The original Xbox One launched on November 22, 2013, for $500, and while early adopters have had a blast with the black monolith of a game console over the years, Microsoft has retired this model to focus on current and imminent versions of the Xbox One.
The Xbox One was bundled with the Kinect 2.0 and a variety of launch titles that showcased the new console’s abilities, including Killer Instinct, Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5, and Dead Rising 3. While the original Xbox One will continue to be supported, Microsoft has set their sights on the future with 4K visuals and faster loading times with the current Xbox One S, and the upcoming Xbox One X, which releases on November 7.
With the news that the original Xbox One has been officially been discontinued, a Microsoft representative shared that the VCR-sized jet black beast had been on its way out since the Xbox One S was announced in June 2016. “As is typical for the console industry, we stopped manufacturing the original Xbox One when we introduced Xbox One S,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer.
The Xbox One S is 40 percent smaller than the original, sports 4K video streaming, can be placed vertically like an Xbox 360, and is now the default Xbox One model on the market.
If you own a 4K TV and don’t already have an Xbox One in your home, wait a few months to buy the Xbox One X, which promises gorgeous 4K gaming, smoother gameplay, bigger worlds, and extremely quick load times. If you’re already an Xbox One or Xbox One S owner and want to make the switch to the impending X model, the good news is that over 100 games, such as Killer Instinct, Halo Wars 2, Gears of War 4, and Minecraft are slated to get 4K “Xbox One Enhanced” updates so they’ll look phenomenal on the Xbox One X.
The Xbox One S is now available and its various console bundles range from $279 to $400 depending on the included games and internal memory configurations, and the Xbox One X will be priced at $500 when it launches this November.
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