Kids asking for mundane things for christmas, an example of why the Series S matters

Gaming
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…and why having a meltdown because “it’ll hold back my PS5/Series X!” is really a distasteful thing.

I know I’ve been saying this before, mostly using “little Timmy” as an example. Remarks that, grandmothers won’t be able to tell the difference in consoles, remarks that it holds back their precious system, remarks that cross generation games are bad, how minute changes in resolution cause people to have complete meltdowns on twitter (to a point were they threaten journalists) and it goes on like that for a while.

Now the following thing has been on my mind for a while.

Now, I am not here to shame anybody for playing and having fun with their Next Gen console, far from it. I make this topic to proof a point to those, that act like kids get these systems for Christmas/Birthday from their grandmother, as if it were a usual thing ( and not some upper middle class and higher thing). For most kids this is not a reality. For most families this is not a reality.

For most families playing with far older consoles is the reality, a reality now also dashed as the classic gaming collecting now made sure those prices also went through the roof. (I love classic games, but the collectors are going overboard with it :frowning: ). People don’t have expensive OLEDs at home, and certainly not in the bedroom of Little Timmy or his sister Tammy.

Again, this is not to shame, but a show that Microsoft was correct in making a cheaper console. One that can easily run the games at a lower resolution with a few features missing, features you won’t miss unless you have a very high quality display.

Sorry, if anybody feels attacked, I just felt the need to make this topic when I read this stuff. As it illustrated why 200 Dollars can matter a lot to a family.

It also shows just how out of touch gaming journalists - and gaming culture in general - have become, that they don’t even realize anymore that we are playing with toys for all ages :’(.

PS: Please if you have an old One X/One S/PS4… rather than sell it… give it to a family in need or a Hospital. The Rock asked you to. And…would you say No, to the Rock? :slight_smile:

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OMG this post times one million. I gave my One X to a children’s charity they can use it as a Christmas present for someone who wouldn’t otherwise get one. Also threw in three months gamepass too in the box.

The way ignorant people talk about the series S makes me angry, it’s an affordable way into next gen. It’s a superb machine that is now easily outstripping the one X as we’ve seen in recent comparisons. For me it’s the best next gen console value wise by a long way. For £249 you get absolutely loads.

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Hardcore Gamers need to go out of their bubbles, a 300€ console which can run every next gen game is a blessing, not a curse

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Yeah, the bubble is really disgusting. It’s also in media, were you’ve had so many articles/videos about how “the series S and cross gen games will hold back the generation”. It is really out of touch with the hobby if you ask me.

OH yeah, I love the Series S. It seems like a capable little machine, which in many ways is more streamlined than the Series X. Microsoft cut costs with that one in all the smart places. I think we might even see it sell far better than so called “Industry analysts” think. Especially once it reaches 200 Dollars or gets a few pack in games for a good bundle deal. A lot of families will be gaming on that machine, I’m certain of it :slight_smile: .

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Well said! My wife has a much younger brother (her mother remarried) with some issues (dyspraxia and other things). They don’t have a ton of money, but their son is passionate about hockey, and now EA Sports NHL games, after he played some on Xbox with me. Playing video games can help with his dyspraxia.

They’re not gamers at all, and would never buy a console but with Series S at 379.99 (Canada) it’s something they will definitely think about. They absolutely don’t care about 4k gaming and all the bells and whistle. He just wants to play.

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Gamers with disabilities is another thing that is often forgotten, thank you for pointing it out :). My father had a stroke and can only use one hand. The ability to help him out with a second controller on my Sister’s Xbox is a godsend! I can only applaud the amount of energy the Xbox people put into gaming with disabilities.

And yeah, for a lot of people “minute” graphics differences like a 4K resolution, is really not even on their radar. It might not be minute for the hardcore crowd, but it simply is not worth the extra money for a lot of people. Same reason not everybody has a big OLED TV.

Again, thank you for bringing this to the topic.

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And the people who are criticising the Series S will be the same ones going crazy for a sub 1Tflop Switch Pro that costs £400…

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Oh yeah, that one is also on my “annoyance” list, of topics I just get out of before I’d even post a thing. I’d say battery life and cost saving would be higher on Nintendo’s list (get it into the hands of every child). But again… it shows just how out of touch people are from the children they once were. They cannot even put themselves into the shoes of a parent. Seriously I know health professionals making plenty of money who’s kids still play on a Nintendo Wii. Nothing wrong with that… just shows that people that aren’t enthusiasts have very different outlooks.

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One of the reasons why I love Xbox so much now to be honest. Of course it’s a huge company that makes a crapton of money, but they really do seem to care about anybody that want to play games, wherever and however it is.

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Agree. Like look at the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Amazing work by the Xbox team making games more accessible through it.

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Yep, and they’re selling it at the manufacturing cost I believe.

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That’s real nice of you mate.

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It isn’t even not being able to afford the more expensive console exactly. I’m sure there are families with multiple kids where instead of buying one expensive console that the kids have to share and fight over, they can buy two cheaper consoles so each kid can have their own.

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Hi, sorry for my late replies, I just got home from work. Catching up now.

It is the same for me, but also from an autistic point of view. For instance there was this post on other era about how long job interviews take, a lot of complaining about it. But there is some merit in that if done proper. Microsoft spend a lot of effort in making a job interview strategy/hiring strategy more catered to people on the spectrum. One of them is to not have long interviews or a lot of them in one go, but to spread it over multiple days if not a week. It calms people down and they feel more comfortable.

Microsoft (Bill Gates as well) did a lot for people on the spectrum and to recognize that we are not some kind of illness. And for me that means a lot. Sure I survived, but for every one of me there are dozens of kids that don’t. That are medicated wrongly or overly medicated, that are locked up in institutions… or worse… end up at one of these Jenna MCarthy antivax parents who will inject them with bleach.

So really I’m happy for you to bring this to the topic. As it shows a side of a big tech company that actually does try to do their best to do more for people with disabilities, different brains (spectrum), LGBTQ+ and minorities. It is something that I wish more people would notice about Microsoft. Not to just praise them, but to copy their practices and learn from it.

Really? I didn’t know that that’s awesome. Do you have a source of that? As that would be awesome to read about.

A bit true, but it isn’t just a kids console. People have limited budgets, and have families. And well, your other half might simply not like a PS5 or Xbox Series X for it’s size. The Series S is like a compromise they can live with.

But still, I do think that considering those letters to Santa, we’d need to push back a bit more to people that scream about it “keeping things back”, or other nonsense like posting pictures of Spongebob eating a dog bowl of dog crap ( I wish I made that up :frowning: ). It screams really bad form in a time when people are losing their jobs left and right.

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Well yeah we know it isn’t a kids console, but the idea is the XSS is a good alternative for someone who may need multiple consoles but multiple XSX or PS5 would be too much. The XSS also has a portability factor, it’s easy to toss in a backpack. I’m sure someone will rig up a monitor mount where you can have the XSS attached and you just have one power plug to plug in.

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Sorry I misunderstood you for a second, again just got home from work heh. I"m blessed with long hours :P.

I agree that it will also sell to people that just wish a Gamepass machine to get those exclusives on. As finding a PC that can play those games at 1080p for 299 bucks? That will not happen. Especially with scalpers also having gone mental on the Ryzen 5X00 series and GPUs :(.

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Having a large family w/ kids is just a good example. You could also use an example like someone who lives in two different places so they need two setups. I think traditionally this sort of lower priced gaming was dominated by handhelds. Is the reason handhelds are so popular is because they are portable? I don’t really see too many people playing them outside to be honest. I bet most people play them at home anyway. The reason they sell so much is the because the cost is lower and easier to justify even owning more than one. Tablets and phones kinda fall into this category too.