A member of Xbox Games Marketing at Microsoft discussed a question regarding heat generated by the Xbox Series X, comparing the next-generation console’s temperatures to the Xbox One X. Ventilation issues plagued the Xbox One X when the console initially launched, particularly with the Scorpio Edition. Many users reported the system would shut itself off frequently, even when playing games that are not considered technically demanding. The reason for the crashes has not been revealed by Microsoft, though, some fans believe the Xbox One X’s poor, cakey thermal paste was one of the primary contributors.

Aside from the Xbox Series X’s technical specifications, Microsoft has made sure to flaunt one of the system’s biggest features: backwards compatibility. The feature was one of the largest disappointments among Xbox fans with the current generation until around 2018, when Xbox Game Studios began rolling out increased backwards compatibility support, adding hundreds of games from the Xbox and Xbox 360 eras. Since then, the Xbox Series X has been shown to load backwards compatible games much faster than the Xbox One X, with many of the same games playable on the two consoles.

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Addressing a perceived shortcoming of the Xbox Series X, Aaron Greenberg – a member of Xbox Games Marketing at Microsoft – compared the Xbox Series X’s heat issue to the Xbox One X. When asked if the console was “really running hot” by a curious fan on Twitter, Greenberg replied, “The console will output system heat out of the exhaust, just as any other console will.” Greenberg went on to state the team engineering the Xbox Series X confirmed “the heat leaving the console is not significantly different than Xbox One X,” which the marketer corroborates from what he has experienced at home – the Xbox Series X is quiet, with “fast & impressive power for the size.”

Heat problems are a major concern for any gamer. There is nothing more terrifying than when a console or PC shuts off due to overtaxed hardware. It’s fortunate that modern technology has such a failsafe that kicks in before permanent damage is done to the expensive machines, but it’s a nerve-racking experience nonetheless. Gamers have a lot of technology at their disposal to help them monitor their temperatures on PC, but console users don’t have the same kind of information at the ready.

Sometimes, however, it’s not the console or PC causing the problem. There have been false positives where a certain game sends inaccurate signals to a system and forces the device’s failsafe to trigger. This situation occurred with Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown with its Xbox One port. Many Xbox One X users reported the game would crash their console at specific moments or after performing certain actions in-game. One player saw their console shut off during the exact same moment during a cutscene multiple times, despite not feeling an exorbitant amount of heat spouting from the console; while another gamer would notice their One X shut down every time their plane crashed. Hopefully, Greenberg’s experience is a consistent one for all Xbox fans when the Series X launches this November.

Next: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S Prices & Release Date Leak [Updated]

The Xbox Series X/S launch on November 10, 2020.

Source: Aaron Greenberg