Xbox Series X | S

[Mike S]

35 minutes ago, Wahwah* said:

even if you have to be told "this is the new one".

 

And that, in a nutshell, is everything that is wrong with it from a marketing perspective.

[Stanley]

S and X have been used for ages in consumer electronics, cars and so on, I really think some people are massively overstating any confusion that resides. 
 

[Mike S]

Just now, JPL said:

You’re right, everything should be named literally so people don’t have to think for more than a couple of seconds.

 

I’d like a pint of beer 3 to go with my curry 2, please.

 

Yes, that is EXACTLY the same.

 

You got me!

[Mike S]

Just now, Stanley said:

S and X have been used for ages in consumer electronics, cars and so on, I really think some people are massively overstating any confusion that resides. 
 

 

The point being that any confusion is too much confusion when selling a product. Even more so when a leading competitor in the space is very, very clear in their branding.

[Kryptonian]

7 minutes ago, layten said:

Guyz... GUYZ!

 

I want to buy a Macbook Pro from Apple, but they are all just called the Macbook Pro, how do I know which one I will be getting? I might end up with one ten years old as I am trying to make a really stupid and laboured point about my less favoured console manufacturer.

I don’t think anyone is saying that are they?

 

I wasn’t, anyway.

[Transient Curse]

,

13 minutes ago, Mike S said:

 

And that, in a nutshell, is everything that is wrong with it from a marketing perspective.

Great, let's move on. 

[HarryBizzle]

15 minutes ago, layten said:

Guyz... GUYZ!

 

I want to buy a Macbook Pro from Apple, but they are all just called the Macbook Pro, how do I know which one I will be getting? I might end up with one ten years old as I am trying to make a really stupid and laboured point about my less favoured console manufacturer.

 

I don't think anyone can deny the Apple hardware lineup has become increasingly confusing over the past few years, with Macbooks, Macbook Airs and now MacBook Pros with two different generations of CPUs in them. There are also frequent posts in the iPad thread by people trying to figure out what the difference is between the various models.

 

I don't think anyone is saying this is a disaster or trying to score points as you're suggesting, either. Bit of a strawman, that. It's not as clear as PlayStation 5, that much is clear. Whether or not it hurts them going forward in the same way that Wii/Wii U hurt Nintendo, is another matter. If they discontinue the Xbox One line it solves a lot of the confusion and they just have to deal with people not knowing this is a new generation of consoles. They've got the marketing budget to solve that problem.

[monkeydog]

17 minutes ago, Kryptonian said:

Is the Series S model actually an official thing or is it something that everyone is assuming at this stage?

 

It's not official. There's been reputable leaks that it's a real thing to be unveiled in August and a profile for it exists in the XSX development kit.  It might not be called the S though. Goodness knows what it'll do to this thread if it's called the Xbox Series A.

[Stanley]

14 minutes ago, Mike S said:

 

The point being that any confusion is too much confusion when selling a product. Even more so when a leading competitor in the space is very, very clear in their branding.

Didn’t seem to affect sales of Xbox 360, or explain why the very clearly delineated PlayStation 3 struggled so much.

[SeanR]

15 minutes ago, layten said:

Guyz... GUYZ!

 

I want to buy a Macbook Pro from Apple, but they are all just called the Macbook Pro, how do I know which one I will be getting? I might end up with one ten years old as I am trying to make a really stupid and laboured point about my less favoured console manufacturer.

if you’re buying from Apple they’ll sell you the most expensive one, and you’ll get the laptop you deserve.

[Kryptonian]

2 minutes ago, monkeydog said:

 

It's not official. There's been reputable leaks that it's a real thing to be unveiled in August and a profile for it exists in the XSX development kit.  It might not be called the S though. Goodness knows what it'll do to this thread if it's called the Xbox Series A.

Thanks

 

Xbox Y

[footle]

@Stanshall You’re not trolling. It’s pretty clear who is.

[T Pot]

2 hours ago, Stanley said:

Haven’t MS mandated that all software must run on the older models, at least for the first 18 months or so until the new systems are bedded in? 

 

No. All of their 1st party stuff will, but 3rd party doesn't have to. 

[Stanley]

Just now, Mr Tony said:

 

No. All of their 1st party stuff will, but 3rd party doesn't have to. 

Thank you, I know some have already stated they will do it, CD Projekt Red with Cyberpunk for example. 
 

Naming aside I think pricing is much more important. Rumours suggest Series S (or whatever it ends up being named) could undercut the PS5 Digital by anything up to £100, if that’s the case then it’s way more of a threat than naming conventions. 

[SeanR]

1 minute ago, Mr Tony said:

 

No. All of their 1st party stuff will, but 3rd party doesn't have to. 

trying to think of third-party exclusives:

 

what will be the first game to push the series X without having to worry about any kind of parity with a PS5 version?

 

you know, really allow the devs to stretch their legs. AND leave the current gem for dust...

 

Something indie?

 

 

 

[Jg15]

Isnt Xbox One stock slowly drying up now (thought I heard that here somewhere)? Wouldn't be surprised if MS are buying back unsold stock from retailers to ensure that when Granny goes to buy that new shiny Xbox for Billy she can only pick up latest one come Xmas.

 

Either way, I had better educate my wife on the naming convention as she is meant to be "sorting out" a Series X as a joint birthday/xmas present for me. She usually gets my Curry order wrong so she probably shouldn't be trusted with this.

[Clipper]

the other mind mangler is that the NBA game is not using smart delivery so you either buy the Xbox One version at $60 or the Series X version at $70

 

However if the Series X is back compatible with "most" titles will it play the $60 version anyway through b ack compatibility

 

[Kryptonian]

1 minute ago, Jg15 said:

Isnt Xbox One stock slowly drying up now (thought I heard that here somewhere)? Wouldn't be surprised if MS are buying back unsold stock from retailers to ensure that when Granny goes to buy that new shiny Xbox for Billy she can only pick up latest one come Xmas.

 

Either way, I had better educate my wife on the naming convention as she is meant to be "sorting out" a Series X as a joint birthday/xmas present for me. She usually gets my Curry order wrong so she probably shouldn't be trusted with this.

Serves you right for wanting a biryani x and pilau s rice though really.

[rafaqat]

2 hours ago, Stanshall said:

 

It may be more comfortable to dismiss all criticism this way, but the discussion exists because of the poor naming decisions. I don't think you believe that I'm trolling but I don't appreciate the implication at all. Go back to the points I made about language and lettering and we can happily try again, though. 

 

It's a mass mainstream product, not a tyre rim, and clarity and simplicity is therefore fundamental. If you disagree with that idea, why do naming conventions exist and why do teams spend so long deciding on product line naming conventions and structures? They don't always make good decisions, of course, but why do they put so much time into it if they could just slap on a UPC and say figure it out? 

 

@JPL is absolutely right that the pricing normally tells much more than the name itself, but that doesn't invalidate the basic linguistic points I made about the naming choices. I consider myself firmly in the Xbox bubble with a One X, Game Passed up to the tits and a Series X on day one, but I can still consider that not every decision they make is impervious to criticism. 

 

I think it's more that it's a deeply boring conversation we've had multiple times in the last 6 to 12 months and it's not going to bother anyone in the real world.  So while I think your points make sense (and introduce some new arguments) for the most part most people who would like to talk about other stuff are rolling our eyes over the same argument again.

[SeanR]

1 minute ago, Clipper said:

the other mind mangler is that the NBA game is not using smart delivery so you either buy the Xbox One version at $60 or the Series X version at $70

 

However if the Series X is back compatible with "most" titles will it play the $60 version anyway through b ack compatibility

 

will the Xbox one version have the Xbox series x enhancements?

[Clipper]

It won't have the exact enhancements the Series X $70 version has - BUT will it have automatic improvements that the back compatibility can provide when it runs an Xbox ONE game

 

[JoeK]

To be honest, whilst navigating through the vast sea of new TVs on the market, the Xbox thing is really not difficult. 

 

Christ alive, TV naming conventions is a clusterfuck of epic proportions...

[rafaqat]

3 minutes ago, Clipper said:

It won't have the exact enhancements the Series X $70 version has - BUT will it have automatic improvements that the back compatibility can provide when it runs an Xbox ONE game

 

 

Are you some sort of genius??   How did you possibly work out that logic using just the info already available to us and Microsoft's past behaviour on Xbox One BC?   Mind blown.

[SeanR]

Just now, rafaqat said:

 

Yes the Xbox One version will have the enhancements that only the Xbox Series X hardware can provide.

It'll have VRR, Raytracing, SSD load times and 12TFlops of power shining right out at you from your last gen xbox.

so what does the Xbox series X version get you, for your ten dollar more?

[rafaqat]

Just now, SeanR said:

so what does the Xbox series X version get you, for your ten dollar more?

 

Even more raytracing, 13.24Tflops of power and the tears of a Playstation fanboy?

[footle]

20 minutes ago, SeanR said:

you know, really allow the devs to stretch their legs. AND leave the current gem for dust...

 

Honestly, Flight Simulator.

There's very little chance that a Xbox Series X version is going to be hobbled by the Xbox One, any more than a stupid PC is hobbled by their minimum spec. Also, direct advantage to having SSD.

[Marlew]

@rafaqat

 

I can understand that it's a boring topic for the Xbox crew whether or not I was adding anything. I get that.

 

Roll on the 23rd! 

[Alex W.]

For Xbox One-only titles, Series X’s extra power will let you avoid frame rate hitches, and let the game run at its maximum resolution and frame rate more often, if those were allowed to vary in the original game. It will also add improvised HDR effects to games with no HDR.

 

It will not run the game at a higher resolution or frame rate than its original maximum, improve anti-aliasing, add detail to textures or models, use advanced pixel shading techniques, implement ray tracing, improve the anisotropic filtering, or any of the other dozens of things that games written for the new hardware will offer. For that you need a game which is Enhanced for Series X.

[Down by Law]

 

 

Non trolling (i never was) but they really should remove the Optimised for Series X sticker from this cover. If this is the version exclusively for Series X then what's the point of a sticker that gives the impression it would work on older Xbox models ?

[rafaqat]

2 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

 

 

Non trolling (i never was) but they really should remove the Optimised for Series X sticker from this cover. If this is the version exclusively for Series X then what's the point of a sticker that gives the impression it would work on older Xbox models ?

 

It's a pretty ugly game cover.    Would be good to see a few more examples.