Microsoft halts production of Xbox One X, Xbox One S digital edition

Microsoft Xbox One X

As Microsoft ramps up its production of the Xbox Series X, the company announced that it'll stop production of the Xbox One X and the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition consoles. The only Xbox One console that will continue to be sold will be the Xbox One S. Of course, the remaining stocks for some retailers will still be around. A Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge that people should check with their local retailers if they still have the consoles. Reports of shortages have surfaced as more people buy game consoles while they're stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Xbox Series X will be launched later this year. Microsoft plans to continue its Xbox All Access subscriptions with this next-gen console. And rumours are going around that a cheaper, less powerful Xbox Series console will be unveiled next month. Codenamed "Lockhart," this rumoured Series X console is considered a big part of Microsoft's pricing strategy for the new gaming machines. This second console may be called the Xbox Series S, and it's expected to focus on 1080p/1440p gaming.

Microsoft hosts Xbox One X & Air Jordan III sneakers-inspired console contest

Here’s something gamers and sneakerheads are both going to drool over. Microsoft has partnered with the iconic Nike Jordan brand to give away three one-of-a-kind Xbox One X consoles inspired by recent and upcoming Air Jordan III releases. The custom consoles, which you can see above, include the Free Throw Line, which dropped on February 14; the Air Jordan III Black Cement, which will be available on February 17; and the Air Jordan III Tinker, which will arrive on March 24. The Free Throw Line Xbox One X pays homage to the unforgettable dunk by Michael Jordan in 1988. The Black Cement Xbox One X is inspired by the sneakers with all the same detailing which made these, considered by many, the greatest sneakers of all-time, and the Tinker Xbox One X showcases Tinker Hatfield’s original design for what the shoe was going to be.

To get a chance to win any of these three consoles, you need to check out the Xbox’s Twitter page from Friday, February 16 at 6 a.m. PT to Wednesday, February 21 at 10 p.m. PT. You can check out this link for the full sweepstakes details.

Microsoft outs its ‘smallest Xbox ever’

It’s been dubbed “Project Scorpio” but now it gets an official debut. Microsoft unveiled at E3 its new Xbox One X, the company’s smallest Xbox to date. While it features looks similar to the Xbox One S, it packs in a lot of power in its smaller package. It comes with 6 teraflops of graphical power (which is more than the PS4 Pro’s 4.2 teraflops), a custom GPU engine that runs at 1172MHz (which is a big jump over the Xbox One’s 853MHz and the Sony’s 911MHz on the PS4 Pro), 1TB of storage, and it’ll ship with an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive for 4K entertainment. It also has liquid-cooled vapor-chamber cooling system, which you usually see on high-end PC gaming cards.

It’ll work with all existing Xbox One accessories and will be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles. Existing titles are said to get a noticeable performance boost on the Xbox One. Microsoft will use “super sampling” on this console to make the new games look more amazing on 1080p TVs. Microsoft says there will be 22 “console launch exclusives” coming to the Xbox One X, including Forza Motorsport 7 and Crackdown 3. It’ll debut worldwide on November 7^th and will cost CA$599.

Source: The Verge