A ‘should I get the Xbox One X if…’ Q&A

Since the embargo lifted on Microsoft’s boxy new baby, I’ve been getting a lot of questions that start ‘should I get it if…’, and it seemed to me that it might be easier to collect them and stick them all in one place, as well as try and head off future likely questions at the pass, as it were. If I’m honest I’m hoping all the repetition of ‘should I get the Xbox One X’ might get traction on Google, too, but it’s getting written either way.

Should I get the Xbox One X if I don’t have a 4K TV?

I don’t think so, no. The One X’s selling point more than any other console is that it can do 4K visuals (more pixels on screen, which means sharper image quality) and HDR (deeper blacks and a wider range of colours, which many people think is more important than 4K) so, while you might see a bit of a difference on a regular TV, without a flashy 4K dogs-bollocks TV you won’t really be getting the major benefit.

Should I get an Xbox One X if I was going to get a new console anyway?

This one is a yes from me, especially if you’re upgrading from, say, an Xbox One rather than an Xbox One S. Right now the Xbox One X is the most future proof console (the jump between the original One and the One X is almost as large as between the 360 and the One). That yes comes with a caveat, though, because the price increase of an X over an S is at least 100% or more right now, depending on where you’re shopping. An Xbox One X isn’t worth buying if you have to get it from a horrible predatory place like BrightHouse or anything like that.

Should I get the Xbox One X if I have a PS4 Pro?

Probably not. I’ve always been platform agnostic; I don’t understand being a Stan for a huge company that doesn’t care about you at all (no matter how much it felt like Phil Spencer was smiling directly at you during the Xbox E3 conference), so I’ve bounced around between PC, consoles and companies depending on what suits me at the time. 

In terms of tech, the Xbox One X is better than the Pro. It is, as I said, more future proof at this point and it has more power in it (load times on the One X, for example, are ludicrously short to the point of being non existent in some games). I saved up and bought a One X rather than getting a Pro when they first came out, but now I have to deal with e.g. the fact that while all the games I own would run better on the X, I own many of them on the PlayStation, so I’ll have to pick and choose and basically re-buy things I have a powerful need to play all pretty. If this were a full console generation change I’d definitely say yeah, flip to the Xbox. But it ain’t. 

If you’ve got a PS4 Pro I’m guessing you enjoy the Sony first party exclusives and other bits that PlayStation brings to the table. You probably had a PS4 so your games will all transfer over. You’re most likely happy with your decision, just as I’m happy with mine, and fair play to you.

Should I get the Xbox One X if I have an Xbox One S?

Unless you’ve got a brand new telly and a hankering for more K, all the K special K no wait that’s something else, then you’re probably alright – at least to wait until the price comes down in a few months or there are decent bundles, when you can reassess the situation.

Should I get the Xbox One X if I have a gaming PC?

I mean, nah. Unless your gaming PC is really out of date. When I gamed on PC the whole console debate was pretty moot, but then I got really lazy about keeping the PC up to date so switched to console so I could just lie on the sofa and not have to think about it.

Should I get the Xbox One X or a new graphics card?

How much money do you have? The high tier graphics cards are extremely expensive these days (as in many hundreds of pounds), so it depends on how big a jump you’d be making. If you really really want 4K, yet cannot afford to boost your PC up to it, then the Xbox One X is the cheap and easy 4K version. Plus there’s all that play anywhere stuff now so an Xbox is more of an investment for a PC gamer than a PS4 would be, right?