The Super Nintendo. The N64. PS2. Xbox 360. I remember how much of a generational jump these consoles were in both graphics and gameplay. 8-bit to 16-bit. 16-bit to 64-bit. Polygon 3D graphics to high definition. Every time there was a new console generation, those consoles were leaps and bounds more advanced than the previous generation. I remember playing Super Mario World for the first time, or being blown away playing Gears of War.
Lately, console generations don’t have the same revolutionary jump that they used to have. When the Xbox One and Playstation 4 came out in 2013, the technological jump wasn’t as stark compared to the previous consoles. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 4 moved games into high definition. The Xbox One and PS4 also had HD graphics. The real advancement came in the form of improved detail, shading, and modelling. It wasn’t until the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, halfway through the last generation, when games jumped to 4K. One could argue that this was a more significant jump than the original Xbox One and PS4 were.
And that’s the new reality when defining game console generations. Much like smartphones and computers, technology has come to a point where we are seeing incremental steps instead of massive technological leaps.
Having said all of this, the Xbox Series X is a next generation console with some great improvements and great potential, but at launch this is hard to quantify.
Design
Let’s start from the outside in. The design of the Xbox Series X is a very minimalistic, but bold design. A rectangular cube engineered for optimum air flow and performance, the Series X is the best looking Xbox ever, and one of the best looking consoles in recent memory. The console is heavy and solidly built. The four equal sides are flat, with the top slightly concave with ventilation holes. Sitting upright in my entertainment unit, the console looks great.
The design of the controller, on the other hand, is pretty much the controller you got with the Xbox One and One X. This isn’t a bad thing. The Xbox controller, since the Xbox 360 controller, has been one of the best game controllers out there. The Series X controller slightly improves the previous version with the addition of a share button, a new D-pad and added texture to the grips and triggers for better ergonomics. A great controller just got a little bit better.
Performance
With 4K console gaming being introduced during the mid-generation upgrade, what the Xbox Series X brings to this generation is greater performance and graphics.
At launch, the Xbox Series X lacks any true next-gen games. All the games available for the Series X are either older last-gen games with Series X enhancements or new games that are primarily developed for the Xbox One, but with Series X enhancements. The first game I tried out was Gears 5. The game is truly stunning with great detail and spectacular lighting, but where the game really shines is with the consistent 60 frame per second. The performance of the game matches the ultra settings found on the PC version.
But so far, that’s all we are getting. Enhanced versions of games that more or less give you high-end PC quality graphics but on a console. Don’t get me wrong, this is really great. To get ultra settings on a PC, you are likely looking at a PC build nearing $1500. But, until we start getting games built from the ground up with the Series X in mind, we are not seeing the full potential of what this console can do.
For now, the benefits of this extremely powerful console is limited by the available software, but the graphical step up and 60fps is a welcomed upgrade. The Series X is capable of 120fps and 8K resolution, but I don’t have a 120Hz television and 8K just really isn’t a thing yet.
Aside from graphical processing, other benefit the Series X provides is the onboard 1TB solid-state drive. Providing very high data transfer speeds, this improves load times and is needed for processing the greater amounts of data need for the higher quality graphics.
Lots and lots of potential
The mid-generation upgrade cycle really blurred the lines of what to expect from a next generation console. Back in 2017, the Xbox One X might have even stolen some thunder from the Series X by introducing 4K console gaming before the next-generation. But, what the Xbox Series X has is power. Lots and lots of power. However, we won’t be seeing the real benefits of 12-teraflops and 8-core CPU power until next year, likely when Halo Infinite is released, or when we get a new Gears or Forza. And, as it is always the case, the full potential of a console isn’t tapped until the latter half of its life cycle.
The Xbox Series X has great potential, but right now, we can only get a sliver of a glimpse of it.
