Xbox - Series S/X: Thread 01

[wakka]

There’s some pretty odd stuff in the Xbox App Store. Seems much more liberal than the PS one.

I have a One S and I really like the hardware, even if the software leaves something to be desired. I think the pad is probably better than the DS4. The triggers in particular are far better. Also, the way they rumble on FH4 is really cool.

[QualityChimp]

I can always get to the games with gold and Gold special deals from one click from the home screen. It's normally the tile with gold in the corner and encouraging you to either renew your gold membership (age before it runs out) or try Game Pass.

As I said, there's never a dedicated link to the Games With Gold at the top, you have to go some indirect, convoluted route.

The guide has an area at the bottom dedicated to games with gold and there is a dedicated section in my games and apps

As I said, there's never a dedicated link to the Games With Gold at the top, you have to go some indirect, convoluted route.

[Family Fry]

There usually is a dedicated button on the home page.
The current issue with that is it’s currently promoting Game Pass, although if you click on it it still takes you directly to the games/deals with gold section.



I’m sure once the new year offer ends it will change back to what it usually says.



Oh and I forgot to say above for tips with the UI if you press Y on home you can immediately jump to search there’s also a butto on that you can changed from search all to installed only or movies and tv etc.

I do think heading into next gen Sony & MS will really need to work hard in making better UI’s, if I was a betting man though I would say Sony won’t change anything and maybe MS will change too much.

[wakka]

Thanks for the tips. Yeah, both UIs could use some work. We’re also really struggling for decent remotes this gen. I’ve had the PDP ‘media remote’ (the big one that looks like the PS3 remote) for years, but it needed clumsily reconnecting all the time. I now have the newish ‘Talon’ PDP remote for Xbox, and although it uses IR the buttons need to be stabbed about 50 times before they work.

Needless to say it’s going back to Argos. Ever so frustrating when the official remotes for PS3 and 360 were both very good indeed

[CMcK]

I use the official remote with my 1X for media playback. Works well and lights up when you lift it too. Ideal for dark room viewing.

[QualityChimp]

I use my Harmony universal remote for my One on video playback.
It's something the PS4 can't do, so that's one up for the One!

It means I can use the controller or the remote to get lost in the hideously convoluted menus.

[wakka]

I use the official remote with my 1X for media playback. Works well and lights up when you lift it too. Ideal for dark room viewing.

OK, I think I’ll give this a try instead. I had read online that the Talon was much better. Is the official one very responsive?

[CMcK]

It's fine response is just like a normal TV remote.

[wakka]

Thanks mate. I will get one and give it a try. The one I have is a LONG way from being as responsive as a normal TV remote, I think it’s faulty tbh.

[EvilBoris]

It's been one of the big main critisims of the Xbox One X this gen, weirdly as a byproduct of giving over more memory to games rather than the OS whereas on PS4 they have less memory available to games in favour of the OS. We've seen the decrease in the PS4 Pro advantage for rendering due to this since the X launched, as more Ram was added to PS4 Pro, but it was handed back to the OS to enable a native 4K interface.
Sony really optimise the OS for responsiveness, both PS3 and PS4 both hit the theoretical lowest amont of latency for a 60hz refresh, something that lots of games can't even manage.

I genuinely don't have any major issues with the Xbox OS, probably moreso down to familiarity, whereas I do struggle to do similar tasks on PS4. Most of my time using it is either booting a game from my huge library or viewing games in the store to make that library even bigger
I'd still describe it as an IOS vs Android scenario, where they broadly do the same things, but everything is just different enough to be confusing if you aren't super familiar with them.

Hopefully with the Anaconda, Microsoft listen to the feedback about the OS speed, which would make the world of difference.

[EvilBoris]

It's been one of the big main critisims of the Xbox One X this gen, weirdly as a byproduct of giving over more memory to games rather than the OS whereas on PS4 they have less memory available to games in favour of the OS. We've seen the decrease in the PS4 Pro advantage for rendering due to this since the X launched, as more Ram was added to PS4 Pro, but it was handed back to the OS to enable a native 4K interface.
Sony really optimise the OS for responsiveness, both PS3 and PS4 both hit the theoretical lowest amont of latency for a 60hz refresh, something that lots of games can't even manage.

I genuinely don't have any major issues with the Xbox OS, probably moreso down to familiarity, whereas I do struggle to do similar tasks on PS4. Most of my time using it is either booting a game from my huge library or viewing games in the store to make that library even bigger
I'd still describe it as an IOS vs Android scenario, where they broadly do the same things, but everything is just different enough to be confusing if you aren't super familiar with them.

Hopefully with the Anaconda, Microsoft listen to the feedback about the OS speed, which would make the world of difference.

[Digfox]

I personally don't think it has anything to do with responsiveness but more the user experience; how quickly or intuitive it is for the user to do what they want to do. And that ultimately Microsoft's decision to build the XBO OS around Kinect, selling services, but worse still the Metro design. These three things that still frustrate the core experience of the XBO OS to this day. When you engage with people who have used the OS on either the PS4 or XBO for any considerable time they will generally display a preference for the former.

It's also a theme that's repeated in their website storefronts. On Microsoft every game is an extra click away and loads up a new tab. I can't even wishlist on the 'hover over' of the search result like I can from the PlayStation Store page.

I also think the comparison with the mobile OS's is moot. Google built and launched a clone product in the space of 10 months after having seen the original iPhone concept and largely copied a lot of that original experience. Certainly both OS's have matured since but there are still similarities in the core experience of icons, screen layout, notifications etc.

Obviously both console OSs are usable but in general but I think it's fair to acknowledge where Sony made some better design choices in their software (which to be fair was also mirrored in their hardware). I find it fairly ironic that the Japanese Electronics manufacturer (primarily) put out a console with a better UI design than the western software giant.

Microsoft do need to think about their OS on the next machines and whilst it improved with the XBX that ultimately it is still the worst user experience when compared to its main competitor (Sony PlayStation 4).

[cutmymilk]

The funny thing is the guys putting out themes for emulation station design far better interfaces than either Xbox or PlayStation storefronts. Imagine one of those, with box art, info and video snaps but with buy buttons. So simple.

[djtickle]

I used to love the Xbox OS but it’s poor at the moment, I couldn’t even find games with gold the other day.

I just pinned my games and apps to the quick menu and that’s me done.

[wakka]

Thanks mate. I will get one and give it a try. The one I have is a LONG way from being as responsive as a normal TV remote, I think it’s faulty tbh.

Not sure if anyone is interested, but maybe this will help someone on Google one day:

I bought the official MS Media Remote, the small one that came out early in the system’s life, and found it no better in the end. It might be partly down to the positioning of my Xbox, but both it and the PDP remote seem to need you to aim a little more precisely than is usual for an IR remote.

I now kinda found a good angle to point at to always make sure it consistently connects in my living room though, so I’ve decided to stick with the PDP remote. Comparing them side by side, it’s a little more comfortable to hold and it has a fuller complement of buttons. Thankfully it also retains the light up buttons and motion sensor, as that’s a great feature for watching Blu-rays in a totally dark room.

It’s a real shame that there’s no remote for Xbox which features a button and mic for Cortana however. That would be a terrific addition.