Introduction
The Game Awards took place this past week, and with it came a few surprises, namely a Ghost of Tsushima trailer, a stunning GOTY award for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and the biggest reveal of all, the Xbox Series X.
Yes, Microsoft finally decided to reveal the console after months of anticipation, leaving crowds stunned and gaming outlets excited that they have something to talk about (I’m no exception)!
So, what do we know about the new Xbox? Microsoft didn’t tell us much at the Game Awards, but we can piece together a few leads from the information Microsoft has drip-fed us since the original reveal at E3 earlier this year. Without further ado, let’s start all the way back at E3, and work our way to the Game Awards.
The Original Reveal
PlayStation had announced they were going to release the PS5 on Holiday 2020, which meant Xbox had to start building hype now. So, when E3 came around, it was to no one’s surprise that Microsoft announced their new console…except they didn’t show much.
What Microsoft did decide to show was the name of the project, “Project Scarlett”. Microsoft also announced a Holiday 2020 release date in order to compete with Sony. Along with a release date announcement, Microsoft boasted supreme performance for their new console, claiming that the console could hit 4k@120fps in some games—an extreme claim.
A little bit after E3, a few gaming outlets started reporting that Scarlett was not the only console Microsoft had been working on. In fact, Microsoft plans on releasing a budget option for Scarlett, called “Project Lockhart”. Keep these names in mind, by the way, as you’ll wish these were the actual names of the consoles.
After E3, there wasn’t much in terms of news that came out. That is, until the Game Awards earlier last week…
The Game Awards Conference
No one expected Microsoft to reveal more information about the new Xbox, but no one complained when they took the stage and, with a proud face, unveiled the appearance of the new Xbox and the name, the Xbox Series X.
I know…not a great name. However, we’ll get into that in a little bit. For right now, let’s talk about the appearance of the console.
It looks like a PC.
It genuinely looks like a specialized PC case. Put my computer right next to the Xbox Series X reveal, and you’d have a hard time telling what the difference is. Lucky for me, though, I don’t need to joke about the appearance, since the Internet has already started the memes about the appearance.
You know what? I can’t keep myself from talking about the name. Why is it called the Xbox Series X? Wasn’t the Xbox One X already bad enough?
Well, there may be a good reason for the name, though I’m not sure I like it.
The Speculation of the Xbox Series X
The word “series” is pretty suspect, don’t you think? If we have the original Scarlett, and then add the Lockhart, we seem to have a series of new Xbox consoles, similar to now, with the Xbox One S and Xbox One X. However, series makes it sound like there will be 3+, though we will need to see.
If it’s true that there will be multiple consoles, then it means that Microsoft is pushing for Xbox to be like PCs, but…”exclusive”? I’m not sure; Microsoft’s whole business plan for the new Xbox seems so out of place. I’ve seen simpler UK VPN plans over here than I have with Microsoft lately.
Conclusion
And there you have it! The new Xbox will surely be something to behold, though I’m scared that Microsoft is a bit in over their heads with the whole series thing. However, I’m sure they know what they’re doing, but I’ll stick with my Xbox One X for now.
