The SSD of the PS5 has already been talked about in-depth. However, despite having the same new feature, albeit a different kind of SSD, the Xbox Series X SSD doesn't seem to have the same excitement around it.
An SSD will undoubtedly lead to a new experience when it comes to the next-gen, with the focus this time around being on massively increased performance rather than significant increases in graphical fidelity and creepy lifelike faces.
This means that even things as simple as loading up the console itself will be faster, games will load quicker, and the design of games themselves could also change.
Well, it turns out that Microsoft is excited about this, and Windows Central got to talk to some members of the team over there to find out why.
The Ultimate Solution For Game Asset Streaming
The interview is incredibly interesting, and it includes quotes from Jason Ronald, who leads Program Management over at Xbox. He chatted about a few things with Windows Central, but the SSD came up a lot, and for good reason.
"With Xbox One X, we reached the upper limits of performance in traditional rotational drives. To unlock the creativity of developers to create transformative gaming experiences, we knew we needed to also invest in SSD level I/O speeds and innovation."
They knew they wanted to invest in an SSD, and that's probably because they're so aware of the improvements they make possible thanks to their work with PC gaming too.
"The Xbox Velocity Architecture was designed to be the ultimate solution for game asset streaming, delivering a level of performance well beyond the raw specifications of the hardware, allowing developers to virtually eliminate loading times and enabling them to deliver even larger and more immersive, dynamic, living worlds for gamers to explore and enjoy"
We don't think we have to explain that quote, just look at it, these are big changes and they're not even that far off.
[sc name="xbox"]
READ MORE: PS5 vs Xbox Series X specs: Which console is more powerful?
It's not just Microsoft that is excited
Windows Central also had a chat with a few other dev teams, while they were all excited about the upcoming console in general, Hinterland Games were especially excited about the SSD too. They made The Long Dark, an excellent survival game.
"The most exciting thing for me is the addition of an SSD and the custom hardware surrounding it to help get data into memory faster. This is not only going to allow for better streaming and load times but also make it easier to work with larger data sets that don't easily fit into memory. "
That's Joel Baker, the technical director of the company, and it's very easy to start getting excited about the SSD in the Xbox Series X too at this point. You should definitely go and read the other interviews over on the Windows Central page too, it's kind of wonderful reading about game developers being as excited for the next-gen as we are as gamers.
READ MORE:Xbox Series X vs PS5 Reddit: Which is the most popular console on Reddit? Is the console war dead?
Is 'no loading screens' to good to be true?
Loading screens have been a huge part of gaming since it made the shift to disc-based storage, and so many cannot believe they would just disappear so quickly.
Well these screens might stick around for longer than you thought after an Assassin's Creed Valhallaloading screen was posted on Twitter, showing Eivor walking on water surrounded by the Northern Lights.
As a cross-gen game, Valhalla will have to work with PS4 and Xbox One hardware, meaning loading screens will be prevalent in the open-world Viking title.
As Xbox has laid out its intentions to make Series X games playable on the Xbox One family for the next few years, developers will still have to devote significant resources into creating loading screens for the less powerful consoles.