During The Game Awards 2019, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer took to the stage to reveal their upcoming next-gen hardware previously called Project Scarlett, giving it the official name Xbox Series X. Except there was one thing no one’s talking about – Hardware.
During The Game Awards 2019, there was a spectacular demonstration of a newly announced Xbox Series X title called Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and we already know of another existing exclusive – Halo: Infinite. However, what people aren’t talking about outside of backward compatibility with virtually all previous-generation accessories (minus Kinect it seems), including your Xbox One Elite Series 2 controllers.
With a sense of familiarity to it, Microsoft has opted for a slightly-newer design of current-gen controllers, which features the addition of, well, a new button. What does that button do exactly? Well, it shares stuff. Yep, it allows you to Share stuff, just like Sony has been doing since 2013 thanks to the addition of – well – a Share button.
This step forward shows that Microsoft isn’t scared to deliver a unique experience that may seem a bit familiar thanks to its ability to bridge the gap of multiple generations of hardware. While the Xbox Series X will be an entirely new jump in hardware capability, namely in the fact it will be able to run games in native 4K resolutions at 60fps and up to 120fps, with the ability to run games in 8K resolutions as well.
Microsoft had even previously stated that the Xbox Series X will have variable refresh rate support, and an SSD that will be used as a “virtual RAM.” What they didn’t mention up until now and we’d only heard rumors of it? That the Xbox Series X will be compatible with all controllers from the Xbox One and Xbox One X series of consoles (as previously revealed by Phil Spencer in a Tweet).
Because of this, it is worth noting that this does mean all headsets of this generation – at least 3.5mm driver ones – will be compatible as well, making your jump into the next-generation a little less expensive going in. However, it is worth noting that while the Xbox Series X only has two officially revealed games, the entirety of Microsoft’s library of games (information regarding the full extent of this) is at your fingertips including both the Xbox and the Xbox 360, bringing your library of games to well over 100 titles to play.
Additionally, you can’t forget that Xbox Series X will also use your already existing Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass memberships. Not a bad deal all things considered. Microsoft has stated that their net-gen console will launch Holiday 2020 and will quite possibly come with a rumored slightly-less powerful hardware sibling.
Microsoft is taking a few bets on this game as they are aiming to use the power of the cloud to give gamers one of the best experiences possible. The only thing we don’t know is if this means that Microsoft will once-again bring forth the focus of an “always online” experience. We’ll keep you updated as more information emerges.
About the Writer(s):
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter or Facebook.