Xbox Series S console available in November for $US299
The console wars are heating up ahead of a release promised for later this year, but Xbox have taken an early lead by finally answering some questions.
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Xbox has taken the lead in the console wars by revealing how much one of its consoles will cost and when you can get it.
Microsoft’s gaming brand has announced it will release two consoles: the Xbox Series X it first announced, and a cheaper Xbox Series S console.
The company took to its official Twitter page to confirm the pricing after a flood of leaks on Tuesday night, promising to reveal more soon.
👀 Let’s make it official!
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 8, 2020
Xbox Series S | Next-gen performance in the Ë¢áµáµƒË¡Ë¡áµ‰Ë¢áµ— Xbox ever. $299 (ERP).
Looking forward to sharing more! Soon. Promise. pic.twitter.com/8wIEpLPVEq
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Xbox Australia representatives have said local pricing and release is still to be confirmed.
The $US299 price tag in the US points to a sub-$500 console here in Australia.
A promotional video also points to a November 10 release date (likely to be November 11 down under, if it releases here at the same time).
Current exchange has $US299 at $A414 in Australia, and once you factor in 10 per cent GST and the general “Australia tax” on electronics, a price of $499 seems likely.
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The Series S console won’t have a disc drive, matching PlayStation’s earlier announcement that it will also have a digital only version of its PS5 console.
Microsoft previously released a digital only version of the Xbox One.
Xbox officially release a promotional video revealing the console’s specs after it leaked online.
The console will support 1440p resolution, as well as 4K upscaling for games and native 4K for streaming media like Netflix.
Some have been a little disappointed by the announcement it will only come up with 512GB storage on its SSD however.
512gb isn't enough for last generations games. Sizes are only going to go up. There are already games that take 100gb.
— Zaayl (@Zaayl) September 8, 2020
512gb is barely enough to fit Modern Warfare.
— bluexiii (@nssnowboarder) September 8, 2020
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The operating system will eat up some of that space already, and games are becoming increasingly large in size.
This is particularly concerning on a console without a disc drive.
Popular games like Call of Duty and NBA 2K21 can take up to 100GB of space, meaning gamers might be forced to frequently delete and reinstall games.
Australia’s less than stellar internet speeds could make this very inconvenient, as a 100GB game takes about eight hours to download on the most popular tier of the NBN.
The promotional video also notes the console is “better with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate” which is hoped will let you stream games rather than download them in the future.
Gamers will be able to spend extra on optional accessories like external hard drives for more space.
A 1TB external storage solution has already been announced for the Xbox Series X, although the price of that console hasn’t been revealed at this stage.
Xbox could be trying to coax its rival into showing its cards by releasing PS5 pricing before it confirms (or decides) how much the more powerful Xbox will cost.
Originally published as Xbox Series S console available in November for $US299