According to documents from Microsoft’s recent case against the FTC, the Xbox Series S is more popular than the Xbox Series X

  • ForgetReddit@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As someone who doesn’t own an Xbox I have no idea what the difference is and that’s a huge knock on their marketing and product teams.

            • Vordus@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              1 year ago

              It becomes even more confusing when you think about the fact that the Xbox One is not the Xbox 1, which was just the Xbox. And that the Xbox One X, the souped up version of the Xbox One, can be abbreviated as the XBOX, which again, is not the original Xbox.

    • bbbbbbbbbbb@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Not really. If you were going to buy an xbox, you would either just buy the cheaper version, the more expensive version assuming its just better, or look up the difference.

      • pory@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Compete in terms of value, not price. The series S gets you Xbox’s current gen game library and a selection of 360 games, and if you’re willing to use dev mode a powerful emulation suite. Deck gets a huge percentage of Steam’s 20-year catalog as one-click installs, most other PC games that don’t use anticheat as slightly more involved installs, every PC game if you want to install windows, and also a powerful emulation suite. Plus it’s a dockable handheld instead of something that needs a monitor and controller.

        The series S has better media apps and can be woken up from the couch, though.

      • Desistance@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Steam deck is a mobile PC. That’s infinitely more valuable than a locked down platform device.

        • tal@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          I mean, I would rather have a Steam Deck too, but then we’re getting into how much people value openness versus price, and that’s definitely not a constant.

          That said, if I were trying to compare Valve’s offering and Microsoft’s offering, I’d probably compare a desktop PC running Steam to the XBox, as they’re more-physically-comparable in terms of what they can do; the Series S doesn’t have one having to pay for mobility.

          I still would say that the XBox Series S is going to be cheaper on the low end, though, than a desktop PC. You can get a $279 PC that can play games and a comparable controller, but I’d bet that it’d be more-limited than a Series S.

          That being said, Microsoft sells the XBox at a loss, and then makes it back by jacking up the price of games:

          https://www.pcmag.com/news/microsoft-says-xbox-consoles-have-always-been-sold-at-a-loss

          As VGC points out, Wright was also asked if there’s ever been a profit generated from an Xbox console sale, which she confirmed has never happened. To put that in context, Microsoft has been selling Xbox consoles for nearly 20 years now, including the original Xbox, the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and now the Xbox Series X and Series S. In all that time, every single console sale cost Microsoft money.

          The reason game consoles end up being profitable is through a combination of software, service, and accessory sales, but it’s still surprising to find Microsoft has never achieved hardware profitability. Analyst Daniel Ahmad confirmed that the PS4 eventually became profitable for Sony and that Nintendo developed the Switch to be profitable quickly, so Microsoft is the odd one out.

          We know that consumers weight the up-front price of hardware disproportionately – that’s why you have companies selling cell phones at a loss, locking them to their network, and then making the money back in increased subscription fees. I assume that that’s to try to take advantage of that effect.

          If you wanted to compare the full price that you pay, one would probably need to account for the increased game price on consoles and how many games someone would buy.

          Now, all that being said, I don’t have a Series S or a Series X, and I’m not arguing that someone should buy them. I have a PC for gaming, so in terms of which system I’d rather have, you’re preaching to the choir. I’m just saying that I don’t think that I’d agree with the above statement that the Deck is as cheap as the Series S.

    • Phanatik@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I would argue that the Steam Deck’s emulation capabilities surpass the Xbox. It might not play the latest games at amazing quality and performance, but it covers a wide breadth of games, far wider than what Xbox supports.

      • Vordus@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        Depends on whether you’re willing to spend $20 to turn your Series S into a devkit, at which point the S can be an utter beast for emulation.

  • Psythik@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Well yeah, most people are still using 1080p TVs. Your average console gamer doesn’t need 4K, nor do they care about framerates. They just want to play games*.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The “S” had a good two years lead in availability, so anyone who needed to replace their console got that. Anyone impatient got that.

      Personally I gave up after two years not being able to get my kids X’s, and instead built gaming computers with them. No more xboxes

      • Protoknuckles@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’ve been waiting for a game that will be worth it, that I can only play on a new console, and so far I haven’t seen one. I’m closer to upgrading my graphics card than getting a new console at this point.

  • lorty@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    The S is very popular in the rest of the world precisely because of its cheap price and gamepass.

    • legion@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’m 95% a PC gamer, but if I was a broke college student, a Series S plus Game Pass would keep me busy all the way through school.

  • analisys@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I have both X and S and love the S. It’s almost portable, small, slick and gives enough power to enjoy games when I’m not in front of huge tv.

  • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I own a Series X, but I also own a 4k TV. So, for me, it made sense to spend the extra $$$ and get a console that could truly utilize my TV’s capabilities. If I had a 1080p TV, I probably would have gone with the Series S.

  • ShittyRedditWasBetter@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It’s an absurd value. I have two that I just use as media centers and the house. You can also travel with it very easily. About the same size as my switch one you put a travel case on it.

  • Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    Neither is very popular…lol

    I know of 3 people in my life that have owned or do own an xbox.but almost everyonw i know own or have owned a playstation

    Generally theyre not super popular outside of the US.