• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

With XB1X and PS4 Pro. Can we expect this generation to last longer?

We'll be 4 years in this November for this generation cycle. Do you guys think with this mid-cycle refresh, we can expect the next generation of console to come later?

I'm asking mainly because how worth while of an investment will an X1BX and/ or a Pro really be right now?

If we have 4-5 years left, then I think it would be worth it. But if we're looking at the next set of systems coming in 2-3 years, doesn't seem like spending $500 - $400 would be worth while.


I do think this will add at a year or two to this cycle.

Wanted to the GAF opinion before I started buying more accessories.
 

Haganeren

Member
I think so personally.

It's so strange that being said, it's like the generation began last year but we are at 4 years already !
 

illamap

Member
I would hope next-gen targets 5nm process so 2020-2021, could be a good time introduce new console generation to get maximum performance.
 

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
Nah, I think both Sony and MS learned their lesson last gen and will not keep this gen going much longer. I expect the PS5 latest 2019-2020 and that would be a good time for the next step.
 

yurinka

Member
They have been made to make this generation last longer. Something needed because the dev cycles are longer and longer.

And if devs adapt their engines and tools for a new generation, update their devkits, testkits, etc, to release a game they may need to release at least a couple of titles done by this team in this gen to make it profitable.

Consoles are also quite expensive, and unlike with phones players aren't used to get a new one every 2 or 3 years. There are many reasons, and one of them is that they don't get a new one "for free" paying a small monthly fee hidden in their phone bill.

2020.

This is the Last gen.
No.

MS has been slowly and quietly stepping away from console so in their case it may be true. But Sony and Nintendo will continue because it's really profitable for them and their gaming divisions don't have several Billions of cumulative loses.
 

Mash83

Member
I don't think sony will be cool with Microsoft having a more powerful console on the market so I'm expecting them to have a new console ready in the next few years. It will be interesting to see if they close the door on this gen or if they have some sort of backwards compatibility built in.
 

mcrommert

Banned
This is the obvious conclusion...last gen was 8 years...this gen will be the same or longer

There is no other conclusion

Nah, I think both Sony and MS learned their lesson last gen and will not keep this gen going much longer. I expect the PS5 latest 2019-2020 and that would be a good time for the next step.

People keep saying this and i don't understand. What lesson did they learn? That they can make profit continuously without having to more often spend millions on r&d for new consoles? That devs want them to wait longer between generations because it takes longer now to get their engines and tool chains up to scratch and since it takes longer they want to be able to spend longer in that sweet spot?

Seriously what did they learn
 

kadotsu

Banned
The high end models aren't selling well enough to justify a longer generation. They are also not future proof for VR (not sure how much that matters). I think we'll see PS5 and XB2 before 2020 is over.
 
Well, how long was the generation going to last before they showed up? No one really knew. Neither one is in a hurry to start a whole new generation. 2020 seems like a year to look forward to, but I think it's clear that as long as games development cycles continue to grow longer, so will the lifespans of generations of hardware they run on.
 

-GJ-

Member
Well, console generations usually last around 5 years or so. Last generation was an exception with ~7 years. Seeing as we're already in year 4 we could see the 'next gen' consoles as early as 2019. With how fast technology is growing right now, I could totally see a PS4/Xbox Whatever in 2020. However; games already look incredible on current gen consoles and I can see them wanting to extend this generation to keep development costs lower. And with games as TLoU 2 and Death Stranding which both probably won't hit stores before 2020, I can totally see Sony (and Microsoft) dragging this generation out until at least 2021 or 2022.

edit: Or, as other have implied, this is the last generation. Microsoft is already bundling all their console generations together with the Xbox One's BC, so I could totally see Sony and MS releasing an upgraded system every 2-3 years to keep up with the technology.
 

Bakercat

Member
We will see in a few years if there is gonna be a new generation or not. If both companies release another system of either the PS4 or Xbox one family, then I'd be safe to say that generations of consoles will be a thing of the past. It's just to early to say what the future holds for console gaming.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Yeah, I think that was the whole point of these mid-gen consoles.

They don't want to invest in R&D for a completely new generation but also don't want their games to be completely shortchanged due do aging limited hardware.
 

StereoVsn

Member
no, PS5 in 2019

believe
Yeap, I don't think Sony will want to wait longer. Pro will be 3 years out by Holidays 2019, backwards compatibility will be built-in due to x86 and AMD APU, publishers and Devs can still target PS4, Pro and PS5 easily enough due to similar architectures and Sony can beat MS by a year to market.

Custom AMD APU with Zen and whatever AMD custom graphics available, GDDR6 plus 7nm will work quite well and still should allow reasonable pricing and significant leap from Xbone X/PS4 Pro.
 
Sony even said the whole point of the pro was to extend the generation. And the one x isn't even out yet. I expect ps5 in 2020 and xb2 in 2021.
 
no, PS5 in 2019

believe

No chance in hell. Sony will milk the pro at least another year. Sony will stop being tight asses about things and start pushing devs to put in 4K modes and 1080p supersampling and fix implementations that are currently fucked. Sony will lower price of the Pro making very competitive and Sony has the best games and exclusives at the moment between the two and a massive install base.

The bad part is that because Sony is so far ahead we are seeing "Arrogant" Sony slowly come back with moronic decisions lately. Being on top and so far ahead tends to make you forget how hard you once struggled (PS3..). It's like Sony is in the PS2 era all over again with being so popular and having many beloved exclusives right now.
 

Ushay

Member
4k TV adoption is still hovering around 10-20% this year, so I very much doubt there will be a need for 'next gen' until at least 2020 or beyond.

Generations are over.
 

Reg

Banned
PS4 hit 60m in sales recently with no sign of slowing down. They can easily wait till 2019/2020.
 

Nipo

Member
I think Microsoft blew the "True 4K load" a little too early. I expected new 4k consoles in 2020 with the current pro/XboxX being able to play the games at 1080p. Doesn't seem likely now.
 
PS5 announcement in early 2019, specs + games debut @ E3 2019 + release in fall/early 2020. Native 4K will be their standard with system wide downsampling for 1080p "plebs" and if possible has something like AMDs FreeSync built in. Unless we're going back to Nvidia in which case it'll cost $699 and require a small generator to power.

In dream land, PS5 would also support full BC and would upscale titles to 4K if desired or allow a Boost Mode so they could take advantage of increased power to boost fps or maintain a consistent lock. If VR blows up some mandate for a 60fps profile in games would be sooo good. Yet it will never happen...

I think Sony will want tech capable of putting out 4K/60fps native on some titles (at console "settings") for $399, with maybe SKUs increaseing. They really need higher speed HDDs and faster I/O though.
 
I'd be willing to wager that Sony & MS are already working on hardware designs based on a Ryzen APU. When will we hear or see them is anyone's guess, especially since a Ryzen APU doesn't exist yet.
 

JaffeLion

Banned
I hope that generation-less is the future. For Microsoft it really looks like that.. I mean we can play OG Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games on Xbox One X
 
I hope so (well, as long as last gen), and I hope it comes in 2021 to give the current systems a strong library. Game dev cycles are taking longer and longer and even though it's almost 4 years it seems like things only really hit their stride at the beginning of this year. Even now you have some studios who haven't released anything as of yet (like Rockstar or Quantic Dream) who last gen were able to release 2 or 3 games. Giving it more time will mean more time for devs to make games, and unlike last gen too, this time around those who want extra performance or graphics can move to a higher end system if they want to.
 

panda-zebra

Member
Maybe a little, but these machines were not designed to and will not replace the ones that came before, they're a way of keeping a segment of the userbase interested and tapping those same customers once again for some premium dollars, with the added benefit of allowing games to look better when shown, even if the majority of the potential audience wouldn't get that same experience seen.

Partly a side-effect of including weak CPUs to begin with and partly (more Son'y side) to boost 4K adoption, but mostly just locking in the spendier end of the userbase.
 

prag16

Banned
Probably. 2019 likely a pipe dream. 2020 might be possible, but I'm expecting more like 2021. But those netbook CPU cores in 2020... ouch.
 
It'll be longer for the mere fact that the time it takes to develop new IPs is longer than the Xbox was MS's primary console. If we had 4 or 5 year generations, some developers wouldn't even be able to get a game ready in that time.
 

JDH

Member
PS5 in 2020 for sure. I think 2019 is a bit too close as many of the games in development are probably going to be released then. There of course will be some overlap, but 2020 is my bet.
 

GodofWine

Member
i don't think technology will be ready until at least 2020 and even then we won't be hitting 8k.

The return on investment moving from 4k to 8k will be so little in terms of actual visiual improvement...if only hz were selected as a selling point and we were talking about 1080/60 this gen and 1080/144 next gen.
 

JarlRaven

Member
It honestly felt like this gen somehow started too soon with how barebones 2013-2014 was so my hope is that next gen takes its time coming. 2020 at the earliest.
 
Generations are a thing of the past. If Sony do a PS5 it'll be an even beefier version of the PS4 with full VC. Nintendo will release sleeker and more powerful Switches. MS will keep releasing Xbox One variants. Fully expecting to see new PS hardware by November 2019, maaybe March 2020. A three-year stopgap followed by a bigger jump after a further three years sounds like a decent cycle to me. Keeps things updated without getting too stagnant as last gen did.
 

Apt101

Member
PS4 hit 60m in sales recently with no sign of slowing down. They can easily wait till 2019/2020.

Assuming projections from current trends hold for a few more years, I think we're looking at another ten-ish year cycle. At least eight. Sony seems to be at wheel and I don't see an incentive for them to drop a PS5 earlier than 2021. They have the numbers, inertia, and their first parties are cranking out excellent games at a steady pace. Why ruin a good thing before affordably-fabricated technology takes a major leap forward?

I think the One X is going to create ripples rather than waves (library, inertia, etc). Microsoft is selling a platform more than a console at this point, and they will have the One X which positions them at the top as far as hardware is concerned. So I don't see them trying to push into the next gen early.
 

iBeleaf

Member
Wouldn't Sony want this generation to stay on as long as it can?

Sony is too good in a position to start PS5 anytime soon
 
Top Bottom