Growing up, I had an NES and a Sega Genesis. That was my final Sega system.
I then went to SNES to N64 and PlayStation 1.
When the next generation came out, my brother and I skipped GameCube and PS2 and got an Xbox instead.
Loved the system for games like Halo, Fable, Knights of the Old Republic, Morrowind, and I even liked the wrestling games on it.
Then came the next gen, and my brother moved on to PC gaming and I opted for a Wii and then a PS3 in 2009. I never got around to getting a 360.
I got a PS4 and a Wii U, and then a PS4 Pro, but never an Xbox One.
Fast forward to the current gen, and I secured a day one PS5 and opted against the Switch. Also still didn’t have much desire for an Xbox Series system. I was happy being pretty much PlayStation exclusive.
It’s an ecosystem I’m already heavily invested in. It sucks that my PS3 games don’t work on either PS4 or PS5, but at least my PS4 collection carried over to PS5. Hundreds of games, plenty of trophies, needless to say Sony has me hooked.
I even liked and subscribed to PlayStation Now, which I still think was a great service and we’ll see how the new PlayStation Plus tiers match up to it.
But nevertheless, the alure of Game Pass (and all of Microsoft’s recent acquisitions) finally got me and I bit on an Xbox Series S for $289. I couldn’t be happier with that decision.
I think for gamers like me, Xbox Series S makes a lot of sense. Sure, it may not be as powerful as an Xbox Series X, but it’ll play all the same games.
It’s still a powerful machine capable of 60fps. I play on a 1080p monitor, so couldn’t care less about 4K. Give me 1080p 60fps and I’m more than happy with it.
The no-disc drive also isn’t a problem for me. I prefer digital anyway, just for the convivence (though yes, you don’t own it like you do a disc but even that’s not the same as it used to be).
I have a PS5 that is my main gaming platform, so if I want to grab a physical copy of a game, I’ll just get it for PS5.
My interest in Xbox titles is pretty much limited to things that will be on Game Pass (which is all first party games).
Now with that said, there are some older games that aren’t on Game Pass that I’m interested in or have already bought.
I’m down to experience the enhanced Knights of the Old Republic at some point. I did purchase Red Dead Redemption, which I own and loved on PS3.
I had even been playing RDR on PS5 via PS Now, and it was still fun but just an ugly game now. 720p and jagged/blurry.
I paid $10 for the 360 version that is enhanced (although not 60fps) and it looks amazing. I no longer even care for a remaster of it. I’ve been loving replaying it and actually having it look great.
You see folks online talking about “Game Pass burn out,” and as someone new to the Xbox ecosystem, I’m almost overwhelmed.
I’ve already taken it for a spin, but I look forward to replaying Fable and finally playing Fable 2 and 3. Excited to re-experience Halo and Halo 2, and then play all the ones I never got to play.
Gears of War is a franchise that I always thought looked cool, but never played any of them. They’re all there, and I can finally experience them.
Ditto for the Forza franchise.
For the first time, I’m excited for the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase. I want to see Starfield and Avowed, and what everyone else has cooking. What’s coming to Game Pass.
There’s a bunch of games we know about like Elder Scrolls VI, Starfield, Redfall, and Avowed. All four of which are games I would’ve been interested in, and three of them probably won’t release on PlayStation. Between those, and Activision joining in, jumping into Xbox now I think was a good decision.
Also, I’ve long used and preferred Microsoft Edge and Bing over Chrome and Google, and so I’ve used Microsoft Rewards for a long time now. An easy way for me to passively acquire Amazon Gift Cards.
I had no idea that I was missing out on so many easy Rewards points by simply not having and engaging with an Xbox. That alone has me logging in and checking out something new on Game Pass and the Rewards and Bing apps daily.
I probably won’t be buying a lot of games on Xbox, but with Game Pass I shouldn’t have to. I’ve been largely PlayStation exclusive for far too long. Still love my PS5, and it’ll remain my main platform, but I’m loving Xbox Series S and Game Pass.
