Xbox One X Reveal Review - Can Microsoft Catch Up?
Microsoft just had their E3 press conference. Of course the most anticipated reveal was for Project Scorpio, which we now know is...Xbox One X. I would have preferred they call it Xbox One Scorpio, but I guess that's too long. Plus it was going to have Xbox One in the name, and you can't fix that. Not fanboying here, Xbox One is a crap name. Extra fact: I've purchased every main Xbox iteration on day one. I've been in the Xbox eco-system since the start. So let's get to this Xbox One X...
The most powerful console ever created, true 4K, 60 FPS(in some games), UHD Blu-Ray Player, small, liquid cooled, compatible with all your Xbox One games and accessories, $500. I won't go into all the detailed tech specs, but based on what we know is inside this console, is it worth $500. Technically, I think it is priced appropriately. For all the power this thing has, and all the technology, the price is fair. However, this isn't a close race, there is no even playing ground. Microsoft is trying to catch up, they want new players, they want to convince people to drop their Playstaiton 4 or PC and move to Xbox. At $400, it would have been a slam dunk. The most powerful console ever for under $500, to compliment that nice 4K TV you just got? Perfect. $500? Not so much, It's not compelling enough to sway someone from a $400 PS4 Pro, even less so for someone with an OG PS4 or Xbox One.
I'm trying to figure out who this system is for. A hardcore gamer with a ton of extra income already owns every console. What if you want to play the best version of every multi-platform game and don't already own a PC? Fair enough, but what if it's a multiplayer only game? You would want to play with the larger player base, which is on the PS4. Would you purchase Destiny 2 on Xbox One X because it looked a bit better than on PS4, but lose out on exclusive content and larger player base? Not an easy sell for a console that costs more money. You would use your Xboxx(coining that one) to play the best version of Microsoft exclusives, which are very few, and the best version of single player multiplats. That's it.
Sony's counter is very simple: play the largest library of games, with the largest player base, for a lower price. This isn't going to lure many gamers over from the opposing camp. It tempts current Xbox owners to upgrade, that's it. I'm here to provide a different message: The Xbox One & Xbox One S are now more compelling choices. This conference raised the value of my Xbox One S, letting me patiently await an upgrade to an Xbox One X. Consider this:
Get into the Xbox One family for $200 or so(sales are coming I'm sure)
Continued support for the foreseeable future
EA Access for $29 a year provides a lot of games to play
Four free games a month if you have Xbox Live Gold(get it free - details here)
Xbox Game Pass adds even more options for the budget gamer
Original Xbox backwards compatibility - I would love this for Xbox Game Pass
Yeah, I totally turned this around into a pitch for the lower end Xbox One. Now that we see all these incoming games, continued support, and additional services, to quote Phil Spencer: "Now is the best time to be an Xbox Gamer"...on my Xbox One S. I completely recommend the Xbox One and Xbox One S as a great budget option for current generation console gaming. I will write a detailed article on how to game on the system on a very limited budget. For the time being, unless you have a ton of money to burn and fall into the "demographic" I detailed a few paragraphs ago, I cannot recommend an Xbox One X at this time. Microsoft has five months until launch though, maybe they will add incentives to sway us. If they give me at least $250 for my Xbox One S towards an X, I would consider it, and even then...Five months Microsoft! Fix it!
Get Boning!
