With Starfield and Forza Motorsport marking the proper return of Xbox exclusives, you may have been seized by a sudden desire to buy an Xbox Series X. Well, if you live in Australia and want the best deal, you've come to the right page.
Even though the console is nearing the end of its third year of life, it's still unlikely that you'll find an Xbox Series X being sold at a discount. Indeed, while stock is pretty consistently available as of late 2023, discounts are much, much rarer than they are for the PS5.
Xbox Series X deals and bundles in Australia
Xbox bundle deals in Australia
Will Xbox Series X bundles appear over the next few months? There was already a Halo Infinite bundle, but that's long sold out. Whether more stock will arrive ahead of the game's December release is unknown, but if it does return we'll let you know with an update at the top of this page. The Xbox Series X Halo Infinite bundle was AU$849, so pretty much the console, with an added AU$100 for the game.
So yeah: You shouldn't expect big discounts when it comes to bundles, as stock is still rare. We don't normally see price-drops in the early days of a console's life-cycle, so Xbox Series X deals are probably going to be a similar price to buying the console and games separately. If anything, it's more likely that retailers will slash prices on extras like Xbox Live Gold deals or a few free months of Xbox Game Pass.
With more first-party Microsoft games on the horizon, such as Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, we may see more bundles, though don't count on it for every title: Forza Horizon 5, for example, didn't get one.
There are other ways to save money if cost is on your mind. More specifically, some games will cross the generational gap. For example, you can get your hands on a next-gen upgrade of games like Avengers for free if you already own a copy on Xbox One or PS4. That's an easy way to save on cash right away, and it's also something we hope to see more of as launch day draws closer. Especially because Microsoft is reportedly telling developers that Xbox Series X game upgrades have to be free.
For other possible bundle inclusions, take a look at our roundup of upcoming Xbox Series X games for a clearer picture.
Accessories and games
As we laid out in our overview of PS5 vs Xbox Series X, a AU$749 price point for both consoles puts them on a level playing field. Xbox has one major advantage, though. The sting of the Xbox Series X price could well be softened by Microsoft putting so much stock into supporting Xbox Series X backward compatibility.
Think about it. After paying for a console, you'd normally have to factor in a couple of launch games purpose-built to sell the system along with new controllers, subscriptions, and whatever extras the publishers are pushing. With Xbox Series X, all of your existing Xbox One peripherals and services are forwards compatible. That means all your achievements, progression, controllers, service subscriptions, Xbox One headsets, and other accessories move forward to Series X. We've already started rounding up the best Xbox Series X headsets too as many of the top audio-brands have confirmed which current models will work on the new console.
The console will also let you play existing games via both the optical disc drive and digital download, not to mention Game Pass. That allows you to save a couple of hundred dollars right off the bat. Particularly if you were holding off for next-gen versions of Cyberpunk, Assassin's Creed, or Avengers.
What's the difference between Series X and Series S?
Should you pick up an Xbox Series X or a Series S? And just what is the difference, anyway? As we explained in our Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S feature, it's a lot simpler than it seems. In a nutshell, both run the same next-gen games... but the Series S can't display them in super-sharp 4K resolution. What's more, it doesn't have a disc drive.
Why? It's all about accessibility. In short, the Xbox Series S is designed as an entry-level console or for those on a budget - it makes next-gen accessible for as many people as possible. That's why Microsoft has thrown some features overboard. The tech dedicated to making 4K possible isn't needed, so ditching that extra power lowers the overall cost. Similarly, removing a disc drive is likely to shunt the cost down even further.
All the same, we wouldn't say the Series S is the 'better' choice. Although the Series X is more expensive, it's arguably the full next-gen experience. If you have a 4K TV, games will look better with the Series X. There are no two ways about it. We have a suspicion they may load faster and run ever so slightly better, too.
In addition, the lack of a Series S disc drive isn't ideal. Digital games are almost always more expensive than physical ones in the long run, so it's actually not as good value for money as it seems. Especially because the console's internal storage is only 500GB. In fact, it's more like 350GB once you remove operating system demands. Considering how games like Call of Duty Warzone take up almost 200GB by themselves, it necessitates splashing out on an extra hard drive. That, or constantly deleting your old games to make room for new ones.
It's gonna usher in resolution and framerates we've never seen before.
E3 2019 reveal
The Series X is a superior choice if you want to future-proof yourself, too. We'll be in a far better position to enjoy the advanced games that'll come later in the generation with a Series X. Namely, its specs are to die for. Much like the 4K-ready Xbox One X before it, the Series X features eight Zen 2 CPU cores at 3.8GHz, a mighty 12 teraFLOPS of graphical power, a 1TB NVMe SSD, and 16GB of DDR6 RAM.
Wondering what all that means? For starters, it'll result in a smoother and more detailed experience than you've ever seen on a console before. Additionally, your games will have shockingly fast loading times. We're talking seconds instead of minutes, here. That's a huge deal.
What's more, the AMD Zen 2 computer processing unit and Navi chipset are apparently 10% better than the already powerful GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card. This will allow the new Xbox to pull off real-time ray tracing, a more realistic lighting system that's usually the preserve of high-end PCs. This is a machine that natively supports up to 8K resolution and 120 frames-per-second, too. According to Microsoft, the Series X's blisteringly fast RAM will also "usher in resolution and framerates we've never seen before."
Honestly, we're lucky that the Xbox Series X price isn't higher with such an impressive spec sheet - its tech puts the Series X on par with the very best gaming PCs.
Want to know more? Take a look at our in-depth Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S feature.
If you want to check out what you'll be playing next-gen, head on over to our guide to the Xbox Series X games coming our way. Or if you want to keep things current-gen, we also have a list of upcoming Xbox One games.
Update, November 9: EB Games has announced it is taking preorders in-store from today. You'll need to visit your local store and lay down a AU$200 deposit, which should get you a console some time during November or December. Hop to it! Preorder allocation will probably go fast.
