With two next-generation Xbox consoles set to launch simultaneously worldwide on November 10, Xbox fans have a difficult choice to make. Do they opt for the power of 4K at a higher price, or save their money and get a high-performance console targeting 1440p?

Xbox boss Phil Spencer believes it will be the latter choice, as he believes the Xbox Series S will outperform the Xbox Series X. Spencer told Kotaku, "Across generations, our expectation is that price will really matter and the Series S will sell more."

Given how quickly the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PS5 sold out of pre-orders, it suggests that there is significant buying interest in all three next-generation consoles. [But in the long run, the $299 Xbox Series S may be more popular than the $499 Xbox Series X. [It runs games at 1440p native resolution, which is convenient for those who have a monitor that supports that resolution or have not yet upgraded to a 4K TV. However, it is also possible to upscale games to 4K, and we have seen the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro do so to great effect.

So there may not be a significant practical compromise in purchasing the Series S versus the Series X.

Since the Xbox Series S is a digital-only machine with no disc drive, it will be dependent on downloading games. Therefore, more people will opt for Xbox Game Pass, which allows access to first- and third-party games for a monthly fee.

Indeed, the Xbox Series S is offered as part of the Xbox All Access scheme, which provides access to the console and Game Pass for the low monthly price of $24.99 for 24 months.

The fact that more Xbox Series Ss are coming to market means that more game developers will likely want to offer their games on Game Pass. Xbox Series X and older Xbox consoles, or Game Pass on Windows PCs. This is good news for those using Game Pass on Xbox Series X, older Xbox consoles, or Windows PCs.

More Xbox Series S means that the bar for entry into next-generation gaming will be lowered, both in terms of performance and price. Therefore, if Xbox Series S hardware becomes as popular as Spencer believes it will, developers will be able to guarantee that their games will run well on Xbox Series S hardware.

Developers are expected to build their games to take advantage of the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, but they can also effectively scale down to run on Series S hardware. This could mean that gaming PCs and laptops using older graphics cards and processors could run next-generation games, albeit with slightly lower graphics performance.

Thus, new games may no longer be limited to those who can afford to spend a fortune on a dedicated gaming machine. More gamers also means more room for developers to create interesting games that cater to new audiences who may not have considered next-generation consoles due to the hardware requirements.

Of course, this is all speculation based on Spencer's predictions. However, we feel that having the Xbox Series S as an alternative to the more expensive next-generation consoles would not only be a good thing for Microsoft, but could also be a boon to the wider gaming community.

The new Xbox and PS5 are only a few weeks away from their November arrival.