We Finally Know What The Series S Looks Like

With the November release window of the Xbox Series X fast approaching, fans have been waiting for any kind of announcement regarding the console's price point. While that news is still forthcoming, fans did get a pretty spectacular confirmation: not only does the Xbox Series S exist, but its price has been announced, and Microsoft provided a look at the mysterious new machine.

This avalanche of news seemingly began when Thurrott posted a supposed leaked look at the Xbox Series S. Thurrott reported that an official announcement was likely "right around the corner," and indicated that the retail price for the Xbox Series S would be a surprisingly low $299. This was followed by the apparent leak of a video comparing the size of the Series S to the Series X, which surfaced on Twitter. The design seen in the video matched the one in the image posted by Thurrott.

There was a bit of back and forth on social media regarding whether or not these leaks could be trusted. After all, it seems like just about every week, someone is revealing that they know the real price of the new consoles. However, the speculation regarding the leak grew to such a fever pitch that Microsoft seemingly made the decision to nip it in the bud by officially announcing the console on Twitter.

👀 Let’s make it official!

Xbox Series S | Next-gen performance in the ˢᵐᵃˡˡᵉˢᵗ Xbox ever. $299 (ERP).

Looking forward to sharing more! Soon. Promise. pic.twitter.com/8wIEpLPVEq

— Xbox (@Xbox) September 8, 2020

Along with confirming the price point of $299, the announcement promised "Next-gen performance in the smallest Xbox ever." And along with a picture of the console, Xbox promised that more details regarding the Xbox Series S were coming "soon."

The console looks pretty sleek. It's all-white, which was expected after the leak of several Series S controllers last month. It appears to be roughly half the size of the Xbox Series X. Most notably, the system does not have a disc drive, confirming that the Series S is meant to be the Xbox family's answer to the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. 

It's also worth noting that Xbox replied to its own announcement tweet with two very particular emojis: a padlock and a green heart. This seems to confirm once and for all that the Xbox Series S is in fact the long-rumored (and disc-less) Xbox Lockhart console that fans have been hearing about for years.

Shortly after the official announcement from Xbox, the account that leaked the previous footage of the console posted what appeared to be an official announcement trailer for the console. It was only a matter of hours before the trailer's legitimacy was confirmed by Microsoft. This trailer helpfully lays out some of the system's specs, which should be of great interest to potential buyers.

According to the trailer, the Series S will boast some decent power, but seems to be considerably more of an "entry level" system when compared to the Series X. The smaller console will support 1440p up to 120 frames-per-second and features 4K media playback/upscaling, as well as support for ray-tracing. The most interesting thing to note, however, is that the system's NVMe Solid State Drive will only be 512 GB. While that would have been an impressive number at the start of the last console generation, it's not exactly up to current standards. With games like Modern Warfare boasting massive file sizes, it seems like Microsoft's xCloud game streaming service will come in clutch for anyone investing in a Series S console.

According to games industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, the price and performance of the console is tailor-made for accessibility. Ahmad tweeted, "It's very much a console that will allow people to jump in from day 1 at a low cost. Rather than have to wait for price drops."

Of course, this being the Internet, people are already making memes out of the console reveal. Some have compared the new Xbox consoles to home appliances, photoshopping the Series X to resemble a refrigerator and the Series S to appear as a laundry machine. Another person on Twitter edited the Series S to look like the speaker at a drive-thru restaurant. 

Despite the fun people are having at the expense of the Series S, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about this announcement. Not only does it finally confirm the console's existence, but it also marks the first real movement fans have received in terms of price point announcements for the next-gen consoles. Since the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles were first announced, it has seemed as though both companies were waiting to see when the other would make a move. 

With Xbox making this pricing announcement (which was characterized by Thurrot's Brad Sams as "aggressive"), it may force Sony's hand in revealing the price points of its upcoming consoles. Hopefully that will be the case. Again, Xbox has promised that more Series S details are coming in the near future, so fans just need to hang in there a little bit longer.