When Microsoft announced its brand new Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, the response to this announcement was pretty polarizing. Fans of Xbox consoles lauded Microsoft for having a user base that is often overlooked. Microsoft too revealed the console for gamers who were on the fence about jumping to next-gen consoles with a cheap option.

But many others saw this console as something of a backward step for Microsoft. But most people saying that were PlayStation 5 fans. They saw the Xbox Series S as a last-gen device, a console that would halt progress when it comes to visuals in gaming. But despite these divided opinions, this console deserves to stay.

Xbox Series S, a console with necessary limitations

The ninth generation of video game consoles is something special. This is where people can start saying that photorealism has become a possibility in video games. Titles like Spider-Man 2, Forza Motorsport, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Alan Wake 2 prove this point. And why wouldn’t it happen? After all, the current generation of consoles is powered by some incredible technology. 8 to 16 GB of GDDR6 RAM, powered by processing chips based on AMD’s Zen 2 hardware, insanely powerful GPUs that go up to 12 TFLOPS, and SSDs with industry-leading speeds. These consoles are nothing to scoff about.

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The Xbox Series S is the weakest of the three, though. This console is the one with 8 GB of RAM, and its GPU is only 4 TFLOPS, which is nothing compared to the 10 and 12 TFLOPS of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. But this is why this console is so different. In size too, it’s way smaller than either of those more powerful devices. It is lighter, runs cooler, and it looks like those retro-futuristic radio sets. Most importantly, it costs $299, which is much cheaper than the $399 and $499 for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, respectively.

Where the more powerful consoles promise up to 4K output, the Series S promises 1440P. And if one focuses on its price, these are some necessary cutbacks. It’s cheaper and smaller because of those limitations. And yet, after all these limitations, it is more popular than its larger sibling. It is being said that more than 70% of Xbox users buy the Series S over the other one. This is because of the price. The other reason might be that maybe most gamers just want to have some fun. Not many care for 4K; they just want to play some games that are quick and cheap. And the Xbox Series S is the place where they get it.

The Ultimate Xbox Game Pass console

Microsoft has planned the future of its Xbox brand pretty expertly. They are mostly focused on the Xbox Game Pass. Of course, console sales are a huge factor, but cloud gaming and Game Pass are a larger part of their family than consoles. It is pretty evident too, given how they keep working very hard to expand their Game Pass library.

In such an environment, the Xbox Series S is the console one needs to get. In its attempt to shift to the cloud, Microsoft has started skipping the physical releases for its first-party games. Fans do not mind either; “We will play it on Game Pass” is becoming a common mentality nowadays. And so one wonders, what’s the point of a console with a disc drive when discs are slowly becoming obsolete? Just grab an Xbox Series S, get a Game Pass subscription, and wait for the time when Microsoft releases a more powerful console sans a disc drive.

What of the criticisms and their few cons?

But there are a few things that people must know. Developers and gamers around the industry choose to criticize the Xbox Series S. They blame this console for games with bad visuals, lower framerates, and other technical issues. They also suggest that this console is stopping the visual technology in the gaming industry from advancing.

The biggest example of such things happening was when the Gotham Knights launched. This game launched late last year but got mixed-to-negative reviews. For one, that game was not very good, and then it was technically a mess. It had only one mode for PS5 and Xbox Series X when other games had multiple modes, one 4K 30 and another some kind of mode with 60 FPS. The developers blamed that on the Xbox Series S. This was a weird accusation; how can a console be both visually limited and limited in performance for the same console?

If the Xbox Series S pulls back games to look bad visually, then heavier consoles should be able to run it better, no? On the other hand, Xbox Series S owners are not asking for insanely good-looking games. Gotham Knights was later revealed to be having performance issues on PCs too. Even the most powerful computers were facing issues with it. It turns out the game was just not very well optimized.

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So yes, this console is very limited visually, but fans are not buying a $299 console for games that run at 4K 60 FPS. It’s just that if it can run Cyberpunk 2077 well enough, then there’s no excuse for any other game to not run. Even Rockstar Games is not complaining about GTA 6 not reaching its full potential on S.

So next time you think about buying an Xbox Series S, keep these things in mind. It’s just a low priced console for some quick fun; buy it expecting not much, and you will get much more than you expect.

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