The Xbox Series S is in the headlines again after Larian announced it would be shipping Baldur’s Gate 3 without split-screen co-op on the Xbox Series S.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Phil Spencer addressed the perceived issues with Series S and why owners understand the changes.
“I don’t see a world where we drop S,” Spencer said, “In terms of parity, I don’t think you’ve heard from us or Larian, that this was about parity. I think that’s more that the community is talking about it. There are features that ship on X today that do not ship on S, even from our own games, like ray-tracing that works on X, it’s not on S in certain games. So, for an S customer, they spent roughly half what the X customer bought, they understand that it’s not going to run the same way.”
The Series S was a bold decision at launch, dropping alongside the more powerful Xbox Series X at a much more affordable $299 price point, though it omitted key features like a disc drive and only included a 500 GB solid-state drive. The lower price point was made possible with an overall lower spec, turning the Series S into a development bottleneck, which many developers have groused about over the years.
Despite Baldur’s Gate 3 changes, the Xbox Series S is important
The Baldur’s Gate 3 news was disappointing, but it’s still hard to deny the importance of the Xbox Series S. While many tried-and-true Xbox gamers went for the Series X, the Series S received a lot of attention. The console’s lower profile and relative power compared to it’s lower price made it a great fit for many living rooms. It built a reputation as the solution for a more casual gamer looking to dip their toes into Game Pass on a next-gen console without breaking the bank. And for Spencer, that’s precisely why he loves the Series S.
“Having an entry-level price point for console, sub-$300 is a good thing for the industry,” Spencer explained. “I think it’s important. The Switch has been able to do that, in terms of kind of the traditional plug-into-my-television consoles. I think it’s important, so we’re committed.”
