I was one of the lucky ones who got an Xbox Series X on launch day, from Microsoft at MSRP. It arrived on November 10 and I was enamored both of the box and the shape of the console itself. After the Xbox one had been a boxy, boring, thing that was nicknamed "the VCR," the Series X has a cool obelisk shape, reminiscent of a PC mini-tower from the 90s but with only a disc drive and that glowing power gem on the top, and a cool vent up top. It's a handsome console that looks unobtrusive when horizontal and bold when kept vertically.

If I had a little disappointment before plugging the Xbox Series X in it was with the controller. Though it adds a capture button, a textured back, that funky geometric D-pad, and a few other minor details it is essentially the same as the Xbox One X controller. There's nothing wrong with that controller, and certainly this is not the first console to ship with a controller similar to its predecessor (Sony essentially kept the Dual Shock design for 3 consoles straight) it made the Series X feel a bit like an Xbox One X-2. Not a new generation but a stepwise upgrade to what came before. I plugged it in, set it up, and launched it to that old familiar Xbox One UI, and that feeling was only magnified. This wasn't trying to be an exciting new experience, it was just trying to be an Xbox One, but better.

And that's really what the Xbox Series X has been for me. 2 years later and I still use my old One X somewhat regularly in another room, and swapping between the two of them it's hard to tell them apart, at least when I'm not running some fancy new game that takes advantage of the extra horsepower or the SSD. The Xbox Series X feels comfortable but not distinctive. It has never had that "new console" smell like the Switch or the PS5, where a brand new UI and control set up promises you a whole new set of experiences. Instead it's more like upgrading your PC. You plug your stuff in, turn it on, and everything runs the same but better.

The Xbox Series X has also not done much to distinguish itself on the software front. That's not to say it doesn't have games; it has literally thousands of games from 4 generations of Xbox consoles. It has some of the greatest games of all time. Every Halo, every Gears, a selection of old XBLA games, cult classics like Otogi and Armed and Dangerous, just all kinds of crazy stuff. You can pop in your old Forza Horizon on Xbox 360 disc from 2012 and play your old save from that if you uploaded it to the cloud or you can play Elden Ring and the latest Call of Duty.

And it has a killer app in Game Pass. I have been running a Game Pass game club on these message boards this year and it's been great. I have played a ton of really fun games on that service, from Psychonauts 2, my game of the year last year, to Vampire Survivors, one of this year's biggest indie hits. Game Pass is awesome and a great reason to won an Xbox. My Xbox One was my most played Gen 8 console and the Series X is looking like it will be that for Gen 9, though I have been spending more time with PlayStation since a couple real life friends have taken to playing co-op with me on that platform.

What the Series X lacks is an identity. I've talked about all the great things on the platform, but almost all of that is true for the Xbox One X too. PlayStation 5 arguably has a similar problem, but it at least has a few exclusive games (I guess you can sort of count a few games like Scorn as consoles exclusives at least.) It also has a unique UI and controller. The PlayStation 5 feels distinct from the PS4, and the Xbox Series just...doesn't. It's like Microsoft finally fixed Xbox One and then decided to just go with what works after that.

And it does work. It's a good platform. Microsoft in general needs a lot more exclusives (last year was very strong with Forza Horizon and Halo but there's been basically nothing this year except a few timed indies) and it's unclear what their studios are doing, but even setting that aside there's more than enough to play. As a game machine it performs well, the UI is fine, everything works, there has never been a software drought if you include multiplats, it's a fine machine.

But for me every console I've owned to this point conjures unique and distinct memories of its UI and games, and the Xbox Series X feels exactly like my Xbox One X. It's like buying a new car of the same model as your old ones. There may be some new bells and whistles but driving it feels essentially familiar.

So I don't have that much to say about the Xbox Series X on its second anniversary. It's a good console. I use it a lot. I like how it looks. It needs some more exclusive software. That's about it.

The Xbox Series S is a bit more different being digital only and there being some concerns that its weakness is holding the generation back, but I don't think PS5 games look or play particularly better than the Xbox Series X games (including PS5 exclusives) so I don't really notice that if it's true. But I don't have one of those and can't comment on it.

I view the new consoles as semi-walled-garden PCs and I don’t think that’s going to get much better. I don’t mind them not having any personality. I turn off the RGB on my PC and as long as it plays games I’m good. I was okay with Yakuza not being just on Sony systems; I would be fine if Halo was on a Playstation.

When I build a new PC I’m really excited for a while but within a couple days I realize it just means that for a couple years I can set the graphics sliders higher. I think we’re at the point where the same applies to consoles aside from the system-exclusive stuff.

I just said the other day on here that I feel like the next gen consoles haven't really wowed me. The series X and ps5 feel like the pro versions of the xbone/ps4. Not complaining, just feels weird.

I don't own an Xbox Series X, but that was a good read. I own a PS5, Switch, and have PC Game Pass which seems to be good enough for me. I keep getting messages asking me to upgrade to Ultimate, which would let me play most of the Xbox library on PC through streaming. The problems is, the games I would want to play the most aren't available because of licensing issues, except on the actual Xbox Game Pass. I was thinking about getting a Series S, but I can already tell that console will be left behind, once developers really start to push the Series X for all of its worth in the hardware department.

But ultimately, the lack of exclusive games is really hurting the Series X so far. It also doesn't help that their flagship game Halo Infinite really botched things on the multiplayer side, causing many players to give up on the game and move on from it.

Series X is definitely the least sexy of the new gen consoles. The PS5 has differentiated itself quite well (even if some of that feels like smoke and mirrors; I should have saved the $10 and bought the PS4 version of GOWR, for instance), and the Series S at least has the benefit of being cheap and an excellent travel companion. But like, if I'm totaling hours played these past two years, the Series X wins by a mile over the PS5. It's the workhorse that gets me the most games at the best price, plus a truly impressive backwards compatible library that breathes new life into my old games. This year's lack of exclusives definitely hurt the console, but that should even out in time. Overall I'm still very happy with the purchase, even if it didn't have the bells and whistles associated with a new console launch.

Does the Series X look like a "Darth Vadar" Star Wars mini-fridge from Skymall cicra 1997? Does the Series S look like a mono speaker from the same Skymall catalog? Does the PS5 look like a "cheap" router you'd rent from your local cable company for broadband?

Yes, to all three. But I digress.

Microsoft does not care about identity, nor about consoles, and if they could, they'd stop making them all together.

Microsoft wants ubiquity.

Straight up, Microsoft wants Xbox to become a services company / THE services company in gaming--like iTunes, Netflix, or Spotify--that's available everywhere and on everything. But to make that happen they need a constant stream of content, which is where acquisitions and market consolidation come in, as it's cheaper / easier to acquire the means of production (in the long term).

Microsoft is finally able to leverage its two greatest advantages--near infinite financial backing and Azure--because they simply can't compete with Nintendo or Sony in the tradition console or handheld market.

I couldnt agree more. Also, well written as always.

Anyway, nothing is more representative of this fact than I was at Target last night and saw a display stack for Xbox Series X replicas that are actually mini fridges.

@nameredacted: I was typing mine as you were typing yours, but it DOES in fact have a mini fridge that looks just like it!

I cant entirely relate as I skipped the Xbox last generation, something I have absolutely no regrets about. Its been nice experiencing the previous gen of xbox games on my Series S and I find I much prefer its architecture to that of the PS5.

Its just really clean and quick, seems to do what I want with lightning speed while the PS5 menu's seem sluggish and confusing to navigate even though I've logged enough hours on it now I should be used to it.

And the controller is really, really nice on the Xbox. Its my preferred space for Multi-plats.

So maybe I'm arguing that while the Series S/X doesnt feel any different on a GUI front, maybe its because they hit it so well out of the park on the last gen consoles?

Its just absolutely criminal that playing God of War for an hour has pretty much eclipsed anything I've played on my Xbox since I've picked it up last year.

Really hoping Microsoft gets some things in motion here and their quiver of studios starts producing.

I got a PS5 last month, and I pretty much just saw it as a hardware upgrade to the PS4 I've had since a little over eight years ago. I will say that the controller does feel nice with it's snazzy features - I've been playing Astro's Playroom, and that does feel fairly unique. However, when you're not using the fancy rumble I could almost mistake it for a DS4, and the other games I've played on it so far are ones that would've run on my PS4 or PC (albeit slightly worse on the former).

They changed the UI up a fair bit from the XMB design of the PS3 and PS4. I wish they hadn't. It feels like an active loss of functionality in a lot of places, with almost no tangible benefits. That said I'm still happy with the purchase, but it definitely feels like less of a "wow" moment than you might've had with past console generations. That's probably expected, though; I think that mostly just comes down to the way that tech and the game industry iterates and evolves over time.

Pretty good review so far, before if you get into Forza Motorsport 2023 game, it's up to you to buy a racing wheel like Thrustmaster T248 for example, so you can experience more realism.