Items tagged with xbox series s
Black Friday and the holiday shopping season are just around the corner, so if you are in the market for a new gaming console, now is the time to start looking. If you've had trouble getting your hands on a current-gen console, we have collected some information to help you out in this difficult endeavor, as a couple of retailers have planned restocks in the coming days that have since leaked out. Target PlayStation 5 Drop Late last week, PlayStation and Xbox console restock tracker Jake Randall tweeted about a potential PlayStation 5 restock coming either on the 21st or 27th of October. However, since nothing came about on the former date, a drop of unknown size is likely coming on Wednesday...
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Certain events can make you feel old, like your kids growing up and getting married, or seeing a formerly young and sprightly actor appear gray and weathered in their newest flick. Life just relentlessly marches on. I bring this up because today brought on of those moments for me today—a reminder that the original Xbox is about to turn 20 freaking years old! In celebration of Xbox's 20th anniversary, Microsoft is releasing some special edition peripherals that are a throwback of sorts. What you see above is the 20th Anniversary Special Edition Xbox Wireless Controller. Microsoft opted for a translucent black finish and silver guts, for a kind of mix of retro and modern. "The nostalgic,...
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A few weeks back, we brought you the news that a cheaper, 512GB version of the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for the Xbox Series S and Series S is on the way. The initial tip came from a product listing at a French retailer, which priced the expansion card at 154,99€, or around $180. Today, we have further confirmation that the smaller and cheaper SKU is coming courtesy of Window Central. The publication says that a source provided an image of the retail shelf placard for the 512GB Seagate Storage Expansion Card. Unfortunately, the anonymous tipster didn't say which U.S. retailer spilled the beans on the new accessory. Still, we'd imagine that it will show up at the usual suspects like...
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The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have been on the market for almost a year now, they just have not been the least bit easy to obtain for the bulk of that time. Not unless you're willing to pay way above MSRP from a marketplace seller or on eBay. Yeah, no thanks. Is there an end in sight to supply coming up way short of demand? Maybe, but according to Microsoft's Phil Spencer, don't expect it to happen in the next few months, and for at least part of next year as well. That is disappointing for sure, though not unexpected. The pandemic and other factors have directly and indirectly put a strain on manufacturing, making it difficult to produce enough components to satisfy the demand for cutting...
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Today, gamers with current-generation Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles are getting a sweet treat from Microsoft. The company announced this morning that Dolby Vision support has arrived for the consoles. The feature launched for Xbox Insiders in May, but it took months of testing to ensure it would be ready for the rest of the gaming public. If you have a supported Dolby Vision-enabled TV, you’ll experience more vivid color representation. This will have an immediate benefit by allowing you to sport more detail lurking in shadows, thanks to greater contrast in scenes. According to Microsoft, over 100 next-generation are optimized for Dolby Vision in HDR for Xbox Series S/X platforms....
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Seagate is rumored to be readying a smaller 512GB Storage Expansion Card for the Xbox Series X|S, so owners of Microsoft's latest-generation game consoles can give themselves more wiggle room at a lower price than the current 1TB option. And like the 1TB model, this would give gamers the full speed capabilities of the Xbox Series X|S and its Velocity Architecture. As it stands, the Xbox Series X offers up around 802GB of usable storage from its internal NVMe solid state drive (the rest is reserved for the operating system and various system files). On the Xbox Series S, the amount of usable storage is around 364GB. Some of the bigger games (Call of Duty, anyone?) can quickly chew into the available...
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Sorry folks, but your Xbox Series S is obsolete! I'm kidding (put the pitchforks and tomatoes down), but what might not be a joke is that a refreshed model could already be in the works. That shouldn't stop you from buying one if you are in the market for an Xbox Series S, though, because it is said the refreshed model with slightly higher end hardware wouldn't debut for another year. Microsoft has not actually announced any console refreshes, so information in that regard comes from Leak Valley and the Rumor Highway. It is certainly plausible, though, and I'd say even likely, considering that console refreshes are now a normal part of the lifecycle. We saw it with the Xbox One X/S and the PlayStation...
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Microsoft Flight Simulator arrives on the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S today, and in celebration of the game's much anticipated touchdown on console, Microsoft has teamed up with luggage maker July for a sweet giveaway. The lucky winner will receive a custom suitcase themed after the Xbox Series S, pre-packed with various hardware. The big prize is the Xbox Series S that is neatly tucked inside, as you can see in the image above. However, it also comes with two game controllers, a portable ASUS ROG Strix XG17 display with a magnetized cover, and international adapters. The winner doesn't even need to unpack the goodies to play MS Flight Simulator—as the directions state, just lay it...
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In just a few weeks, AMD will flip the switch on its highly anticipated FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling technology, and we will find out if the real-world results match the company's claims and what it showed off during Computex 2021. It's not just headed to PC, either. At some point, Microsoft will enable FSR on its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S game consoles, the company confirmed. What's at play here is a "spatial upscaling technique" that is used to create a "super resolution" image from game engine input frames. Similar to NVIDIA's proprietary Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, the idea is to render images at a lower resolution and then upscale them, to improve...
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Heads up console gamers, if you own an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, are part of the Xbox Insider program, and are subscribed to the alpha ring, there is a new update available that enables playing games in the Dolby Vision HDR format. Microsoft is hoping to solicit feedback and stomp out any bugs before rolling out support broadly later this year. This is something that was announced last year, before the consoles came out. The plan was always to bring Dolby Vision support to both of Microsoft's newest generation Xbox consoles by the end of this year, though precisely when is still not known. However, the fact that it is actively being tested in the Xbox Insider program suggests it is close....
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Today's dedicated game consoles share a whole bunch of DNA with their PC brethren, such as Zen 2 CPU cores and RDNA 2 graphics hardware, with support for real-time ray tracing. In addition to sharing hardware characteristics, AMD today announced it is making available its FidelityFX family of effects to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. AMD's announcement is great for a couple of reasons. One of them is easier cross-platform coding, with FidelityFX now being injected into AMD's Game Developer Kit (GDK) for the Xbox Series X/S. It should also be noted that these are highly optimized, open source tools that developers are free to modify, and now available across PC and console. "This news makes...
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It seems there are simulator games for just about anything you can think of, such as Granny Simulator, Thief Simulator, and even a PC building simulator. Now, teams from Dovetail Games, Curve Digital, and Skyhook Games are bringing what could be the hottest simulator game this summer: Lawn Mowing Simulator. Later this year, players will be able to “enjoy the challenge and serenity of mowing the Great British countryside in a variety of modes, while ensuring cash flow of your empire remains as green as the blades you’re cutting,” according to developer Skyhook Games. New lawn care professionals will be able to visit the British countryside, large equestrian fields, castle grounds...
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Microsoft is currently testing a way to increase download speeds on its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S game consoles, and if all goes to plan, the feature will roll out to the public in the not-too-distant future (fingers crossed, anyway). For now, however, it is only available to members of Microsoft's Xbox Insider program. Here's the deal—when you are playing a game, any downloads you might have queued up in the background are potentially slowed down. As such, the latest test build in the Xbox Insider Program includes a new "Suspend my game" toggle. According to Microsoft, enabling it can "help improve download speeds," albeit at the expense of playing whatever title you had loaded up....
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Microsoft recently implemented FPS Boost for its Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X game consoles. FPS Boost allows games initially designed for previous-generation Xbox hardware to leverage the superior hardware of the Xbox Series S/X for improved performance. In many cases, FPS Boost can double the frame rate of supported games. Last week, Microsoft announced that it completed its acquisition of Bethesda Game Studios' parent company ZeniMax. And one of the latest benefits of that new relationship is FPS Boost support for five legacy games: Dishonored: Definitive Edition, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Prey. Microsoft says that this FPS Boost support...
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We have a few great gaming deals for all of you gamers out there today to enjoy. We aren't limiting these deals to a single console, as you'll find discounts across Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms. Kicking things off is Nintendo Switch Online, which is getting a discount of sorts at Best Buy. A 12-month Nintendo Switch Online membership typically costs $19.99, and that price is no different today at Best Buy. However, the retailer is throwing in a free $5 gift card, which effectively brings the price down to $14.99. This gift card offer also extends to the Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership, which covers up to 8 users. Not only does Nintendo Switch online give you access...
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In the near future, your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S will likely be able to play Google Stadia games, simply because of its built-in web browser. Specifically, it is being infused with the latest version of Edge, built on Chromium, the same engine that powers Google's own Chrome browser. That brings with it unofficial support for Stadia. As things officially stand, Chrome is the only browser that officially supports Stadia, Google's cloud game streaming service. However, it does actually work on some other browsers, with Google noting in a support page that it "may" play nice with Chromium-based browsers like Edge (version 79 or higher), Brave, or Vivaldi. And therein lies the reason why Stadia...
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Does anyone remember the Xbox 360? That second-generation Xbox gaming console first launched way back in November 2005, and that was the last time that Microsoft released a first-party wireless headset for its gaming console. However, that changes today with the announcement of the Xbox Wireless Headset. Given Microsoft's efforts to bridge the gap between differing gaming experiences, the Xbox Wireless Headset is supported among Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X consoles, Windows 10 PCs, and mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. So, you can be sure that Microsoft will be pushing this is a great accessory to have alongside an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. In the time since...
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If you are currently in possession of an Xbox Series S/X or PlayStation 5, consider yourself lucky. All the consoles have been in high demand since they launched in mid-November and are quickly snapped up when retailers managed to restock their shelves. Earlier this month, Sony confirmed that it has sold 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles since launch, which is roughly the same as the number of PlayStation 4 consoles sold after its launch in Q4 2013. So far, Microsoft hasn't given us any concrete numbers on how many Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X consoles that it has sold, but data from Ampere Analysis (via GamesIndustry) suggests that the figure is a combined 2.9 million...
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In a rather extensive blog posted this week by 343 Industries, the developers confirmed that all the launch content for Halo Infinite is now complete and in the game. That is a huge step for the dev team, which has been working tirelessly to get the highly anticipated game finished up for release later this year. Even though the content within the game sandbox is finished, that doesn't mean that there isn't room for tweaking things between now and launch. "We have everyone fixing bugs on our launch content and some exciting efforts kicking off for future updates--like new vehicles, equipment, etc.," said Quinn DeHoyo, who serves as Lead Sandbox Designer for 343 Industries in the blog....
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In one of the quickest reversals we've seen in the tech industry in recent years, Microsoft has already backtracked from its ill-advised and ill-timed decision to raise prices on its Xbox Live Gold subscription service. As we reported yesterday, the 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month subscriptions all received price hikes, with the latter being pushed to $59.99 (effectively making a year of Xbox Live Gold cost $120). Now, Microsoft is apologizing for its blunder, after realizing that raising prices during the middle of a pandemic (even though people are flocking increasingly to games) is not exactly a great PR move. "We messed up today and you were right to let us know. Connecting and...
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November 2020 saw the introduction of four next-generation game consoles: the PlayStation 5/PlayStation 5 Digital Edition and the Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S. While the Xbox Series X is technically the most powerful of the bunch with respect to its CPU and GPU specs, it's the PlayStation 5 that has garnered the most attention due to exclusives like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and its new DualSense wireless controller. The DualSense controller has drawn particular attention for its adaptive triggers, which can vary their resistance if game developers decide to take advantage of the feature. For example, in basketball games, the triggers might be harder to press to fire off the perfect...
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The latest generation game consoles are some of the hottest selling items this year. Whether you are looking for a PlayStation 5 (with our without a baked-in optical drive), Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S, your chances of waltzing into your local Walmart or Best Buy and walking out with one on a random basis are slim. What can you do? Well, with Christmas now just a few days away, the odds of getting a next-gen console for the big day decrease with each passing moment. However, not all is lost, potentially. There are some things you can do to tip the odds ever-so-slightly, and perhaps snag one before a scalper can get their grubby hands on one, only to flip it for an inflated price on eBay or...
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