Xbox Series X: Industry experts share their first hands-on experience; Faster loading time, Quick resume, and more

Microsoft's next-generation console, the Xbox Series X, is one of the most awaited consoles of the year and is all set for a worldwide release on the 10th of November, 2020.

The Series X is priced at $499, while its digital counterpart, the Xbox Series S, will cost $299. With the hype surrounding the official launch day reaching astronomical proportions, several industry experts have already got their hands on the Xbox for an exclusive experience.

These include the likes of eminent journalist Geoff Keighley, who managed to get access to an exclusive state-of-the-art Xbox Series X console and shared his review via a Twitter thread:

Spent this weekend hands-on with @Xbox Series X.

Impressions are limited to backwards compatible content and system-level features. We have not played next-gen games.

Thoughts:

- Quick Resume is a game changer! Love being able to instantly jump in exactly where I left off. pic.twitter.com/pN5jYhUJiZ
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 28, 2020

The biggest takeaway from Geoff Keighley's review is the Quick Resume option, which allows you to jump into your game from the exact point where you last left off.

Also, the Xbox Series X has also been blessed with a faster loading time and a smoother system performance.

It's nice a new system works with previous gen content so seamlessly. (None of the games I played are specifically optimized for series X yet, I was playing/downloading the One X versions.)
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 28, 2020

One note: Quick Resume remembers your place in every game, so you can jump between games now.
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 28, 2020

Xbox Series X: The Hands-on verdic

In GameSpot's official video, Michael Higham shared his thoughts on the Xbox Series X in terms of gameplay performance:

Smooth gameplay performances, nothing too drastic from the Xbox One X in terms of performance so far. On the topic of backwards compatibility, you'll be happy to know that first party games will support cross-gen multiplayer.

He also spoke about the impressive loading time, which is faster than previous consoles:

The Xbox series X loads games much much faster than the Xbox One X . The series X cuts down on initial load times by 70-80 percent of the time it takes for the One X and that's significant.

IGN's Ryan McCaffrey also shared his analysis of the Xbox Series X, where he spoke in detail about the new Controller:

The new controller is a slight improvement over the stock Xbox one controller..I like the new D-pad and the grip textures but it still pales in comparison to the elite version 2 controller.

He then proceeds to speak about the all-new Quick Resume feature:

I tried out Quick Resume and Microsoft wasn't kidding around, it works! I like that they even put a little quick resume icon in the upper right corner of the screen to let you know that you won't have to wait for the entire game to load from scratch

Check out some other opinions related to the Xbox Series X hands-on experience:

I've been using an Xbox Series X for a week now. Load times are incredible, and on par with PC in games like Destiny 2 and Warframe. Here are my thoughts (and a video!) on back compat, load times, quick resume and more: https://t.co/JrVWhhTUNK pic.twitter.com/jYjCwUqf2h
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) September 28, 2020

Yes, the embargo has lifted on Xbox Series X backwards compatibility. Our content is just being polished now, but if you want a teaser of the kind of horsepower Series X delivers, here's Dead or Alive 6's 4K graphics mode compared against Xbox One X. pic.twitter.com/K5BhOi5sMQ
— Digital Foundry (@digitalfoundry) September 28, 2020

Without any developer input, just running backward compatability, Sekiro jumps from ~37 FPS to 60 FPS on Xbox Series X.
via @JeffGrubb pic.twitter.com/s7wLJRJNiQ
— Xbox News (@_XboxNews) September 28, 2020

Xbox Series X - Hands-On Previews

-SSD has 802GB of usable space
-Noted as very quiet
-Quick Resume between multiple games around 5-8 seconds (a "game changer")
-New controller is a slight improvement (textured grips+triggers)https://t.co/zBanvr69DP https://t.co/0Wy9aztMJH pic.twitter.com/qHrgnY10yR
— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) September 28, 2020

Published 28 Sep 2020, 23:37 IST