During the epidemic and lockdowns, the Series S seemed like a very good idea. The media and Xbox influencers were bullish on the hardware, touting it as 'incredible value' and a low cost entry-point for access to gamepass.
The lower production of silicon and AMD's limited capacity also made the series S ideal since they could make more of those units using less silicon comparative to the PS5 and Series X.
However things changed, the silicon situation resolved itself and the series s doesn't seem to be carrying the demand anymore. Games are struggling to be developed for the series S, the latest example is Baldurs Gate 3, which is delayed into next year.
Then we have the Series X, which seems to be costly to produce and therefore gets less production capacity from Microsoft, as they want to limit losses. The console uses the most silicon but performs about the same as a PS5, which is obviously using less silicon.
The situation now: Both Xbox consoles are selling less than ever due to the split SKU strategy, Series S being perceived to hold back the generation and microsoft unable to phase it out as well over half the Xbox units sold are the lesser series S.
PlayStation are on the verge of releasing their PS5 Slim and then the Pro.... these will do two things, continue undercutting Xbox, while offering a superior product (in terms of consumers) and then the Pro will push performance and the generation forward, overshadowing the series X and making PlayStation even more favored by developers that want to showcase the cutting edge and easier development.
I can't see Microsoft willing to suck up even more losses in the area of hardware for an ailing platform. Are we approaching the end of Xbox hardware?
Or will they draw out this terminal condition and refuse to face the truth for now?
The lower production of silicon and AMD's limited capacity also made the series S ideal since they could make more of those units using less silicon comparative to the PS5 and Series X.
However things changed, the silicon situation resolved itself and the series s doesn't seem to be carrying the demand anymore. Games are struggling to be developed for the series S, the latest example is Baldurs Gate 3, which is delayed into next year.
Then we have the Series X, which seems to be costly to produce and therefore gets less production capacity from Microsoft, as they want to limit losses. The console uses the most silicon but performs about the same as a PS5, which is obviously using less silicon.
The situation now: Both Xbox consoles are selling less than ever due to the split SKU strategy, Series S being perceived to hold back the generation and microsoft unable to phase it out as well over half the Xbox units sold are the lesser series S.
PlayStation are on the verge of releasing their PS5 Slim and then the Pro.... these will do two things, continue undercutting Xbox, while offering a superior product (in terms of consumers) and then the Pro will push performance and the generation forward, overshadowing the series X and making PlayStation even more favored by developers that want to showcase the cutting edge and easier development.
I can't see Microsoft willing to suck up even more losses in the area of hardware for an ailing platform. Are we approaching the end of Xbox hardware?
Or will they draw out this terminal condition and refuse to face the truth for now?
Also remember halo infinite not getting split screen co-op where were all the 'its so easy just scale down the graphical quality' armchair Devs then
