Microsoft will be marketing its new generation of video game consoles from November 10.
Faced with leaks in the specialized press, the American giant had to shake up its communication schedule and confirm the information published Tuesday morning on the Windows Central site.
The Xbox Series console will be available in two versions: the Series S, sold for 299 euros, and the Series X, which will be worth 499 euros.
This price difference can be explained by two points.
The S Series will not be able to display graphics in 4K.
It also won't have a Blu-ray disc player.
You will therefore have to buy your video games in digital format, and it will be impossible to resell them.
It's up to the consumer to choose between the two models depending on their equipment (Do I have a 4K TV? Do I have a strong enough Internet connection to quickly download very large files?) And the depth of their wallet.
A subscription to acquire the console
To facilitate the acquisition of an Xbox Series, Microsoft has looked at the practices of telecom operators.
The consumer will be able to leave his Fnac, the exclusive partner of this operation for the French market, with an Xbox Series S by committing to pay a monthly payment of 24.99 euros for two years.
For this price, he will have the console but also access to a catalog of nearly 300 video games in digital format, in which he can draw at will.
This so-called “Xbox All Access” offer will also be available for the Xbox Series X console. We do not know the amount of the monthly payment in Europe.
In the United States, it will be $ 35 per month.
The All Access offer illustrates Microsoft's new strategy, now focused on the subscription model.
The American giant already has more than 10 million customers for its Xbox Game Pass service, which allows unlimited play in a growing catalog of video games against 13 euros per month.
Like a Netflix, the Game Pass is designed to appeal to all tastes.
It includes blockbusters (
Destiny 2, Resident Evil 7, Final Fantasy XV
...), games from independent creators (
Dead Cells, Hollow Knight ...
), as well as Microsoft games (
Halo, Minecraft, Gears of War
...).
Addition of EA games catalog
Above all, new features from Microsoft studios integrate GamePass as soon as they are released.
This is the case, for example, with Flight Simulator, but also with all the future exclusives of the Xbox Series.
The American giant has increased its acquisitions over the past three years in order to garnish its Game Pass with exclusive content.
And at the end of the year, the service will be enriched without additional cost from the catalog of the American publisher EA, specialist in sports games like FIFA.
The ball is now in Sony's court.
The Japanese company will soon unveil the price and release date of its future PlayStation 5, which will also be available in two models.
