Xbox Series S Officially Announced at 3 AM

It seems that leaking the actual console design, price point, and release date was the leak that broke the dam. After Windows Central reported that the Xbox Series X and S would release on November 10 at $500 and $300, respectively Xbox decided to confirm the Series S’ existence, design, and $300 price tag. They have remained mum on the Series X pricing and the release date.

The Series S is all-digital, supports raytracing, 1440p up to 120fps, 4K upscaling for games, 4K media playback, and has a 512GB SSD. No other specs were officially revealed, but since the Series S has been one of, if not the, worst kept secret for this upcoming generation, I think it is safe to bet on the previously leaked specs.

The key differences between the Series X and S lie in the GPU, RAM, output, and storage. The GPU is reported as having less than half the compute units (20 CUs vs the Series X’s 52 CUs) and only a third of the teraflops with 4TF instead of 12TF. The RAM is reportedly only 10GBs of GDDR6 instead of the Series X’s 16 GB. The Series X does have an interesting combination of RAM though, with 10 GB at a speed of 560 GB/s and the remaining 6 GB at 336 GB/s. I wonder if the Series S’ RAM will be at 560 GB/s or 336 GB/s.

I find the more interesting comparison for the Series S is between it and the Xbox One X. While the CPU and GPU are less powerful on the One X, its GPU does have 40 CUs and 6TF. The One X has 12 GB of GDDR5 RAM at 326 GB/s. It also outputs full 4K gameplay, instead of upscaling it and comes with a disc drive. Unfortunately, the Xbox One X was discontinued in July 2020.

The $300 price tag is going to grab a lot of people’s attention. It will definitely look better on the shelf next to both the PS5 and the Series X, especially when an electronics department employee is giving a weak pitch. Parents and kids will snag these up quickly. I am curious how the different specs will impact performance and development. Microsoft has promised cross-generational support for many of their games. This adds one more combination of hardware to the mix. Despite all the hemming and hawing surrounding the PS5’s price and date, Sony does have clearing messaging between its two PS5 variants: One has a disc drive, the other does not, otherwise the two boxes are identical. While this won’t lead to a price gap like the Series X and S have, it does make for a cleaner message.

On the flip side, having a price tag of $300 is a much louder message.

Halo Infinite Delayed, Xbox Series X Confirmed for November 2020

Today I want to share an important Halo Infinite development update with the community. We have made the difficult decision to shift our release to 2021 to ensure the team has adequate time to deliver a Halo game experience that meets our vision.

Chris Lee, Halo Infinite Studio Head, via Twitter

Citing COVID-19 related impacts to development, 343 Industries and Microsoft had made the appropriate call to delay their biggest incoming title. Halo Infinite was supposed to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X. Immediately after seeing this delay, I told my friends that Microsoft will be leaning heavily into the fact that the Series X can play old games better than ever, if it launches in Holiday 2020. Mere moments after typing that, I saw Microsoft’s official blog post with the headline “Xbox Series X Launches this November with Thousands of Games Spanning Four Generations.”

We have plenty to keep you busy until Chief arrives: There will be thousands of games to play, spanning four generations, when Xbox Series X launches globally this November and over 100 optimized for Xbox Series X titles, built to take full advantage of our most powerful console, are planned for this year.

While understandable and the right course of action, this delay is a major blow to the Xbox Series X launch. With Microsoft’s heavy emphasis on cross-generational support, even allowing controllers to work across devices, this console launch feels less like a generational leap and more like a small hardware upgrade. While on paper it is, in fact, a next-gen leap, the loss of a huge launch title is significant in regards to perception — especially if Sony and Insomniac can keep Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on track.

Update: Originally, I had Chris Lee listed as the 343 Industries Studio Head. I wondered if Bonnie Ross had a higher title, and made an assumption with Chris’ given title of “Halo Infinite Studio Head” in the tweeted statement. That’s what I get for assuming.

Microsoft is Stuck Between Hardware and Services

Apple confirms cloud gaming services like xCloud and Stadia violate App Store guidelines by Nick Statt for The Verge

Apple rejected Microsoft’s Xbox xCloud streaming app from the App Store. Apple’s statement to Business Insider:

Our customers enjoy great apps and games from millions of developers, and gaming services can absolutely launch on the App Store as long as they follow the same set of guidelines applicable to all developers, including submitting games individually for review, and appearing in charts and search. In addition to the App Store, developers can choose to reach all iPhone and iPad users over the web through Safari and other browsers on the App Store.

This won’t last long. The bad press with the backdrop of the antitrust hearings will lead to a change in opinion rather quickly I’d imagine. This is like the Hey email app snafu back in June. Apple has a history of this and the current response is not surprising, in fact, you could have bet on it. Apple wants their cut and they certainly won’t get as much as they probably want when the dust settles. Running to the press will likely come to the rescue once again.

But Microsoft is not some gaming-friendly consumer knight-in-shining-armor here either. Their response raises questions too.

Apple stands alone as the only general purpose platform to deny consumers from cloud gaming and game subscription services like Xbox Game Pass…We believe that the customer should be at the heart of the gaming experience and gamers tell us they want to play, connect and share anywhere, no matter where they are.

I first realized this double standard while listening to the August 7, 2020 episode of Dithering. John Gruber makes an excellent point about Microsoft/Xbox only wanting to provide this cloud gaming service on their platforms if it is the one they own – xCloud. Where is the Stadia or Steam Link or even PlayStation Now app for Xbox? Would Microsoft even allow that if Google or Sony approached them? I highly doubt it. Sure, Stadia and Steam run on PC, but Microsoft owns the operating system there, not necessarily the hardware and not every person that plays games owns a PC capable of running games.

Game consoles are also general purpose platforms these days. They stream movies, music, have a web browser, and plenty of their own apps. Microsoft’s original pitch for the Xbox One was to be the all-in-one box for the living room: Essentially a PC for the TV. That didn’t pan out like they had originally envisioned, which has led to the company doing a complete 180 on their marketing and focus.

If customers should really be at the heart of the gaming experience and should be able play where they want then Microsoft should not solely focus on getting their service and content on every screen. If my games library is in Steam, why can’t I stream that content to my Xbox plugged into my television? Microsoft is trying to expand its own walled garden into Apple’s and other device providers. Phil described walled gardens as a construct of the 90s, but yet, here is Xbox building their own garden of exclusive content under the joint umbrella of Game Pass Ultimate and xCloud.

It’s not unlike Apple Arcade. A subscription service that provides access to a library of games that a user may download and play s long as they are a subscriber and the game is in the catalog that changes regularly. Microsoft is the pot and Apple is the kettle.

Microsoft is transitioning the Xbox brand from a box under your TV to a game developer/publisher and a services provider. It’d be like if Netflix made both the service that provides thousands of films and shows, but also made a television that only worked with Netflix, no Hulu, HBO Max, etc. I don’t think Microsoft can have it both ways. They need to open their own platform to the competition and complete their transition to a services provider.

“You and I might watch Netflix. I don’t know where you watch it, where I watch it, but we can have conversations about the shows we watch. I want gaming to evolve to that same level.” – Phil Spencer in an interview with Wired

Phil wants that conversation for xCloud, not video games as a whole. I don’t see the Xbox console making it to another traditional generation. Now, their service and game development will go on for years to come and a big part of that hinges on being on as many screens as possible.

Nobody Cares About Sound – hyperduker

Nobody Cares About Sound – hyperduker by Stephen Malone

Sony has spent a lot of time talking about the PS5’s new sound technology, and now Microsoft is using Halo Infinite‘s new “acoustic engine” as a selling point (and to distract people from the dull graphics). This is all well and good, except for one thing: nobody cares about sound.

This isn’t 1995, we’re not buying Soundblasters and begging game developers to use MIDI. Good sound is incredibly missable: you can’t hear all that fancy audio when you’re watching trailers on your phone, and you can’t hear it when you’re playing on your TV’s tinny-ass stereo speakers. It’s difficult and invisible, which means it’s bad for marketing.

Nobody caring about sound design is simply not true. Bad sound design sticks out like a sore thumb. Great sound design can entirely change a game. Look at Dead Space, PT, the Kurosawa Mode in Ghost of Tsushima, Return of the Obra Dinn, and even Super Mario Bros. It can make all the difference in a racing game like Forza Horizon. Sound is essential in a game like Rainbow Six Siege. Heck, it even can make a game more accessible to different players.

Sony has put tons of money into developing their own 3D audio engine that claims to change how sound is perceived and experienced across multiple sound output devices—from fancy headphones to “tinny-ass stereo speakers.” This needs to be tested out in the real world, but the potential is immense. And with a company like Sony, that has invested millions and developed countless audio devices and platforms, investing in video game’s audio future, it is easy to imagine it being successful.

Audio is one of the most immersive elements in games. It can blend seamlessly into the setting and subconsciously amp the engagement the developer is going for. It can be right in your face and move you emotionally like Journey. Audio makes truly immersive VR possible, something Sony definitely has stake in.

I think audio is about to get a major and long overdue upgrade in console gaming. I believe this is going to be like the jump from 2D to 3D games for our ears.

Xbox Games Showcase Delivers the Game(Pas)s

Introducing the Largest, Most Creatively Diverse Games Lineup in Console History, Led by Halo Infinite by Will Tuttle for Xbox Wire

Last month, I wrote about what Xbox needs to standout against the competition.

What Xbox needs to expand is their library of games. They have strong titles like Halo, Forza, Fable, and more, but the Xbox One generation has felt lackluster compared to both Sony and Nintendo. This must be a huge factor in the decision to go buy studios and create some from scratch. It will take years to build up properly, but Microsoft is getting all their ducks in a row.

And as June came to a close with no new Xbox information, I reiterated this fundamental need for games.

Microsoft needs to come out swinging in July with games. Make the next Xbox more enticing than numbers on a spreadsheet and flashy features in a sizzle reel. The Halo teaser from last week zapped my pulse for Xbox hype back to life. There are rumors that Fable will make an appearance. What is The Initiative working on? I hope Microsoft answers these questions and teases more.

The big July showcase finally aired and Microsoft did come out swinging. While it favored its tried and true IP, Microsoft did throw in enticing new IP and partnerships. The heart of the message wasn’t “Xbox Series X is where you get to play all these games.” Instead, Xbox spent an hour selling audiences on Xbox Gamepass and why subscribing is the best option for them.

Xbox showed off a diverse library of games with at least on game for everyone. For everyone else, you can try any of the games out through Gamepass and maybe discover a new game to love.

Halo Infinite started off the show and it looked like Halo. I was incredibly happy with its showing. The campaign is supposed to run at a locked 60 fps but they didn’t say it’d be native 4K. I cannot wait to see the performance breakdown across all Xbox platforms when it releases.

A new Forza and Fable game were both announced. Forza is back in the hands of Turn10 this time around, while Playground Games is tackling Fable. I wonder what this means for Forza Horizon: Is Playground Games big enough for two teams?

Obsidian announced their next sprawling RPG titled Avowed and it sure looks a lot like Skyrim 2. I bet this game is roughly five years away. I wonder which will release first, Avowed or Elder Scrolls VI. Heck, maybe Avowed will release before Starfield. Not my cup of tea, but I know plenty of folks that are jazzed for this kind of game.

Tetris Effect: Connected was revealed. The same Tetris Effect I love, but with multiplayer included. This is exactly what I would have included in Tetris Effect, so much so that I mentioned it in my review of the original game in 2018.

If there was anything I wish I could add to Tetris Effect, it would be some sort of versus mode. I always enjoyed putting Tetris skills to the test against another player in a head-to-head battle. With the online leaderboards in place, I think they’d be a cool addition. There are Weekend Rituals that happen for 24 hours, starting on Saturdays. These involve the community coming together and working toward a goal in a specific mode. If the goal is met, participating players unlock new event-only avatars and game levels. It’s cool for the community to come together, but I’d like to be able to put my skills to the test against others in a real time game, rather than just high scores on a board.

The last game that stood out to me was As Dusk Falls. It’s an “interactive drama” from a brand new studio called INTERIOR/NIGHT headed up by Caroline Marchal, formerly a lead game designer at Quantic Dream. Here’s the pitch:

As Dusk Falls is a multi-generational story set in the American Southwest about resilience, sacrifice and how the mistakes of the older generation transmit to the younger. What begins as a focused tale of two families trapped in a hostage situation, becomes a sprawling epic about how people grow and change over decades.

Xbox had a strong showcase today that really fleshed out the reason Gamepass is their future and not necessarily the Xbox consoles themselves. With the fact that xCloud will be included with Gamepass Ultimate, there is no need to buy a new beefy box. All you need is a subscription, controller, and a compatible screen. Maybe old Xbox One consoles can become the xCloud compatible box for people’s televisions. While this may be the future Xbox as a company wants, they smartly are still pouring millions of dollars into developing powerful and capable hardware. Giving consumers choice about how and where to spend their money and time is helping Xbox themselves become ubiquitous with modern gaming.

You Are the Future of Gaming – Xbox Wire

You Are the Future of Gaming by Phil Spencer for Xbox Wire

One week ahead of the next Xbox 20/20 event that will focus on Xbox Studios games, Phil and the Xbox team shared a sort of quick hit bullet list of all the consumer-focused pros that the Xbox ecosystem has steadily built over the generation. Xbox truly is diversifying access to their platform. They are becoming the melting pot of gaming, taking the best ideas from competitors and leveraging Microsoft’s technology (and bankroll) to build the best ecosystem out there.

Xbox Series X is designed to deliver a new level of fidelity, feel, performance and precision never seen before in console gaming. All games will look and play best on Xbox Series X

Reaffirming that the Series X will be the best place to play Xbox Game Studios’ titles. I also see this as a subtle hint toward the Xbox Series S, which has been rumored for quite a while now. “The Series X will be the best place, but we will give you options,” is how I read that statement.

We want every Xbox player to play all the new games from Xbox Game Studios. That’s why Xbox Game Studios titles we release in the next couple of years—like Halo Infinite—will be available and play great on Xbox Series X and Xbox One. We won’t force you to upgrade to Xbox Series X at launch to play Xbox exclusives.

Again reaffirming cross-generational support. Extremely consumer friendly, but am still curious what this means for developers. Here’s what I wrote when the last big leak for the Series S occurred:

Microsoft will have two new boxes, with different performance, plus continuing cross-generation support for the Xbox One. Halo Infinite could be playable on six different pieces of hardware; Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PC (what a naming nightmare). That has to be a testing and optimizing mountain to climb.

And I forgot that all of the Xbox Game Studios’ titles will be on xCloud as well. While hardware performance will not be so much of an issue for xCloud, the quality and performance of the stream will be.

Finally, today we’re announcing that this September, in supported countries, we’re bringing Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud together at no additional cost for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members.

Speaking of xCloud, an official public launch window has finally been given. I wonder if older Xbox One consoles will support xCloud streaming. Say you own an OG Xbox One (like I do) and Halo Infinite runs below 1080p when natively installed. What if you could stream the 1080p version via xCloud? I know that the Xbox One S has 4K video output capabilities. Why not allow users to stream the native 4K version of Halo Infinite to their Xbox One S? Microsoft may lose the initial sale of the shiny new box, but they could be gaining a new monthly subscriber to Game Pass Ultimate. At $15 a month, that may seem like the more appealing choice to folks hesitant to upgrading their box, especially if it can run the newer games through streaming.

It’s our intent for all Xbox One games that do not require Kinect to play on Xbox Series X at the launch of the console.

RIP Kinect. I wonder if the dongle will work with Series X…

We hope you’ll join us next Thursday, July 23rd for the Xbox Games Showcase for the first look at the Halo Infinite Campaign and more.

Way to bury the lede Phil!

The Latest on Lockhart – Thurrott

The Latest on Lockhart by Brad Sams for Thurrott

Here’s a fun fact though, the original launch plans for Lockhart was that it was going to be released in Mid-October. That may not sound all that surprising, but Anaconda, the series X, was going to release in late August; clearly plans have been adjusted since the conception of the hardware.

Obviously, none of this can be confirmed now, since plans would have changed due to COVID-19, but what a wild world it would have been to launch the next-gen Xbox in August!

If there is a lower powered Xbox launching near the launch of the Series X, I have a hard time imagining the two launching apart now. Say the Series X releases in November and the Series S aims for January, keeping the originally planned two month gap. There could be a lot of people miffed that the cheaper box came out after the Holiday shopping season. I see this as a dual launch now.

Launch timing aside, while I personally wouldn’t buy the cheaper, fewer-featured box, I imagine that the mass consumer would just go for the cheaper box. Microsoft is looking to deliver a killing blow at the start of this generation. Sony has two boxes, but they have feature parity, minus a physical disc drive. Microsoft will have two new boxes, with different performance, plus continuing cross-generation support for the Xbox One. Halo Infinite could be playable on six different pieces of hardware; Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PC (what a naming nightmare). That has to be a testing and optimizing mountain to climb.

No surprise that those dates have slipped and the announcement timeline for Lockhart has been far more fluid than we have seen in previous years. That’s why it’s a bit hard to lock down the exact date but the announcement should be coming sooner, rather than later.

I don’t understand why they wouldn’t use June to reveal and educate consumers about Lockhart.

But the big unknown will be the pricing. If the consoles were only $50 difference, even though consumers are typically very price sensitive, the overhead of launching two consoles with that difference doesn’t make much sense. The minimum price difference needs to be $100 or more to create enough of a gap to make the additional marketing and the cost of educating the consumer worthwhile.

$100 is the minimum difference these two Xbox consoles need to have. If the Series X costs $500 then that could lead to a $400 Series S. If the PS5 comes in over $500, Microsoft will dominate the pricing discussion. If they can come in clutch with the launch line up and promising games, then Xbox will have solid footing for the generation to come.

Microsoft will close out June without a big Xbox 20/20 moment – Eurogamer

Microsoft will close out June without a big Xbox 20/20 moment by Tom Phillips for Eurogamer

Microsoft has spent June recapping Xbox Series X details in a series of Xbox Wire blogs. The content has largely been about features we knew about already, such as game optimisation on Xbox Series X, Smart Delivery, and… a round-up of everything else announced so far. The month’s biggest Microsoft “moment” was, arguably, the surprise it was killing streaming service Mixer to work with Facebook Gaming instead. It’s fair to say that was not Microsoft’s intended next-gen marketing beat.

Seems like Microsoft’s plan for June was to simply repeat themselves. Sony regained goodwill with a strong games showcase for the PS5 and being directly associated with the Unreal Engine 5 reveal.

The original plan was to showcase the Xbox Series S as part of Xbox’s big E3 2020 show, so the proposition of a cheaper next-gen option could be explained properly, sat alongside the graphical powerhouse provided by the beefier Series X, both playing the same next-gen games.

But when E3 was cancelled and remote working hindered progress on various internal game projects, it became clear Microsoft could no longer show both its boxes and next-gen games all at the same time.

Understandable that a “Lockhart” announcement would get pushed back, in a general sense. Why not take the clearly repetitive month of June as an opportunity to reveal and explain the Xbox Series S? Especially in light of Sony having two SKUs for the PS5, something no one really expected. Strikes me as foolish to keep it in the wings.

The other looming question is price. Sony and Microsoft appear to be playing a game of chicken. Phil Spencer has openly talked about staying agile with Series X pricing. Sony appears to be ignoring the question. I feel like Microsoft desperately wants to undercut Sony. If this rumored Xbox Series S is much weaker than Series X and/or the PS5, but significantly cheaper, it’ll be a win for Microsoft. If Microsoft can make both their next-gen offerings cheaper than the PS5, it’ll be an opportunity for marketing domination.

Microsoft needs to come out swinging in July with games. Make the next Xbox more enticing than numbers on a spreadsheet and flashy features in a sizzle reel. The Halo teaser from last week zapped my pulse for Xbox hype back to life. There are rumors that Fable will make an appearance. What is The Initiative working on? I hope Microsoft answers these questions and teases more.