

Treppen

rob808 wrote: »

I hope lockhart not real they be better of.following sony with all digital xbox series x.I think lockhart will hold back xbox series x where as sony won't have that problem.

It 4TFP console i don't think it be able to keep up later on in the generation with the xbox series x.I wonder how many people would buy a lockhart.

Who are Lockhart?

rob808

Treppen wrote: »

Who are Lockhart?

That the code name for the cheaper version not lockheart lol.

Mitch Connor

rob808 wrote: »

I hope lockhart not real they be better of.following sony with all digital xbox series x.I think lockhart will hold back xbox series x where as sony won't have that problem.

It 4TFP console i don't think it be able to keep up later on in the generation with the xbox series x.I wonder how many people would buy a lockhart.

Indeed.

Xcloud is streaming, so the power of the box doesn't really matter.
Xcloud can be played on your mobile, on your browser, on your Xbox One.
All first party titles, for the moment, will play on Xbox One.

I see no benefit to the lockheart box people are talking about. A nothing space between Xbox One and Series X that no one will care about. Whats the sales pitch for it? Here's a console that does nothing more significantly than a One X?

It should either be a digital only version of the Series X, or just forget about it - it has no place in the market.

CatInABox

https://twitter.com/Halo/status/1275806134142525440

PR machine for Halo is starting up.

Lord Spence

Microsoft have a massive sell coming up in the series x, if there is very little difference initially between games on the series x and games on the one x then a lot of folks including me will opt to buy PS5 on day one and wait a little longer on series x. One X games look great as it is and all games will be playable on it for the near future.

I wonder is this consumer friendly cross-play decision gonna bite them in the ass, July's conference and the 1st party games on show is going to be very very interesting.

Lord Spence

Lord Spence wrote: »

Microsoft have a massive sell coming up in the series x, if there is very little difference initially between games on the series x and games on the one x then a lot of folks including me will opt to buy PS5 on day one and wait a little longer on series x. One X games look great as it is and all games will be playable on it for the near future.

I wonder is this consumer friendly cross-play decision gonna bite them in the ass, July's conference and the 1st party games on show is going to be very very interesting.

Not sure I get you. You would be buying all your games on the PS5 presumably, just because MS allow back compatibility of next gen games on the Xbox One? Or are you saying you will buy a PS5 and still buy and play games on the One X? Why would you do that when you have a PS5?

Rumour is that Lockhart is intended as a native 1080p console, Series X is intended as a native 4K console. Very simple.

It is perfectly feasible to make it so that it does not 'hold back' the Series X. It is just a case of choosing the specs carefully. You can afford to make the GPU much weaker. You can cut back on RAM. The SSD can do with being a bit slower and smaller since you're dealing with lower res textures (the whole point of smart delivery). The CPU should be pretty close to Series X, you can't cut it back too much. And of course your power supply and cooling solution can be cheaper. There is potentially quite a large cost saving. I could see it being $300 at launch, maybe even $250. To re-iterate, a correctly designed system need not hold back the Series X.

What is the point? To offer an affordable next-gen console for people who don't have a 4K TV. This could be people in poorer countries, kids, people who have a second setup in the spare room. People who have a 4K TV but don't really care about 1080p vs 4k gaming.

Mickeroo

Put a non potato CPU in a current One X and you will have a perfectly viable budget "next gen" console imo.

Mickeroo

Mickeroo wrote: »

Put a non potato CPU in a current One X and you will have a perfectly viable budget "next gen" console imo.

Definitely, but it must have an SSD as next gen games will not be regular HDD compatible.

Mickeroo

Deleted User wrote: »

Definitely, but it must have an SSD as next gen games will not be regular HDD compatible.

Yeah good point, SSD goes without saying.

Mickeroo

Mickeroo wrote: »

Put a non potato CPU in a current One X and you will have a perfectly viable budget "next gen" console imo.

Put it where? It's an APU. You're talking about a costly redesign.

It's more viable - financially and technically - to design two new systems in parallel, sharing architectures and components. Built on same node. Sharing some economies of scale. Perhaps binning components and putting the lower binned stuff in Lockhart.

marcbrophy

Potato CPU
Funny, cos it's true!

wotzgoingon

Imagine AMD testing the APU's and seeing a fair few CU's failed. That's enough CU's for a PS5 but not good enough for a Xbox.

The mad thing is they are probably actually doing that.

edit: Ah no they are proably on completely different production lines and specs but who knows they are much the same APU's CPU and GPU but much less Compute Units on PS.

bluemachaveli

Deleted User wrote: »

Rumour is that Lockhart is intended as a native 1080p console, Series X is intended as a native 4K console. Very simple.

It is perfectly feasible to make it so that it does not 'hold back' the Series X. It is just a case of choosing the specs carefully. You can afford to make the GPU much weaker. You can cut back on RAM. The SSD can do with being a bit slower and smaller since you're dealing with lower res textures (the whole point of smart delivery). The CPU should be pretty close to Series X, you can't cut it back too much. And of course your power supply and cooling solution can be cheaper. There is potentially quite a large cost saving. I could see it being $300 at launch, maybe even $250. To re-iterate, a correctly designed system need not hold back the Series X.

What is the point? To offer an affordable next-gen console for people who don't have a 4K TV. This could be people in poorer countries, kids, people who have a second setup in the spare room. People who have a 4K TV but don't really care about 1080p vs 4k gaming.

Exactly this, if they can hit the design on the head and keep the price low, it will be a game changer.

There's a huge target audience for a next gen console thats sub €300. Think parents roaming around at Christmas trying to please the kids. Odds are the younger ones won't have a 4K tv in the bedroom/playroom anyway. Couple that with Gamepass where they can be up and running for just the cost of the console. It's amazing value. I'd probably pick one up down the line along with a Series X to play when the main TV is in use.

Mitch Connor

Lord Spence wrote: »

Microsoft have a massive sell coming up in the series x, if there is very little difference initially between games on the series x and games on the one x then a lot of folks including me will opt to buy PS5 on day one and wait a little longer on series x. One X games look great as it is and all games will be playable on it for the near future.

I wonder is this consumer friendly cross-play decision gonna bite them in the ass, July's conference and the 1st party games on show is going to be very very interesting.

Any next gen titles from 3rd parties will look as good on SX as on PS5.

The issue is, amazingly, the first party titles. They may look much better on SX (Ray Tracing etc) but mechanically they will have been designed for One X. You won't see a game using the SSD speeds as an inherent gameplay mechanic like Rachet and Clank looks to be doing with its Rift stuff. If it isn't possible to do on the One X, you won't see it on SX, I would think. I could be wrong, but I can't see how it could be done.

Mitch Connor

Phil Spencer talking about the subscription model - GamePass/Console paid monthly on a contract like a phone.

That could be huge, if it is a widely offered solution. Much easier, for me anyway, to justify a cost spread over 2 years (as I do for my phone) than an upfront 500+ payment.

https://www.vg247.com/2020/06/25/xbox-series-x-all-access-subscription/

Stone Deaf 4evr

Deleted User wrote: »

Put it where? It's an APU. You're talking about a costly redesign.

It's more viable - financially and technically - to design two new systems in parallel, sharing architectures and components. Built on same node. Sharing some economies of scale. Perhaps binning components and putting the lower binned stuff in Lockhart.

I thought we can't use APU any more cause its racist or something?

bluemachaveli

bluemachaveli wrote: »

Exactly this, if they can hit the design on the head and keep the price low, it will be a game changer.

There's a huge target audience for a next gen console thats sub €300. Think parents roaming around at Christmas trying to please the kids. Odds are the younger ones won't have a 4K tv in the bedroom/playroom anyway.

For proof of this you just have to look at the mid-gen systems.

Ask someone who works in a shop what the ratio of PS4 base to pro system sales is in any given month. It's about 3:1 or 4:1. It varies depending on discounts and bundles. Xbox OneS vs OneX is similar.

Most people buying a console pick the cheaper one. The average buyer is highly, highly price-sensitive. That can be easy to forget in a discussion among enthusiasts.

marcbrophy

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Phil Spencer talking about the subscription model - GamePass/Console paid monthly on a contract like a phone.

That could be huge, if it is a widely offered solution. Much easier, for me anyway, to justify a cost spread over 2 years (as I do for my phone) than an upfront 500+ payment.

https://www.vg247.com/2020/06/25/xbox-series-x-all-access-subscription/

Would be great alright!
Unfortunately, I don't think the sub service ever came to Ireland!
Hopefully it expands to more countries, ours included

rob808

marcbrophy wrote: »

Would be great alright!
Unfortunately, I don't think the sub service ever came to Ireland!
Hopefully it expands to more countries, ours included

I think most people will trade in there console to Gamestop and cex that will soften the blow plus Gamepass will help.

marcbrophy

rob808 wrote: »

I think most people will trade in there console to Gamestop and cex that will soften the blow plus Gamepass will help.

Yeah, that would be my preferred route too! Through CEX.
I normally hold onto them, but what's the point with backward compatibility?

I think I'd be able to convince a few friends to depart with 30 p/m rather than 500 up front, to join me with my new machine

Mr Crispy

Games thus far confirmed by Microsoft to be optimised for the Series X (via Shack News, who say they'll edit the page as more games are added).

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Bright Memory Infinite
• Call of the Sea
• Chivalry 2
• Chorus
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Destiny 2
• DiRT 5
• FIFA 21
• Gears 5
• Halo Infinite
• Hitman 3
• Madden NFL 21
• Marvel’s Avengers
• Outriders
• Scarlet Nexus
• Scorn
• Second Extinction
• The Ascent
• The Medium
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Lord Spence

Deleted User wrote: »

Not sure I get you. You would be buying all your games on the PS5 presumably, just because MS allow back compatibility of next gen games on the Xbox One? Or are you saying you will buy a PS5 and still buy and play games on the One X? Why would you do that when you have a PS5?

Because all 1st party games are going to be playable on one x for the near future and as I have gamepass so I will get them all automatically day 1 so no need for series x ( i'm willing to take the SSD and Graphics hit here as one x is already looks pretty sweet)

So that means I can buy a PS5 and have the ability to play their first party games, 3rd party games I will also get on PS5 until I eventually buy the series x.

So exactly what I was saying that could all change if MS kill their July presser and make buying series x essential on day one.

Stone Deaf 4evr

Lord Spence wrote: »

Because all 1st party games are going to be playable on one x for the near future and as I have gamepass so I will get them all automatically day 1 so no need for series x ( i'm willing to take the SSD and Graphics hit here as one x is already looks pretty sweet)

So that means I can buy a PS5 and have the ability to play their first party games, 3rd party games I will also get on PS5 until I eventually buy the series x.

So exactly what I was saying that could all change if MS kill their July presser and make buying series x essential on day one.

what date is their next press thing?

Mr Crispy

Don't think they've finalised a date (other than July) yet.

Atlas_IRL

I would be very suprised if the Gaming retailers here did not have Xbox All Access in place for the new console launches. I'd much rather go that way than upfront whack.