Microsoft is offering a novel way to help prospective Xbox Series S and Series X buyers see how the new consoles will fit into their homes - with papercraft models. The size of the next-gen consoles has been a point of contention since the first pictures of them emerged, turning the massive machines into a meme.
Players were curious enough about the dimensions of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 to try all kinds of methods of estimating how large they would be. Estimates of their size extrapolated from their USB ports or modeled with augmented reality apps gave fans a rough idea of how much space they would take over in entertainment center setups, and even the size of next-gen consoles became a topic of debate. Most of the upcoming consoles are considerably larger than their current-gen counterparts, making a valid concern of whether players will even have room for them. At least in the case of the Xbox Series S, though, Microsoft surprisingly revealed that it will be the smallest Xbox console ever.
Now, anyone thinking about how they’ll arrange a new Xbox console in their setup has a concrete example to go by. Microsoft shared a set of papercraft patterns today, in both full size and one-third size, for both the Xbox Series S and Series X. While the smaller models are more of a novelty than anything, the full-size examples could actually be used to make sure that anyone buying a next-gen Xbox knows exactly what they’re getting into before launch day.
For months, players have been kept in the dark about important details of the new consoles. Microsoft only unveiled the existence of the Xbox Series S last week, after a leak of its price and design forced the company’s hand. It also announced the price of the Xbox Series X and the release date of both consoles, prompting Sony to do the same shortly thereafter. And while the first couple days of PlayStation 5 pre-order availability have been an unmitigated disaster, Microsoft is trying to avoid a similarly hectic launch by publicizing the time and date that pre-orders will go live days before it happens.
It’s now less than two months before next-gen Xbox consoles will actually be arriving in players’ homes. There are probably more important considerations for anyone thinking of buying one - like which model suits them best and whether they can even afford either one - but planning out the perfect spot with a papercraft model might at least alleviate one small bit of anxiety before launch day.
Source: Microsoft