Game Pass Brought Me Back To Xbox

In the great console war, I have always remained neutral. I have no loyalty and I'm fine with that because it's all about the games. Eventually, I grab the "other" console so I can play exclusives. Last generation, I went full Playstation following a love affair with the Xbox 360. Everyone had an Xbox 360 and when the next consoles were announced, my main group of friends went Playstation 4. I worked out because I prefer single-player experiences and the Playstation 4 has some of the best available. So what happened last week surprised even me; I bought an Xbox Series S.

I had been holding out for a Sony PlayStation 5; I know people who managed to grab them, but I have had no such luck. By the way, why is it that my phone sends me the Twitter PS5 stock updates 2 hours after the tweet was made? It's infuriating, but I digress. One of these tweets scanned across my eyes at the perfect time -- Microsoft Xbox Series S in stock at GameStop. Interesting.

Now, my purchase decision needs some backstory. For my birthday, I received a $100 gift card to the Microsoft Store. I had become a PlayStation 4 guy this generation; my Xbox One has basically been untouched its entire life, but this gift card could be used to test out this Game Pass thing I had been hearing so much about. I'd call it a happy accident. And what's that? Outriders, a game I wanted to play was coming to Game Pass on day 1 and the first month is only $1? Okay, Microsoft, I see what you're doing.

Having about half a year of Game Pass already paid for and looking over the list of games, both available and upcoming (MLB The Show 21) made ordering an Xbox Series S an easy decision.

If I had the choice would I have paid more for a Series X? Maybe? With my current hardware situation, the Series S made the most sense. My TVs are only 1080p and I don't really feel like upgrading right now. My PC setup includes 3 monitors, 2 of which are 1440p, which just so happens to be the maximum resolution of the Series S. I've wanted to start capturing gameplay more for my YouTube channel, so a console that can live in my office with my PC, makes me very happy. Hauling consoles and cables from a living room to an office is annoying to the point where I just do not do it.

I've been enjoying my first days with my X Box Series S playing Outriders (loading is so much faster than the Xbox One!). Will I buy a PlayStation 5 when given the opportunity? Maybe? I had the opportunity to buy a PS5 bundle from GameStop and I passed. Sony is just in a weird place with PS5. There a lack of games right now and they have made some recent questionable decisions. I'm going to enjoy my Game Pass games and Xbox Series S for now. This combination is one of the best I've seen in gaming history.

Have you jumped into the Next-Gen of consoles yet? Did you switch allegiances? I really did not see this coming for me. Interested if anyone has done the same.

See the original post on my blog, Current Kick - please stop by!

Game Pass really does make a strong case for the Series S. It's not just that it's a low price of entry and provides a lot of games, it's also that a lot of the games on Game Pass (and releasing right now in general) are smaller games that don't benefit that much from the Series X or PS5 power boost. Yes the biggest games will look better, but so much of video gaming right now is about playing older games and smaller indie titles that the advantages are pretty minor. Is Outriders in 4K a much better experience than it is in 1080p? Not really. I played it on both an Xbox Series X and an Xbox One X and the biggest difference is, as you said, the loading times.

If what you want is just a system that works pretty well and will feed you games to play regularly, including a decent version of many big multiplats and a veritable feast of indies then the Xbox Series S with Game Pass is an unbeatable value. In April alone you're getting Outriders and MLB the Show, along with a bunch of indies and a huge back catalog of Microsoft and Bethesda hits (and more) for less than the cost of Netflix.

Is it sustainable? Probably not at this price point. But it's a ton of fun while it lasts. I'm buying a lot fewer games right now because Game Pass really does provide enough to keep me satisfied, along with my backlog.

Sony relying primarily on single player blockbusters may prove a double edged sword because you can wait on single player games and just play them after a price drop or a half step console. There's no rush on the PS5. Miles Morales will be there.

For Game Pass the fact that the library cycles in and out means that there may be more value in getting in on the start of the generation and being able to play stuff as it comes to the service.

@bigsocrates: You really hit everything that I'm feeling.

I'm now remembering the early PS4 experience. I was able to grab one maybe 5 months after it came out? There were barely any games that I really needed to play for the first year; trying to justify my purchase playing any PSN indy game that came out. Game Pass solves that issue immediately, even if many of the games are not new but games I haven't had the chance to play albeit a slightly better experience.

I still almost can't believe it. It was all almost by accident, too. The only reason I even looked into Game Pass was I received a $100 Microsoft gift card for my birthday from a family member who knew I "play video games". A nice happy accident. Had that been a PSN gift card, I probably wouldn't be here. Would have used it to buy Outriders and that would have been that.

I'm seriously thinking about getting an Xbox Series S to use on my PC monitor with game pass so I can play some of the games I missed during the 360 era. Those would be the Fight Night games, Gears 2 and 3, the last SSX game that was released and more. Luckily, the Master Chief Collection was released on PC, but its becoming clear that PC game pass won't get the support the console version is getting in the future. If I pull the trigger, it will be my first Xbox console. And I might update my monitor to take advantage of VRR, G Sync and the like.

@av_gamer: This is what I'm talking about! I haven't even dug into the library this deep. Fight Night Champion & SSX were games I loved back on 360. I would totally go back and play those again.

I need to look into the PC side a bit more. I have Game Pass Ultimate, mostly for the Xbox Live Gold membership, which I let end a few years ago. I know there was at least A Plague Tale, that I wanted to check out.

I guess for me The Xbox Series X and gamepass brought me back to gaming in my living room. I was primarily a PC gamer last gen. given how disappointing the PS4 and Xbox One were power and performance wise. I have really been enjoying my X, gamepass, and new LG CX OLED a ton. Recently, I played through the Ori sequel, Gears 5, Tetris Effect Journey Mode, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey and am about to finish up Red Dead Redemption 2. Also, slowly working my way through the Hitman trilogy as well as Yakuza 0 on it.

I also made it my primary video streaming device which in a weird way makes me more into playing games on it since it is almost always up and running on my TV.

You have to look a little harder but PC gamepass has some great stuff, especially if you are into PC-ass PC games. Some standouts are Subnautica, Frostpunk, Crusader Kings 3, Wasteland 3, and Desperados 3.

@gla55jaw: A Plague Tale: Innocence is a really solid game. Highly recommended. Its biggest problem is that it isn't called A Plague Tail even though it's about rats.

@heelbill: The Xbox is underrated as a streaming box. I haven't found one that I like better and I've tried a bunch. It's funny because the Xbox One was originally developed to interface with TV for some stupid reason, and yet that functionality is dead yet and yet the "all in one" box appeal is greater than ever. I kept my Xbox One X as a streaming box for my treadmill and I absolutely love it for that. It also gets me to play games because they're right there, and with quick resume and pins it's super easy to swap back and forth. You can be watching something and get a call from a friend and just seamlessly mute the TV and put on some arcade game to play while you shoot the breeze. It's great.

Ignoring the storage issue the XSS seems like a fantastic option when combined with game pass. I'm not in the market for a console but if you want to play games on a 1080p screen an XSS seems like the best place right now. I do think the fan vent being black is off putting when it could have been white too.

@slaegar:Storage was a big concern for me, especially since the only expansion for Series S/X games is that Seagate drive for $220. I have 3 Series S/X games downloaded, 1 360 game, and 2 360 games and I'm at 45% full. So I don't think it's going to be that huge of an issue since I'll realistically, be playing 1 maybe 2 games at a time. Still a bit annoying, though. At least 360 games can go on any USB external drive.

Yeah, I don't love the look of the S at all. I wish it were all black if I had a choice.

@gla55jaw: Xbox One games can play off a USB drive too. And any games can be stored on a USB drive, you just can't play Xbox Series S games off the drive. But you can buy a 4 terabyte (or more) drive and shove every game you're not currently playing on it, and play both Xbox One and Xbox 360 games off it.

Storage can be a problem if you like to play a bunch of yoooooge games from time to time, like if you want to play Forza Horizon 4 and Master Chief Collection every now and then so you keep both installed, along with Call of Duty, but not if you're just downloading a couple 50 gig games to play through them.,

@bigsocrates: Thanks for the clarification!