Xbox One S
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Xbox One does away with discs in new $249 All-Digital Edition
Discs! What are they good for? Well, they’re nice if you don’t want to be tied to an online-only ecosystem. But if you don’t mind that, Microsoft’s latest Xbox One S “All-Digital Edition” might be for you. With no slots to speak of, the console is limited to downloading games to its drive — which is how we’ve been doing it on PC for quite some time.
Announced during today’s “Inside Xbox” video presentation, the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition — honestly, why not just give it a different letter? — is identical to the existing One S except for, of course, not having a disc slot in the front.
The Xbox One X (left) and S (center) are missing this valuable feature exclusive to the All-Digital Edition (right)
The impact of the news was lessened somewhat by Sony’s strategically timed tease of its next-generation console, revealing little — but enough to get gamers talking on a day Microsoft would have preferred was about its game ecosystem. But to return to the disc-free Xbox.
“We’re not looking to push customers toward digital,” explained Microsoft’s Jeff Gattis in a press release. “It’s about meeting the needs of customers that are digital natives that prefer digital-based media. Given this is the first product of its kind, it will teach us things we don’t already know about customer preferences around digital and will allow us to refine those experiences in the future. We see this as a step forward in extending our offerings beyond the core console gamer.”
The CPU and GPU are the same, RAM is the same, everything is the same. Even, unfortunately, the hard drive: a single lonely terabyte (imagine saying that a few years ago) that could fill up fast if every game has to be downloaded in full rather than loaded from disc.
It’s also the exact same shape and size as the S, which seems like a missed opportunity — they couldn’t make it a little smaller or thinner after taking out the whole Blu-ray assembly? Well, at least the original is a nice-looking little box to begin with. (“Changes that affect the form of a console can be complex and costly,” said Gattis.)
At $249 it’s $50 cheaper than the disc-using edition, and comes with copies of Sea of Thieves, Minecraft and Forza Horizon 3. That’s a pretty decent value, I’d say. If you’re looking to break into the Xbox ecosystem and don’t want to clutter your place with a bunch of discs and cases, this is a nice option. Sea of Thieves had kind of a weak start but has grown quite a bit, FH3 is supposed to be solid and Minecraft is of course Minecraft.
You may also want to spring for the new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service, which combines Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass — meaning you get the usual online benefits as well as access to the growing Game Pass library. There’s enough there now that, with the games you get in the box, you shouldn’t have to buy much of anything until whatever Microsoft announces at E3 comes out. (There’s even a special offer for three months of Game Pass for a buck to get you started.)
You can pre-order the All-Digital Edition (which really should have been called the Xbox One D) now, and it should ship and be available at retailers starting May 7.
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Disc-free Xbox One S could land on May 7th
Microsoft is about to launch an even cheaper Xbox One S. In order to cut costs, the company is removing the Blu-ray disc drive altogether. According to leaked marketing images spotted by WinFuture (via Thurrott), the console could launch on May 7th for €229 in Germany.
Given that the launch is just a few weeks away and that those marketing images line up perfectly with previous rumors, chances are this is the real deal.
As you can see on WinFuture’s images, it looks exactly like an Xbox One S without the disc slot. The console is called Xbox One S All Digital and comes with a 1TB hard drive — most standard Xbox One S consoles currently also feature a 1TB hard drive.
Microsoft states clearly that this console is only for digital games. If you already have physical Xbox One games, you won’t be able to insert them in the console.
Customers get three games for free with the console through download codes — Minecraft, Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 3. You can then buy more games in the online store or subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass to access a library of games.
This model should cost €229 in Germany, but you might be able to buy it for less. For instance, an Xbox One S officially costs €299 on Microsoft’s website, but you can easily buy it for €200 on Amazon and through other retailers.
Microsoft usually uses the same price points in USD, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Xbox One S All Digital officially costs $229 in the U.S.
It’s clear that Microsoft is testing the market with this console. The company has been pivoting to a subscription model. The Xbox brand is evolving from a gaming console brand to a service brand. This should be Microsoft’s key differentiating factor with the next generation of consoles.
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Xbox One S is reportedly getting a disc-free version in May
The writing has been on the wall for physical media for a while now. In May, Microsoft is reportedly set to hammer another nail into that coffin with the launch of the Xbox One S All-Digital. As advertised, the latest version of the console will drop the Blu-ray drive in favor of an all downloadable experience.
Rumors about the XOSAD have been floating around since last year — when the console still went by the decidedly Top Gunny name of “Maverick.” A new report from Windows Central offers more insight into the system, along with a potential May 7 release date — which puts it roughly in line with those initial reports.
The system is said to offer 1TB of storage, which should serve players well in the transition away from discs. It also apparently will be bundled with a handful of download codes to get started, including Minecraft, Forza Horizon 3 and Sea of Thieves.
With the obvious lack of disc drive, the system looks more or less identical to the standard One S. As for pricing, we expect it to be more affordable than its predecessor. The move is part of a broader push from Microsoft to wean games off physical media. It’s a play that also includes digital-first services like the Xbox Game Pass.
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Microsoft is about to announce Xbox All Access subscription
Microsoft published a news item announcing Xbox All Access on the Xbox blog and then unpublished it. But multiple news outlets spotted the article before Microsoft could take the post down. So now that the cat is out of the bag, it looks like Microsoft’s new hardware and software subscription is real. (Update: Microsoft has published the announcement for real.)
There have been rumors over the past few weeks that Microsoft was planning to announce a new subscription. Today’s announcement lines up with those rumors. Microsoft is launching Xbox All Access in the U.S., which includes a console, Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass.
You get to choose between an Xbox One S for $22 per month or an Xbox One X for $35 per month. After paying for 24 months, the subscription stops and the console is yours. You can then choose to keep paying for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass or you can cancel your subscriptions — it’s your console after all.
So let’s do the math. You can currently buy an Xbox One S for around $299. Xbox Live Gold lets you play multiplayer games and access free games for $60 per year. The Xbox Game Pass lets you download and play games from a library of 100+ games for $9.99 per month — it’s a sort of Spotify for video games.
If you buy a console and subscribe for two years, you’ll end up paying around $659. An Xbox All Access subscription lets you save around $130. If you already planned on subscribing to those two services, it sounds like a good deal. If you didn’t really care about Xbox Game Pass, you’ll end up paying more than buying a console the normal way.
The Xbox One X currently costs around $499. If you add two years of Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass, the bottom line is $859. Two years of Xbox All Access with the Xbox One X costs $840. So it’s not that good a deal if you’re interested in the Xbox One X.
With this new offering, Microsoft shows that it wants to shift its gaming strategy to subscriptions. Buying a console every few years isn’t as lucrative as buying an all-in-one Xbox subscription. Subscriptions increase customer loyalty and create predictable recurring revenue.
More importantly, gaming consoles won’t stick around forever. At some point, games will run on expensive servers in the cloud and you’ll subscribe to a service. Rumor has it that Microsoft is already getting ready to launch a low-powered system to stream games from the cloud. This is what Microsoft is thinking about with Xbox All Access.
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Behold the Xbox One S and Design Lab controllers in all their glory
Earlier today, they were but flashes on the big screen at Microsoft’s big E3 kickoff event. Now they’re pieces of metal and plastic in the same venue that hosted the aforementioned event (presently the site of an Xbox mixer with, mercifully, with an open bar). The Xbox One S console is, of course, noticeably more svelte than its predecessor – 40-percent so, in fact. The… Read More
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Microsoft reveals the new, slimmer Xbox One S, coming this August
That’s “S” for “slim.” Or maybe “svelte.” Or “skinny.” Or…”something.” As anticipated and later full-on leaked, the Xbox has slimmed down just in time for swimsuit season with the One S. Microsoft revealed the upgraded console this morning at its E3 kickoff event here in Los Angeles. The system the company showed off… Read More
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Watch the Microsoft Xbox E3 2016 conference live right here
Microsoft is holding its annual Xbox media briefing in Los Angels ahead of E3. So if you don’t care about Apple’s WWDC, you’re in for a treat. You can watch the live stream right here.
The keynote is scheduled to start at 9:30 AM in Los Angeles, 12:30 PM in New York, 5:30 PM in London, 6:30 PM in Paris. Read More
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Microsoft has a new Xbox One to showcase at E3 later today, and here’s what it’s going to look like. Rumors of a slimmer, cheaper Xbox One have been quite persistent for the past few weeks. And the NeoGAF forums leaked two i