The new Xbox Series S is the cheapest option for anyone looking to get into next-gen gaming. However, it cut far too many corners to openly recommend to everyone.
One of our biggest issues with the Xbox Series S was its limited storage. Out of the 500GB on the internal SSD, only about 364GB was usable. That capacity will be filled by just a couple of AAA titles. Add the fact that there’s no disk drive and you’ll have to resort to storing games on the same SSD, the problem amplifies.
To offer some solace, Microsoft announced storage expansion cards in partnership with Seagate — a plug-and-play solution to quickly bolster the storage capacity on the Xbox Series S or X. Now that those are finally available in India, the recommendation gets a lot more difficult.
The Seagate storage expansion card for the Xbox Series S and X is priced at Rs 23,499 in India for the 1TB configuration. It will come with a 3-year warranty and can be used to store and play games off directly.
Needless to say, that price, combined with the cost of an Xbox Series S, is far higher than the cost of an Xbox Series X, which already comes with a terabyte of storage out-of-the-box. Add the fact that the Series X is also a more powerful console that supports proper 4K or 120fps gaming, and the decision gets a lot simpler.
Then there’s also the fact that you’ll have to rely on Wi-Fi to frequently download hundreds of GBs worth of game data and updates, which can make it difficult (and expensive) to justify the Series S. Without a disk drive, your entire older library of game titles will also be redundant now.
In short, if you’re in the market for a next-gen console, it might be worth splurging a little extra and going for the Xbox Series X as it has far fewer compromises to be wary of.
- Xbox Series S review: Quintessential caveat emptor
- PS5 vs Xbox Series X: which next-gen console should you buy?
- Seagate reveals how its Xbox Series X expansion card boosts storage without sacrificing SSD performance
