Nameless

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,429
1. Microsoft Flight Simulator - a genuine killer app and the most "next gen" experience available on either new console due to not only the visuals, but its staggering technical achievements.

2. Three generations of BC, featuring dozens upon dozens of last gen games updated to 60fps or 120fps via FPS Boost - https://majornelson.com/fpsboost/

3. Huge QoL upgrade over whatever console you were using before. Quick Resume, Smart Delivery, seamless global cloud saves, Microsoft Rewards, a painless automated refund system, the ability to buy digital games (cheap!) from 3rd party sellers etc.... etc...

And of course the crown jewel, Game Pass/xCloud which you already have covered. Enjoy having more great games at your disposal that you will ever have time for.
 

LanceX2

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,831
between ME Rewards and Ult GP conversion I have t paid for a game in years. My only money spent is on console which I paid 300 aftwr trade in for.

GP and MS Rewards is amazing
 

YozoraXV

Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,066
Everyone seems to be recommending 1st party games I would say you should leave those till last since they will always be there for you to play.

I would start with the 3rd party games you haven't played which will eventually leave like all the Yakuza games, Octopath, Hades, Spiritfarer, Night in the Woods, The Ascent and more.
 

Delusibeta

Prophet of Truth
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,648
The first thing you should do is stack more Game Pass, if you can.
  • Your console will come with a code or a card or whatever for two years of Game Pass.
  • Before you redeem it, go buy a 1-year card for Xbox Live Gold from Amazon for 1 year and redeem it.
  • Then sign up for a trial month of Game Pass for $1. It will convert your Gold to Game Pass Ultimate.
  • Then redeem your two-year card.
By doing the above you'll have added another 12 months to your Game Pass subscription for $60 instead of $180.

If you wanted to get more aggressive / spend more, you could stack up to three years.
Actually, good shout. Registering for an Xbox account and sticking a year of Gold on it would convert to a third year Game Pass Ultimate once OP activated the code on the console. I'd advise against stacking more, there's a cap of three years for any subscription per account, including Game Pass Ultimate, and the digital code that ships with the All Access version of the console expires if not activated within two years. Still, grabbing a third year of GPU for sixty bucks is a great tip.
 

HaL64

Member
Nov 3, 2017
1,821
I had a similar question when I got mine. I already have a PS5 though. Even with the gamepass for $1, I haven't played much. Not much stuff caught my eye I can't already play on PS5.
Mainly it is for playing gears 4 and 5 (even those are not series-x games), and I guess eventually Halo.
When I looked for xbox series x exclusives I didn't find much.
 

Aphotic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
426
Some ways to prepare:
  • Download the Xbox app and Game Pass app to your phone.
  • If you have an iPhone, add Cloud Gaming to your home screen (on Android Cloud Gaming is included in the GP app)
  • Grab a MOGA Clip so you can attach your phone to a controller (the Razer Kishi and Backbone One are also popular, but more expensive)
  • Get this eneloop and charger kit and you'll always have a set of controller batteries ready
 

DJwest

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,205
2 years game pass included? Nice! Next is to get cold storage for all your games lol
 

Dache

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,135
UK
Game Pass has made checking out any game that even vaguely interests you risk-free, which has had a fascinating effect on the amounts and kinds of games I play. At least 70% of what I've played since getting a Series X has been games I otherwise wouldn't have spent money on, and I properly enjoyed most of those. Plus like you, I skipped the last generation and only had a 360 before, so I had a lot to catch up on.
 

TripleBee

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,762
Vancouver
Prepare to get some eneloops. At first you'll be like "why do I need to buy batteries" and then shift towards "wow, this is super convenient". And grow to despise rechargeable controllers.
 

thecaseace

Member
May 1, 2018
3,227
Only advice I'd give is to widen your net of games you'll play as your marginal cost for new Gamepass games is now zero.

Browse the catalogue and try some new stuff.
 

degauss

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,631
I admittedly love Sony first party stuff and the main reason I haven't bought a Series X is because none of the exclusives really jumped out at me so I'm hoping that this wasn't a misuse of money considering I'm now locked into paying for 2 years. Help me feel better about my purchase!
Can I do the opposite? I don't think it's that good a deal. I have a PS5 and I recently spent $500 on a series X + $150 on gamepass for 3 years, so $650 vs your $840, but with an extra year of game pass. Basically the old Xbox live gold upgrade trick, if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have bitten.

"none of the exclusives really jumped out at me"… well now you get to pay what, $340 on top of your console to rent them for 2 years!

I don't want to sound too negative, I've enjoyed Psychonauts 2 and Flight Simulator has been cool for a bit. Look forward to Halo and Horizon 5.
 

TheAggroCraig

This guy are sick of the One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,976
Get an external HDD for older games, and get ready for a great console!
 

killa2max

Member
May 17, 2018
520
Seattle, WA
The Series X is an amazing console, just dive into all the Game Pass games and enjoy. I love my PS5 and Sony's exclusives too, but Microsoft does some amazing things. There are tons of backwards compatible games including some that have gotten resolution bumps and FPS bumps. VRR and auto HDR is really cool if you have a TV that supports them. Honestly just enjoy having a huge library available at your fingertips like you never left the platform and had been collecting games for Xbox the whole time.
 

MadMike

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,454
Check out the Microsoft Rewards app and Game Pass quests. You can easily earn yourself some points to get free Xbox store credit.

The Series X puts off noticeable heat in the instant-on mode. You might want to use the power-saving option if that's going to be an issue for you.

Don't sleep on the back compat library. There's a handful of older games that got resolution boosts. You can play some Xbox games like KotOR at 16x resolution, and some 360 games like RDR at 9x resolution.
 

molnizzle

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,695
1.) Open box
2.) Plug it in
3.) Play games

wow

Can I do the opposite? I don't think it's that good a deal. I have a PS5 and I recently spent $500 on a series X + $150 on gamepass for 3 years, so $650 vs your $840, but with an extra year of game pass. Basically the old Xbox live gold upgrade trick, if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have bitten.

"none of the exclusives really jumped out at me"… well now you get to pay what, $340 on top of your console to rent them for 2 years!

I don't want to sound too negative, I've enjoyed Psychonauts 2 and Flight Simulator has been cool for a bit. Look forward to Halo and Horizon 5.
I mean, they can also play a bunch of 3rd party stuff on GamePass that they now won't need to pay for on PS5.
 

CorpseLight

Member
Nov 3, 2018
7,666
Download the Game Pass mobile app and get that all set up.
Also set up Microsoft Rewards on your account using mobile or a desktop and that all sync'd up.

You can earn points daily doing little surveys and Bing searches. You can also earn points from playing games, using the mobile app, and weekly 'quests' like "play ___ game and kill 1 guy, score 1 goal, etc"

You can bank these points and cash them out for Xbox Store credit, enter in sweepstakes for cool stuff, or basically anything really.

As a Playstation mainly player, I think you'll be incredibly surprised at the usefulness of the mobile app, as well as having an actual monetary reason to try and earn achievements / try out different games you may not think you'd like.
 
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canderous

Prophet of Truth
Member
Jun 12, 2020
8,813
Game pass is going to help you discover a lot of stuff you probably would've have played before due to the cost of entry on each individual title. Just browse the library and pick something interesting, don't even look at reviews. Lurk or participate in the Xbox Studios OT and Game Pass OTs for suggestions if you are having choice paralysis.

A good step would be to check out some of the bigger games you missed during the XB1 generation. Have you played both Ori games? If not, do so ASAP. Did you like Gears of War when you had a 360? Then you need to check out both Gears 4 and Gears 5 (Gears 5 is a lot better but I still believe Gears 4 is worth playing through!). Also play Hivebusters, a free DLC for Gears 5 which is a standalone story with different characters. The Gears 5 enhancements on Series X are stunning.

You could check out Forza Horizon 4, though with 5 so close to release maybe you just wait for that. There are other great driving games on game pass too like Dirt 5 and Wreckfest. Flight Simulator just to have your mind blown, even if you're not into sims. Go check out a few landmarks or discovery flights.

Psychonauts 2. Do it.

Any Bethesda game you may have missed in the past generation, most of them also have FPS boost support -- for example Prey is amazing with the FPS boost. Have you ever played Yakuza games? Like a Dragon is simply amazing. Play the Titanfall 2 campaign if you never have. RPG fan? What about some Obsidian stuff? The Pillars of Eternity games are great if you like CRPGs. Outer Worlds is worth a play. Wasteland 3! Jedi Fallen Order if you haven't. Sunset Overdrive. Back 4 Blood is coming in October.

Are you looking forward to Halo Infinite? If so maybe a good time to brush up on the franchise and play the Master Chief collection. The whole thing runs at up to 4k120 and looks great (I personally prefer Halo 1 with original graphics, but like the Halo 2 updates). Halo 4 looks ridiculously good for it being a 360 game. Halo 5 is still worth playing too as a lead up, and it looks very good.

I believe everyone should try Sea of Thieves just to see if it's their thing. It's such a neat game. State of Decay 2 is another.

Then in 2022 you have Redfall, Starfield, and whatever else Microsoft cooks up for game pass. If 2020 and 2021 any indication it's gonna be full of more bangers.

Last but not least, take full advantage of the backwards compatibility program. Play some old favorites with enhancements.
 

0ptimusPayne

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,773
Go buy a CX/C1 OLED(if you dont already have one) then fire Up Ori and the will of the wisp 4K/120hz mode…
 

Dr. Mario

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
14,042
Netherlands
Don't buy things on payment plans. Especially not non essential goods. Either you have the money or you don't.

Since you already did it though.
1. Get gamepass
2. ???
3. Profit!!

That's all there's to it.
 

Waggles

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
3,180
Xbox might not have a ton of exclusives, but gamepass does have and continue to get a lot of really good 3rd party titles you might not have played because there were too many exclusives to play elsewhere.

darksiders genesis comes to mind. Super fun game that i simply didn't want to give money to, but it was one of my favorites this year when i finally played it on gamepass.

and of course, go play psychonauts 2. It's my bona fide goty, and nothing is gonna top it.
 

Footos22

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,803
Don't buy things on payment plans. Especially not non essential goods. Either you have the money or you don't.

Since you already did it though.
1. Get gamepass
2. ???
3. Profit!!

That's all there's to it.
Maybe he has the money but doesn't want to put 2 years of gamepass and the console out as one big sum. It's Interest free. It's a no brainer.

Also saying that and then saying profit at purchasing stuff that won't get you any is super funny.
 
OP
OP
LetsEatSnacks

LetsEatSnacks

Member
Oct 18, 2020
1,857
United States
Don't buy things on payment plans. Especially not non essential goods. Either you have the money or you don't.

Since you already did it though.
1. Get gamepass
2. ???
3. Profit!!

That's all there's to it.
I mean, why? I have an excellent credit score and there is no interest. The only price disparity comes with the cost of Game pass, otherwise its a 1:1 conversion.
 

Babu93

Member
Feb 9, 2021
2,433
Download the Xbox app and the Game Pass app on your phone and get signed in. You can set up your console through the app when it arrives, and the Game Pass app is a great way to browse the catalogue.

Also if you still have any 360 games that are backwards compatible that you'd like to re-play, dig them out. I love dipping back into some of my older games, especially since many of them have 4K enhancements.
 

TripleBee

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,762
Vancouver
In the past (on 360), I always bought the first party rechargeable packs. Any reason why this is better?
I haven't carefully looked at the newer ones. But typically the advantage is that rather then plugging into charge you can just swap batteries. Though a play&charge kit with 2 batteries accomplishs the same thing. A good pair of batteries can usually get you 30+ hours on a charge while I remember the play&charge being more like half that - but it may have changed.
 

boomtrick

Banned
Jun 30, 2021
787
you buy a ps5. then you buy/upgrade your PC.

then you can effectively ignore all the console war bullshit on the internet.
 

Viale

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,638
As someone who hasn't typically been a big Microsoft studios fan in the past, psychonauts 2 fucking kills it and should be a priority for you.