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Microsoft took a gamble with their current generation of console hardware. Not only did they go all-in on a high performance $500 machine in the Xbox Series X to compete with Sony — they simultaneously released a stripped down cheaper version called the Xbox Series S.
In order to get the price down to $300, they cut the disc drive, memory pool, storage capacity, and GPU size. That last one is arguably the most dramatic slash, with fewer than half of the compute units found on the larger model. The thinking was that developers would be able to target lower resolution output with their Series S titles but keep everything else mostly the same.
In the market, gamers responded strongly to the much lower price of the smaller Xbox. When Microsoft’s legal team accidentally leaked all of their own documents online while going through their FTC case regarding the Activision merger, it emerged that around 75 percent of Xbox purchasers pick the smaller console. That makes a lot of sense as the price difference is stark.
Sadly, the compromised machine hasn’t always worked out well on the software side. The limited RAM and GPU aren’t compensated for by the relatively beefy CPU. Current games are more frequently pushing GPU-intensive effects like…
