How Much Are Xbox One X

Xbox Series X Vs Xbox One X: Which Is Best For You

Ultimately, the main decision to make is whether you want to invest in the future of gaming or you’re happy to settle for the best the last generation has to offer.

The Xbox Series X is an extremely powerful, exciting new console. But we also have a massive sweet spot for the Xbox One X still. The latter is an amazing machine for the current price and if you can find one for sale, it could be a better option for a tighter budget.

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Xbox Series X Review: Controller

Ever since Microsoft came up with the Xbox 360 controller, Ive been a fan of the Xbox controllers, and the new Xbox Wireless Controller is a neat evolution of its predecessor. Though glance at the peripheral, and youd be hard-pressed to spot any major differences from the Xbox One controller.

But thats not a bad thing, as its a fantastic controller. Small improvements like textured triggers and an improved D-pad take a familiar controller and simply make it better.

The Xbox Wireless Controller has long been one of the most comfortable controllers Ive used, taking the Xbox 360 controller and building upon it. And the same is true with the new controller, though it does have a few extra features.

From a quick glance, the most notable change is the addition of a share button for sharing screenshots and recordings with a simple tap. Youll then notice that the D-pad is a hybrid one: a concave disk that should deliver more precision, particularly if you play traditional beat-em-ups. The finish on the new controller has a more matte look, with the black appearing smokier. The Xbox button is also now all-black.

The new controller fits my hands almost exactly like its predecessor. The triggers are slightly smaller and feel a little more tactile, as do the shoulder buttons. And the joysticks have a firmer, more satisfying click to them than those on the older controller.

Xbox Series X Review: Verdict

The Xbox Series X is the one Xbox to rule them all. Its a single machine thatll run generations of Xbox games, and run them well. Furthermore, itll do so without looking fussy or making a racket.

Sure, $499 is still a good wad of cash to drop on a gaming machine that hasn’t yet shown any breathtaking next-gen capabilities. But I think its a reasonable price to pay for the tech youre getting. The latest AMD processor and graphics technology promises a lot of power, and the joy of loading games up in mere seconds rather than minutes cant be underestimated. While PCs have had SSDs for a while now, you’d struggle to build a gaming machine with this power and advanced storage for $1,000, let alone half that price.

I was originally expecting to feel a little disappointed with the Series X, given that theres no one killer app or game to really make it feel like a next-gen powerhouse. But as games now look so good, were not going to get the graphical leap we’ve seen in previous generation consoles. Rather, the Series X is all about making the experience of gaming easier, faster and just better.

With that in mind, the Xbox Series X is a triumph in the here and now. But I cant wait to see what it will be able to do in a years time.

The Xbox anniversary celebration livestream should also be welcome for longtime Xbox fans.

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Xbox Is Alive And Well

Contrary to the “market share this, and market share that” narrative, Xbox is actually doing very well. Xbox Live engagement is on the rise. All of those extra Xbox Live users, whether they’re on Windows 10 PCs, Xbox, or even Android or iOS in games like Age of Empires: Castle Siege, they’re all spending money on Microsoft digital goods and services.

This is the only metric Microsoft is interested in, and One X is designed to serve the hardcore users of the tens of millions already deeply invested in the Xbox ecosystem. A healthy business is only going to lead to better games and services for Xbox owners, who already see tons of free content and feature updates on a near-monthly basis.

What Is The Xbox One X Price

The Xbox One X MSRP is $499 in the US and the UK RRP currently sits at £449. So sure, it looks like UK gamers are paying considerable more as the direct currency conversion would have it at £390. That’s the same price as the new Xbox Series X, however, so if you can hold out for stock we’d recommend going with the new generation.

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Difference Between 4k Ultra Hd Hdr And Xbox One X Enhanced Games

• Xbox One X enhanced Games that are said to be Xbox One X Enhanced offer one or more of the following benefits over non-Enhanced editions:

• Graphic enhancements
• Higher framerate
• Higher resolution

• 4K Ultra HD 4K refers to image resolution, or the number of pixels used for each image. Games described as being 4K offer a resolution of 3840 pixels × 2160 lines, offering substantially higher resolution than 1080p HD. To view 4K games at their native resolution, your TV must be 4K-capable.
• HDR Visual dynamic range refers to the difference between the darkest and brightest information a game can show. As suggested by the term HDR, or high dynamic range, some games offer darker darks and brighter brights than others, depending on the screen you view them on. HDR on Xbox has a 10-bit color range, or wide color gamut, which uses more colors for a richer, more detailed image. On Xbox, this feature also goes by the name Dolby Vision, which is used by some video apps.
• Dolby Atmos The game supports Dolby Atmos surround sound.

Xbox Series X And Series S

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• Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation of the Xbox console family, succeeding the Xbox One family. Along with Sony’s PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, the Xbox Series X and Series S are part of the ninth generation of video game consoles.

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Xbox Rechargeable Battery: $24/19

One of the only real downsides to the Xbox Wireless Controller is it still uses AA batteries to power it rather than a rechargeable cell. Chemical batteries arent particularly elegant to use, not exactly great for the environment and can get quite expensive, as after a few lengthy game sessions theyll run out of juice. So to avoid that inconvenience youll need the Xbox Rechargeable Battery.

That means parting with $24/£19 if you want to have one controller with a rechargeable battery pack. Itll save you money in the long run, but its a little disappointing Microsoft didnt put a rechargeable battery pack in the new Xbox Wireless Controller by default.

Xbox Series X Review: Price And Availability

Released worldwide on November 10, 2020, the Xbox Series X is nearing its first birthday, at the time of writing. And it’s still stupidly hard to buy.

We’ve been tracking Xbox Series X restocks for month upon months, and still most retailers are out of stock. When they do get new stock in, it sells out in moments. Sadly, with semiconductor shortages ongoing, it doesn’t look like the Xbox Series X restock situation will get any better before 2023.

If you do find an Xbox Series X in stock, then expect prices to start at $499 in the U.S. and £449 in the U.K. On paper at least, the Xbox Series X matches the price of the PS5 in those respective nations. However, its more expensive than the PS5 Digital Edition, which costs $399, or £349. But these consoles are often found in bundles that come with a higher ticket price. Speaking of that, if you have $10,000 to burn you could check out the Gucci Xbox Series X.

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Upgrade To Xbox Series X

1HDR functionality available with supported games and TVs.

2Active subscription required continues until cancelled game catalog varies over time. Sea of Thieves also requires Xbox Live Gold to play game sold separately. Discount offers exclude titles within 30 days of launch discounts based on Microsoft Store price. See xbox.com/game-pass.

3Broadband internet required . Game performance in comparison with Xbox One S. A small number of existing games may not achieve performance improvements. Xbox One Backward Compatibility feature works with select Xbox 360 games, see . Microsoft account with Xbox profile and broadband internet required for initial download of game to console.Dolby Atmos for Headphones requires additional purchase from Microsoft Store.

4Excludes the Xbox One S stand that works exclusively with the Xbox One S. Xbox Kinect Adapter required for Kinect on Xbox One S and Xbox One X.

5Online multiplayer requires Xbox Live Gold .

6Limited number of games available in 2017 support cross-device play additional games to follow. Active Gold membership required to play free games.

The True Cost Of The Xbox Series X: $960/896

With the above taken into account, getting the most out of the Xbox Series X is going to cost you $960/£896. Thats a fair bit for a dedicated gaming machine, but its still quite the bargain.

To get equivalent 4K performance from a gaming PC, youll need to spend some $1,500, though we appreciate that gives you a far larger library of games to choose from. But in comparison to what we believe to be the true price of the PS5, the Xbox Series X is the winner given its that bit cheaper with all its extras added into the mix. Though for the performance they deliver, both consoles still offer impressive value for money.

However, getting hold of an Xbox Series X is very difficult at the moment. So if you can hold off until 2021, you might be able to get yourself a well-priced Series X bundle, and youll have more games to tap into on Game Pass – hopefully in the form of Xbox Series X exclusives. After all, 2021 is looking like the year that these new games consoles come into their own.

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Why You Probably Shouldn’t Buy An Xbox One X In 2022

The answer to this is surprisingly complex, and I go into more detail in my Xbox One X vs. Xbox Series S article over here, but that is ultimately the reason you shouldn’t buy an Xbox One X in 2022: The Xbox Series S is better overall, for a lower price.

The Xbox One X boasts more teraflops on paper. The Xbox One X was designed for the earliest generation of 4K television sets, and as such, outputs 4K resolution across a large range of titles. 4K UHD gives you a crisper image, with more finer details. On a 1080p game, that sniper off in the distance that looks like a blurry mass of pixels would appear more defined in 4K, potentially making them easier to spot, as a basic example. Of course, you need an appropriate 4K TV for your Xbox to get the most out of the Xbox One X. If you don’t have one already, that could significantly add to the cost of entry.

Presumably, you’d be looking to buy an Xbox One X second-hand, since Microsoft itself is no longer manufacturing them. The current-gen Xbox Series X|S consoles are the entry point to the Xbox console ecosystem as of 2022, and ultimately, you should be looking to grab one of those if you can.

How Long Will The Xbox One Last

Since the Xbox One is an aging console, eventually it won’t receive new games anymore. But how long should you expect the Xbox One to receive support?

To get an idea, consider the last generation. The Xbox 360 launched in 2005 and was discontinued in 2016. After the Xbox One launched in 2013, the Xbox 360 continued to receive some cross-generation games.

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2014’s Forza Horizon 2 was the last Xbox 360 entry in the Xbox-exclusive series, while 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider came to both Xbox 360 and Xbox One. For yearly third-party titles, 2016’s Madden NFL 17 was the last Madden released on Xbox 360.

However, since the Xbox One S and One X both launched mid-generation in 2016, these past patterns may not predict what happens this time.

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This Time No One Will Be Left Behind

When Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One at $499, it was a big problem. So why won’t the same be true for One X? Simply put, this time, nobody will be left behind.

Xbox One X is fully backward and forwards compatible with the entire Xbox One library.

If Xbox One X was a generational leap with exclusive games, at $499 many dedicated Xbox fans would be left out of the party. This time, that isn’t the case.

Xbox One X is fully backward and forwards compatible with the entire Xbox One library. Whether it’s backward compatible Xbox 360 games, expensive Xbox One accessories you purchased, or your hundreds of games, they’ll all work on Xbox One X. Some will work even better on Xbox One X.

If you’re an Xbox fan without the funds, you can simply wait for a price drop. You won’t miss out on any of the games, because they’ll just work on One X when you eventually decide to upgrade.

Xbox Series X: Interface And Quick Resume

You’ll be disappointed if you were expecting a big user interface change with the Xbox Series X, as its UI is pretty much identical to that of the Xbox One. Thats not a bad thing, as that UI was pretty comprehensive, with a whole suite of options from managing games and apps, to transfer data between drives, to finely calibrating HDR displays and audio kit.

There are all manner of interesting options that carry over from the Xbox One to the Series X, such as the ability to remotely access your console and stream games over a local Wi-Fi connection. Eventually, we expect to be able to stream games from the Series X over cellular broadband. But that was part of Microsoft’s Project xCloud game steaming initiative, and has yet to be integrated into any Xbox console.

However, if you have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you can stream a range of Xbox games to an Android device, and those will sync with the progress youve made on the Series X or Xbox One. In fact, cross-platform syncing is one of the joys of the Series X. As soon as I installed Xbox One games on the Series X, the interface pulled my saves from the cloud and allowed me to carry on from where I left off.

If time is money, then the Xbox Series X is going to save you a lot.

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Kinect For Xbox One And Decline

The Kinect release for the Xbox 360 was estimated to have sold eight million units in the first sixty days of release, earning the hardware the Guinness World Record for the “Fastest-Selling Consumer Electronics Device”. Over 10 million had been sold by March 2011. While seemingly successful, its launch titles were primarily family-oriented games , which may have drawn new audiences, but did not have the selling power of major franchises like Battlefield and which were primarily designed around the Xbox 360 controller. Only an estimated 20% of the 55 million Xbox 360 owners had purchased the Kinect. The Kinect team recognized some of the downsides with more traditional games and Kinect, and continued ongoing development of the unit to be released as a second-generation unit, such as reducing the latency of motion detection and improving speech recognition. Microsoft provided news of these changes to the third-party developers to help them anticipate how the improvements can be integrated into the games.

Microsoft formally announced it would stop manufacture of the Kinect for Xbox One on October 25, 2017. Microsoft eventually discontinued the adapter in January 2018, stating that they were shifting to manufacture other accessories for the Xbox One and personal computers that were more in demand. This is considered by the media to be the point where Microsoft forgone any further work on the Kinect for the Xbox platform.