Jez Corden: Xbox Series S was a mistake. Series X power advantage hasn't manifested into actual results.

[Quad Damage 1,742]

https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/xboxs-biggest-crisis-right-now-isnt-content-its-hardware

 

 

"Microsoft's hardware strategy for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S was promising coming out of the gate back in 2020. But now it's 2023. An unexpected global pandemic, an unprecedented chip shortage, and an upheaval of tech supply chains have impacted both console firms. In terms of hardware sales, PlayStation has come out swinging, though. Microsoft has ... well, not. "

 

 

 

"I noted in the intro that Sony has a 2:1 advantage over the Xbox Series X|S, but it's actually a little worse than that.

 

I was quite bullish on the Xbox Series S strategy in the early days. On paper, it makes a lot of sense to have a more affordable SKU that can potentially target students, younger gamers, the gift market, and stuff like that. The Xbox Series S makes up a significant chunk of the Xbox Series X|S player base, although we don't know exactly by how much.

 

I thought it was a good strategy, but unfortunately, it seems to have come at the expense of the more powerful, direct-PS5 competitor Xbox Series X, which increasingly doesn't seem to have the install base developers and, perhaps Microsoft, need it to have. So, for third-party developers, not only is developing for the Xbox Series X|S lineup more expensive (having to test and maintain two separate versions), it also comes with poorer margins, since you're obviously going to sell far less on Xbox Series X|S. The "S" version will also showcase games at their worst, which is not something developers would want to do ideally, making it easier for PlayStation to land marketing deals."

 

 

Much ado was made about the power gap between the PS5 and the Xbox Series X at launch. On paper, the Xbox Series X is "more powerful" than the PS5, but we've yet to really see that manifest into actual results. Outside of Gears 5 and Forza, Microsoft hasn't really produced games that are truly visually impressive generally, with the spectacular license we've seen out of games like Horizon Forbidden West and Final Fantasy 16. Additionally, analysts like Digital Foundry repeatedly cite the Xbox Series X versions of games as having slightly worse performance than their PS5 counterparts." @ghostz

 

 

"Developers have begun more openly complaining about the Xbox Series S' power as well. Larian Studios' noted that Microsoft's policies of Xbox Series X|S launch parity are preventing it from shipping Baldur's Gate 3 day and date on Xbox, since the Xbox Series S' lack of power is incompatible with the game's couch co-op features. Microsoft itself scrapped the split-screen co-op for Halo Infinite, probably for the same reason. Despite this, Microsoft has sent out engineers to Larian to see if it's something that's possible to achieve. Other developers have also complained about the console over the past few years, and as we head deeper into the generation, and games become more complex, it's going to become an ever-increasingly fraught issue.

 

Sony doesn't have to deal with this SKU disparity. Instead of trying to target the lower-end market, Sony is instead plowing ahead with an even more powerful PS5 Pro according to reports. Tentatively, based on my research, it seems that Microsoft is not going to have an answer for the PS5 Pro either, at least initially. The PS5 Pro will be more powerful (and more expensive) than the PS5 and Xbox Series X, potentially allowing for 60 FPS or higher frame rates without compromising 4K resolution."

 

 

"Microsoft absolutely needs to grow the primary SKU install base, the Xbox Series X, to make the platform exciting for developers and investors again. Microsoft needs to innovate on the box to make the platform seem exciting for players and potential players again. New Xbox controller color pallets can only go so far, I'm afraid. "

[Ike★ 2,919]

Lemmings swore this was a good thing too  

[MalaXmaS 648]

20 minutes ago, Ike said:

Lemmings swore this was a good thing too  

That thing is triple the power of a Switch.

Besides, no Lemming here thought Series S was a good move.

It was all Series X or nothing.

[Playstation Tablet 1,730]

If MS skip making a Pro cause of S it will make it even a bigger mistake.

[Mr. House 3,371]

I'm not reading that but I'll say:

 

Most studios usually spend more time optimizing the version that is likely to sell the most. Xbox ain't moving softwares. 

 

And releasing a weaker sku was probably a major mistake. Because it always has to be taken into consideration for development of the Xbox version.

 

So they might have the best hardware on paper but it's not necessarily going to manifest as a guaranteed better outcome. Kinda like how the PS3 has worse multiplatform games despite having slightly better hardware than the 360, it was just harder to optimize for the cell. The ease of development is almost as important as the hardware capabilities.

[Mr. House 3,371]

Just now, Playstation Tablet said:

If MS skip making a Pro cause of S it will make it even a bigger mistake.

Releasing a more expensive Xbox would be a huge mistake. They can't even sell the Series X at the current pricing, let alone a more expensive premium Xbox. Sales are down significantly. 

[-GD-X★ 7,760]

No shit 

[Remij 4,687]

Jez is stupid.  Series S was a good idea and is the reason why MS is still in business.  The cost for MS to make Series X's is apparently prohibitively high, which is why they're manufacturing far less of them and using the ones they have in the cloud servers..  they don't want to build Series X consoles and lose so much money.  

 

If it wasn't for the Series S, MS would sell some more Series X consoles, sure, but they'd be losing more money with every one sold, and it wouldn't make up for the loss of Series S sales.  Series X was never going to sell like the PS5 was... they would have "lost" either way.. and they chose the cheaper way to lose.

 

Again, the Series S, as much as developers may bitch about it.... isn't the big issue..  Microsoft's own developers would have to target medium and low spec PCs regardless, so their developers would already be doing a lot of the work to get these games running on those systems anyway.  For Microsoft it just made obvious sense to do it.  Obviously the big issue with the Series S is the memory, and yes it's going to be challenging to get a lot of stuff working optimally for it... but that's the fucking point.  Developers are supposed to find creative solutions and solve these problems.  Steam Deck is running Ratchet and Clank for christ sake.  2GB GPUs can run the game...  Remember back in the day when Angel Studios ported RE2 to the Nintendo 64, cutscenes and all audio?  Was told it couldn't be done.. and the went and did it.

 

Of course they'll bitch about it... but they'll get the job done.. no matter the sacrifices that need to be made.

 

 

[lynux3 2,107]

8 hours ago, Ike said:

Lemmings swore this was a good thing too  

1440p monster

[lynux3 2,107]

3 hours ago, Remij said:

Jez is stupid.  Series S was a good idea and is the reason why MS is still in business.  The cost for MS to make Series X's is apparently prohibitively high, which is why they're manufacturing far less of them and using the ones they have in the cloud servers..  they don't want to build Series X consoles and lose so much money.  

 

If it wasn't for the Series S, MS would sell some more Series X consoles, sure, but they'd be losing more money with every one sold, and it wouldn't make up for the loss of Series S sales.  Series X was never going to sell like the PS5 was... they would have "lost" either way.. and they chose the cheaper way to lose.

 

Again, the Series S, as much as developers may bitch about it.... isn't the big issue..  Microsoft's own developers would have to target medium and low spec PCs regardless, so their developers would already be doing a lot of the work to get these games running on those systems anyway.  For Microsoft it just made obvious sense to do it.  Obviously the big issue with the Series S is the memory, and yes it's going to be challenging to get a lot of stuff working optimally for it... but that's the fucking point.  Developers are supposed to find creative solutions and solve these problems.  Steam Deck is running Ratchet and Clank for christ sake.  2GB GPUs can run the game...  Remember back in the day when Angel Studios ported RE2 to the Nintendo 64, cutscenes and all audio?  Was told it couldn't be done.. and the went and did it.

 

Of course they'll bitch about it... but they'll get the job done.. no matter the sacrifices that need to be made.

 

 

[Playstation Tablet 1,730]

10 hours ago, Remij said:

Jez is stupid.  Series S was a good idea and is the reason why MS is still in business.  The cost for MS to make Series X's is apparently prohibitively high, which is why they're manufacturing far less of them and using the ones they have in the cloud servers..  they don't want to build Series X consoles and lose so much money.  

 

If it wasn't for the Series S, MS would sell some more Series X consoles, sure, but they'd be losing more money with every one sold, and it wouldn't make up for the loss of Series S sales.  Series X was never going to sell like the PS5 was... they would have "lost" either way.. and they chose the cheaper way to lose.

 

Again, the Series S, as much as developers may bitch about it.... isn't the big issue..  Microsoft's own developers would have to target medium and low spec PCs regardless, so their developers would already be doing a lot of the work to get these games running on those systems anyway.  For Microsoft it just made obvious sense to do it.  Obviously the big issue with the Series S is the memory, and yes it's going to be challenging to get a lot of stuff working optimally for it... but that's the fucking point.  Developers are supposed to find creative solutions and solve these problems.  Steam Deck is running Ratchet and Clank for christ sake.  2GB GPUs can run the game...  Remember back in the day when Angel Studios ported RE2 to the Nintendo 64, cutscenes and all audio?  Was told it couldn't be done.. and the went and did it.

 

Of course they'll bitch about it... but they'll get the job done.. no matter the sacrifices that need to be made.

 

 

Shows how badly designed the X is. PS5 matches it and outperforms it at times while costing less to make.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Playstation Tablet

[Remij 4,687]

3 hours ago, Playstation Tablet said:

Shows how badly designed the X is. PS5 matches it and outperforms it at times while costing less to make.

 

Yea, it's definitely a more complicated design than the PS5.  I'm sure Sony is also able to better negotiate pricing due to how popular the PS brand is...  and manufacturers will overcharge companies which have more money to spend.  Sony's also an electronics hardware company who knows how to make efficient use of all their resources and has done so for decades.

[Playstation Tablet 1,730]

1 hour ago, Remij said:

 

Yea, it's definitely a more complicated design than the PS5.  I'm sure Sony is also able to better negotiate pricing due to how popular the PS brand is...  and manufacturers will overcharge companies which have more money to spend.  Sony's also an electronics hardware company who knows how to make efficient use of all their resources and has done so for decades.

The discless Slim coming this year is probably even cheaper to make. While MS is stuck with an unrevised Series X.

 

The fact they can't afford to make a discless X revision due to S shows what a blunder their whole planning was.

[TLHBO 2,162]

16 hours ago, Remij said:

Jez is stupid.  Series S was a good idea and is the reason why MS is still in business.  The cost for MS to make Series X's is apparently prohibitively high, which is why they're manufacturing far less of them and using the ones they have in the cloud servers..  they don't want to build Series X consoles and lose so much money.  

 

If it wasn't for the Series S, MS would sell some more Series X consoles, sure, but they'd be losing more money with every one sold, and it wouldn't make up for the loss of Series S sales.  Series X was never going to sell like the PS5 was... they would have "lost" either way.. and they chose the cheaper way to lose.

 

Again, the Series S, as much as developers may bitch about it.... isn't the big issue..  Microsoft's own developers would have to target medium and low spec PCs regardless, so their developers would already be doing a lot of the work to get these games running on those systems anyway.  For Microsoft it just made obvious sense to do it.  Obviously the big issue with the Series S is the memory, and yes it's going to be challenging to get a lot of stuff working optimally for it... but that's the fucking point.  Developers are supposed to find creative solutions and solve these problems.  Steam Deck is running Ratchet and Clank for christ sake.  2GB GPUs can run the game...  Remember back in the day when Angel Studios ported RE2 to the Nintendo 64, cutscenes and all audio?  Was told it couldn't be done.. and the went and did it.

 

Of course they'll bitch about it... but they'll get the job done.. no matter the sacrifices that need to be made.

 

 

Microsoft just wanted a cheap piece of shit so they could flood the market of people just looking for a CoD box or parwnts who pick it up for their kids and don't know any better. Microsodt didnt give a fuck about how it would impact games or perform because Microsoft has never cared about the games, they're only in this for the control.