Support NeoGAF

[Jaysen]

Welcome to the Game Pass party, S owners.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Reasons why your console is selling is pretty much irrelevant, the fact that it is, is all that matters.
More people in your ecosystem buying games and subscribing to Gamepass, that generates more word of mouth.
Be interesting to see the next Gamepass figures.

Nah, hardware sales are completely irrelevant. MS moved into a higher consciousness plane of awareness and they are beyond the mere physical world.

 

[Iced Arcade]

If Series S is the majority console, its not good for both Series X and PS5 as next gen games going to be downgraded for Series S.

First post nails it for not understanding how things work.

 

[kingfey]

Do Nintendo force developers to port any games that release on the Series X to also release on the switch (or the upcoming next gen switch)?

The Steam Deck is also about to release and Valve aren't turning round to any developers and telling them they have to make games that can run on that system if they are making a PC game.

There's a reason you don't see any comments like this about the switch or lower powered PC's:

These guys think everyone has rtx 3080. Like devs focus on those graphics solely.

 

[retsof624]

gonna be a long generation if any positive news about Xbox gets people up in arms

 

[kingfey]

Yeah man, it's ain't working like that.

What games you're talking about?

I mean most of them are -gasp- multiplats and made with last gen/current gen consoles in mind.

Ubisoft tried to push graphics for their AAA Assassin's Creed series once. On PC Unity looked absolutely amazing. On consoles it was barely a playable game.

Console players wasn't quite happy with a result to say the least, so now Assassin's creed isn't pushing anything, just to make sure that console experience is somewhat acceptable.

For a more fresh example you can look at Cyberpunk and what PS3 version did to both game and the publisher.

So uh... you sure that PC gamers should ignore wtf is happening on consoles? Well, you can do that, idc what every person online is doing lol



Yeah. And you aren't even trying.

according to your logic, devs should focus clearly on new graphics, which comes out every year, and ignore the past pc graphics.

 

[Deerock71]

That has nothing to do with Series S selling more than PS5 or Series X... or Xbox selling more than PS5.
Supply is the only reason.

With enough supply Series X should be selling more than Series S like MS planned (they where producing more X than S until they faced production issues) and PS5 should be selling more than Xbox (actually it is still is... I mean even in US alone it was like 100k difference in November... worldwide PS5 is probably still selling more).

Price probably doesn't hurt when it comes to reasons, either.

 

[Magnific0giganticus]

"Xbox is beating the PS5 for 3 reasons. First of all there are no PS5s available"....That's like, the only reason you need....

 

[rickybooby87]

It's just mom and dad buying up Christmas presents, gotta go with what's available.

 

[kingfey]

That has nothing to do with Series S selling more than PS5 or Series X... or Xbox selling more than PS5.
Supply is the only reason.

With enough supply Series X should be selling more than Series S like MS planned (they where producing more X than S until they faced production issues) and PS5 should be selling more than Xbox (actually it is still is... I mean even in US alone it was like 100k difference in November... worldwide PS5 is probably still selling more).

wouldnt this benifit MS then?
Instead of going heavy with xsx, why not go with xss? Since that one will sell faster, since its easy for them to produce it.

Considering these past sales, xss have been selling faster, due to availability stock.

 

[BlackM1st]

according to your logic, devs should focus clearly on new graphics, which comes out every year, and ignore the past pc graphics.

According to my logic things like S shouldn't even exist in the 1st place.

According to my logic GT, GoW, H ZD, Halo etc. should be a next gen only games.

According to my logic MS, Sony and N should never release a gimped 0.5 versions of their consoles and demand from devs to release new games on them.

According to my logic multiplat games like BF2042 should never target the previous generations of consoles.

There's a new 500$ gaming boxes on a market. Make the damn games targeting them, time to move on from the previous gen.

Consoles like S aren't helping with anything I care about. I don't have MS stocks and don't subscribe to their services, so I couldn't care less about MS eco system as a whole or that S is just a gateway to the bigger MS eco system and let's MS to show some big numbers. MS numbers both hardware or software/live are irrelevant to me.

I care only about switching generations and adopting new hardware as a new standard asap. And again, S isn't helping with it.

 

[ethomaz]

wouldnt this benifit MS then?
Instead of going heavy with xsx, why not go with xss? Since that one will sell faster, since its easy for them to produce it.

Considering these past sales, xss have been selling faster, due to availability stock.

Yes... S helped MS to fight the silicon supply issues.
Initially they were producing X than S but started to change when the number of wafer available to production decreased... so they choose to use these wafers for a smaller chip than a big one... in that case before end of years holidays MS was already producing 50/50 if you count units.

In holidays probable it was something like 70/30 to S/X.

That probably will change again in the future... with enough wafer to use they will probably back to 30/70 S/X as at the start of the gen... I believe when the S+ and X+ releases the S will cease to be produced.

 

[kingfey]

According to my logic things like S shouldn't even exist in the 1st place.

According to my logic GT, GoW, H ZD, Halo etc. should be a next gen only games.

According to my logic MS, Sony and N should never release a gimped 0.5 versions of their consoles and demand from devs to release new games on them.

According to my logic multiplat games like BF2042 should never target the previous generations of consoles.

There's a new 500$ gaming boxes on a market. Make the damn games targeting them, time to move on from the previous gen.

Consoles like S aren't helping with anything I care about. I don't have MS stocks and don't subscribe to their services, so I couldn't care less about MS eco system as a whole or that S is just a gateway to the bigger MS eco system and let's MS to show some big numbers. MS numbers both hardware or software/live are irrelevant to me.

I care only about switching generations and adopting new hardware as a new standard asap. And again, S isn't helping with it.

All your quote is being destroyed by OG PS4/XBOX one.

These consoles can still handle games like red dead 2, forza horizon 5, last of us 2.

These are the most impressive new games. And they run on consoles that was out in 2013.

The xss is much stronger than xbox one x and ps4 pro. and those are 2 console who can do 4k.

Unless games make crazy jump from ps1 to ps2, then no, xss doesnt hold new gen games.

As for pure next gen games, talk to stock shortage.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

According to my logic things like S shouldn't even exist in the 1st place.

According to my logic GT, GoW, H ZD, Halo etc. should be a next gen only games.

According to my logic MS, Sony and N should never release a gimped 0.5 versions of their consoles and demand from devs to release new games on them.

According to my logic multiplat games like BF2042 should never target the previous generations of consoles.

There's a new 500$ gaming boxes on a market. Make the damn games targeting them, time to move on from the previous gen.

Consoles like S aren't helping with anything I care about. I don't have MS stocks and don't subscribe to their services, so I couldn't care less about MS eco system as a whole or that S is just a gateway to the bigger MS eco system and let's MS to show some big numbers. MS numbers both hardware or software/live are irrelevant to me.

I care only about switching generations and adopting new hardware as a new standard asap. And again, S isn't helping with it.

S is a new next-gen console. Not sure what your point is.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

This is another rough Christmas for the kids that want a Series X and PS5 hopefully they can get the shortage under control next year.

It’s crazy that it is still this hard to find consoles in stores.

 

[SteadyEvo]

Why is this news ruffling feathers? People want to play new games and purchase the only available option which is also the cheapest. Is no surprise really.

If the console manufacturers want to sell more, make more. Everything is selling out instantly. I’ve seen the series s on a hand full of occasions and supply doesn’t last in my area.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

Sure sounds like there's one key reason (availability) but they had to come up with another two so they could justify publishing an article.

 

[Ozriel]

According to my logic things like S shouldn't even exist in the 1st place.

According to my logic GT, GoW, H ZD, Halo etc. should be a next gen only games.

According to my logic MS, Sony and N should never release a gimped 0.5 versions of their consoles and demand from devs to release new games on them.

So NVIDiA should never have released the RTX3060? PC GPUs should only target the high end, flagship buyers? the Steam Deck should not exist?

To be fair, you never said it was good logic.

Consoles like S aren't helping with anything I care about. I don't have MS stocks and don't subscribe to their services, so I couldn't care less about MS eco system as a whole or that S is just a gateway to the bigger MS eco system and let's MS to show some big numbers. MS numbers both hardware or software/live are irrelevant to me.

I care only about switching generations and adopting new hardware as a new standard asap. And again, S isn't helping with it.

Actually, the Series S is helping with the next gen switch. Tremendously so. It’ll get people off the xbox ones and One X that you despise so much.

The two biggest, most transformative changes for next gen consoles are the fast CPU and the SSD. Series S matches the flagship consoles in these aspects.

You should really be more concerned about PC gaming holding back multiplatform next gen titles. Because most devs will target SATA SSDs or affordable NVMe drives at best for a long time to come. When they finally move off HDDs.

Take Forspoken. Next gen exclusive on console. Announced to be ‘built from the ground up’ for PS5. Yet targeting a day one PC release and requiring an HDD as minimum requirement.

 

[kingfey]

Yes... S helped MS to fight the silicon supply issues.
Initially they were producing X than S but started to change when the number of wafer available to production decreased... so they choose to use these wafers for a smaller chip than a big one... in that case before end of years holidays MS was already producing 50/50 if you count units.

In holidays probable it was something like 70/30 to S/X.

That probably will change again in the future... with enough wafer to use they will probably back to 30/70 S/X as at the start of the gen... I believe when the S+ and X+ releases the S will cease to be produced.

i doubt they will stop it.
We are facing omicorn now. Meaning another lockdown, and another shortage crisis.

Xss also increases their gamepass subs, which is their main goal. I expect them to keep making it, until they make new 300$ console.

 

[Ozriel]

Sure sounds like there's one key reason (availability) but they had to come up with another two so they could justify publishing an article.

I guess Games don’t matter now it’s Xbox with bestselling, well reviewed games, eh?

Or price conscious consumers don’t exist?

 

[Maxwell Jacob Friedman]

You're telling me a console that is readily available because not a lot of people want that edition is selling out during the holidays only because people would rather have some sort of next gen experience than none at all.....NOOOOOOO

 

[Aguero9320]

Go little rockstar.

I’ve left 1080p tvs behind so it doesn’t appeal to me, but looks like MS had the winning strategy here (thanks to a large slice of unexpected circumstance), but still…

I’m surprised there’s not much discussion about how badly Sony has bungled this holiday. Pretty much zero stock and no big/any releases? Yes covid, but everyone is having to cope with that, and some are thriving while others fail spectacularly.

They have absolutely handed the momentum to Microsoft. Will it last? It could, because the timing is perfect just as MS Studios seem to be overcoming their first party woes from last generation. The fanboys are diehards but in general, there’s not much loyalty in the marketplace.

 

[Aguero9320]

You're telling me a console that is readily available because not a lot of people want that edition is selling out during the holidays only because people would rather have some sort of next gen experience than none at all.....NOOOOOOO

Wait… they do want it, or they don’t?

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

So basically stock is the real reason.

Also in this article sales = US sales only, because worldwide stock and thus sales of PS5 exceed XSS and XSX combined.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Yeah, Series S is more widely available.
Still, I’m old enough to remember Dreamcasts and Gamecubes rotting on store shelves because literally nobody would settle for one of those and literally everyone wanted a PS2 and nothing else would do.
Why, then, this Series S that (GAF tells me) nobody wants is selling?
Who is buying it?
There must be an explanation that doesn’t involve PS5 being the only console most people want, and people just settling for something they actually don’t want.

 

[kingfey]

You're telling me a console that is readily available because not a lot of people want that edition

vs

is selling out during the holidays only because people would rather have some sort of next gen experience

People really have strong hatred for xss.

 

[Topher]

I guess Games don’t matter now it’s Xbox with bestselling, well reviewed games, eh?

Or price conscious consumers don’t exist?

Then why isn't Xbox Series X selling more units with all those great games? Oh right.....lack of availability.

 

[BlackM1st]

These consoles can still handle games like red dead 2, forza horizon 5, last of us 2.

No shit, consoles run games which were made for them as a base... Now look what happened to Unity/ Cyberpunk.

TLOU2 looking good means nothing, it's a last hoorah from a AAA in-house dev. Naughty Dog targeted only Sony consoles from 1 generation. Duh.

Naturally it looks good. Now compare it to the "new" GoW. You sure it wouldn't look better if it wasn't targeting PS4?

Regardless of your opinion, I understand that S existence isn't a big problem for you and some other people. For some reason you care about sheer MS numbers, LIVE adoption, shortages etc. Well, I don't.

 

[oldergamer]

If Series S is the majority console, its not good for both Series X and PS5 as next gen games going to be downgraded for Series S.

This argument is becoming really dumb and overused. Reality is the S has no impact on development for series x or ps5. It just gets down ports. Lower res, lower frame rate, smaller textures or other tradeoffs.

 

[SportsFan581]

The console has been selling all year. Much slower than the flagship consoles, but selling nonetheless and getting replenished on the shelves.
You’ll find Series S consoles readily available, but those aren’t the same consoles that were on the shelves 2 months ago.

Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart et al didn’t have the console in stock online for months before the holidays.

PS: there are many price conscious consumers who find the idea of a $299 console quite palatable. Also, PlayStation 5 owners who are looking for a secondary console. ‘Parents’ and ‘Grandmas’ aren’t the only people console hunting.

It's like the global product shortages have made people forget that the best selling product can achieve that status without ever selling out stock. As long as supply is meeting demand, you should be able to maintain availability. Not exactly rocket science.

Not to say that if all three systems had infinite availability that PS5/XSX wouldn't outsell XSS, I think they would. At least this early in the generation.

 

[ReBurn]

This is another rough Christmas for the kids that want a Series X and PS5 hopefully they can get the shortage under control next year.

It’s crazy that it is still this hard to find consoles in stores.

It seems weird to me that someone would find Christmas rough because they didn't get something that costs $500 and instead got something that costs $300. It's not like anyone actually deserves either.

I guess the Twitter meltdowns from entitled brats will be interesting.

 

[dem]

There is no way Series S being in stock is a good thing for Microsoft. It appears no one wants the damn thing.
I went to Amazon, Bestbuy, Walmart (canada) and it was in stock in all locations.

Maybe the narrative will change around the console once some kids get their hands on it and realize it plays fortnite really good.

 

[Banjo64]

No shit, consoles run games which were made for them as a base... Now look what happened to Unity/ Cyberpunk.

TLOU2 looking good means nothing, it's a last hoorah from a AAA in-house dev. Naughty Dog targeted only Sony consoles from 1 generation. Duh.

Naturally it looks good. Now compare it to the "new" GoW. You sure it wouldn't look better if it wasn't targeting PS4?

Regardless of your opinion, I understand that S existence isn't a big problem for you and some other people. For some reason you care about sheer MS numbers, LIVE adoption, shortages etc. Well, I don't.

Nothing to do with just wanting more options, a lower point of entry, more people being able to enter the ecosystem. We’re all just green rat corporate boot lockers

 

[Caio]

I'm happy MS is doing better this gen for two reasons : 1) I'm an XBox gamer since the first XBox 2) Competition is very healthy for all competitors. Just give me great games to play, and I'm happy.

 

[BlackM1st]

It seems weird to me that someone would find Christmas rough because they didn't get something that costs $500 and instead got something that costs $300. It's not like anyone actually deserves either.

I guess the Twitter meltdowns from entitled brats will be interesting.

What kind of a logic is that? If people have disposable income and want to spend it on the latest tech, why the F no? Maybe we should just donate to some charity and be grateful for the PS2/OG xbox we all have?

 

[Papacheeks]

Wait… they do want it, or they don’t?

I think he's implying that its the only thing readily available during this time of year. And if its a gift for the kids you either come back with nothing or something. Series s is a way better deal than buying a Xbox one x. I get his point, but the thing he omits is how attractive in this fucked US economy a $299 new gen console is.

I mean once they buy it and get or ask about gamepass I think thats a decision thats easy for most family's this christmas.

 

[BlackM1st]

Nothing to do with just wanting more options, a lower point of entry, more people being able to enter the ecosystem.

Worse option isn't an "option" if it's directly affecting higher spec consoles/PC. And yes, I don't care about MS eco system. Sue me.

We’re all just green rat corporate boot lockers

I kinda fail to see how you came to this conclusion, but ok, whatever.

 

[FrankWza]

The Nintendo Switch is weaker than the xBox one. The next gen Switch will definitely still be weaker than the Series S. Yet I’ve never seen anyone come here to express concern about Switch holding back the other consoles.

This is 100% motivated by console warring.

Halo is on switch? Because it didn’t launch with the same features as series x and it was supposed to. Even if it makes it in at some point, the fact is it’s taking devs(first party btw) a lot of extra time and effort for a sku that was unnecessary.

All they have to do is lower the render and texture resolution and maybe a few effects on medium. There is really no reason you should care.

apparently not. They also have to remove features from the same games.

People want to play new games and purchase the only available option which is also the cheapest.

Which new games? Microsoft flight simulator is the only game that’s not available on last gen systems, isnt it?

 

[BlackM1st]

Halo is on switch? Because it didn’t launch with the same features as series x and it was supposed to. Even if it makes it in at some point, the fact is it’s taking devs(first party btw) a lot of extra time and effort for a sku that was unnecessary.


apparently not. They also have to remove features from the same games.

Which new games? Microsoft flight simulator is the only game that’s not available on last gen systems, isnt it?

 

[kingfey]

Worse option isn't an "option" if it's directly affecting higher spec consoles/PC. And yes, I don't care about MS eco system. Sue me.

I was trying to understand your point, until you typed this.
People like you, are why we getting bad games. When developers have to focus on graphics to satisfy you guys, we get garbage gameplay.

You need to take this "ME" shit mentality. Games are available for everyone. If you want higher quality, then play on PC exclusives, and ignore ps5 then. Because you ain't getting next gen games, until 2 years from now.

 

[supernova8]

Obviously the console that is available will sell more. I'd be more interested to see what comparative sales figures look like in a year's time when all of the consoles are readily available at physical and online retail.

 

[cireza]

This reads more like a propaganda than anything else lol

Pretty sure that they altered reality and changed the numbers to make Series S look good.

 

[supernova8]

Lmfao
Not sure what happens in parallel universes, but in this one, Most kids will take whatever gift they get and move on.

Well I remember asking for a PSP for christmas, was royally annoyed (spoiled brat, I know) when I opened my brand new (original fucking ugly design) Nintendo DS. Eventually PSP came back in stock, and I traded my DS in for one as soon as I could (luckily before the newer models came out and the original DS tanked in value).

 

[supernova8]

Series S is the only console you can also find in the retail stores, I have yet to see a boxed PS5 around. Also blame Sony to sell the console only with shitty bundles on Gamestop like PS2 back in the day.

This strategy to send consoles mainly to the online stores is very very stupid.

Is Xbox making more Series S consoles or did they just not sell out in the first place? If it's the former then power to Microsoft, if it's the latter than surely Xbox Series S isn't doing "better", it's just the fat kid that got picked last for sports class because everybody else already got picked.

 

[Little Mac]

I bought a Series S and it quickly went from being a consolation prize for my inability to find an X to being an amazing little beast of a gaming machine that I'm 100% content with.

 

[Banjo64]

Worse option isn't an "option" if it's directly affecting higher spec consoles/PC. And yes, I don't care about MS eco system. Sue me.



I kinda fail to see how you came to this conclusion, but ok, whatever.

The Series S isn’t effecting the big boy consoles or PC though, there’s zero evidence for that. The S versions of games simply get gimped resolution, stripped back LoD etc.

 

[Topher]

The title of this article should really be:

Microsoft's Xbox Series S is beating the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this holiday season for 3 key reasons​

1. Availability
2. Price
3. Game Pass

Yeah.....not console warrior enough, but that is factually how things are shaking out right now. Hell, that's pretty close to how the author concluded the article:

"Between the console being in stock, its comparatively low price, and the recent release of some long-awaited games, it's clear why the Xbox Series S is beating out the PlayStation 5."

 

[Spitfire098]

"You still can't find a PlayStation 5 to buy at retail."

 

[Riky]

I bought a Series S and it quickly went from a consolation prize for my inability to find an X to being an amazing little beast of a gaming machine that I'm 100% content with.

People who actually own one seem happy with it, it seems to be the people who don't and have no intention of buying one who aren't, funny that.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

It seems weird to me that someone would find Christmas rough because they didn't get something that costs $500 and instead got something that costs $300. It's not like anyone actually deserves either.

I guess the Twitter meltdowns from entitled brats will be interesting.

This makes zero. But ok .....

Some people are not impatient like you and they will just wait until the other consoles are available to upgrade. Money is relative for different people and a consoles is something that will be played for years so the price difference for the Series S compared to $100 (PS5 digital $399) and $200 (PS5/Series X $499) might not be that big of a deal for some.

Remember, if the other consoles were available they would outsell the Series S because price isn't as big of a factor when it comes to a console that will be used for years.