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After more than a year, most gaming fans still couldn’t get their hands on either the Xbox Series X or PS5. Everytime I see a news article like “PS5 in stock now at Walmart”, it’s almost sold out immediately.
I had given up on finding them in the wild, to be honest. I have a good gaming PC, so there wasn’t really a need for me to get on the next-gen consoles.
Then, out of the blue, I walked into a Target and saw five Xbox Series X available for sale. Keep in mind that I have never seen one in stores before… to see so many, all at once, it was shocking. Have Target and other stores just been keeping it off their shelves? My suspicion was confirmed when talked to the person that rung me up, they said that they had a lot more of these Xboxes in the back for “online buyers”. He even said that they had PS5 in the back, too. I’m not sure that meant that someone already purchased it online or that they were just sitting back there for no good reason.
Long story, I finally have an Xbox Series X. Between the two consoles, I was slightly more interested in Xbox. With the recent announcement that Microsoft were buying Blizzard and Activision for nearly $70 billion dollars, I can see the writing on the wall. If you had to bet on a horse, go with Xbox, as they are the platform with some of my favorite games - Fallout, Doom (Bethesda), Diablo, Starcraft, Call of Duty, etc. Some of the best games out there are own by Microsoft now.
Also, Xbox’s Game Pass is the best value in gaming. For about $10 a month, you have access to over 100 games. You can game on the cheap. This is so consumer friendly… In the meantime, over at Sony, they announced that their games are going to cost $80. I’m sorry, I already have problems paying $50 for a game, let alone a massive price hike.
Even though Sony poo-pooed the idea of a “Netflix for Gaming”, I suspect that it won’t be long until Sony announced their own version of Game Pass… and by that time, I feel like they’re already too late to the party.
Also, while Xbox discontinued producing Xbox One to concentrate on Xbox Series, Sony, on the other hand, said they were ramping up PS4 (!!) That doesn’t make any sense… but apparently, Sony makes ton of money on the PS4, so they’re going to produce to demand.
So this is just a quick review of the Xbox Series X after spending three days with the console.
What I like: The Xbox Series X is a dedicated gaming machine. I’ve been using the PC for so long, that to have a device that just does one thing – like playing games, is kind of nice. However, it’s also a con, as the Xbox’s restrictive operating system won’t allow for anything else.
I also like the fact that the Xbox can play CD, which the PS5 cannot. It also plays UHD and Bluray and DVD… but I have heard it has some problem with double density UHD discs. I haven’t experience such thing as I haven’t had much time for testing.
The Xbox is super quiet (unlike the Xbox Refridgerator). It’s fast, games launches almost instantly, thanks to the fast SSD.
The controllers still uses disposable double A batteries, which I like. When you run out of juice, you just pop in a fresh pair of batteries. If you don’t like throwing out batteries, you can always buy rechargeable batteries... which is what I will eventually get.
I was also really happy to see that most of the games that I bought on Xbox One or Xbox 360 (and original Xbox) have shown up on the new system for me to re-download and play! That is awesome, as I know that PS5 won’t allow you to play your PS3, PS2, or PS1 games (due to their system architect).
Overall, I am very happy with the Xbox Series X. The only problem that I have is that everything requires an update or additional downloads. For example, to get that Xbox One game to run, you need to redown the Xbox X version. It takes forever on my WiFi.
This is one of the minor reason why I haven’t subscribed to Game Pass. To take advantage of the service, I feel my internet speed has to be much faster.
Stay frosty,
I had given up on finding them in the wild, to be honest. I have a good gaming PC, so there wasn’t really a need for me to get on the next-gen consoles.
Then, out of the blue, I walked into a Target and saw five Xbox Series X available for sale. Keep in mind that I have never seen one in stores before… to see so many, all at once, it was shocking. Have Target and other stores just been keeping it off their shelves? My suspicion was confirmed when talked to the person that rung me up, they said that they had a lot more of these Xboxes in the back for “online buyers”. He even said that they had PS5 in the back, too. I’m not sure that meant that someone already purchased it online or that they were just sitting back there for no good reason.
Long story, I finally have an Xbox Series X. Between the two consoles, I was slightly more interested in Xbox. With the recent announcement that Microsoft were buying Blizzard and Activision for nearly $70 billion dollars, I can see the writing on the wall. If you had to bet on a horse, go with Xbox, as they are the platform with some of my favorite games - Fallout, Doom (Bethesda), Diablo, Starcraft, Call of Duty, etc. Some of the best games out there are own by Microsoft now.
Also, Xbox’s Game Pass is the best value in gaming. For about $10 a month, you have access to over 100 games. You can game on the cheap. This is so consumer friendly… In the meantime, over at Sony, they announced that their games are going to cost $80. I’m sorry, I already have problems paying $50 for a game, let alone a massive price hike.
Even though Sony poo-pooed the idea of a “Netflix for Gaming”, I suspect that it won’t be long until Sony announced their own version of Game Pass… and by that time, I feel like they’re already too late to the party.
Also, while Xbox discontinued producing Xbox One to concentrate on Xbox Series, Sony, on the other hand, said they were ramping up PS4 (!!) That doesn’t make any sense… but apparently, Sony makes ton of money on the PS4, so they’re going to produce to demand.
So this is just a quick review of the Xbox Series X after spending three days with the console.
What I like: The Xbox Series X is a dedicated gaming machine. I’ve been using the PC for so long, that to have a device that just does one thing – like playing games, is kind of nice. However, it’s also a con, as the Xbox’s restrictive operating system won’t allow for anything else.
I also like the fact that the Xbox can play CD, which the PS5 cannot. It also plays UHD and Bluray and DVD… but I have heard it has some problem with double density UHD discs. I haven’t experience such thing as I haven’t had much time for testing.
The Xbox is super quiet (unlike the Xbox Refridgerator). It’s fast, games launches almost instantly, thanks to the fast SSD.
The controllers still uses disposable double A batteries, which I like. When you run out of juice, you just pop in a fresh pair of batteries. If you don’t like throwing out batteries, you can always buy rechargeable batteries... which is what I will eventually get.
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Overall, I am very happy with the Xbox Series X. The only problem that I have is that everything requires an update or additional downloads. For example, to get that Xbox One game to run, you need to redown the Xbox X version. It takes forever on my WiFi.
This is one of the minor reason why I haven’t subscribed to Game Pass. To take advantage of the service, I feel my internet speed has to be much faster.
Stay frosty,
- Weekend Gamer
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Compare |
Xbox Series X |
PS5 (Disc) |
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Price:
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$499
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$499
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Release Date:
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10 Nov 2020
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12 Nov 2020
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Optical Disc
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Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, CD
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Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD
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CPU/GPU
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AMD Zen 2 CPU, 8 Cores @ 3.8 GHz /
RDNA 2, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz
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AMD Zen 2 CPU, 8 cores @ 3.5 GHz
/ RDNA 2 , 36 Cus @ 2.23 GHz
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Memory
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16 GB GDDR6 SDRAM (10 GB @ 560 GB/s, 6 GB @ 336 GB/s)
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16 GB of GDDR6 SDRAM (448 GB/s)
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Storage
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1 TB PCIe Gen 4 custom NVMe SSD with
Storage Expansion Card option or external HDD
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825 GB solid-state drive with upgradeable NVMe M.2 SSD, or external HDD
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Resolution
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4K
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4K
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Backward Compatible
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Games, works with previous controllers and accessories
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Games (limited), does not work with previous controllers
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