The Official Xbox Series X thread

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The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Aslanna »

So, what does everyone think of the name? I'm not sold on it as the "Series" part makes it sound like a line of consoles and not a specific one. Microsoft really likes the letter X! If they do a refresh what will it be called, Series X-X? What will the next generation, if there is one, be called? Series Y? It would have been good if they had just gone with the generation number like PlayStation but then it would be Xbox 4 and that would look inferior on the shelf next to a PlayStation 5 to the average consumer.

I am also not sold on the tower design. I know it can be laid on its side but it seems like it would still be too tall. Hard to tell though with only the controller there for scale. At least it looks better than the VCR design of the original XBO.

Speaking of the controller, they 'borrowed' the Share button from the Dualshock 4.



(And Winnow, let's try and keep the lame shit out of these threads for the next gen consoles. If you love Microsoft/Xbox, great. No need to go shitting on stuff other people like just because you don't like Sony. Be the change you want to see!)
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Winnow »

Indifferent to the name. X-Box hasn't had a good console name except for the original X-Box.

I'm OK with the cube tower look. I didn't think I'd like a cube PC case until I owned one. I'm sure Sony's console won't look as rediculous as the engineering ones but if it does, I much prefer a simple cube look. I could see the younger crowd wanting something more flashy though. Gamers have grown up though. We were at the forefront but now plenty of gamers in their 40's+ and might want their console to fit in better with their living rooms. 30-50 year old gamers have more money to spend than their kids. There's always Nintendo consoles for the kiddies.

Disappointed it still has a Blu-Ray drive but I guess some people still lack bandwidth. As long as it's well built (Microsoft has come a long way the past few years) and has great cooling, I'm good.
The Xbox Series X will include a custom-designed CPU based on AMD’s Zen 2 and Radeon RDNA architecture. Microsoft is also using an NVMe SSD on Xbox Series X, which promises to boost load times. Xbox Series X will also support 8K gaming, frame rates of up to 120 fps in games, ray tracing, and variable refresh rate support.
Seems similar to Playstation 5 specs. Not sure why Sony has put so much emphasis on NVMe SSD as a selling point since X-Box will have the same thing. I'm also curious how both Sony and Microsoft are claiming 8K gaming capability when even the most expensive PCs struggle with that. I'll be happy with solid 4K FPS numbers.
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X console will also include Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Dynamic Latency Input (DLI) that will “make Xbox Series X the most responsive console ever.” Spencer says the Series X is “designed for a future in the cloud,” and it will combine hardware and software to “make it as easy as possible to bring great games to both console and elsewhere.”
This part is interesting. I think both Sony and Microsoft will have acceptable graphics capability. Latency/Cloud streaming will take over, much as digital downloads took over this generation over time so if this isn't just shop speak, and offers some sort of improvement over what Sony has it could be interesting...but Sony is using Microsoft's cloud servers so I don't think Microsoft would want to make itself look bad so Sony will probably have something similar.

I'd say the big battle will be between Microsoft Studio's Day One $5/month streaming/download games vs Sony's full priced exclusives. Ultimately, you'll be able to stream to anything so the best streaming services will end up playing a big part in how things go down the road a bit.

Happy the controller remains the same basic design. X-Box originated when 3D games were already a thing so it has not needed to change it's design layout.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Funkmasterr »

Nothing sticks out to me as bad about the console, but I've already decided I'm not buying an Xbox next gen. They do suck at naming though - they really should have just stuck with Xbox 1, 2, etc. There is a lot I don't like about their UI design, and they don't have enough games that interest me to pull me away from Playstation.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Aslanna »

The main thing I don't like about Spencer is his comments about the next generation Xbox being the most powerful, responsive, etc console. If solely talking about previous Xbox consoles then sure but unless he was inside knowledge I don't see how he knows the PS5 specs. But then again I'm sure devs talk so it's probably not like the specs for each are an industry secret at this point.

Which is why I find The Show going multiplatform interesting. Does Sony San Diego, a first party Sony studio, have a Series X dev kit? Will they be getting one? You can't make a game without a dev kit! But MS has Mojang, which supports PlayStation so it works both way. Speaking of Minecraft I wonder if it will be released for the PS5. The reason it's on the other PS consoles now is because it was there before MS bought Mojang. I could see MS ending support with the PS4 version.

As far as aesthetics go I don't hate it but I'd have to see it in person. While a cube may be fine for a PC, which sits out of the way under a desk for the most part, I definitely don't like the tower design aspect for a console but if it can be laid on the side and not take much room (height-wise) I'm ok with it. The green light on the top is pretty subdued but I am ok with that too. I know some hate the PS4's line light on the console but it does allow you to quickly look and see the status of the console especially if the TV input is something else.

It would have been dumb for them not to have a Blu-Ray drive on there. If you don't want one my advice is to not buy it day one because I'm sure they will release a SAD version of SX like they did for XBO. And that's assuming there won't be one of those available day one. It wouldn't surprise me if there was at least two SKUs available out of the gate especially if that allows them to drop the price for one of them by $50-100. $100 might be a bit of a stretch though as surely those drives don't add $100 to manufacturing.

Game Pass is a good service but it's not how I buy or consume games. If Sony puts in place a similar service I don't see myself subscribing to it. I'm aware I may be in the minority with that. I am just old fashioned I guess. If money was tight I could see myself considering it more though: Wait until Xbox gets a bunch of games, buy 1-2 months of Game Pass on PC and finish them all, wait 6 months, repeat.

Having said all that am I considering buying one? No. As with the XBO there is no reason to as I have a decent gaming PC if I chose to use it for that purpose. And you can get all the Xbox exclusives on PC so there is no reason for me to invest in the console hardware itself. That's not to say it's bad (other than the UI which I am saying is bad) but just that for my uses owning an Xbox console is unnecessary.
Funkmasterr wrote:I've already decided I'm not buying an Xbox next gen. They do suck at naming though - they really should have just stuck with Xbox 1, 2, etc.
That would have been nice! But the problem is that they were a generation 'behind' PlayStation (not techwise but meaning they started in the hardware business later) and from a marketing perspective it's not a good look for them having Xbox 2 next to a PlayStation 3 (yeah yeah 360 came out first but you get the idea). To the average consumer it looks like the older hardware. You can't look like the old inferior product on a store shelf.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Winnow »

Aslanna wrote:The main thing I don't like about Spencer is his comments about the next generation Xbox being the most powerful, responsive, etc console. If solely talking about previous Xbox consoles then sure but unless he was inside knowledge I don't see how he knows the PS5 specs. But then again I'm sure devs talk so it's probably not like the specs for each are an industry secret at this point.
Series X very well may be the most powerful console between it and the PS5. If Microsoft is going for a high end/low end strategy, the Series X may be more powerful but may also cost more than the PS5 while also having a Series S with lessor specs and a cheaper price.

No idea though. From the general announcements with no specifics, it appears the two consoles will be close in power. If PS5 ends up somehow cheaper and more powerful than the Series X, it would be pretty bad for Microsoft.

I see something like this:

Most expensive and powerful: Series X
PS5
Least expensive and least powerful: Series S

The reason I think the Series X may be more powerful is that Microsoft has been focusing on "Apple-like" expensive products in their PC line. They also offer the expensive X-Box-Elite Controllers that are great but really expensive. Microsoft may offer best but expensive console, fully expecting most people to buy the "S" series.

New games are easily scalable in graphics quality so it's easy to have several levels of performance consoles.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Aslanna »

During The Game Awards 2019, Microsoft unveiled the next generation of Xbox: the Xbox Series X. Or that’s what we and everyone else thought it was called. However, Business Insider recently spoke to a Microsoft representative who confirmed the next generation’s name is simple. Xbox. Series X is the name of the model coming next year.
That was my thought! But yeah...Microsoft is bad at naming things. Why is it that complicated?
Aslanna wrote:So, what does everyone think of the name? I'm not sold on it as the "Series" part makes it sound like a line of consoles and not a specific one
I guess that means I'm not a crazy person.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Winnow »

Thought of another reason Microsoft's Game Pass may gain users.

For $5/month parents can be sure their kids get Day One release games as well as a ton of other good games, so they can buy the X-Box and then only worry about a $5/month fee for their kids to be entertained.

I think the key here is day one AAA releases. Sony can't compete with that. It's a great deal for parents that don't want to shell out $60 for a new game their kids may lose interest in quickly.

Microsoft Studios has built a solid foundation of game developers and I'm sure they'll add to it. It will be interesting to see what Sony does. They can stream games, but unless they release their AAA games same day to their streaming service like Microsoft does, I think it will be a clear disadvantage.

I like Microsoft's strategy so far:

-Sell highest end console for a lot of money
-Offer Cheaper console
-Game Pass Day One releases along with solid lineup of games

Sony is selling some paddle gizmo for $30. Maybe an indication that PS5 will have paddles like the X-Box Elite controller has. $30 kind of spendy for an attachment.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/210 ... ry-paddles
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Funkmasterr »

I don't know, I'm not basing this on any actual numbers I've seen, but I think the potential of Game Pass-like services is being grossly overstated (not just by you). I would posit a couple of things:

1 - Game Pass itself isn't going to move any significant number of consoles. The majority of people that will subscribe to a Game Pass type service would already have bought a console.

2 - I see game pass mostly as a vehicle Microsoft is using to make up ground on Sony. I can't imagine that they're making a net profit off of most people using the service. The annual cost for it is about the price of 2-3 games, and I'd argue very few people that care to own a console buy that few games per year.

3 - Microsoft is able to do this because they can throw more money at solving a problem, even if they don't get a short term return on that investment. However - Sony also has a lot more to potentially lose from offering first party titles on a subscription service. For one, they have considerably more first party titles that sell well. Second, they have a much higher install base worldwide, and honestly nothing Microsoft can or will ever do is going to change this.

I imagine MS is subsidizing some of the money the devs aren't making from direct sales due to games being on Game Pass. This just isn't realistic for Sony. Considering how many games the average gamer likely buys in a year, they'd either have to charge so much for their service that they'd price out the target demographic, or they would end up running a bunch of devs out of business because they wouldn't be able to subsidize that much of their lost profits for any extended period of time.

Also, how long is it before publishers start doing the same thing that is happening with streaming video right now, and every one of them wants their own service (like EA Access)? The likelihood of this seems pretty high, and instead of only paying for one or two of them that make the most games they want like happens with video - I think this would drive people back away from the subscription model to buying more of their games outright.

At any rate a subscription model doesn't interest me, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next generation.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Winnow »

Funkmasterr wrote: 1 - Game Pass itself isn't going to move any significant number of consoles. The majority of people that will subscribe to a Game Pass type service would already have bought a console.
I can see Microsoft throwing in a year of Game Pass in with their high end console (or maybe all their consoles)

I don't think you're giving Game Pass enough credit for other demographics. Even for me, I can afford to buy $60 games, but no commitment subscription model really appeals to me. I played Outer Worlds and the Latest Gears of War and then cancelled my subscription. If/when i feel like playing them again, I'll pay $5 and play them for another month. You don't lose your stats/achievements. At some point it will be worth if for me to just keep the sub at $5/month but even if I don't, it costs me $5 to play any day one release for 30 days. Microsoft made it extremely easy to purchase/cancel Game Pass, you can cancel it right after buying it if you want and still have your 30 days.

I think it's fantastic for anyone, but especially for parent's paying for their kids games, casual gamers, and poor people.

Still think day one AAA games is the key thing that makes it great. You're not getting "old stuff". And Microsoft has demonstrated they're serious about acquiring game developers.

As you said, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I think Game Pass is a huge deal as it stands.


edit: keep in mind, you can use Game Pass on your PC. I don't think Microsoft cares where their users are playing their games. I think that's important to take note of. You don't need to buy an X-Box to use Game Pass for Microsoft's latest games. Strong indicator that these subscriptions, not consoles are the long term goal. What will really be interesting is if/when Microsoft (and Sony) add streaming gaming to the Game Pass. You won't even need to waste huge bandwidth downloading AAA titles anymore. (although the streaming itself will take bandwidth so downloading some games would make sense after you try them out via streaming)
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Looking at it objectively if I was someone who did not own a console and was looking to buy one I'd probably consider Xbox due to Game Pass. But for me personally I'm not interested in the subscription model as I like to 'own' my software. Perhaps people like me are now the minority but I'm ok with that!

And unless you want to get in on day one there's no reason you need to be paying $60 for games. Most of them are discounted 50% within a few months. Patience! Not to mention not all games are on GP Day One. Want to play Jedi Fallen Order now? Be prepared to pay $60. Although I think I saw it for $50 but you get the idea.

I have zero interest in streaming games. I would much rather download a game and play it locally and remove all issues that streaming games brings with it (latency, bandwidth usage, network issues, etc). Unless you travel a lot what is the benefit of streaming a game over downloading it? Other than the initial install but that's a one time thing that seldom bothers me so I can live with that trade off.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Aslanna wrote:Looking at it objectively if I was someone who did not own a console and was looking to buy one I'd probably consider Xbox due to Game Pass. But for me personally I'm not interested in the subscription model as I like to 'own' my software. Perhaps people like me are now the minority but I'm ok with that!
I think you are in the minority with that. The trend is very clear for the majority.

Music CDs...now stream.
Movies VHS/DVD/Blu Ray...now stream.
Books...now ebooks or audiobooks.(these small enough so no need to stream for the most part)

For me, I used to buy comic books but digital versions are so much better. For some reason, I kept all the EverQuest stuff, my beta CD, EQ, and all the expansions, etc. Each time I'm on a cleaning spree, I save that.

The internet changed things for me. As a kid, I had comics, rows of paperback novels, coin collections, records/cassettes, etc. Now, I'm only interested in unique things. For example, I bought a meteorite. I find it very cool to own something that came from outside of the Earth.

I'm also finding living in an uncluttered environment nice!
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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I buy digitally but streaming also doesn't interest me. Avoiding game downloads isn't even a concern for me as I have about 250 up/down speeds. I'm also becoming a lot less trusting of the internet - I don't use any social media, I don't really use cell phone apps, I have my phone pretty locked down, I stopped shopping online almost entirely, I'm going to move all my email over to Proton or Tutanota, etc etc. Last thing I want is another streaming service :)

And really honestly - what benefit would I get from streaming over the 10 minute download most games are for me? Only thing I've really seen is Stadia's features where it integrates Youtube/social media into gaming, which I have less than zero interest in.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Funkmasterr wrote:I buy digitally but streaming also doesn't interest me. Avoiding game downloads isn't even a concern for me as I have about 250 up/down speeds. I'm also becoming a lot less trusting of the internet - I don't use any social media, I don't really use cell phone apps, I have my phone pretty locked down, I stopped shopping online almost entirely, I'm going to move all my email over to Proton or Tutanota, etc etc. Last thing I want is another streaming service :)
I agree with some of your points. I hate using gmail. I don't use social media, No facebook (no real accounts, false info used for gaming profiles when facebook only way to sign up), no twitter, no instagram.

I'll use guerilla mail

https://www.guerrillamail.com/

when I need a temp email account to sign into a forum, etc.

Protonmail is good if need account that requires more than just the initial email verification that you can already do through guerilla mail and are using cryptocurrency payments etc that doesn't have your identity attached to it. (buying in-game currency from a russian game for example...no way I use pay pal or anything else for that)

Not sure why you are worried about online purchasing though. Amazon is amazing. Way more convenient. I bought a gift on Monday at 8am, it arrived at my doorstep at 11am. 3 hours, "free prime" delivery. I'm not worried about my information being stolen from an amazon hack, if it is, it is. Just make sure you use alternate emails for anything on the internet that isn't your bank or one of the few trustworthy stores (Amazon for example)

Of course don't use same password for anything. My password on VV isn't used anywhere else.

Use a VPN. I've used one for past 5-6 years. Easy to turn off/on depending on what you're doing. For example, when banking, paying utilities, etc, I turn it off. Interestingly, I can't get VPN to work in China. They have a great firewall. I have to unblock my IP to access a site there.

Also, update your router if you have an old one (2+ years old) lots of easy hack vulnerabilities. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) coming down in price.

Summary: I agree with limiting your exposure on the internet as much as possible but you can still fully use the internet if you take precautions.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Yeah, I need to get a new router. My online shopping is less about security and more about not wanting to contribute to Amazon running other vendors out of business, and not wanting to give them more info on me (shopping habits, etc). I shop at Whole Foods, and even when I did still have Prime I didn't use it because Amazon doesn't need to know everything about what I buy/eat/etc.

I shop at local places, smaller shops if I can depending on what I need. I get toiletry stuff at Target, but it's the same deal there - I don't buy their brand or anything they distribute because I'm not trying to help them put more small vendors out of business so that they can compete with Amazon. I live in the city, and have almost anything I need within a couple of miles or closer. I also work from home and have gotten really tired of how isolated I am, so going out to do my shopping is actually therapeutic in a sense.

/derail
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Winnow »

Funkmasterr wrote:Yeah, I need to get a new router. My online shopping is less about security and more about not wanting to contribute to Amazon running other vendors out of business, and not wanting to give them more info on me (shopping habits, etc). I shop at Whole Foods, and even when I did still have Prime I didn't use it because Amazon doesn't need to know everything about what I buy/eat/etc.

I shop at local places, smaller shops if I can depending on what I need. I get toiletry stuff at Target, but it's the same deal there - I don't buy their brand or anything they distribute because I'm not trying to help them put more small vendors out of business so that they can compete with Amazon. I live in the city, and have almost anything I need within a couple of miles or closer. I also work from home and have gotten really tired of how isolated I am, so going out to do my shopping is actually therapeutic in a sense.

/derail
I think at some point you need to accept that change is inevitable. Go back in time to all the mom and pop shops, restaurants and gas stations that were put out of business by the interstate highways. You could exit the highway and backtrack miles to get to their stores but at some point, the convenience of the highways, saving you hours/days trumps helping out the stores on the old roads.

Malls also hurt mom and pop stores, and then Wal-Mart hurt the malls, and now Amazon (well Wal-Mart is offering free delivery etc now as well).

I used to love going to libraries. I loved going to comic book stores. Those are almost all out of business now (the comic stores).

I respectfully disagree with the need to help out mom and pop stores. It's my same philosophy with the US Postal Service. I hate it. I hate the junk mail i receive that I can't stop simply there to keep an outdated service in business. I understand and feel for mom and pop shop owners and old post workers but they do need to adjust to the times.

All that said, it's perfectly fine to take your approach to how you purchase things. Your loyalty to them is selfless but I think it is just temporarily extending their eventual demise. One negative thing about Amazon, (and others, blame isn't solely on them) is that people feel entitled to return everything. Back in the day, with mom and pop shops, you didn't return things on a whim as that same mom and pop store had a harder time dealing with returns/loss.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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With Amazon in particular, it's also more than just them simply running smaller vendors out of business. They treat their workers like trash (they have a big distribution center near me where there are regularly strikes), to the point that I don't even know how sustainable their carrier network is; the way it is set up and the way they treat people it seems like it could fall out from under them at any time.

It's also a matter of us as a people being so fucking lazy that we're letting companies like Amazon get a scary amount of control over almost every aspect of our lives, not to mention the creepy amount of detail that these companies know about the average person. If things keep going in this direction, dystopian sci-fi stories about corporations taking power away from the government and things going to complete shit as a result aren't going to be so far fetched anymore.

I'm not out in the streets at every rally about every perceived injustice, but I'm also not okay with the idea of just standing by and letting shit unravel. The government is generally not looking out for us, and corporations sure as fuck aren't, so any potential change is going to have to start from people.

I have gotten pretty comfortable being uncomfortable/inconvenienced - thanks to visiting other countries, long back country trips, and a lot of self reflection to work through my issues, and this has helped me to realize that everything can't be about me and my convenience, it isn't sustainable on the scale we're currently seeing. I strongly believe that people in this country are going to have to come to terms with that reality.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Aslanna »

Winnow is pro-Amazon. Who would have guessed?

Why, because you can get things delivered fast? Seems like a bad reason. Amazon is truly a terrible company and I visit them as infrequently as I can. And honestly the prices aren't even that competitive on products.

Anyone who supports Amazon obviously hasn't put time into seeing what sort of company they are. But hey... You can get shit delivered in 3 hours so it's all good!

"Change is inevitable".. Welcome your corporate overlords!

/rederail
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Post by Winnow »

Funkmasterr wrote:

I have gotten pretty comfortable being uncomfortable/inconvenienced - thanks to visiting other countries, long back country trips, and a lot of self reflection to work through my issues, and this has helped me to realize that everything can't be about me and my convenience, it isn't sustainable on the scale we're currently seeing. I strongly believe that people in this country are going to have to come to terms with that reality.
***i'll get back on topic after this post

Interesting. My time in foreign countries (about 6-7 years of my life) makes me appreciate the conveniences of Amazon. living in Sardinia drove me nuts. Backwards ass people, took forever to get anything done. In the 70's I loved going to 7/11's in California and also McDonalds when we visited L.A. area while living in a smaller California town with less convenience stores. I hate red tape, hate lines.

Convenience is super important to me. I like assigned seats at movie theaters. I like being able to order my tickets online before going to the movie. Unless I'm specifically sightseeing, I want the most direct route from point A to Point B.

That's a lifestyle choice. I have no issue with people that enjoy seeking out things that take time. Amazon is amazing. I'll be bummed if their service declines. I'd much rather have two or three Amazon type mega stores. That way you have a choice!

As for the planet. I drive a Prius! but not for the environment, because it gets ridiculous MPG and is a very reliable car.

Can get back on topic now. It was an interesting off topic discussion though.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Winnow »

Microsoft just had a stellar three months thanks to Azure, Surface, and Xbox

The pandemic is having almost zero negative effects on Microsoft's financial performance

The company says it earned $38.0 billion in revenue this past quarter, up 13 percent from a year ago. Of that amount, $11.2 billion was profit, a 5 percent jump from this time a year ago. The main takeaway: Microsoft’s business is booming, thanks largely to its continued gains in the cloud computing sector and big jumps in Surface and Xbox revenues.

The company’s Intelligent Cloud sector contributed $13.4 billion for the quarter, a 17 percent jump from last year. Most of the gains are thanks to Microsoft’s Azure platform, which grew nearly 50 percent. “Our commercial cloud surpassed $50 billion in annual revenue for the first time this year. And this quarter our Commercial bookings were better than expected, growing 12 percent year-over-year,” Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood, said in a statement.

As for Surface and Xbox, it’s clear that, while not as big a moneymaker as Azure or the company's Office and Windows divisions, are still growing considerably. Microsoft says Surface revenue is up almost 30 percent in the past three months from this time a year ago, while Xbox “content and services revenue,” in other words game sales and subscriptions to Xbox Live and other digital content, grew 65 percent. Also helping this quarter are Microsoft's quiet but steady revenue-drivers, including Windows OEM (up 7 percent), Office Commercial (up 5 percent), Office Consumer (up 6 percent), and LinkedIn (up 10 percent).

Thanks to its status as a relatively untouched company during the pandemic, Microsoft’s stock has been soaring and closed on Wednesday at $211.75 per share, just short of its all-time high of $216.38. The company is now the second most valuable in the world, with a market cap of more than $1.6 trillion, narrowly beating Amazon and just slightly under Apple.
Looks like Microsoft chose the right path focusing on X-Box "content and services". Their subscription model is an outstanding value.

Microsoft is swimming in cash. In relation to this thread, it means they can take risks, not rely on exclusives (that can't also be played on a PC which means they are more consumer friendly than Sony's restricted model) and continue to focus on their Xbox/PC live day one release subscription content.

I'm a fan of cross platform and playing on the platform I choose.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

Post by Funkmasterr »

To each their own. I've had about enough of Microsoft in general - Windows 10 is trash; their own OS updates are constantly a problem. Teams is fucking terrible and far buggier than any product from a company the size of MS should ever be. Game Pass is certainly a good value and obviously is popular and will drive console sales, but it's not for me; I'd rather own my games indefinitely, so digital is already a compromise for me and I don't want to go further with that. I also don't know the impact this model has on game developers; I'd imagine MS first party devs will come out a bit better, but developers need to be getting more money for games, not less, and I don't know I believe that's happening under Game Pass.

Cross Platform/Cross Play also doesn't matter to me. I don't play much multiplayer nowadays, closest would be co-op and all of the people I'd play games with primarily play on Playstaton.

To top it off, they still don't have much exclusive wise that I'm really interested in. My limited gaming for the last couple of months has been: Crosscode, TLOU2, Animal Crossing, FF7 Remake. This is a pretty good representation of my gaming interests, and while MS is trying to diversify their offerings more, I haven't seen a whole lot come to fruition.

Xbox X is going to likely be a hard pass for me. I'll definitely be getting a PS5, and hopefully sometime in the next year or so if money permits, I'll build a new computer and play the MS game that I'm interested in here and there on that.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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It's 2020 and Winnow is still so insecure about his choices that he can't post a comment about Microsoft/Xbox without shitting on Sony/PlayStation in the process. It's nice (?) to see some things never change.

But they do get tiresome.

As for Funk's comments, yeah all of MS's first party offerings will be on PC as well so that's the way to go.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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As has beeb said in the past, competition is good. I'm glad Sony is still around.

If things crater as bad it is looks like they will over the next few years, hopefully Microsoft buys up their assets.

$10-15/month for all games including day one releases > $70/game
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Series S revealed. Which was the worst kept secret ever. I don't hate the design although they should have just kept with the SAD edition look for the venting.

Pricing: Series S - $300 Series X - $500

If I were buying a new Xbox I'd spring the extra $200 for a Series X. If it were just the optical drive removed that would be a good deal but, from what people have said, it's not the same performance as the Series X and is mostly on par with the current One X (albeit it with updated features like ssd, etc).

$500 for the X is a decent price. $300, while a more decent price, just isn't there value-wise for me. But I doubt I am the typical consumer for these products.

Edit - I guess the $500 price isn't official yet from what I can tell.

(Hey look, I can talk about a product I have zero interest in purchasing without bashing it.. Isn't that something!)
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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The intro video for the S-Series in case haven't seen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

I like the look. I like simple rectangle designs so this fits well in that theme. I'm surprised they had the willpower not to place an X on the circle grating. $300 price point will combine well with the Xbox Game Pass. I'm sure Microsoft will offer the "rent to own" again with the $300 version where you pay slightly higher monthly fee for Game Pass and end up eventually owning the console. Game Pass is the key. I think Microsoft would be happy just being a gaming service eventually and Game Pass is the best gaming service package by far right now.

I can't help but repeat how ugly the PS5 is. I'm talking purely aesthetics not performance. It's hideous. Answer me this...if everything remained the same (performance games etc) but the PS5 had the Xbox X case and we'll just say the Xbox X had a totally different case design, would you buy that instead of the current PS5 case if you could buy either one?

Has Sony announced the price for the PS5? $499 for the XBox X seems pretty good. If that's the actual price, I wonder if Sony will match it.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Winnow wrote: September 8, 2020, 9:37 pmAnswer me this...if everything remained the same (performance games etc) but the PS5 had the Xbox X case and we'll just say the Xbox X had a totally different case design, would you buy that instead of the current PS5 case if you could buy either one?
I can't even tell you the last time I looked at the case of my console so in the end it really doesn't matter to me.

But to answer the question I'd go with the current PS5 case. I like it. As do a lot of people.

That does make me wonder why there aren't any 'alternative' cases out there for consoles where people can take the guts out of their console and put it in another shell. But I imagine that would be a fairly niche market.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Aslanna wrote: September 9, 2020, 12:59 pm

That does make me wonder why there aren't any 'alternative' cases out there for consoles where people can take the guts out of their console and put it in another shell. But I imagine that would be a fairly niche market.

There are custom cases but it's more of a niche hobby thing as you suggested.

From Engadget
“Holy crap.” That’s the first thing that came to mind as I processed Microsoft’s Xbox Series S announcement this week. It’ll match some of the most significant upgrades from the Xbox Series X — a fast new SSD, high-frame rate gameplay — for just $299. Even better, you can finance it for $25 a month over two years together with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. No matter how you look at it, the Series S is an incredible value for most consumers.
Looks like they will offer the financing for $25/month including Game Pass. If I was poor/strapped for cash, that would definitely be what I would choose out of all the next gen console options. Gamepass is even a good deal if you only have a PC so don't even have to buy a console.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Image

The S seems gimped to me.

People. Seriously. If you must get an Xbox then save/spend the extra $200 for the Series X. You won't regret it in the long run.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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wow...big difference between the two there. worth the extra $200 for the X...
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Boogahz wrote: September 9, 2020, 6:07 pm wow...big difference between the two there. worth the extra $200 for the X...
I know! And I don't even care about Xbox! So if I am saying give Microsoft $200 more of your money that's saying something.

But.. People will see "next gen for only $300?!", and that's it's cheaper than PS5, and be like, "ok!" Fuckin sheep.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Nice to see the Gen 4 NVMe in both but yeah, Xbox-X is the better buy if just considering the consoles alone. But you still need to buy Game Pass or the individual games. I just mentioned as a budget solution for those out of work etc, 25/month for a console along with all you can eat Day One released games is a nice deal and probably what someone in that situation would be more comfortable with.

I'd probably recommend investing in a PC though since you could do your resumes on it while looking for a job and then just buy Game Pass to play 100s of games instead of 60/game or waiting for sales etc.

What is Sony's budget solution including games for the PS this gen? Comparable offering of some sort?
Alongside an influx of next-gen console news, Microsoft also confirmed today that it will raise its pricing for Xbox Game Pass for PC from $4.99 per month to $9.99 a month starting on September 17th.
Wow I forgot how cheap it was for Game Pass. $9.99 still a great deal.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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So.. After many generations of console launches with no "budget solution" now all of the sudden PlayStation needs to offer one just because Microsoft does? Sure. Good job moving the goalposts to suit you!

In this case "budget" describes it. Don't buy the S, people!

I am pretty sure the Series X offers some sort of monthly plan as well for like $35 a month or something.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Aslanna wrote: September 10, 2020, 10:54 pm So.. After many generations of console launches with no "budget solution" now all of the sudden PlayStation needs to offer one just because Microsoft does? Sure. Good job moving the goalposts to suit you!

In this case "budget" describes it. Don't buy the S, people!

I am pretty sure the Series X offers some sort of monthly plan as well for like $35 a month or something.
Or maybe you adapt to the times? Highest unemployment in decades may give a slight clue as to what's going on in the world right now. Not everyone has jobs and may want a budget option for entertainment.

I'm not surprised at your comment though. Since Sony still hasn't adapted to a 3D FPS controller layout I'm sure they don't care about price during a recession! Microsoft seems to be approaching this generation with a lot more awareness on what's going on around them with the price points and the Game Pass. As someone who absolutely hates Nintendo and their weak ass console offerings, their ability to sell consoles does show that common folk don't really give a shit about graphics...or they like the cheap pricepoint.

Microsoft gives the best solution. They let you decide if you want to use or buy a cheap PC, Powerful PC, standard Console or Powerful console. The new nvidia 3080 card pushes almost 30 teraflops which destroys any console several times over. Microsoft lets you choose that option. All of their games, past and present come for the price of 2 games a year which even then you don't have to pay every month, you can pay for a month sub to play the game you want then cancel. No commitments. Extremely easy to both subscribe and cancel.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Oh my who could have seen that response...

Microsoft.. A company of the people for the people! All hail the great Microsoft!

Anyway, I think the S is a gimped console so shouldn't even be an option. It's basically just there to sucker people into buying a console basically on par performance-wise as their last gen console. Don't do it, people!
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Image

Additional gimpage clarification.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Not sure the typical out of work rioting protestor would care...on second thought, you're right, it's the self entitled era.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Hey, I'm helping MS and promoting the Series X! Because the S is gimped and if you buy that you'll be regretting your purchase in a year or two.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Microsoft To Buy Bethesda In $7.5 Billion Deal, Acquiring Fallout, The Elder Scrolls

In what is set to be one of the largest ever acquisitions in the video game industry, Microsoft announced Monday that it has reached a deal to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of popular video game publisher Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion.

Once the deal is finalized, Bethesda properties including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Quake, Starfield and DOOM will be owned by Microsoft. These series will be added to the Xbox Game Pass, a subscription-based cloud gaming service which has topped 15 million subscribers.
Nice. Hopefully Starfield will be good. Day One!
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Phil Spencer on ZeniMax/Bethesda buy:

https://youtu.be/4887tnMhkfE
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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From The Verge:
The initial wave of preorders for the Xbox Series X and S have sold out at all major retailers. Of course, there’s still a chance that you’ll find one in stock if you click through one of the many links on our preorder guide, but this morning’s rush of orders seems to have scooped most of the consoles up.

Though, if you were trying to order a console earlier today, there was a decent chance that you were actually able to get that done. So Microsoft’s plan for giving retailers and people plenty of time to prepare for preorders to start seems to have worked, at least up against last week’s surprisingly disastrous Sony PS5 preorder process, which kicked off more like a Supreme drop than a launch from an established tech company.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Damn you're clueless. The "retailers" are the ones that made it a disaster. Sony has no control over when they (the retailers) open up to preorders.If they go early they go early.

Also, nice use of selective article finding. You do realize that everyone else is on the internet as well and can see those other articles?
Polygon wrote:Xbox Series X pre-orders are a mess despite Microsoft’s promises
Kotaku wrote:Xbox Series X Pre-Orders Have Been A Debacle So Far
Gamespot wrote:Surprise! Xbox Series X/S Preorders Were A Total Mess, Too
Yeah.. Seems like everything went so smoothly there... Notice I didn't post those headlines (prior to this) because I don't give a shit but that's the first thing you do. Not every thread needs your constant shitposting.

But I'll give it to you. You're certainly predictable.


(Edited to be a bit nicer. Can't we all just get along!)
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Regarding the Zenimax purchase. I know I'll be branded a PlayStation fan but I think it's bad for the industry. Hey Microsoft, how about using that $7.5b to create your own studios and IP instead of being lazy fucks and just buying it? But that is MS's standard M.O. and something they've always done since day 1. Why innovate when you can just acquire?

I'd have the same take if Sony purchased them. If it's a studio that's traditionally considered first party, but actually isn't, I don't have a problem with it. Examples being Sony purchasing Insomniac or if Microsoft was to purchase Moon Studios (creators of the Ori series).

The most consumer-friendly approach would be to keep existing franchises (Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein, Fallout, etc) multi-platform and have those studios create new IP for the Xbox universe but we'll see how that goes. Either way I'm not purchasing an Xbox. Never ever!


(Having said that I don't really care all that much as I don't play any of the Zenimax studios' games. I have never played Dishonored, Skyrim, Wolfenstein, or Fallout.)
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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I have no problem with Microsoft buying up studios. They share their content on multiple platforms although I wouldnt mind if they made Skyrim exclusive to Xbox/PC to screw Sony over. There's no denying people love skyrim and will want to play the next release. If it gets Microsoft some subscribers to their already great deal on Game Pass, all the better.

The industry is moving toward multi platform (phones/pc/console) Sony as usual is the holdout as they love their outdated traditions.

Sony acquires shit that isn't their own as well. All big companies buy other companies, some just have more money to do it with. At least Microsoft makes that content readily available cross platform on console, pc and soon to be streaming on phones for a very reasonable subscription fee if you don't want to shell out 60.00...er make that 70.00 for Sony new games.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Other than Insomniac, what's the latest studio Sony has bought? And Insomniac, other than Sunset Overdrive (and Fuse (thanks EA for fucking over that game)), has always been considered synonymous with Playstation.

I don't think you can point to any studio that was vastly multi-platform that Sony has acquired. While there may be an exception there (that I can't think of) it certainly hasn't been the rule.

Read my initial post. I didn't say I was against MS or Sony acquiring additional studios and even gave examples. My big problem is buying exclusives by simply buying studios that have traditionally created multi-platform games. I think that's bad for the industry, and is lazy as fuck, regardless of who does it.

And you're naive if you don't think the majority of next-gen games (not on Game pass) won't be $70 regardless if they are on PS5 or XBSX/S.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Yeah I'm sick of the exclusive shit here and in every other industry for that matter. I wasn't into Bethesda games anyhow, but if I was I wouldn't buy an Xbox just to play it - I'll just skip it and play what's available on the console I do own.

Same with every single fucking media company wanting their own streaming TV platform and making shows exclusive to them that were previously on Netflix/whatever else. They all think it'll get them their own big piece of the pie, but the reality is a large portion of people will go back to pirating shit because we don't want to/can't pay for 30 different fucking platforms.

This shit is all objectively anti-consumer, but I don't see it changing because how are they supposed to show quarterly growth to their investors without fleecing their customers in new and inventive ways? Fucking barf.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Funkmasterr wrote: September 29, 2020, 12:31 pm Yeah I'm sick of the exclusive shit here and in every other industry for that matter.
Blame Sony. Microsoft has been publishing their stuff on both console and PC, and soon to stream on phones for awhile now and encouraging cross platform play. If you hate exclusives, dump Sony. They are the culprits for both exclusives and slower adoption of cross platform play.

It's hard to demonize Microsoft these days. They have done a lot of positive things and have an extremely affordable Game Pass and open platform strategy.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Winnow wrote: October 2, 2020, 10:03 pmBlame Sony. Microsoft has been publishing their stuff on both console and PC
That's a laugh. What a short memory you have.

And until they regularly publish games on Switch and PlayStation they are far from "multi platform" as you like to claim.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Aslanna wrote: October 3, 2020, 12:58 am
Winnow wrote: October 2, 2020, 10:03 pmBlame Sony. Microsoft has been publishing their stuff on both console and PC
That's a laugh. What a short memory you have.

And until they regularly publish games on Switch and PlayStation they are far from "multi platform" as you like to claim.
PC is the universal platform. Billions have PCs. The number of Xbox, PS, Switch owners is tiny compared to it.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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I Played Xbox Series X And I'm Impressed (Loading Times, Quick Resume, Performance, & More)

This guy played around with the Series X for 5 days and reports on load times, controller, etc. Pretty honest review.

Need to see about stand not coming off. I'm betting it does come off but otherwise, that uglifies the console if on it's side.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Winnow wrote: October 8, 2020, 11:15 amNeed to see about stand not coming off. I'm betting it does come off but otherwise, that uglifies the console if on it's side.
It does not come off. I can see why they might have done it.. Goombas would stuff it against a wall and there would be no air from that side and it would overheat. Or if someone took the base off when horizontal then positioned it vertical without putting the base back on.. Also a big heat problem.

I did see a teardown of the XSX and it looks nicely compact, with the split motherboard and all, but I think they dropped the ball by wanting form over function. That bottom vent doesn't look all that functional when 80% of the holes are blocked by the base. If this were a computer case Tech Jesus would be very unhappy with MS but I guess we'll see how thermals compare once both consoles are released and people can do that sort of testing.
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Re: The Official Xbox Series X thread

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Aslanna wrote: October 8, 2020, 1:50 pm but I think they dropped the ball by wanting form over function. That bottom vent doesn't look all that functional when 80% of the holes are blocked by the base.

Is the base right up against the grill or is there space in between? It looks like there is some space. If there's some space, it should be alright. It makes that side really ugly though, they could have had 4 short pegs stick out from the corners to prevent it from being placed flat against a surface and then have a square stand, the same dimensions as the console attach to the four pegs if standing vertical. The circle stand (when horizontal) looks dumb, a square stand would have been more aesthetically pleasing.

Looks like the small improvements to the controller are nice.
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