A reader looks forward to the Xbox Series X reveal event in July and lists the most important questions he wants answered, from the SSD to price.
In the aftermath of the PlayStation 5 reveal, we are slightly more enlightened as to Sony’s offerings. All eyes will be on Microsoft’s July event now, to shed a few more details of what we can expect. Here are the questions that need answering about Xbox Series X, to bring us further out of the dark.
Xbox Series X SSD
Sony seems to have commandeered the conversation about the SSDs of the next generation, as if it were their own exclusive feature. We have seen what can be achieved with asset transfer and expandable RAM, most significantly in the upcoming Ratchet & Clank game and, to a less obvious extent, in the Unreal Engine 5 demonstration.
Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney suggested that the demo would have also ran on the Xbox Series X, and Hellblade 2 is reported to be using the engine; suggesting that the Xbox Series X’s I/O capabilities are nothing to sneeze at either. Could this mean we will be seeing more SSD design features in Xbox Series X exclusives and multiplatform games in the future?
Lockhart and prices
Is the legend true? Rumours surrounding the device have been circulating for a good while now. More speculation has been fuelled this week after reports of trademark filing for Xbox Series to accompany the existing trademark for Xbox Series X, which suggests that another addition to the series could be imminent.
Most are anticipating this to be the lower spec, cheaper alternative and a price-competing ace in the hole against the PlayStation 5. However, if it were to exist, that only leads to more questions. Does this mean the Xbox Series X is going to be much more expensive? Will first party and multiplatform games have to factor this common denominator into their design?
Future exclusives: Microsoft or Xbox Series X?
Microsoft has been on an acquisition spree of studios to bolster their first party ranks as of late. The early rewards of investment come in the form of the stunning Hellblade 2 trailer from Ninja Theory. However, this title, like their other first party games announced in the pipeline, are also going to be available on PC, which begs two immediate questions: will there be any Xbox Series X exclusives in the future and if not, what makes the Series X an essential purchase? If the Xbox Lockhart rumours are also true then this equation becomes even more unbalanced.
How much power?
Teraflops – the most misunderstood metric of our generation. In reality there is still a fair bit we don’t know about either the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X’s GPU performance capabilities. So far we can conclude that texture rate and the ability for ray-tracing will be greater on the Xbox Series X but we still don’t know either GPU’s ROP (render output unit) or cache sizes, which are relevant to the capacity for resolution and memory throughput. Both of these factors are more effective with higher GPU clock speeds and are likely relevant to how Unreal Engine 5 performs on both consoles, where texture mapping and ray-tracing are less relied upon.
Final Thought
With all these questions yet unanswered it’s difficult to appraise the options. I have a suspicion though that the Lockhart, if it exists, is going to be a more attractive option to many than the Xbox Series X; unless there’s an announcement of games exclusive to that platform. I am certainly excited to find out in July, along with hopes for a new Fable game. What are you hoping for from Microsoft’s July event?
By reader Twig Lebowski
The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.
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