Go all-digital with Xbox Series S and enjoy next-gen performance in the smallest Xbox ever, at a great price. Make the most of every gaming minute with Quick Resume, lightning-fast load times, and gameplay of up to 120 FPS—all powered by Xbox Velocity Architecture. Enjoy digital games from four generations of Xbox, with hundreds of optimized titles that look and play better than ever. And when you add Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (membership sold separately or included when you choose Xbox All Access), you get online multiplayer to play with friends and an instant library of 100+ high-quality games, including day one releases from Xbox Game Studios like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and Minecraft Dungeons.*
A great console that unfortunately signals the death of an era. The console works as advertised, 60 frames or more at 1440p for any games that have been updated with such support. This console is in very few ways inferior to the Series X. It has no disc drive and less internal SSD space, but in the era of digital games external drives are so easy to come by and cheap too. Considering most TVs can't even support the power of the Series X, the Series S is the console to buy unless you already own a huge TV, or one that is over 4K. With the X you will be able to generate 4K content, or 60+ frames with a lower resolution. The S is optimal for most people I would argue, because likely if you own a 4K TV you probably don't have one that is high end with a fast refresh rate. But if your TV is huge you will see a definite lost of clarity in the picture. Overall this console is a lot easier to get a hold of and it's a true next gen experience little different from the Series X. With each update to the OS the previous Xbox One editions get slower and become forcibly more obsolete. Quick resume and the more enhanced always-on are amazing features that bring you to gaming faster than ever. And the sheer amount of frames in comp multiplayer games like Rocket League and R6S are a huge advantage. The Series S is a good place to start if you don't know whether or not you want to upgrade your home entertainment suite and whether or not a better console will actually have effect at all on your current home entertainment suite. And it is also the right console to buy if you're on a budget. Right noe there aren't too many games and next gen experiences but considering that these consoles are being given priority to their previous gen brethren, which are being slowly left behind as we speak, if you game at all then an upgrade is what you need.
Apr 23, 2021 18:25After playing on my Xbox Series S for a month now I can say I am happy with this little beast console ! This console can play new Xbox One and old Xbox 360 games if it's backwards compatible. The fast load times are amazing on current Xbox games and the increase frame rates are also very much welcomed. I redownloaded alot of past games just to try out how it stacks against my old Xbox One X there just no comparison to how stable it is plus most games are getting a X/S upgrade to take advantage of the new hardware. Then comes the downside to the Series S the internal hard drive only 346 GB is just way too small to build a library of games. You will constantly be deleting/reinstalling and good luck with updates. Sure you can fix this with buying a external hard drive but gotta sacrifice that fast load time or even the pricy $219 SSD just to maintain that fast load time for only 1 TB. If you can get past the small storage space then I would highly recommend you pick up a Xbox Series S to play your current games/older games at higher speeds or framerate but if your wanting bigger space and more graphical enhances of the new games coming down the line then get a Xbox Series X.
Feb 06, 2021 03:11I’ll start by saying that up until purchasing this console, I’ve owned everything but an Xbox. There’s been N64, GameBoy Advance, GameCube, PS2, Wii, PS2, PS3, and PS4. Never an Xbox. For the longest time having grown up on the influence of console wars, I’ve always ignorantly thought PS was the better console and Xbox has nothing to offer. I’ve played the 360 a few times and had no experience with the XB1. Coming from the PS4 it’s the smoothest and most satisfying console I’ve played. Transitions between games are seamless including the Quick Resume feature which essentially allows you to have multiple games open just by switching between them. The selection is always mocked because of PS’ well known exclusives, although Xbox has great ones of their own. Some including Gears of War, Halo, Forza, Sea of Thieves, and now their exclusivity deal with Bethesda to launch their future titles on Microsoft platforms. Aside from the games, as I previously stated the transitions are seamless thanks to the SSD (be prepared to buy storage expansion). The UI is extremely convenient once you get used to it, Game Pass is great value for what you’re paying, the performance can hang with the Series X (especially if you don’t have an HDR/4K capable TV), the recording/streaming quality is an upgrade along with the speed that it saves your clips at being very quick (again coming from a PS4). All in all, I’ve only owned this console for one day and I can see myself using it for a thousand more. Highly recommend if you’re looking to try out an Xbox or if you’re looking to upgrade from a One/One S, it could also just serve as portable gaming for anyone who travels frequently.
Sep 02, 2021 11:44Just picked it up today. Iam writing this review to help out people. Don’t be to worried about the storage. If you had an External hard drive. From your old console. It will work on this system. Your old games that are not x/s up grades will still play from the hard drive you have. Games that are up graded put on the internal hard drive. The console is very small but powerful. Super quiet. Iam coming for the Xbox one s. This new system downloads games super fast and loads way faster then the other. For people that play destiny load took forever. Not with this system. Iam playing on 1080p monitor. And games look so much better. Hope this helps people. Glad I upgraded to this system.
Dec 31, 2020 19:44I really wanted to get the X series i tried so hard and this one was available so i grabbed it with no expectations. This little thing is powerful looks sweet and plays amazing. I have a 1440 monitor so this ended up being a great purchase. Only bad thing is how hard these new systems are to get and only being digital you can't buy games at the store anymore. Gamepass is amazing also and perfect for this machine
Dec 04, 2020 11:27Even though, there's hype around the Series X and PS5 about the powerful internals. I enjoy having the Series S... I'm impressed of how small it is. And its more than capable of playing next generation games. As of now, I've been playing 2K21 Next Generation.
If those who don't care about 4K gaming and don't have a ton of games they play on a regular, then I most certainly recommend the Series S.
Dec 29, 2020 11:19Honestly was just on Best Buy a few days ago and I seen they had a Xbox Series S so I thought I will see if I can’t place a order and what did you know it went through was actually happy Yes I know this system doesn’t let you have 4K 120 FPS but I don’t care I’m just glad I can play next generation games I’m very impressed at how the Xbox Series S can play games at 120 FPS and 60 FPS really can see a difference yes your not getting a lot of storage only like 364GB not the greatest but at least it’s something if your the type who doesn’t care about having a system that can do 4K 120 FPS then this system is perfect for you now note if you want to play Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition with Ray Tracing on then I have bad news the Series S can’t do it it’s only on the Series X but theirs other games that has Ray Tracing on the Series S but if you don’t care like me on some games then I say get this system
Oct 29, 2021 02:27So i was lucky and randomly i was on best buys website and i was able to check out with one inn very early January. now i wanted the X & still want the X but im very surprised what this machine can do for the time being! i also bought the 49'' Lg Nano cell tv & can run call of duty and other games at 1440p @120hz. i am thrilled & so happy. This is performing just as good, if not better then my Alienware desktop with a rtx 2070!! Wish it had a bigger SSD tho!!
Feb 11, 2021 15:12Xbox Series X, the fastest, most powerful Xbox ever. Explore rich new worlds with 12 teraflops of raw graphic processing power, DirectX ray tracing, a custom SSD, and 4K gaming. Make the most of every gaming minute with Quick Resume, lightning-fast load times, and gameplay of up to 120 FPS—all powered by Xbox Velocity Architecture. Enjoy thousands of games from four generations of Xbox, with hundreds of optimized titles that look and play better than ever. And when you add Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (membership sold separately or included when you choose Xbox All Access), you get an instant library of 100+ high-quality games, including day one releases from Xbox Game Studios like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Well I would have never thought that I would be owning an Xbox Series X in my lifetime. (I’m 65 yrs old but feel like an 18 yr old playing these games ) And i’m glad that this being my first Xbox that I made a very wise decision. I haven’t played any video games since Mario Bros came out for nintendo 64. Quite a few years ago for sure. The graphics and action that this Xbox puts out is unbelievable. Fast rendering and smooth scrolling is beyond anything i’ve ever seen or played on. Also one thing that I enjoy is the fact that with game pass in the Xbox Live that I can play games at a minimum monthly fee. My all time favorite right now is F1 2020. I love all types of racing but this one knocks it out if the park. Finally i’d just like to say is that if you can get your hands on one of these bad boys. Be prepared for a lot of lack of sleep, You’ll be glued to that screen all night. I know that I have been.
Feb 27, 2021 15:41I'm very impressed with what the Series X has to offer. I'd gone with Playstation for the last several generations and felt very underwhelmed by the PS5 design and what it has to offer.
The backwards compatiblity support is amazing and I am catching up on the 360/XB1 exclusives I missed in the best possible way on a 4K TV.
While it's a big console, the shape and design are easy to work with. It also runs cool and quiet.
I was a little worried about using batteries in the controllers, but having a batch of rechargeable AAs around is very easy to work with. Unlike with the Playstation controllers, I don't need an extra one for battery emergencies. The rechargeable batteries last for days between charges. It's also cool that XB1 controllers work on the Series X.
I would actually recommend this to PS4 owners who aren't overwhelmingly thrilled about the PS5. It has a lot more to offer right now in the way of exclusives you probably didn't play yet and it is much, much easier to get one (Fall 2021).
Included pictures of it against my PS4 Pro to help get an idea of its dimensions.
Oct 16, 2021 10:00I purchased my Series X on December 2nd, 2020 last year. I've had it for over 7 months now and I still love it and play on it as much as i did the first day. Microsoft is absolutely killing it this generation which is why i switched from ps4 to the Series X and i couldn't be happier that i did. The Next-Gen features this Xbox has such as Quick Resume, which lets you have multiple games open and play between them in a matter of seconds. I use this feature every day. A growing list of games that have Auto FPS Boost and Auto HDR, which makes games look and play amazing! Playing a game that was once 30 fps to now 60fps is so awesome, especially the games that are boosted to 120fps! It's an absolute game changer. Game pass Ultimate is a must if you have an Xbox. It's too good of a deal to pass up, it's perfect with the Series X. Games load incredibly fast on the internal SSD of the Series X it'll make you realize how much time was wasted waiting for games to load last gen! The new contoller is a nice upgrade from the previous model. It now has a textured grip on the back and triggers which feels great to play on while gaming for long sessions. I truly am enjoying my Series X and the Next-Gen features it offers, it's only getting better from here too, with a lot of Xbox exclusives coming soon this year like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and many others, all day 1 on Game Pass! You won't be disappointed going with the Series X this generation.
Jun 27, 2021 18:15After being a computer gamer for forever. I became a dad and needed a console to fill my gaming habits. I immediately bought a one X and loved it. After getting an lg oled C9 I knew I wanted to make the jump to the series x or ps5. I ended up getting the series x and I’m so glad that I did. Everything plays amazing! I didn’t think it was going to be such a large improvement graphically and performance wise, but it truly is. If you own a tv that supports 120fps I would buy the series x in a heartbeat. I’m beyond excited to see the future of true next gen games in a year or two. If you don’t have a top of the line tv. I would wait a year or so and upgrade your tv before upgrading to the series x so you can get the full benefit of wait this amazing system can can give, but either way upgrading to it now or later you simply won’t regret it.
Jan 01, 2021 10:08So far I can say this Xbox series x has been the best purchase I’ve made in a really long time as far as tech goes.
This device is really ahead of its time
Very easy to use and setup
The graphics are amazing
The user interface is going to take some time for me to get used to coming from PlayStation
But I honestly think the Xbox series x gets the job done.
Extremely quiet while running games.
The quick resume option will come in handy when you have more than three games and want to switch seamlessly from game to game and continue where you left off.
The controller is solid love the color
Remember to buy rechargeable batteries and a solid head set to pair.
Nov 18, 2020 02:29Lot of value for the next-generation. You get all the legacy titles you already own if you have any previous Xbox console. Some games even come with a boost from the original source material.
Fight Night Champions instantly comes to mind. 4k, HDR..you really have to see it on the Series X.
Older titles may see boost like Battlefield V where you can play the game in 4k ,120fps.
Dying Light plays at a buttery smooth 60 fps with HDR now upscaled at 4K, i popped in the same game on the PS5 today and its still 30 fps..
Its a beast for the older generation..
As far as next-generation gaming...
Its coming...fortunately as of this review, its much sooner than the actual console purchased date...lol.
The wait been has been painful...but the future is extremely bright...
Havent even talked about game pass..
Easiest way to explain, its netflix but for gaming.
Microsoft hosts all their first-party titles in the subscription but you also get EA Play (Madden, need for speed, star wars) as part of the subscription and you also receive day one titles from 3rd party companies...so Dungeons and Dragons:Dark Alliance that just came out a week ago...currently in game pass..
So its a trade-off.
Im new to xbox and the whole ecosystem, but i do own both next-generation consoles.. its clear sony has more exclusives right now, but xbox is coming along nicely and Starfield...should probably youtube Starfield...ok bye.
Jun 27, 2021 19:08After spending an entire month with my brand new Xbox Series X, I have to say that this console is such a great piece of hardware. The Xbox Series X has lived up to, all of its hype surrounding the new console back when it was revealed at the Game Awards 2019. With that said, the console is whisper quiet even while playing graphical intensive games like, Gears 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil 2: Remake, it doesn't matter...it's super quiet. The best part about the Xbox Series X is, the massive backlog of games it has due to Microsoft's dedication to Backwards Compatibility as well. And not only do older Xbox and Xbox 360 games look better, but they get a huge boost in loading and overall performance. With that said, the new Xbox Series X so far has made a first great impression on me, and I believe that the console and its games is only going to get better in the near future. Also, with the reveal of new games in development such as Avowed, Bright Memory Infinite, Fable, Halo Infinite, Perfect Dark, Scorn, State of Decay 3, etc. I think this new generation of Xbox is going to, absolutely deliver great first-party games to their fans across the board.
Dec 11, 2020 05:51Great Service As Usual From Best Buy…
The Xbox Series X is a BEAST! Graphics and Gameplay are Truly Amazing!
If you have the chance to grab one; then Do It, You will not be disappointed!! These console shortages are crazy, and getting very old, very quick…
Good Luck to Anyone that still needs a Next-Gen console; Believe it or not, copping a Next-Gen Console is very possible… You just have to put in the work, and keep trying on every single drop!
Thank You BestBuy for helping me out on this Xbox Series X!
Nov 01, 2021 05:10Atari returns to the living room with the Atari VCS — a completely modern gaming and video computer system, blending the best of consoles and PCs to delight a whole new generation of gamers and creators. Featuring a stunning new Atari hardware design “Inspired by the past. Built for the future.”
Nice piece of kit; Nostalgia at its finest. The real wood is sweet touch. The attention to detail is beyond belief and the classic games have never played better, love that they are in 4K and the added rumble support for centipede and others has brought a tear to my eye. Thanks Atari
Jun 23, 2021 12:15Absolutely wonderful! Ok, so you saw the negative reviews? They're wrong. Not their experience, or opinion there of, but their reasons for buying it.
The wrong reason to buy it: Atari games for $399, original internal OS
The best reasons to buy it: emulators! Beautiful console in your living room, a machine that is as gorgeous as it is a functional - look at PCs, tell me which TINY laptop currently at retail gets you a 2gb graphics card on board and can be upgraded to 32gb of ram?
If you guessed "none" - you are right.
You buy this for the beauty of this machine and to have a compact PC in your living room - not fast enough? Upgrade the RAM. It can run Steam games at 1080 on medium or low settings, which means you should be able to play Doom or Fallout right on your TV, AND switch right over to video editing/photo editing and work related tasks with a gorgeous box sitting in your Ikea drawer.
Would I pay $399 for access to original Atari games? No, but I would pay $399 for a miniPC with a built in low power graphics card that lets me video edit and play games all at once from the comfort of my couch
Jul 20, 2021 20:26I had an Atari growing up and I so wanted to like this, I did like the fact that I could have this as a multi boot unit and will use it as a PC.
I'm going to continue to mess around with this and will update as it progresses.
The games imho simply do NOT play the way that they used to, I'm using the joy stick as I do on my 2600.
I cannot put my finger on it.
I do think the design of the device is great and it does appear to be a quality piece of hardware. I hope that this does not turn into PC for the TV, but that is what it is starting to feel like.
With that said - it is NOT a bad piece of hardware and should perform well once I upgrade storage and ram.
Updates - it did take quite a bit of time for all of the updates to be applied to the system. I do NOT see this as a negative as other people do- thank goodness you can update and resolve issues.
Do be prepaired for updates and this will take time, but it is worth it.
This does display well on 75" TV in all resolutions - no lag or jitter - -granted I'm playing games from the 1980s so i do not expect there to be
Aug 28, 2021 11:13This is a great micro console/PC. Atari themselves have said this is not a competitor to the likes of Xbox or playstation. Anyone comparing it to them just don’t understand the intent. The VCS is a micro computer with a “console” style OS as default. I can play stadia and other steaming gaming services like antstream and AirConsole. Yes some you can play on mobile or pc but now I can do it on my tv instead of mobile with crappy controls or hooking up a pc to my tv. It has a game store that has a decent start to games that fit perfectly with this system. Chrome is the default browser so all google apps work natively. If you want, side load windows or another os to give you the full pc experience. They are supposedly going to announce several new games soon and a few I know of coming down the pipeline look fantastic. As long as they keep the games coming I’m a happy camper.
Jul 19, 2021 09:20Excellent versatile system. VCS mode is light on content for the moment, but there are some quality gems available with more on the way. Easily install Linux, Windows, etc. to expand your options dramatically. Right now I have Ubuntu Linux installed running my Steam games, runs great! Don't go into it expecting xbox/ps quality, but for what it is, it's a cool little system.
Jul 09, 2021 06:55Honestly I didn't expect much from this product. From the first day it was announced almost every website and podcast I regularly follow has universally panned it as over-priced and doomed to failure, and on those points, they may be right. But I purchased it anyway because of the nostalgia factor. I expected it would be buggy, slow, and pretty useless...but it isn't.
It's not an Xbox series x or a ps5, it might not even be an Xbox one or a ps4, but it's not a Raspberry pi either. This thing is really slick and polished. I've only been using it for two days but everything I've tried on it has worked really well.
Downloads are really fast. I purchased pixel cup soccer, which is about a 2 gig download and it finished in seconds. For me, that's faster than Steam and the PlayStation store.
I launched into the YouTube app and tried to navigate with the Classic controller but it didn't seem to work with that controller (i didn't try the modern controller), so I launched the companion app on my smartphone. The companion app allows you to control your vcs through your phone and has a slick interface that emulates a mouse and or keyboard. Controlling YouTube with this app was intuitive and snappy. I played a couple music videos and found the picture quality to be excellent. I found the YouTube app plus the companion app to be an excellent combination and far superior to using a controller for input. This same companion app can be used to control other apps as well, such as Chrome and Netflix etc...
The Atari is good for...
Nostalgia...
Streaming content...
Airconsole.com and antstream.com
playing Atari 2600 games
playing old Atari arcade games
Emulation
A second PC in another room (ability to install other OSes)
The Atari is not good for...
running modern games
competing with modern consoles
not a lot of games available on the store just yet
ABOUT THE PRICE...
Is $400 too much? Yes AND No. Everyone knows that Microsoft and Sony subsidies their consoles because they know they can make up the loss in software and subscriptions down the line. They can afford it. I remember reading that the PS3 was losing $300 for every console they sold at launch. Atari can't compete with that. They have to sell it for a reasonable price, or lose their shirts. Unfortunately, that probably means they are pricing themselves right out of the market...but it's a catch 22, and I just don't see what else they can do about it.
If you love Atari...buy this product.
if you want a decent mini PC for the price...buy it.
if you want to tinker with a neat little machine with a lot of heart, and very little hope...buy it.
if you want to play anything modern...don't
Jul 04, 2021 16:44This is a solid all in one media device. It comes with classic Atari games, the controllers are pretty solid and can run a bunch of streaming services. You can install windows on it via a flash drive, external SSD, or if you’re a more experienced user you can put an M.2 SATA inside. I put in a 1tb M.2 SATA, installed windows. It runs Windows very well even with the stock RAM (which is also uogradeable). This can easily be used to surf the web and for office apps etc. It’s not large (size of a small console) and looks nice.
Sep 29, 2021 22:25Nice system! Price is alittle high. But cool to have a new Atari system in 2021.
Jul 23, 2021 19:34