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The cat is out of the bag. The premium Xbox Series X console and its little brother, the Xbox Series S, have a release date and a price. The consoles will launch simultaneously in Australia on 10 November 2020. That’s a Tuesday, bizarrely, so put in your leave days now gamers.
The « most powerful console ever made » is priced to meet its tagline. The Xbox Series X will cost $749 in Australia. The Xbox Series S will come in at $499.
No prices have yet been revealed for additional controllers or other peripherals, nor for any of the next-gen games, of which over 100 have been announced.
While we don’t know the PlayStation 5 pricing at the time of writing, it’s expected to be in a similar ballpark.
You will be able to pre-order both the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S from 22 September in Australia. More than ever before, pre-ordering a console will be vitally important to securing an Xbox Series X in the launch week. Not only is access to retail stores limited due to COVID-19, but the coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on manufacturing. While neither Microsoft nor Sony is saying it publicly, it’s widely believed that console quantities will be limited. Especially in remote territories like Australia.
The dust is still settling across the Australian retail landscape following the price and release date announcement for the Xbox Series X and Series S. However, we’re already seeing some enticing purchase options. There are four main ways to get the best price on the XSX console and to find the right dollar value for your needs. Below is an overview of those options, but for regular updates on best prices as we get closer to launch, keep an eye on our best Xbox Series X price and best Xbox Series S price pages.
Depending on how quickly pre-orders are snapped up, you can look at paying outright through a retailer. At the official Microsoft Store, you can expect to pay the full $749 and $499 prices. EB Games is following suit and with little margin on the machines, we don’t expect to see much variance between any retailers.
You can get an Xbox Series X for $0 up front and pay off the console over 24-months if you’re a Telstra customer. This is called the All Access program. The Xbox Series S will set you back $33/month and the Xbox Series X is $46/month. Enticingly, that price comes with Game Pass Ultimate, so you’ll get a lot of gaming as well as the console, including all first-party exclusives. You don’t end up any worse off on price after 24-months either, so this is definitely an option to consider. The only catch is you need to have a mobile or fixed broadband Telstra plan to be eligible. You can compare all mobile plans here, and all broadband plans here.
With Microsoft taking such an open, broad view to backwards compatibility with the Xbox Series X and Series S, there’s little point keeping your old Xbox One. Indeed, we’re already seeing some trade-in offers appear in the market that can reduce the buy-in cost for new gamers. EB Games, for example, is offering a $350 discount if you trade in your Xbox One X for an Xbox Series X. This brings the cost down to $399. While trading an Xbox One S in for an Xbox Series S brings the price down $200 to $299.
It’s too early for us to get a read on what bundles may be on offer at launch, but they will exist. This is the main way for retailers to differentiate their offerings from rival stores. Big games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War are likely candidates to be bundled with a console. You may also be able to get additional controllers or even a headset with certain bundles. This could bring down the overall price of all items and provide a compelling offer if it’s exactly what you want.
Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox is set to launch on November 10. Here are all the places we expect you’ll be able to pre-order the Xbox Series X in Australia. Read more…
Microsoft is doing a solid job of keeping peripheral costs for getting into the next generation of consoles down. Usually the console is just the start. You’d then need to purchase a couple of games ($200+), an extra controller for co-op (~$100) and an Xbox Live subscription (~$90/year) at the very least. While those costs are still on the cards, they’re not required.
Gamers are free to use their existing Xbox One controllers with the new console for starters. While the Game Pass Ultimate subscription service brings with it over 100 games, full online access and other benefits are available for $15.95/month. So, you’re not stuck with an immediate need to shell out stacks more cash to get in a lot of gaming.
The only major hurdle we can see is the proprietary hard drive expansion cards. These have not yet been priced and we’re expecting the internal storage (1TB on XSX and 500GB on XSS) to fill up quickly. Especially on digital only Xbox Series S. The alternative to storing all these titles is to delete and re-download as required. In this regard you may want to consider upgrading your NBN plan.
When you look at the US pricing for the Xbox Series X and Series S, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’re copping the raw prawn Down Under. The US$499 (XSX) and US$299 (XSS) recommended retail prices are significantly smaller numbers. However, these don’t include VAT (the US version of GST). And with the Australian exchange rate sitting around the $0.72 mark, the price conversion is actually bang on. There is no Australia Tax this time around. Our dollar just sucks.
While both consoles can play the latest next-generation video games with the most anticipated visual trickery – such as ray-tracing and variable rate shading – the Xbox Series S scales down the internal hardware and provides no optical Blu-ray drive. We go into much greater detail on both consoles on our Xbox Series X hub page and on our Xbox Series S hub page.
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