Xbox Series S 512GB Console

Powerful Semi-Gen Console! I've have the Series S for a couple of days now and let me tell you, this is a perfect console for me. I've had the original Xbox and the Xbox 360 and even though I passed on the Xbox one (because of their first E3 presentation) and bought a PS4 instead I was hesitant going with Xbox again but they really improve ever since Phil Spencer took over the reigns of the Xbox division. first off, don't let the small size fool you. It's a pretty powerful and heavy/dense console. I'm still so amazed of how quiet it is compared to my ps4 (mind you it's a launch ps4 and surprised it's still alive) but as for the series S, it truly feels like a console unlike its bigger brother the series X which harkens more to a high end pc the series s fills that ... MorePowerful Semi-Gen Console! I've have the Series S for a couple of days now and let me tell you, this is a perfect console for me. I've had the original Xbox and the Xbox 360 and even though I passed on the Xbox one (because of their first E3 presentation) and bought a PS4 instead I was hesitant going with Xbox again but they really improve ever since Phil Spencer took over the reigns of the Xbox division. first off, don't let the small size fool you. It's a pretty powerful and heavy/dense console. I'm still so amazed of how quiet it is compared to my ps4 (mind you it's a launch ps4 and surprised it's still alive) but as for the series S, it truly feels like a console unlike its bigger brother the series X which harkens more to a high end pc the series s fills that void left in me by the 360. it brings back so many good memories that it really is my favorite console to date. eventually I am planning on getting a PS5 for Sony games but as for Xbox games, if you don't have a 4K tv like me and you don't plan on upgrading you home system equipment then this is a perfect console for you. But be aware of the lower end GPU and the smaller hard drive space, but if you download one or two AAA games you still have enough room for a handful of smaller games. so in conclusion, I say this is a good product to buy if you can find it. if you want to wait it out and see if you want the X instead then go for it! you won't be disappointed!

Before Getting PS5 I Got This; Love It!

I was originally looking to get a PS5 but of course they were out of stock. I felt like this was more in my price range anyway, and I wasn't particular on which console brand I use (coming from Switch).I love the size. I feel like they probably really took into consideration how often people bring their consoles to their friends, family members, and general travel. It takes up such little space on my desk, and I love that I can have it standing.I did buy a less expensive external storage which only works with 360 games. I just couldn't justify the Seagate because I don't game enough to need it. The controller isn't as cool as the PS5 (which I now have) but it's cheaper, still good, and you have the Design Lab on Xbox's site.Keep in mind that you only get ... MoreI was originally looking to get a PS5 but of course they were out of stock. I felt like this was more in my price range anyway, and I wasn't particular on which console brand I use (coming from Switch).I love the size. I feel like they probably really took into consideration how often people bring their consoles to their friends, family members, and general travel. It takes up such little space on my desk, and I love that I can have it standing.I did buy a less expensive external storage which only works with 360 games. I just couldn't justify the Seagate because I don't game enough to need it. The controller isn't as cool as the PS5 (which I now have) but it's cheaper, still good, and you have the Design Lab on Xbox's site.Keep in mind that you only get something like 350 GB of space because the 512 GB doesn't count the actual system, so you fill-up the remaining quickly if you want a lot of games.It's never overheated. I mostly play Fortnite (and got the Fortnite version) but have never felt like I was overusing it even after all day play.While the PS5 has a cool design, it's HUGE compared to this, and I really just like the design of the Xbox Series S more. I don't have disks though so I really get the benefit of a smaller console.Xbox Game Pass is also better to me than Playstation Plus. I feel like you have to pay more with Playstation because while you get live with the $10 subscription and 3 free games a month, you don't get access to their catalog until you pay more. And their catalog isn't as great imo. With Xbox, if you don't need live and cloud gaming, it's only $10/mo for their catalog and discounts. If you do want live and cloud it's $5 more. I compared the two and just felt like Game Pass was more suited to my needs than PS Plus.If you don't need to use disks, don't need a lot of space or don't mind buying more, want a sleek and small design, don't want to break the bank, want a console that's easy to travel with, and don't want to wait months and months for it to finally be in stock I would definitely go with the Series S!

Decent console

For $300 it's a decent console. I initially had the impression this console plays games at 1440p at 60fps and while some do, most games I have played are in 1080p 30fps. My biggest gripe, ironically, is gamepass. While it is a great deal, Microsoft punishes those that goes with the basic gamepass subscription at $10/month compared to gamepass ultimate at $15. For example, this past weekend, far cry 6 was free to play on pc, playstation, and xbox(so long as you had xbox live gold or gamepass ultimate). Microsoft took the opportunity to punish basic gamepass subscribers. Luckily I have a ps4 and was able to download the far cry 6 free trial without any subscription. I also dropped my gamepass subscription because that whole fiasco left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, ... MoreFor $300 it's a decent console. I initially had the impression this console plays games at 1440p at 60fps and while some do, most games I have played are in 1080p 30fps. My biggest gripe, ironically, is gamepass. While it is a great deal, Microsoft punishes those that goes with the basic gamepass subscription at $10/month compared to gamepass ultimate at $15. For example, this past weekend, far cry 6 was free to play on pc, playstation, and xbox(so long as you had xbox live gold or gamepass ultimate). Microsoft took the opportunity to punish basic gamepass subscribers. Luckily I have a ps4 and was able to download the far cry 6 free trial without any subscription. I also dropped my gamepass subscription because that whole fiasco left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, Microsoft makes it very difficult to downgrade from Ultimate to basic and makes it easy to upgrade from basic to ultimate. I have a feeling they are going to eventually do away with basic at some point. Other than THAT, console is decent. Great price. One more thing, you don't get 512GB of storage, you only get 364GB.

Entry level into next gen. Is it worth it?

How does microsoft's entry level offering into the next gen realm stack up and is it worth it? Since I currently own all three of the xbox one x, series s and series x (seriously microsoft can you get any lazier with the naming?) I thought I would take a second to give my two cents on the series s console as it compares and relates to its xbox brethren.So first off what exactly is the Xbox Series S and where does it fit into the rest of the Xbox family? The Series S is one of microsoft's two new next gen (current gen by now?) consoles as it looks to phase out the older Xbox One models. Its serves as the entry level next gen console sorta like the little brother to the much more powerful, flagship Series X console. Basically an all digital, disc free upgrade to the ... MoreHow does microsoft's entry level offering into the next gen realm stack up and is it worth it? Since I currently own all three of the xbox one x, series s and series x (seriously microsoft can you get any lazier with the naming?) I thought I would take a second to give my two cents on the series s console as it compares and relates to its xbox brethren.So first off what exactly is the Xbox Series S and where does it fit into the rest of the Xbox family? The Series S is one of microsoft's two new next gen (current gen by now?) consoles as it looks to phase out the older Xbox One models. Its serves as the entry level next gen console sorta like the little brother to the much more powerful, flagship Series X console. Basically an all digital, disc free upgrade to the older Xbox One family. It brings advancements such as ray tracing, 3d audio, nvme ssd and faster gpu at the cost of storage and performance. In all honesty, the little brother doesn't really play in the same league as its bigger brother so its actually much more logical to compare it to the One X since both price and performance falls into a much closer spectrum to see if its worth upgrading for you.PROS:-The new Xbox Series S brings a host of advancements over the previous console cycle. Primarily and most obviously noticeable is that it is faster. Like, much faster. In fact that is the first thing everyone that has used mine says within the first 5 minutes. The new console clocks in with a GPU that is 393Mhz faster than a One X as well as a CPU that is roughly 1.5x faster. Add to that advanced NVME SSD and load times are drastically cut down from older consoles, so much so that it is seriously hard to sit and stare at loading screens for more than 20 seconds anymore. Beyond that the Series S also offers support for ray tracing along with twice the refresh rate at 120hz. Another under appreciated upgrade is support for 3D spatial audio, if you haven't experienced Dolby Atmos yet you are missing out! You also get the newer version of the Xbox wireless controller and much improved app support for all your streaming needs. All of this at price that is much more palatable than the Series X and about that of a new One X (if you can find one). Add to that full backwards compatibility for both gaming and hardware and you can see the many benefits to upgrading. However, that price point does come at some compromises..CONS:- There are some trade offs to having a reasonable price point and smaller profile. Primarily the Series S is not a true 4k console. Output resolution is limited 1440p compared to 4k capabilities of the One X. However don't forget you have a much faster refresh rate which leads to far smoother gameplay and that is going to be much noticeable than the dip in resolution which really requires a higher end tv to make a difference. Another big difference is the obvious lack of a disc drive. Given the push towards digital gaming this may or may not matter to you, but any older games you still have on disc are basically useless and forget about using it as your 4k blu ray player. Although you can still access streaming services such as Netflix etc. Lastly for a system that is all digital you are definitely going to run into memory storage issues. With 512Gb of internal storage off the shelf there is going to be constant shuffling of what games you keep installed on your system. Considering most games are now in the 50-75Gb range and can often be much higher this could be quite the issue.VERDICT:-In conclusion the Series S is definitely a step up and into the next console generation. Although the resolution is actually lower than an older One X model this is not truly noticeable unless you have a very good newer TV. What is very noticeable is the processing speed and 120Hz refresh rate which any gamer will tell you makes a much bigger difference to the overall experience and the Series S shines here. And until you actually experience it you can't imagine the huge difference the loading times make, it is like old school dial up compared to 5g internet. Once you get used to it you really can't go back. So depending on what your budget and requirements are the Series S is totally and upgrade to the One X and unless you have spent $1000+ on a tv that is no more than year old and have another $600+ to spend on the flagship Series X this might very well be the console for you! A great way to experience the benefits of next gen gaming without breaking the bank.

Fast, compact next-gen gaming if you don't need 4k

The X-Box Series S is a slick, fast little machine that is a great entry point for next-gen gaming. If you pair it with Microsoft Game Pass you won't even need to buy any games to get started - or - EVER really. It's not for everybody and hardcore gamers will want to wait for either an Xbox Series X or a PS5.WHO THIS IS FOR -* People who want to get in on next gen gaming without breaking the bank.* PS5 owners who want to play Microsoft exclusives or have access to Microsoft game pass. It's a perfect "game pass machine."* People who don't own or don't really care to own, a 4k UHD TV.* People who don't put a priority on having top of the line performance - i.e. non-competitive gamers, kids, etc.* People who don't need physical media for games / ... MoreThe X-Box Series S is a slick, fast little machine that is a great entry point for next-gen gaming. If you pair it with Microsoft Game Pass you won't even need to buy any games to get started - or - EVER really. It's not for everybody and hardcore gamers will want to wait for either an Xbox Series X or a PS5.WHO THIS IS FOR -* People who want to get in on next gen gaming without breaking the bank.* PS5 owners who want to play Microsoft exclusives or have access to Microsoft game pass. It's a perfect "game pass machine."* People who don't own or don't really care to own, a 4k UHD TV.* People who don't put a priority on having top of the line performance - i.e. non-competitive gamers, kids, etc.* People who don't need physical media for games / entertainment.WHO THIS IS NOT FOR -* Hard core gamers who want to take advantage of all the bells and whistles that the most powerful next-gen consoles have to offer (i.e. Series X & PS5)* People who want to game in full 4k @ 120 hz / 120 fps. The Series S maxes out at 1440p.* People with a large library of Xbox / 360 / Xbox One physical games and / or DVDs. The Series S is digital only.The jury is still out on how future proof the Series S will be once developers start really taking advantage of the Series X's horsepower. But for now, and honestly - I upgraded to a Series X - the differences are negligible.

Great Game Play for the Money

I owned the original Xbox console. I loved it, but I replaced it with the upgraded Playstation 3 which at the time was state of the art with the camera, interactive controllers and blue ray dvd player. I still have it. I bought a second home and I had contemplated getting a new console, but I no longer spend much time gaming. So spending big bucks on the latest generation of Playstation or XBox wasn’t something I felt was worthwhile. Fortunately, MS came out with the XBox S Series. It’s the all digital budget version of their high end box. It comes with one controller. I like that it’s compact and takes up very little shelf space. It’s portable and powerful for its size plus it’s quiet. It’s pretty much plug and play once you have an account set up. You can use your ... MoreI owned the original Xbox console. I loved it, but I replaced it with the upgraded Playstation 3 which at the time was state of the art with the camera, interactive controllers and blue ray dvd player. I still have it. I bought a second home and I had contemplated getting a new console, but I no longer spend much time gaming. So spending big bucks on the latest generation of Playstation or XBox wasn’t something I felt was worthwhile. Fortunately, MS came out with the XBox S Series. It’s the all digital budget version of their high end box. It comes with one controller. I like that it’s compact and takes up very little shelf space. It’s portable and powerful for its size plus it’s quiet. It’s pretty much plug and play once you have an account set up. You can use your Wifi. There’s no disk drive which is why it’s smaller and quieter. You can easily unplug and take this box on road trips if gaming in your airbnb is your thing. Now days most of us shelved our dvd/cd collections to stream thousands of choices of movies and music. Going all digital streaming for my gaming was a natural choice. I opted to subscribe to their monthly all pass service. The only drawback to this basic system is the storage memory capacity. I loaded four games on it before I was maxed out. You can easily play musical chairs with the storage to move games on and off, but still they should have put a minimum of a TB on it. You can expand the memory by buying an expensive card that plugs into a slot on the back or adding your own external HD. Since I’m not playing very much, I haven’t felt the need to expand it. The controller hasn’t changed from the past and in fact it’s very similar to the Playstation. There was zero learning curve to use it. It has more heft to it which I liked. Verizon shipped this thing quickly. The pricing was better than some other retailers. All in all as a casual gamer, this was a good purchase.

Great for the family.

Honestly, the Series S isn't really my thing.The purchase came mainly for my partner and our kids, who see great use out of it. It offers a good price > performance ratio and will likely keep many people happy, though as I'm more of an enthusiast with the hobby, had I been purchasing for myself, I'd have gone with a Series X or a PS5 as I already have a more than capable enough for my needs PC for gaming.Given my partner and kids don't particularly care for tinkering with graphical options, framerate / performance or resolution, they get a lot out of this purchase. It has a modern look and small form factor, which means it fits nicely within our entertainment centre. If yours isn't too open, I'd consider sticking it on the surface / top of your TV stand to ... MoreHonestly, the Series S isn't really my thing.The purchase came mainly for my partner and our kids, who see great use out of it. It offers a good price > performance ratio and will likely keep many people happy, though as I'm more of an enthusiast with the hobby, had I been purchasing for myself, I'd have gone with a Series X or a PS5 as I already have a more than capable enough for my needs PC for gaming.Given my partner and kids don't particularly care for tinkering with graphical options, framerate / performance or resolution, they get a lot out of this purchase. It has a modern look and small form factor, which means it fits nicely within our entertainment centre. If yours isn't too open, I'd consider sticking it on the surface / top of your TV stand to retain good airflow and disperse heat more efficiently.I think the two main killers for me with this one despite mainly being on PC and why I wouldn't purchase it for myself, is the lack of an optical drive for one, which I feel was one of consoles greatest strengths, the ability to purchase digitally or physically was a big boon that I feel consumers lose with this model.That, and the paltry 512GB of space which, actually comes down to around 370GB or so after UI and OS is accounted for, just isn't good enough. This is a system that'll sell itself on being a cheap entry point into Game Pass yet so many games these days average at around 50 - 60GB + and some in Microsoft's first-party portfolio are in the 100GB range. I know these consoles are sold at a loss, but the lack of extra space and the fact that a 1TB compatible SSD will set you back another £200? I'd say just go for the Series X if you're more than casual / light gamer. You'll retain the option to purchase physical games and have more than enough storage for the price of entry.All in all, it's a good casual system at a great price point that'll work out quite well I imagine for teens, children and people within your family that game lightly. For those more invested in the hobby, I'd say wait for or try to find a Series X instead should you be in a position to afford it as the benefits, which aren't only an optical drive and storage space, we're talking a big performance bump here, offset the cast massively.

Xbox Series S Console

I got this system for my kids. I was worried bc it wasn’t the newest version. But when we opened it up it was amazing! Definitely 5 stars. Super easy setup and install. It only takes a few moments to upgrade to the newest version and didn’t use a lot of storage to do so. Was able to set up a Microsoft account in just minutes, then was worried about “buying games” but it comes with a first month for 1 dollar for the ultimate game pass which has a ton of games on it. And after that promo month it’s only 14.99 a month. Which was way less than I expected. I was able to login to my Apple Music and then I found out you could not only watch movies on the Xbox but also RENT OR BUY them! Got it for an amazing price, and the controller will even code to one person which is ... MoreI got this system for my kids. I was worried bc it wasn’t the newest version. But when we opened it up it was amazing! Definitely 5 stars. Super easy setup and install. It only takes a few moments to upgrade to the newest version and didn’t use a lot of storage to do so. Was able to set up a Microsoft account in just minutes, then was worried about “buying games” but it comes with a first month for 1 dollar for the ultimate game pass which has a ton of games on it. And after that promo month it’s only 14.99 a month. Which was way less than I expected. I was able to login to my Apple Music and then I found out you could not only watch movies on the Xbox but also RENT OR BUY them! Got it for an amazing price, and the controller will even code to one person which is super cool instead of having to enter my pin and password every time. I definitely recommend buying this. And would buy another one tomorrow if needed! So glad I went with this one. Cost effective and great quality not to mention the console itself is super thin and easy for storage! AND the games are designed to fit each member of the house. Anywhere from originals like sonic and pac man to kid friendly like paw patrol and super pets. Plus has COD and Halo and so much more! Would recommend to a friend. Also has super fast upload and download speeds and that’s running off my internet that has multiple other devices hooked to the same router!