Out of the big four console makers, Xbox was the last one to arrive. After the failure, or more appropriately, the underperformance of the Sega Dreamcast, Sega exited the console hardware business to focus on making games for other platforms. This left room for Microsoft’s Xbox to enter the space, and they’ve remained strong to this day.
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There are four generations of Xbox systems, but ten total consoles considering variants. Consoles will be judged largely on hardware features, build quality, whether it was worth the money at launch, looks, and of course, the power of X.
10Xbox One SAD
By far, the worst Xbox is the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, more commonly known as the Xbox One SAD. It was primarily an experiment by Microsoft to gauge interest in an all-digital console since the Xbox Series S was coming down the pipeline. It’s obvious this system was meant to test the market because there was no reason to buy it even at launch.
There’s no difference between a standard One S and the SAD besides the missing disc drive. Why wouldn’t you just buy the One S? Test market machines are no fun because they’re essentially pointless after only a few years. This system is for collectors only, and even then, they might not want it.
9Xbox One
Microsoft really screwed the pooch on the original Xbox One on so many levels. First, it was actually less powerful than the PS4, which is counter to the very identity of Xbox. The original Xbox was the most powerful console of the sixth generation, and the power of X was one of the system’s slogans. To have the One be inferior in terms of specs to the PS4 is just wrong. This was even highlighted in the Xbox Power On documentary as a major fault with the One.
Second, the console looks ugly with its VCR retro look. Why isn’t it sleek and modern? Lastly, the console did have plenty of design flaws leading to hardware malfunctions, and it even kept the big power brick. Not having an internal power supply was a bit out of touch at release.
8Xbox 360
It’s amazing how so many Xbox fans were able to endure countless Red Rings of Death due tohow great the 360’s games were. The original Xbox 360 system is one of the most poorly designed consoles ever. There’s so much packed into the system that there’s little room for it to breathe, which is why overheating is so common.
Then there’s the Red Ring of Death, which cost Xbox over a billion dollars to fix. It also didn’t even include HDMI at launch and no built-in Wi-Fi either. Yes, its games were great, and Xbox Live was killer, but when the system doesn’t work, that matters above all. You want to get one of the later models.
7Xbox 360 E
Months before the launch of the Xbox One, Microsoft released the final 360 model, the Xbox 360 E. While historically, many final models were released right before the next-gen system, this one, in particular, seemed a bit pointless. At least the PS3 Super Slim was released a full year before the PS4, but the 360 E came just five months before the One. Why not just wait?
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Plus, it looks just like an original Xbox One, which isn’t a very pleasing design. It’s also lacking new features besides push buttons on the console instead of the touch ones that were used on the 360 S. The console is a nice oddity, but it just looks funky, and most would prefer to have a 360 S.
6Xbox One S
The Xbox One S is a massive improvement over the original. With its sleek design, it looks like a video game console instead of a home entertainment system. It’s also much better built than the original, leading to far fewer hardware errors, and the power supply is finally within the console itself. 4K and HDR10 are newly supported here but are better used on a One X.
The timing of the 2016 release was also very well done as this was the point where Microsoft started to course correct and add many gamer-specific features, including backward compatibility. This system was when many jumped back onto the Xbox ecosystem, and understandably so, because it’s very good.
5Xbox Series S
Still, to this day, the Xbox Series S is the best hardware that $300 can buy. It’s such a cool little device, and the amount of power packed in here is pretty wild. This was the only next-gen system in stock for a while because the Series X and PS5 were sold out everywhere. The system is impressive, considering the price point, and looks awesome, but a few things are holding it back.
The main one is that it’s just not going to be good long term. Multiple developers have already complained that they have to make a game for both the Series S and X, which can be hard, considering the former is the least powerful next-gen system. The console’s a miracle that all that power is packed into a $300 device, but it’s just not powerful enough.
4Original Xbox
One of the most important game consoles of all time has to be the original Xbox. It advanced the industry tenfold, with it being the first console to abandon the primary use of memory cards in favor of a built-in hard drive. Every home console released afterward had some sort of internal memory, and this advancement past memory cards likely wouldn’t have happened without the original system.
Its online capabilities were also massively impactful, plus it had a great selection of games. The original Xbox also had the trademark power of X, and a lot of games still look really good. It’s to the point that it’s the only system of that era to still look decent on an HDTV with component cables.
3Xbox One X
Now this is the system the first Xbox One should have been. Hell, it’s what the original PS4 should have been. The Xbox One X is a beast, and even a while after the Series X came out, it held its own. Playing titles at 4K and with a smooth framerate was great, especially thestandout backward-compatible gamesthat were Xbox One X Enhanced.
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It performs so well that vanillaCyberpunk 2077was actually playable on the system, unlike the other eighth-gen consoles. The One X has the same sleek and well-designed interior as the One S too, and overall, the One X is the most impressive eighth-gen system, truly fitting the power of the X moniker.
2Xbox 360 S
After the Red Ring of Death fiasco, Microsoft badly needed an Xbox 360 redesign. Thankfully the 360 S delivered hard. It’s much more stable and well-designed, has built-in Wi-Fi, and looks great. A lot of people switched over to PS3 after getting several Red Rings, but the 360 S is what brought them back.
The console was essentially the patched version of a great but unplayable and broken game. It’s the Xbox 360 model youshould get when buying one today. Still relatively cheap and with a library of games equally so, the console’s still worth owning.
1Xbox Series X
Despite the Xbox Series X being the newest system, it’s hands down the best. First, it has one ofthe greatest console designs of all timeregarding what it represents. The Xbox was always designed to be a gaming PC in the living room, and the Series X accurately looks like a PC tower. Games run amazingly, especially the emulated backward-compatible ones.
After playing the Series X, you’ll find out why emulation is so good and why it’s better than original hardware. You’re just never going back to it after playing on Series X. It’s the most powerful system right now, but its SSD isn’t PS5 quality. A common issue with many games is that textures won’t load in right away. It’s a little distracting, but that’s the only negative here.
