Why Now is the Best Time to Buy an Xbox One X
As the Xbox Series X|S rolls out, I visit the last Xbox generation for the first time
As the Xbox Series X|S rolls out, I visited the last Xbox gen for the first time. If you’re reading this at the time of publication, you know that we’re in a weird position with the next generation of consoles at the moment. Advertisements are plastered on bus stops and billboards, games proudly boast about their next-gen upgrades and raytracing abilities, but in many parts of the world — and not to mention two months after launch — it still requires teeth-grinding determination and a healthy dollop of luck to actually get your hands on one.
So, in what I can only assume was a moment of utter madness, I impulse-bought a second-hand Xbox One X. I’m not saying that was a good idea — I really don’t think I thought it through carefully, but by sheer luck, it turned out to be a really good idea. So good, in fact, that I think more people should buy One X’s during this generational transition.
“Madness!” I hear you say. “Scoundrel!” Or words to that effect but less 17th century. And I know, I get it. Why would you pick up a last-gen console as a replacement for a next-gen one? In any other context, it wouldn’t make any sense, but hear me out.
You might have heard about Sony’s current PlayStation Plus offer for PS5 owners, which allows them to download and play nearly every major PS4 exclusive. It’s a brilliant idea — for the price of a subscription they were likely already paying, PS5 owners can catch up on the best PS4 games they missed while they wait for actual PS5 games to be made. It’s a clever solution to the issue that’s plagued early adopters for decades — what do you even play on a brand new console with only a handful of launch titles? A great idea and something Xbox has already been doing for some time with their Game Pass service.
This might not have occurred to you as a big deal before because, let’s be honest, Microsoft’s output has been fairly awful over the last generation. That is absolutely true, but Game Pass offers so much more than that. Microsoft’s recent partnerships and acquisitions mean that Game Pass’s options are broadening all the time — EA Play, Bethesda games (Doom Eternal, Skyrim), Paradox (Stellaris, Cities Skylines) are all available alongside every Microsoft exclusive as they are released. If those games sound like they might demand too much time from you, that’s fine — there are shorter adventures too. Night in the Woods tells a beautiful tale and is neatly wrapped up in about eight hours. Shooters like Halo are similarly short and sweet. These bitesize, quick-to-download games really thrive on Game Pass. Without it, I may never have discovered the hauntingly human tales told by Hypnospace Outlaw.
If you’re a PC gamer, Game Pass is doubly enticing as it is also available on Windows 10 devices, although it costs more if you want it on both platforms, which is admittedly a bit of a bummer. The idea is that Microsoft wants Xbox to be a platform that extends further than just the console, which means that Xbox can also include PC games now. Microsoft dubbed the idea “Xbox Play Anywhere” and it basically means that any game with this feature can be bought once, then played on your Xbox or your PC on the same license, with cross-save compatibility. As a notoriously lazy gamer, this is the dream for me. Sure, sometimes I want to sit at my desk and benefit from sharper graphics and precise mouse controls, but most of the time I’d much rather lay back on the sofa and really relax. And now I can do that in 4K and, ironically, my mid-range computer can’t even handle 4K like the Xbox can, so it’s somehow better than PC gaming for those without a high-end GPU and an equally jazzy 4K monitor setup.
Speaking of 4K, Microsoft’s dedication to backward compatibility means that you can play all of your old games from Xbox’s previous (and, let’s be honest, better) generation. Classics like Fable 2, GTA IV, and Oblivion get steadier frame rates and, in many cases, FPS and resolution increases. Fair warning: Oblivion in 4K does not make the starchy potato faces any more attractive.
Looking to the future, Microsoft has pledged that Xbox is dropping the concept of generations. This means that, in theory, all Microsoft exclusives for the Series X|S will also be available for the Xbox One and its beefier brother. I’m not convinced this will pan out in the long run, but at least you know you can count on new games for a year or two at the very least, right? Especially since the Xbox One X is a whole lot more powerful than the puny base model it replaced, so it should have no problem running a lot of next-gen games with a few tweaks here and there (maybe excluding the ones that rely on SSD storage). With Microsoft picking up as many studios as it can these days — and let’s not forget this includes Bethesda — I think it’s safe to say that the future is looking up for Xbox’s library in the coming years.
Things have changed for Microsoft. Dissatisfied with the rigid console generations of yore, Xbox has created a platform that has more than a little in common with the dreaded Games as a Service model, with an obsession with subscriptions and cloud services. It would be easy to turn away from something like that, except this platform really feels like it loves and respects games in a way something more clinical and detached like Stadia could never manage. It encourages you to pick up a game and play it on whatever form factor suits you best — keyboard, gamepad, or even a touchscreen on your android phone if you’re that way inclined. It encourages you to explore a library of Game Pass games — the ones you’ve heard about but never quite feel ready to fork out for except, hey, you’ve already paid the subscription fee, so why not?
Xbox really looks like it has a bright future ahead and, right now, as the Series X|S consoles still show no sign of materialising, it’s great to be able to jump in with a cheap but powerful console. Plus, it’s still got a disc drive so you can take all your old 360 games for a spin. Take that, Series S. I never thought I’d say this, but my allegiance lies with the Xbox One X.
