Preorders for the shiny new Xbox One S 2TB model are apparently off to an “amazing start”, according to a new blog post from Microsoft.
The system is currently priced at around £350, and offers a slimmer, and altogether more streamlined gaming experience.
The S model is 40% smaller than the current Xbox One, and comes with an internal power supply – no more fucking around with that God awful power brick, then.
While Microsoft declined to share any specific preorder sales numbers at this stage, they did reveal that their retail partners are “just as enthusiastic” about the new model.
Bob Puzon, senior vice president of Merchandising for GameStop said:
With all the new innovation we’ve seen and experienced with Microsoft’s new Xbox One S console, we anticipate this creating excitement among our customers. The new sleek design and the ability to watch Blu-Ray movies and stream video in 4K Ultra HD with HDR is sure to make the new Xbox One console one of our most sought after products when it launches later this year.
But the Xbox One S isn’t the only new console Microsoft has up its rich sleeves. There’s also the mysterious Project Scorpio – the console with a name like a daytime TV reality show about a psychic.
While the Xbox One S is essentially a cheaper, sleeker option, the Scorpio is an altogether more serious hardware upgrade.
The 4K ready machine will have 8 CPU cores, (the most powerful GPU ever put into a games console) and 6 teraflops of power. It’s about four and half times more powerful than the standard Xbox One, and certainly more powerful than the upcoming PS4K.
Still, the Scorpio won’t be with us till at least “Holiday 2017”, while the 2TB Xbox One S will launch in August.
Do you save up for the more powerful option, or go straight for the S? The important thing is that you follow your heart (and your wallet).
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.