The Xbox Series X, Holiday 2020 (1 Viewer)

[DavidJ]

If one wanted to play the online stock lottery, does the esteemed group gathered here on this thread have any advice? I’m trying to help someone get one for their kid.

 

[Bryan^H]

Isn't Valhalla amazing, graphically speaking? I know people are hit-and-miss on the actual game, but some of the vistas are jaw-dropping. (Personally, I'm enjoying it. It's not nearly as overwhelming as Origins and Odyssey.)

Yes it is. I hear one major complaint of it being overly long, and I get that. At this point in my life a 12-15 hour game is the perfect amount of time for me. 60 hours is way too much. But I'm really enjoying it. Certainly the first AC game that I really want to complete...probably over the course of 2021

 

[Bryan^H]

If one wanted to play the online stock lottery, does the esteemed group gathered here on this thread have any advice? I’m trying to help someone get one for their kid.

Sorry, I have no good advice, as it boils down to pure luck. You can use this list to keep you more informed of when they might be available. Good luck!

Where to buy Xbox Series X — latest stock updates and how to get yours | Tom's Guide

 

[Sam Posten]

If one wanted to play the online stock lottery, does the esteemed group gathered here on this thread have any advice? I’m trying to help someone get one for their kid.

Follow www.twitter.com/wario64 and put up alerts at Slickdeals, NowInStock and BrickSeek

 

[Carlo_M]

My review/thoughts/experiences (wasn't sure if this was to be the only Series X thread, so I'll post it here):

I wasn't a day 1 launcher, and stock quickly disappeared. I heard tell that Target gets stock occasionally and they'll update the website for store pickup and if you happen to log on in the morning when they have stock (around opening) you may get lucky. Post Christmas I decided to do it, since I was done gift-giving and had a decent handle on what I could splurge for myself.

I logged on to the site and left the product window up on my iPhone. Each morning I would wake up at a little before 7am and I'd never see stock at any store within 50 miles of me (the default distance setting of their site). Yesterday morning it happened. Instead of Out of Stock, it said Add to Cart. Five hours later, it was in my possession.

I'll let each person decide whether it is worth it to invest in next-gen consoles for the games, because your idea of great games will vary from mine. And truth be told, I bought this console for one game: Destiny 2. Which has been optimized for Series X. I have it on PC as well but only do "mindless solo activities" on PC because all of my online gaming friends are on XBox. It always was depressing to go back to 30fps on the XBox to do collaborative team stuff, when I had 60fps goodness on my $1500 (at the time, 2 years ago) gaming PC (1080ti graphics card).

Well I can tell you that Destiny 2 runs as smooth on my $500 Series X as it does on my PC. Actually I'll say it's even a little better, not because the hardware is more powerful, but because the code for the PC port was made by a different company than Bungie (in partnership with them though) so for whatever reason it feels just a tad bit smoother on the Series X.

Although my PC is 2 years old, I can say that for the first time they've really put a mid-tier gaming PC into a console (I assume this is the same for PS5). Load times (and startup time!) are fast. Setup was a breeze especially if you're already in the MS ecosystem. I can finally retire Destiny 2 on the PC. It was tiring switching back and forth when friends wanted to play together. Plus for PvP, it's nice to only play against others controllers. I tried PvP on PC...it did not go well. Mouse and keyboard players can do moves that controller players can't.

I've downloaded Halo Master Chief Collection, which apparently is also optimized for Series X. Unfortunately I won't experience it's full goodness, as my 4K gaming monitor caps at 60hz, and apparently Halo MCC will run at 4K 120FPS

 

[Sam Posten]

Concur. I just wish the Xbox’s UI looked half as good as the PS5s does

 

[Edwin-S]

Hardly seems like something that couldn't be applied to the PS5 in a.future update.

 

[Sam Posten]

True but you completely misunderstand how deeply Microsoft groks their own OS vice how much PlayStation’s is built by others. The quick resume virtualization tech is deeeeeep OS tech.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

Concur. I just wish the Xbox’s UI looked half as good as the PS5s does

PS5 UI may look good, but my god is it overly cumbersome. They've taken the simplicity of the PS4 ui and just mangled the hell out of it. For example, here is how you update the system software:

PS4:
1) Settings
2) System Software Update

PS5:
1) Settings
2) System
3) System Software
4) System Software Update and Settings
5) Update System Software
6) Update Using Internet

Extend this to pretty much every other facet and things that you used to be able to to with 1 or 2 clicks and you get the idea. Seriously, it's bad. It's like trying to learn a whole new language coming from ps4.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The PS4 at launch wasn't the best with accessing stuff, either. The Quick Menu was a weird add-on and it was most helpful in VR. The PS5 quick menu is helpful but the way you pull it up is the opposite of PS4.

That said, honestly, I find the PS5 menu basically fine. It looks worse than it is and 99% of the time I can get where I'm going quickly. Definitely needs some improvements but it's great playing games. I do wish we could have multiple games suspended but things load so quick that I don't really care.

 

[Carlo_M]

I have zero problem with the XBox UI, but that's likely because I primarily use mine to play just a very few games. All my other multimedia stuff (YT, Twitch, Streaming Services, etc.) are done on my TV via apps on those devices. So for me, the fact that it boots up in under 15 seconds, and launches my games almost instantly, is perfect.

If you're a "power user" of all the other apps on XBox, I can see how it would be cumbersome. But since that's not me, it bothers me not one bit.

 

[Steve Y]

Concur. I just wish the Xbox’s UI looked half as good as the PS5s does

Game Pass really is the killer app here. I'm not sure any other console has even come close in terms of the value proposition. If I didn't buy (and already own) so many games, it would be an even greater value. It is universally beloved among gamers.

I've heard some Quick Resume horror stories about lost progress, but it's really a cool feature when it works, which I've heard is much of the time. I still don't trust it.

Microsoft has earned a ton of goodwill with me in their support of a feature (backward compatibility) that (apparently) very few people want. Can't wait to get my hands on an XSX, but my X1X will do just fine in the meantime.

 

[Edwin-S]

How does the XBOX's game pass differ from PS Now?

 

[Sam Posten]

Oh man...

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Honestly, if you're just getting into the PS or XB ecosystem, PS Now and Game Pass both offer stellar values. But if you already own either platform, Game Pass is the better deal. PS Now has hundreds of games that vary wildly in quality and age while Game Pass has a lot fewer games but they're generally better and all MS games release at launch right onto Game Pass. Game Pass Ultimate also includes EA Play and rumors say Ubisoft's service will be coming to it soon, too. That's a great value.

 

[Sam Posten]

Yeah but you missed the fundamental difference. GamePass lets you download games to your console. PS Now forces you to stream games from their servers. No thanks on that.

PS plus puts games in your locker each month. It's a decent deal but it's a lot worse for those joining now versus those of us who have been in the program for years. It does get you 20 games from best of PS4 era tho!

PlayStation Plus Collection details revealed + your November PlayStation Plus games

PS Plus members who own a PS5 console will get the PS5 version of Bugsnax; all PS Plus members get Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition as part of November's lineup.

blog.playstation.com

 

[Morgan Jolley]

PS Now lets you download any games that run natively on PS4. You have to stream any PS3 games on there and have the option to stream PS4 games, but any PS4 games (and PS2-ported-to-PS4 games) can be downloaded.

Xbox Live Gold has free games similar to PS+. Game Pass is similar to PS Now. The only real difference between what each platform offers comes down to quality of exclusives and taste.

 

[LeoA]

The only thing keeping me away from Game Pass is that I don't utilize the system enough. Had fun with a free trial that came with my Xbox, but the bulk of my gaming time is spent with classic games.

If I was heavy into modern gaming, it would be an excellent deal that would save me a lot of money. As it is, the 30 day trial I had still saved me from several mistakes that I had my eyes on.

But in a month, I only briefly demoed maybe 6 or 7 games and heavily played Dirt 4, but wasn't able to even finish Dirt 4 in 30 days (I still need to buy a hard copy to finish it up; Liked it enough to want to own the disc).

Same with the EA equivalent that my Xbox also came with a trial subscription for. Played through Mirror's Edge for the 360 (A pretty short game), discovered the last gen Need for Speed games were real lackluster (All quickly deleted), briefly played Battlefield 1943 and missed my mouse and keyboard controls, and maybe tried one other game.

I just don't play modern AAA style games enough to get my money's worth out of such subscriptions.

 

[Carlo_M]

Same boat as Leo. At this stage in my life, I play just a small number of games (currently one) a lot. I just don't have the time or bandwidth. But if Game Pass were a thing when I was in college or in my twenties...oh man would I have been all over it.

 

[Sam Posten]

Immerse Yourself in the Future of Gaming Audio with the Xbox Wireless Headset - Xbox Wire

When we were designing Xbox Series X|S, we wanted to ensure that games feel true-to-life, load incredibly fast, and sound as if you were dropped in the middle of the action. We embraced spatial sound processing by including custom audio hardware to offload audio processing from the CPU...

news.xbox.com