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[Cthulhu_Steev]

None of these examples are close to video game development commitment. Game development take years and many times millions of dollars. Imagine the devs that invested into KINETIC game... They got fucked.

Like Harmonix. But it's okay, they're doing pretty good right now.

 

[Pantaghana]

Also we have to remember the Xbox 360 came out 4 years after the launch of the Original Xbox, at the end of 2016 the Xbox One will be 3 years old
a new and better version of the One doesn't sound to crazy for a holiday launch

~4 years is standard for a console gen. The last one was a very interesting anomaly.

 

[Phyla]

I guess that all this inevitably leads to the abandonment of mainstream consumer hardware in favor of clients hooked up to a streaming service.

 

[Guerrilla]

The more I think about this the more excited I am about the possibilities.

If they release a new improved fully BC console this holiday I'm in day 1

 

[Cthulhu_Steev]

For real, I thought GAF would be more objective than this but they're imagination is getting ahead of them. E3 is going to hit them like a ton of disappointing bricks.

It's like the pre-PS4 announcement threads all over again.

 

[Brad Grenz]

This kinda makes sense. Greats points overall!

It makes sense that MS wishes they were Apple, but they're not Apple and trying to get people on a 2 year console upgrade cycle isn't going to change that. Besides, Apple's success is selling people phones they build for $250 for three times that much. There's no profit sense in designing new hardware every couple years to just break even.

 

[krang]

It makes sense that MS wishes they were Apple, but they're not Apple and trying to get people on a 2 year console upgrade cycle isn't going to change that. Besides, Apple's success is selling people phones they build for $250 for three times that much. There's no profit sense in designing new hardware every couple years to just break even.

No. They make far more from their cut on app revenue.

 

[Rembrandt]

No. They make far more from their cut on app revenue.

MS is trying their hardest to get that app money. We need more universal apps.

 

[jelly]

I still say that if Microsoft can tell a customer if you buy *this* version of Xbox One, you'll have 6 years of support for that version at launch (meaning developers use that as a baseline and scale up from there), I think it's a good deal. No one can really be mad at 6 year console life. Release a new one every two years. I see that is a viable strategy that can work out as 6 years is a good amount of time for a lifecycle that people are used to. I don't see how that can't work.


Oh and just FYI, I think that plan is going to start this E3. A new Xbox One that's going to be more powerful will be announced. Also, I believe that we'll have a new hardware design (thanks to the Surface team lead by Panos Panay). So we'll have two new Xbox Ones this year, 1 more powerful and another that's the same, but both with a new design language that's akin to the Surface hardware design. Obviously, this is all my speculation...but I have been hearing that there will be new hardware this year.

While the hardware team lead by Panos will be doing it, expectations should be kept low, they have to sell the boxes for $300-400. You're not getting some amazing Surface quality.

 

[Ninja Sharingan]

You completely disregarded the XB1 coming out 8 years after the 360s launch. There's no precedent right now.

You completely disregard a worldwide recession and ballooning development costs, but ok

 

[curiouscharles]

Then what's the point? All this plan seems to accomplish is burdening developers (who have a hard enough time as it is making games for 2-3 platforms) and potentially confusing consumers.

yeah, cause iPads and iPhones have proven SO cofusing?

devoa are also much smarter than you're giving them credit for, it's like you've never heard of the PC gaming development environment.

 

[madmackem]

yeah, cause iPads and iPhones have proven SO cofusing?

devoa are also much smarter than you're giving them credit for, it's like you've never heard of the PC gaming development environment.

Why do people bring phones and tablets into these threads totally different markets. Did you miss the post from a dev?. It could be a development nightmare having a low number of higher spec Xbox machines out there.

 

[wapplew]

No. They make far more from their cut on app revenue.

Do you have source to back this up?
So Apple make total revenue 20B from App store in 2015. Say Apple take 30%, that's over 6B profit.
Apple report Q4 devices sales, iPhone: 48 million units, iPad: 9.8 million units and that's just one quarter. Some report say iPhone profit margin go as high as 69%.
I don't know, maybe their hardware is more profitable, he might have a point.

 

[dose]

Forward and backward compat are a hardware issue one that should be rigorously tested before release, the platform will remain closed albeit within 2, maybe 3 configurations .. All on the same architecture. Nightmare for developers? I doubt it.

It's a shitload more work for sure. You (and many others here) heavily underestimate what's involved.

 

[Markoman]

Oh shit, you are right. I end up buying 4 360s, and almost bought an xbone elite last week. I wonder how many end up buying the same console over and over, it feels like it's already an habit whenever they launch a new model.

Er, there's a huge difference between having to buy a new console again and buying it because you're into the the new design.
I had to return my first 360 3 times (RROD), getting new, refurbished ones and finally had to buy a slim model because the last one broke in 2013 and I had a huge backlog at the time.
So, I'm one of the 82 mio. contributing 2 consoles and now MS has a hard time selling me their hardware. The latest news (this one, and their exclusives going PC) are basically sealing the deal for me: no more Xbox for me.

 

[MilkyJoe]

Er, there's a huge difference between having to buy a new console again and buying it because you're into the the new design.
I had to return my first 360 3 times (RROD), getting new, refurbished ones and finally had to buy a slim model because the last one broke in 2013 and I had a huge backlog at the time.
So, I'm one of the 82 mio. contributing 2 consoles and now MS has a hard time selling me their hardware. The latest news (this one, and their exclusives going PC) are basically sealing the deal for me: no more Xbox for me.

Other people can play the same games as you therefore games not fun anymore?

 

[krang]

Do you have source to back this up?
So Apple make total revenue 20B from App store in 2015. Say Apple take 30%, that's over 6B profit.
Apple report Q4 devices sales, iPhone: 48 million units, iPad: 9.8 million units and that's just one quarter. Some report say iPhone profit margin go as high as 69%.
I don't know, maybe their hardware is more profitable, he might have a point.

Sorry, I should have clarified - I meant all digital saleable items that they get as a result of their device sales, including videos and music.

Also, 69% margin? That's crazy if true.

 

[LukasTaves]

So what games are going to use oculus on Xbox? Not the same ones available on steam that's for sure. Look at how they are treating their new platform. Only Microsoft based games. You think for VR on their xbox they have games in the works made by their internal studios, to run oculus?

You think the guys over on oculus are going to make games for xbox platform when it seems having games on steam, and on the xbox-PC platform is something Microsoft is not entertaining.

As of now none. But from the pieces of the puzzle Ms has given us I think we can start putting them together.

- Ms has already announced a partnership with Oculus, even for xbone. And they said that the uwp already support Oculus natively, as it does with HoloLens.
- Ms has said before that this partnership allows them to not have to develop a VR headset.
- They are bringing said platform to xbox.
- On the keynote Phil specifically addressed the issue on how having a fixed hardware on the entire generation means you have to compromise on accessories. Like they did with kinect on 360 and kinda how sony is doing with PSVR which started on an equal level to PC helmets, but now is at least an iteration behind. And how decoupling the software from the hardware allows them to release accessories with no compromise.

As for 3rd party support, they are releasing their own games now, but that's not their goal. In fact in a few more weeks they will be having keynotes at GDC, and if you look at their schedule their talks are pratically all about getting 3rd party support on the universal store and supporting windows and xbox with cross buy and cross play.

I doubt they would be testing waters and public reception so soon if they weren't planning to introduce something by the end of this year. They would have stayed shut.

In the keynote he actually said something along the lines that we will see hardware inovation from Ms this year, the way he talks is pratically confirming it.

That's actually a nice change of direction. Ms before would keep everything under wraps, now it seems they are talking to us as the decisions are being made. Phil has been very open about this regard. He's been talking at least for an year about Ms ultimate gaming goals. And even though we have to see how serious they are taking this route it feels like it won't be a surprise announcement, just a confirmation of said plans.

 

[IvanJ]

I was reading one opinion piece which touches on one point I think hasn't been mentioned here yet:
- At XOne launch, MS talked quite a lot about "the power of the cloud" and multiplying console's performance.
- All of a sudden, the solution is incremental hardware updates.

It just seems that MS loves to switch gears often, three years ago it was TVTVTV, two years ago it was moneyhat mania, last year was "best exclusives ever", and this year it's PCPCPC.
How the hell can anyone know what MS plans in the future, when they are all over the place historically.

 

[Nozem]

Other people can play the same games as you therefore games not fun anymore?

Or he doesn't have to buy an Xbox because he can play those games on his PC.

 

[MilkyJoe]

Or he doesn't have to buy an Xbox because he can play those games on his PC.

Or you prefer the convenience of a console, without the fannying about that comes with a PC?

 

[Bits N Pieces]

Why do people bring phones and tablets into these threads totally different markets. Did you miss the post from a dev?. It could be a development nightmare having a low number of higher spec Xbox machines out there.

What dev?

 

[gamz]

Could Gears 4 be the first game that runs on the upgraded Xbox? When is Gears 4 coming out?

 

[wapplew]

Sorry, I should have clarified - I meant all digital saleable items that they get as a result of their device sales, including videos and music.

Also, 69% margin? That's crazy if true.

Ya, the imaginary wallet garden is very profitable but not that crazy when you look at the numbers.
I don't know how MS could achieve similar install base or MAU but on the hardware side, how much they can sell with each iterations?
They sold roughly 20m Xbox one in 2 years, how much Xbox 1.5 can do in 2 years? How much they can sell LTD until they cut off Xbox one support?
Keep in mind they have to spend more money on R&D on each iteration.
A typical console generation, hardware getting cost down and get more profitable, you cant have those if you keep updating your new hardware with new tech.

 

[Markoman]

One thing we haven't talked about yet is what if Sony does the same?
If it's sooo easy to pull this of, Sony will manage to counter this.
So, let's say MS announces Xbox1.5 at this year's E3, launch: fall 2017 with specs above PS4.
What kind of impact do people expect in that holiday season with 60+ mio. Playstation 4 users (~ fall 2017) and ~30mio. XboxOne users at that point? People will be on the fence if they should buy it and if Sony goes out and announces a PS4.5 or even PS5, launch: 2018 at E3 2017, MS is screwed, because I can easily see the majority of Playstation fans waiting one year for an even better box by their brand of choice. The 'finally Xbox is stronger' thunder will only last for a short period of time.
This kind of business plan then will end up being a nice service for Xbox die-hard fans, but I don't see this as realistic way of increasing market-share.

 

[gamz]

One thing we haven't talked about yet is what if Sony does the same?
If it's sooo easy to pull this of, Sony will manage to counter this.
So, let's say MS announces Xbox1.5 at this year's E3, launch: fall 2017 with specs above PS4.
What kind of impact do people expect in that holiday season with 60+ mio. Playstation 4 users (~ fall 2017) and ~30mio. XboxOne users at that point? People will be on the fence if they should buy it and if Sony goes out and announces a PS4.5 or even PS5, launch: 2018 at E3 2017, MS is screwed, because I can easily see the majority of Playstation fans waiting one year for an even better box by their brand of choice. The 'finally Xbox is stronger' thunder will only last for a short period of time.
This kind of business plan then will end up being a nice service for Xbox die-hard fans, but I don't see this as realistic way of increasing market-share.

That's a hypothetical. All we know right now is that it's happening for Xbox. If it pushes Sony to upgrade their hardware then all the better. Pushing technology in the console biz is way overdue this generation and welcome!

 

[wapplew]

One thing we haven't talked about yet is what if Sony does the same?
If it's sooo easy to pull this of, Sony will manage to counter this.
So, let's say MS announces Xbox1.5 at this year's E3, launch: fall 2017 with specs above PS4.
What kind of impact do people expect in that holiday season with 60+ mio. Playstation 4 users (~ fall 2017) and ~30mio. XboxOne users at that point? People will be on the fence if they should buy it and if Sony goes out and announces a PS4.5 or even PS5, launch: 2018 at E3 2017, MS is screwed, because I can easily see the majority of Playstation fans waiting one year for an even better box by their brand of choice. The 'finally Xbox is stronger' thunder will only last for a short period of time.
This kind of business plan then will end up being a nice service for Xbox die-hard fans, but I don't see this as realistic way of increasing market-share.

I don't think Sony will do half gen upgrade, they have too much momentum now, a more powerful Xbox 1.5 won't change that IMO, just like PS2 vs Dreamcast/Xbox original.
They might be speed up PS5 gen thou.

 

[Synth]

One thing we haven't talked about yet is what if Sony does the same?
If it's sooo easy to pull this of, Sony will manage to counter this.
So, let's say MS announces Xbox1.5 at this year's E3, launch: fall 2017 with specs above PS4.
What kind of impact do people expect in that holiday season with 60+ mio. Playstation 4 users (~ fall 2017) and ~30mio. XboxOne users at that point? People will be on the fence if they should buy it and if Sony goes out and announces a PS4.5 or even PS5, launch: 2018 at E3 2017, MS is screwed, because I can easily see the majority of Playstation fans waiting one year for an even better box by their brand of choice. The 'finally Xbox is stronger' thunder will only last for a short period of time.
This kind of business plan then will end up being a nice service for Xbox die-hard fans, but I don't see this as realistic way of increasing market-share.

Just as "Sony Too" is a pretty annoying counter-point to any potential negative MS scenario.. it's an equally annoying response to any potential positive MS outcome. MS are talking specifically about how their work to establish a universal platform helps decouple the software from the hardware, allowing the specifications of the box to change without blowing up all the software that runs on it (in much the way a PC handles older software). This is something they've been slowly limping towards since before the launch of Windows 8. There is absolutely no guarantee that even if this is now easy for MS to achieve, that it would be equally easy for Sony to achieve quickly in a reactionary fashion. Now, Sony themselves have talked about the potential for upgraded hardware, but they haven't really provided any details in regards to what that would entail (it could for example simply mean a PS4 that doesn't require an additional box for PSVR).

Microsoft has an incentive to cater for stronger hardware that is unique to them. They have the Windows 10 platform that will necessitate the same games being able to run at settings and specs far above those of the current Xbox One hardware. Sony doesn't have this incentive, and so could make the whole approach make decidedly less sense for them. Devolving these sorts of discussions to "Sony could release PS4.5, MS could release XBVR, Sony could do PS3 BC, MS could have XBNow" etc is pointless really. They have different approaches, different capacities, and a different amount of already sunk commitments.

 

[Graphics Horse]

One thing we haven't talked about yet is what if Sony does the same?
If it's sooo easy to pull this of, Sony will manage to counter this.
So, let's say MS announces Xbox1.5 at this year's E3, launch: fall 2017 with specs above PS4.
What kind of impact do people expect in that holiday season with 60+ mio. Playstation 4 users (~ fall 2017) and ~30mio. XboxOne users at that point? People will be on the fence if they should buy it and if Sony goes out and announces a PS4.5 or even PS5, launch: 2018 at E3 2017, MS is screwed, because I can easily see the majority of Playstation fans waiting one year for an even better box by their brand of choice. The 'finally Xbox is stronger' thunder will only last for a short period of time.
This kind of business plan then will end up being a nice service for Xbox die-hard fans, but I don't see this as realistic way of increasing market-share.

Sony could already be planning this as far as we know. They are introducing vr this year and if it's well recieved they may want to bring out a box that supports a gen 2 headset in a few years on from that, as the development pace will be pretty fast if vr takes off.

 

[Malakai]

That's really the crux of the matter. At first I wasn't on board either but I could see myself changing my mind about this. It's about how they enforce forward compatibility. If the devs are required to go back 5 years, regardless of how many models that amounts to, then I'm fine with it. But how likely is this? I don't have an iphone and don't buy games on the app store so maybe someone who does can share their experience here. Are games released right now compatible with 5 year old iphones? From what I've heard, iOS updates can sometimes cause apps to not function anymore. It seems Apple is having a hard time pulling this off. MS has to do a better job.

It not that Apple is having a hard time pulling it off. They flat out don't care. See Bioshock on iOS for example. The same issues happens with Android when phone manufacturers don't upgrade to latest version of Android. Although sometimes this is good thing because some Android updates break games or require games to be updated. The issue is called fragmentation. Where user s are slip up several device configurations and OS versions.

There's another issue. Is this good for the industry? In a time where many devs are struggling to survive and are doing whatever it takes to make ends meet, forcing them to program 5 years worth of backwards compatibility will put an additional burden on them. Some of them might do it to shut MS up but do a lousy job at it, and promise fixes that never come. Having a system that is and will remain closed for the next 5, 6 or 7 years makes everyone's lives a lot simpler.

The smartphone industry is often criticized for artificially creating demand. Just seeing the number of people obsessed with having the newest, marginally better, iphone is kinda proof of this. It will segment the userbase very badly and will complicate things for devs and customers. For what? having access to a marginally better performing console every year? Do we really need this? When GTAV came out, it was running on 7 and 8 year old hardware and it was amazing. I would argue that, at the point where we are in regards to gaming hardware technology, we aren't in dire need of additional processing power, nor do we need to complicate our hobby in this manner.

^^^^This, 1000x times over. To add on to what you are saying, aren't we reaching the end of Moore's Law? Basically, cpu performance gains aren't exponentially increasing anymore.

 

[gtj1092]

Any evidence this mythical forward and backward compatability extends to 3rd party games?

 

[LukasTaves]

Er, there's a huge difference between having to buy a new console again and buying it because you're into the the new design.
I had to return my first 360 3 times (RROD), getting new, refurbished ones and finally had to buy a slim model because the last one broke in 2013 and I had a huge backlog at the time.
So, I'm one of the 82 mio. contributing 2 consoles and now MS has a hard time selling me their hardware. The latest news (this one, and their exclusives going PC) are basically sealing the deal for me: no more Xbox for me.

Of course there is, but I'm only talking about those who bought because they wanted not because they had to.

For instance, I had a launch 360 that sold before it RRODed when it became clear it would be a matter of time on launch units, then when Elite came I bought one for the increased storage, and finally when the slim hit I also got one due to even bigger storage, and the Kinect port with power.

I was already on the same path with xbone, but now I'm going to wait until a more powerful one

 

[plasmawave]

Not going to happen. Even if it does it's going to FLOP HARD.

 

[Markoman]

I don't think Sony will do half gen upgrade, they have too much momentum now, a more powerful Xbox 1.5 won't change that IMO, just like PS2 vs Dreamcast/Xbox original.
They might be speed up PS5 gen thou.

That's what I'm talking about. Maybe they were planing a normal 5 year cycle depending on what MS does and how sales develop, meaning PS5 will be released in fall 2018/2019. Whatever MS does -new console/upgraded revision- they won't release the new Xbox before next year. This also means that if Sony sees high preorder numbers for next Xbox-thing they can announce a new console next year for 2018 to get their userbase hyped and to steal all of MS's ' Now we're stronger' thunder.
My point is, they will only give MS a one year headstart at best and this one year headstart won't do as much for new Xbox as it did for 360 in 2005/2006, because it will be released in the market-leader's prime (60+mio users, slim version, low price) and it won't be a'10 times as powerful as last gen' scenario either -Xbox360>>>>PS2 . The majority of people who buy the XboxOne/PS4 in the time-frame now->summer2017 surely won't buy another console in fall 2017.

 

[thomasmahler]

I don't think Sony will do half gen upgrade, they have too much momentum now, a more powerful Xbox 1.5 won't change that IMO, just like PS2 vs Dreamcast/Xbox original.
They might be speed up PS5 gen thou.

Wait for it. If Microsoft releases the most powerful console and you'll see multi-platform games that run at 30fps on PS4 and at 60fps on the 'Xbox One Plus', a lot of people would choose to play it on the latter. If customers buy into it, Sony is forced to react, since lots of people who now prefer the PS4 because it often runs games at a slightly higher resolution might now get the game on the upgraded Xbox, since 60fps is just objectively better than 30fps.

 

[LukasTaves]

One thing we haven't talked about yet is what if Sony does the same?
If it's sooo easy to pull this of, Sony will manage to counter this.
So, let's say MS announces Xbox1.5 at this year's E3, launch: fall 2017 with specs above PS4.
What kind of impact do people expect in that holiday season with 60+ mio. Playstation 4 users (~ fall 2017) and ~30mio. XboxOne users at that point? People will be on the fence if they should buy it and if Sony goes out and announces a PS4.5 or even PS5, launch: 2018 at E3 2017, MS is screwed, because I can easily see the majority of Playstation fans waiting one year for an even better box by their brand of choice. The 'finally Xbox is stronger' thunder will only last for a short period of time.
This kind of business plan then will end up being a nice service for Xbox die-hard fans, but I don't see this as realistic way of increasing market-share.

Then Ms has succeeded because it will once again ripple the market forward pushing the competition to follow suit.

A scenario where the games and platform is decoupled from the hardware is good for customers. Even if on a single closed platform, having all your purchases and accessories guaranteed to work is a good thing.

 

[wapplew]

Any evidence this mythical forward and backward compatability extends to 3rd party games?

Well, this too.
Asking thirdparty spend more resource to make 2 version of the game and not allow them to sold separately, let's see how that's pan out.

 

[STEaMkb]

Sony's plan is to drive the price of PS4 down and make this generation last as long as possible. Single userbase. Tons of content. They have tailored PSVR to fit this strategy.

They can survey the landscape after NX and Xbox One v2, once the dust has had time to settle.

 

[gamz]

Not going to happen. Even if it does it's going to FLOP HARD.

Thanks for the insightful post.

 

[Synth]

Well, this too.
Asking thirdparty spend more resource to make 2 version of the game and not allow them to sold separately, let's see how that's pan out.

Well, it wouldn't really be too versions of the same game. Rather one version that runs in two modes (similar to something like Turok 2 on N64, or Marvel Super Heroes on Saturn). If the developer chose not to, the I guess the result would simply be that the game would look identical on both versions of the console, with the upgraded model simply seeing better performance (unless the game has a stable locked framerate, in which case there would be no difference at all).

 

[MilkyJoe]

Well, this too.
Asking thirdparty spend more resource to make 2 version of the game and not allow them to sold separately, let's see how that's pan out.

I dont think it is 2 versions of the same game, Spencer said the UWA make sit work independent of the hardware. So.. and someone correct me if I am wrong, the same game disk goes in both machines and the software detects the console type and scales the fps, resolution, AA, etc... accordingly.


That's what I'm getting anyway

 

[SneakersSO]

Thought I'd pop my head again in after considering this for a few days, and having this brought up by another dev friend. This thing is never gonna take off. I want MS to pull the trigger on this just to see how bad the sales are gonna be.

 

[SneakersSO]

I dont think it is 2 versions of the same game, Spencer said the UWA make sit work independent of the hardware. So.. and someone correct me if I am wrong, the same game disk goes in both machines and the software detects the console type and scales the fps, resolution, AA, etc... accordingly.


That's what I'm getting anyway

It will never work like that, unless the stronger hardware is emulating the weaker machine. In order for the game to run natively on both machines, it would have to be two versions of the same game.

 

[gamz]

Then Ms has succeeded because it will once again ripple the market forward pushing the competition to follow suit.

A scenario where the games and platform is decoupled from the hardware is good for customers. Even if on a single closed platform, having all your purchases and accessories guaranteed to work is a good thing.

Someone has to do it. This generation more so then others we need hardware upgrades. Esp with VR. If we can get every game on 1080P 60fps then all the better.

This gen more then ever specs matter and look no further then the DP threads.

 

[feint_ruled]

Wait for it. If Microsoft releases the most powerful console and you'll see multi-platform games that run at 30fps on PS4 and at 60fps on the 'Xbox One Plus', a lot of people would choose to play it on the latter..

And these same games run at what, 30 fps also on the much cheaper Xbox One Regular with slightly reduced resolution? I think in general people are more price sensitive than FPS sensitive.

 

[Markoman]

Then Ms has succeeded because it will once again ripple the market forward pushing the competition to follow suit.

A scenario where the games and platform is decoupled from the hardware is good for customers. Even if on a single closed platform, having all your purchases and accessories guaranteed to work is a good thing.

Ehm, not exactly. Sure, every hardware manufacturer would love to keep one version of their device as long s possible. Gen 7 was an exception (huge losses at start, recession, strong sales very late)- once again, under normal conditions I expect PS5 to arrive in 2018/2019.

For me the essential question is now - what are MS's expectations + intentions with this strategy:
A) Do they really expect this will knock Playstation of it's throne?
B) or are they going for a Nintendo mentality: 'We won't go for a head-to-head competition with Sony in the console space anymore'. Meaning: Main focus on W10 and services and future Xbox=cheap PC is a nice bonus to have and to get people into their services.

 

[LukasTaves]

Well, this too.
Asking thirdparty spend more resource to make 2 version of the game and not allow them to sold separately, let's see how that's pan out.

They don't need to de two separate versions. Pc version already uses higher fidelity assets, higher precision effects and higher resolution/framerates than consoles, that can all apply to the new xbone.

In theory they don't even have to fine tune. Ms has been adding assessing tools into directx ever since windows 8.1 so your code can test the machine performance and scale the graphics item per item given the hardware capabilities.

Keep in mind Ms goal is to have applications and games running from high end desktop all the way to low powered cell phones, compared to that supporting scaling on the same magnitude of power is a piece of cake.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

And these same games run at what, 30 fps also on the much cheaper Xbox One Regular with slightly reduced resolution? I think in general people are more price sensitive than FPS sensitive.

I agree, I remember the whole 720P vs 1080P a wee bit overblown.

In the end the price has to be right and have the games that are fun. Worked in the past

 

[SneakersSO]

They don't need to de two separate versions. Pc version already uses higher fidelity assets, higher precision effects and higher resolution/framerates than consoles, that can all apply to the new xbone.

In theory they don't even have to fine tune. Ms has been adding assessing tools into directx ever since windows 8.1 so your code can test the machine performance and scale the graphics item per item given the hardware capabilities.

Keep in mind Ms goal is to have applications and games running from high end desktop all the way to low powered cell phones, compared to that supporting scaling on the same magnitude of power is a piece of cake.

As a dev, I assure you, nothing in your post reflects the reality of coding a game to a closed box system, or of modern game development. I have gone at length in this thread as to why this would be a nightmare for devs, and most publishers wouldn't even support such a model- they would just support the box with the larger install base and call it a day.

 

[LukasTaves]

Ehm, not exactly. Sure, every hardware manufacturer would love to keep one version of their device as long s possible. Gen 7 was an exception (huge losses at start, recession, strong sales very late)- once again, under normal conditions I expect PS5 to arrive in 2018/2019.

For me the essential question is now - what are MS's expectations + intentions with this strategy:
A) Do they really expect this will knock Playstation of it's throne?
B) or are they going for a Nintendo mentality: 'We won't go for a head-to-head competition with Sony in the console space anymore'. Meaning: Main focus on W10 and services and future Xbox=cheap PC is a nice bonus to have and to get people into their services.

I'm not quite sure I understand how you object to my point. In the name of clearness, I'm talking about a specific scenario where Ms launches a Xbone.5 and sony finds itself forced to do the same. In that case, even if sony can steal Ms thunder back Ms will have driven the market forward.