A lot of gamers will be looking at the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S and wondering if it's worth spending the extra $200 on the Series X. Well, Microsoft just revealed a new reason to consider choosing the X.
As VGC reports, Microsoft's two next-gen consoles offer different levels of performance and it turns out this impacts backwards compatibility. The Xbox Series X will play Xbox One X versions of last-gen games, but the Series S won't. It will instead be limited to One S versions of games with a few enhancements applied.
Microsoft confirmed this in a statement to VGC, which said, "To deliver the highest quality backwards compatible experience consistent with the developer’s original intent, the Xbox Series S runs the Xbox One S version of backward compatible games while applying improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent frame rates, faster load times and Auto HDR."
It's a reminder that there really is a significant performance difference between the two next-gen consoles, and that's why the Series S can be priced $200 cheaper. For the majority of gamers, being limited to One S versions of games isn't going to be in issue. However, it's important to know all the differences between the consoles before deciding which one to buy. Another to consider is the included storage, with the Series S only shipping with a 512GB SSD compared to the Series X's 1TB drive. If Seagate's 1TB Expansion Cards really are $220 each, it makes the Series X looks a little more enticing.
Further Reading
- Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series S: What's the Difference?
- New Xbox Consoles Are First to Support Gaming in Dolby Vision and Atmos
- Want to Pay Less for Xbox Series X and Game Pass? Use Xbox All Access
- Xbox Series X vs. PlayStation 5: What We Know So Far
- More in Gaming Systems