Should You Buy an Xbox in 2024?

- The console war is finally over. Is it worth buying an Xbox in

2024

? Xbox, one of the Holy Trinity gaming consoles, has been in the news a little more than you'd like lately. And depending on where you stand on gaming, you could be very excited or ready to throw your Xbox out the window. Now, before we get to the headlines, I think it would be fair to check out the current range of consoles. The Xbox Series makes it technically the most powerful. home game console ever released. However, it's not like Sony is coming back to take that crown or anything like that.

There's a lot to live up to, but Xbox had a lot to prove. Not only did Sony completely destroy last-gen Xbox with the PS4 and Xbox One, but Sony's console sales have consistently outpaced Xbox in every generation. So it really seemed like Xbox needed a win this time. Unfortunately, while critics love its hardware, the games available at launch couldn't deliver that "must have the newest hardware" or "do I have to pay a reseller $800 for this (bleep)" vibe. vibe. That was the vibe I think most people had in 2020. Most of the Xbox launch titles either couldn't really take advantage of the new hardware, or were largely just updates to the Xbox One versions of the game.

The biggest blow was the fact that "Halo Infinite," which was supposed to be the big launch title, was delayed by over a year. Yes. One of the main reasons to prefer one console over another has always been exclusive games. This is where Sony has had a huge advantage over Xbox for years. So it's no surprise that the lack of launch momentum combined with the pandemic manufacturing chokehold has resulted in the PS5 outselling the Xbox Series two to one right now. So is that it? Has the console war ended before this generation even began? Well, if you just look at sales, it may seem like it, but that's only half the story.

Xbox has always done its thing, from controller designs that never seem to change, to still using AA batteries and the backwards compatibility that is a staple of the brand. I mean, Xbox has always tried to find its unique angle in the gaming space. With the price of consoles going up and up and this latest generation reaching a whopping $500 at launch, they thought there would be a lot of gamers who wouldn't necessarily need the 4K 120Hz games that the Series X would aim for. So they released a console cheaper all-digital, the Xbox Series S, at almost half the price.

Now, if you've been watching the channel for a while, you know that whenever I try to do some kind of budget gaming challenge, the answer is usually to just get a Series S. I mean, it's a little machine that can run games of the current generation for just $300 and is often on sale for much less than that. Although technically capable of 4K 120 playback, the Series S generally aims for between 1080p and 1440 at 30 or 60 FPS. However, this is not just marketing hype. I mean, when the Series S first launched, a lot of people would assume that it was going to hold the generation back, that it would buckle under the pressure of the latest and greatest games.

But surprisingly, the Series S is the little engine that could do it. "I think I could play 4K, I think I could play 1440p, I think I could play 'Forza'. Ray tracing!" Even in "Starfield", the long-awaited and graphically intense Bethesda game that everyone loves - a bit of a trend for Xbox exclusives - as you'll see, it runs at a respectable 1440p on the Series S and is locked at 30 FPS. , the same frame rate as that Xbox Series X. I mean, in my opinion, you really can't get a better gaming experience for the price. That's probably why the Series S accounts for more than 70% of current-gen Xbox sales.

Also, did I mention that everything is digital? Yeah, that part might come up a little later. But we can't really talk about Xbox without talking about Game Pass. Back in 2017, inspired by the success of Netflix and Spotify, Xbox thought: why can't we do the same with games? Understandably, game studios that love selling you a $60 title wouldn't have much interest in undervaluing their software. So Game Pass launched with just a handful of older games, more so as a proof of concept. Originally launched just for Xbox fans, the service has been gaining momentum over the years. Other first-party titles such as “Halo” and “Forza” were added to the service, and it became increasingly popular.

For developers, Xbox justified it as a way to increase player numbers, maintain interest in games for longer, and, most importantly, incentivize in-game purchases. Over time, Game Pass became widely available to all gamers with a library of over 100 Xbox games from all generations for just $10 a month. Now, let me just reiterate that. All of those games are included for just $10 a month. I mean, it really was a no-brainer for players to jump to Game Pass. That's essentially the price of two new Xbox games a year. Instead, you get over 100 games and new titles are always added. The real icing on the cake was the first-party games on launch day, something another competitor might consider for their service. (coughing) Sony. (coughing) PlayStation.

If a Game Pass game isn't for you, simply uninstall it and try something else. But that wasn't the final form of Game Pass. Game Pass Ultimate arrived a while ago and combines the Xbox gaming service, added PC support, and includes Xbox Live, making it the gaming subscription giant it is today for just $15 a month. It has now seen a slight price increase since its launch, so it is now $17 per month. But by most standards, Game Pass is a success. When "Halo Infinite" finally arrived on Game Pass, it had a launch of 20 million players, which was at the time the largest launch in Xbox Game Studio history.

You have to assume that many of those players wouldn't have paid full price for "Halo" and would instead want to jump in and enjoy whatever Master Cheeks is up to these days. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just couldn't... It was right there. I just couldn't get close, but. Reach out and touch it. Remember when I talked about Xbox's Achilles heel being the lack of exclusive games? Well, in recent years Microsoft has spent a combined $80 billion to acquire game studios like Bethesda, Activision, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and Rare. These are some of the heavyweights of the gaming industry, responsible for games like "Call of Duty", "Minecraft", "Fallout", "Elder Scrolls".

Look, here's the thing: Microsoft means business, and they're clearly not afraid to spend an enormous fortune to gain that dominance. So Game Pass is clearly Xbox's big brain move, right? Considering there are over 34 million Game Pass subscribers, it seems like the logical way to go. If Xbox can't outsell Sony in terms of hardware, it would make sense to try to beat them with software, which let's not forget is where the real money is. Believe me when I say that no one is getting rich by selling you a $250 Xbox Series S. Xbox clearly had a vision for Game Pass and stated in 2019 that quote: "We want to bring Game Pass to any device that someone wants to continue playing." Even in

2024

, it's clear that Xbox views Game Pass as the core Xbox experience. - And the fact that you get rights when you buy a game from us on both Windows and Xbox also means that you have the ability to play that game on a multitude of devices, which I think increases the compatibility of the games you own. - So far he has kept his word.

You can play Game Pass on Xbox and PC, with the addition of cloud gaming, you can also have Game Pass on Chromebooks, phones, tablets, wearables, virtual reality headsets, and even smart TVs. What about Xbox on PlayStation? Oh, spicy. Xbox has announced that exclusives like "Sea of ​​Thieves" and "Hi-Fi Rush" are coming to both PlayStation and Switch, and there are rumors that major titles like "Halo" and "Gears of War" will join them on sometime. But wait, you could say: Didn't Microsoft just spend $80 billion to acquire more exclusives? Well, yes, but the growth of Game Pass, like other subscription models, depends largely on constantly adding new content, not only to keep players interested, but also to maintain enthusiasm.

Like Austin Evans' YouTube channel, he consistently delivers very high-quality content directly to his subscription channel for the low price of just 6.99 per month. What was that? Oh, is it free? Oh, act now! Right now! Immediately! What are you waiting for? Subscriptions to the Austin Evans streaming service at YouTube.com/AustinEvans are free. What a deal? Bethesda's "Starfield" was supposed to be the big game launch that really kept the hype going for Game Pass, but it was delayed, surprise, surprise, almost a year, leaving a 15-month content gap between exclusives at the start of the generation. the Series Phil Spencer has admitted that this affected the growth of Game Pass.

While he didn't give us exact numbers on how bad it was, the speculation, and I will say it's kind of speculation, is that by connecting Xbox exclusives to other platforms, they can make up for some of that lost growth. In other ways. However, it definitely seems like the end of an era for Xbox exclusives. Even PlayStation, which is known for keeping exclusives for themselves, has started porting them to other platforms like PC, although not Xbox yet. It's funny how that works. If it seems like all of this is leading to Xbox getting involved in Game Pass and game streaming and subscriptions, that's because it is.

Now, does that mean that Xbox as a console is dead? Well, according to one of the biggest leaks in video game history, I wouldn't count on it. In late 2023, Xbox's future roadmap outlining the next five years was leaked, along with documents outlining the next Xbox console. Codenamed "Brooklin," it's an update to the Series X similar to what we saw with the mid-cycle PS5 Slim. We'll probably be looking for more internal storage, faster WiFi, and better energy efficiency. And the document clearly labeled "Brooklin" is "adorably all-digital." Rough. Obviously that raised a lot of questions about the future of physical media.

Many people are rightly concerned that their record library will soon become worthless. Just a relic lost to Microsoft's greed. Also, lots of AI. Fortunately, Xbox has an answer. In a recent interview, Phil Spencer said: "Games consoles have become the latest consumer electronic device to have a unit. This is a real problem, simply in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually making units and the cost. associated with them." "Okay, wait, wait, wait a second, Phil. That doesn't make me feel any better. But then he quickly added, "Getting rid of the physical is not a strategic thing for us." Damn, Phil, you scared me for a second.

That said, it doesn't really guarantee that physical media like discs are here to stay. Let's face it, physical media is disappearing everywhere, except maybe at Nintendo and Xbox could easily change its mind at any time. The discs only come in deluxe versions of the game that cost three times as much as the base game. It could mean that the Xbox only has access to an external drive. Who knows? Xbox has said that "many of the documents are over a year old and our plans have evolved." If that's true, and I'd certainly give them the benefit of the doubt here, I'd take anything as part of this leak with a grain of salt. salt, especially artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud.

I mean, honestly, the technology in that area is advancing so quickly that I wouldn't be surprised if they not only constantly review their plans, but also try to figure out how it fits into their "Xbox Everywhere" strategy. I mean, Microsoft is almost certainly already in the middle of developing the next generation of Xbox. That said, I would be surprised if Brooklin, which is scheduled to launch in late 2024, undergoes significant changes. I mean, just the design, the supply chain planning, the manufacturing itself, all of that has to be planned well in advance. If they have any intention of releasing it in 2024, they

should

be pretty much ready to start doing these damn things.

The controller is another part of the jailbreak that probably won't be changed much. Codenamed "Sebile", this driver issupposedly the biggest change they've made since the Elite controller. But unlike the Elite controller, which was a premium add-on, Sebile will replace the standard Xbox controller. Now, looking at the specs, it definitely feels like someone at Microsoft HQ took a DualSense and said, "Oh, (redacted)!" That 's what I did. Supposedly featuring much better haptics, better joysticks, and cloud features, if this controller is anything like the leak, I'll say it might actually be the biggest update we see in 2024. There we have it.

The Xbox master plan. It is quite clear that Xbox's strategy in the future will be to focus on digital services and content. It looks like the focus will be less on hardware and exclusivity, and more on being everywhere you can imagine. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if we could soon play Game Pass on a damn Samsung refrigerator. Taking all this into account, does it even make sense to buy Xbox hardware in 2024? If you need a way to play current-gen games at a pretty affordable price, the Series S is still one of the best options out there, and again, it's on sale for a lot less than that $300 MSRP.

If you're waiting The Brooklin Xbox Series X update probably won't be that big of an upgrade over the regular Series And if you believe the leaks, it could also be one of the last ways to play that huge library of discs you've been accumulating or if you want to pick up some previous generation titles for a few dollars on disc. Now, if you're worried about Xbox abandoning consoles overnight, don't be. Look, even if software is the future, and I think it is, they still have a lot of incentive to maintain their own hardware. As far as Xbox going for a digital future, in my opinion it will probably take a while.

Certainly not this generation. But if you're looking ahead, it might be a better decision to take the money you'd spend on that shiny new Series X and upgrade your PC. Not only will you get a lot more performance, but if Game Pass is going to be the main Xbox experience in the future, you'll pretty much get the best of both worlds and a ton of PlayStation games. Or you could wait for Switch 2.