Will the Xbox Series S experiment end up being a successful one for Microsoft? Devs and fans alike have expressed concern that the Series S will hold back next-gen game development, but beyond that, one can’t help but wonder – will it even sell? Or will gamers starved for something new opt for the premium Xbox Series X? In a recent interview with Kotaku, Xbox boss Phil Spencer discussed the Xbox Series S, and he’s predicting the less powerful S will actually outsell the X.
I think we’ll sell every unit of both of [the Xbox Series X and S] that we can deliver [this holiday]. I think demand is just going to outstrip supply of pre-orders. For us and PlayStation, I think that the manufacturing supply chain is going to dictate [market] share more than anything else. […] I think, over the generation, our expectation would be that price really matters and that you would see the Series S sell more.
Spencer also doesn’t think the presence of the Series S will hold back next-gen game development, although he does admit having two machines makes things more difficult for devs…
I’m not worried. I think we have proof points, like we’ve said, on PC, that show that you can get absolutely amazing-looking games on great hardware and have those games scale to the hardware capability. But absolutely, it is work. There’s no doubt about that. The fact that you have two performance specs now, I’m not going to stand here or try to PR somebody and say two different specs is the same as having one spec. It’s not. We’re doing this because we want to expand the market.
I’m still not sure I buy the idea that the Xbox Series S will be a big seller, as I really think people are ready for a new generation of hardware and don’t want to settle. Sure, price matters, but only to an extent – the iPhone 11 has outsold the iPhone SE, the regular Switch has continued to outsell the Switch Lite. Cheaper isn’t always better. But I suppose we’ll see how things shake out.
The Xbox Series X and S both launch on November 10. What do you think? Which of Microsoft new consoles will end up moving more units?
