Your honour, it’s true. That console has no disc…drive.
First ‘leaked’ earlier in the week and even months before, the rumours are now official: Microsoft is rolling out a disc-less Xbox One console. On paper, the idea is easy enough: You get a machine which bears a striking resemblance to the current Xbox One S model, the lighter production means that the savings can be passed on to the consumer and Microsoft takes another step forward on its path to an all-digital future.
The base model will ship with Forza Horizon 3, Minecraft and Sea of Thieves pre-installed, with the internals featuring a suitably chunky terabyte of space to download all your games onto. Which is more than enough, considering that my Xbox One X currently has space-hoggers such as Anthem, Forza Horizon 3, The Division 2 and numerous smaller games between, while still leaving me plenty of space for a few more downloads.
The current retail price for the Xbox One S all-digital edition is set at $250 in the US of A, with a May launch window. Currently, an Xbox One S will set you back R4000, so there’s your price comparison point right there. I’ll update the post as soon as we get official word on local pricing. The bigger news for me though, is how Xbox Game Pass is also looking to evolve.
Microsoft announced Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a new tier of subscription which will throw in Xbox Live Gold as part of the subscription, for $15 a month. On its own, a subscription to Xbox Live Gold on a monthly basis sets you back $9.99 a month, whereas opting for three-month and annual subscriptions usually sees a few dollars/Randelas shaved in the process.
And I kind of like that. It’s more convenient, the price point is fair and once again I’m convinced that the next couple of years are going to belong to Microsoft, whose foundation for the future of console gaming has been poured, smoothed over and allowed to set. Which is kind of better than the Xbox One’s initial foundation work circa 2004:
Last Updated: April 17, 2019
Alien Emperor Trevor
April 17, 2019 at 08:10
‘The Jacket’ has been vindicated!
Pieter Kruger
April 17, 2019 at 09:07
Why bring Layden into this? Isn’t he at Sony?
Alien Emperor Trevor
April 17, 2019 at 09:34
Don Mattrick 😛
Pieter Kruger
April 17, 2019 at 09:34
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Original Heretic
April 17, 2019 at 08:10
My biggest surprise in this article is that D still has Anthem installed.
The D
April 17, 2019 at 13:15
Someone has to suffer so that you guys can stay informed of the current state of Anthem. Spoiler: It’s aaaaaaaaaawful. Still.
Original Heretic
April 17, 2019 at 13:23
Not much of a spoiler…
Pieter Kruger
April 17, 2019 at 08:59
Game pass Ultimate, been waiting for this!!???
Milesh Bhana
April 17, 2019 at 08:31
i assume it’s still a 500GB drive, or have hard drive costs come down enough for it to be a 1TB and still be $50 cheaper.
DarthPenguin
April 17, 2019 at 08:39
The article clearly says 1TB…
Pieter Kruger
April 17, 2019 at 08:52
1TB Drive….but still too expensive at $250.
Gavin Mannion
April 17, 2019 at 09:07
My last fancy dinner cost more than that… how cheap do you expect it to be?
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120814235930/adventuretimewithfinnandjake/images/7/7a/714-epic-facepalm.jpg
Pieter Kruger
April 17, 2019 at 09:08
Dafaq do you eat?? 200 Dorrar would be perfect, they can afford to take a knock on these. Anyway, it should reach that $200 or lower price point soon as they said it will always stay $50 below the XB1S……
CodeDisQus
April 17, 2019 at 09:22
Agreed, can we all get invited to a complementary supper with you @lazygamers:disqus XD
Pieter Kruger
April 17, 2019 at 09:29
Yeah, I’d also like to see what $250 worth of russians & chips look like…LOL!
Raptor Rants
April 17, 2019 at 09:40
Massive difference when comparing a first world economy to 3rd world I guess.
$250 overseas is not bank breaking.
Locally at current exchange rates that’s almost R3500. Not to mention all the overheads and markups that happen when selling items like this.
Still, even if that sells for R5k here (LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL Wishful thinking we’ll be milked) it will be a fairly solid deal. Except for the fact that it’s not next gen anymore as those are already being discussed. You’d be silly to buy something like this now when the next gen will likely be the same kind of discless design.
CodeDisQus
April 17, 2019 at 10:02
Also, the 2nd hand market hurts this quite badly, looking on gumtree, or olx or facebook marketplace, you can get a Xbox one s + controllers + a couple of games for R4000 to R5000.
Raptor Rants
April 17, 2019 at 11:13
There is also the second hand market yeah. I can see this digital only edition appealing to some but anyone who considers saving a bit of cash (Literally everyone in South Africa haha) will rather go a second hand route.
G8crasha
April 17, 2019 at 08:35
How ironic that new PS5 details surface and MS announces a new current gen console. Or maybe it isn’t, but too me, it is. I get a sneaky suspicion MS will soon announce some further details on their new console. I doubt they will settle for seconds behind Sony.
Pieter Kruger
April 17, 2019 at 08:59
E3….soon!
CodeDisQus
April 17, 2019 at 08:46
What is the point of this? It cost the same as the disc based one and you LOSE a feature.
The pre-installed games aren’t that great and are already on Game Pass.
Having the console released so late in the cycle isn’t smart IMO. If you DON’T have a console, buying the disc based one (even though you should be buying a PS4, but anyway) makes so much more sense because games on the 2nd hand market are going for dirt cheap due to the fact that it’s late in the console lifecycle. Most people who are looking to buy a console now will be those types of people, the ones looking to save on games. The hardcore crowd all have some xbox model already or a PS4. Come on MS, focus on the next gen.
Geoffrey Tim
April 17, 2019 at 09:22
This thing is being released as the cheapest entry point into fortnite. And it’s going to do just fine in that regard. There’s a whole generations of gamers who play nothing but Fortnite and Apex – and this fills that need.
CodeDisQus
April 17, 2019 at 09:22
But it’s releasing at $250 just like the disc based version
Geoffrey Tim
April 17, 2019 at 09:28
The RRP of the S is $299. Sure, you can get it for less, but that’s not its price. Same will happen with this one. Expect bundles and lower pricing.
CodeDisQus
April 17, 2019 at 09:29
Ah, ok, make sense now….. yea those savings are a bit more enticing. Will be interesting to see how this sells.
Pieter Kruger
April 17, 2019 at 09:34
Isn’t the RRP of the XB1S still $300? That means that if MS has a sale and XB1S sells for $ 250 you can pick this console up for $200. Black Friday probably $150!
BradeLunner
April 17, 2019 at 23:05
As a ps4 owner with an x360, this is a great new toy if the price is decent, I WANT forza horizen. But also, D, this line i disagree “once again I’m convinced that the next couple of years are going to belong to Microsoft”