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[12Dannu123]

With current Xbox Consoles being close to the 40 million market. Microsoft has said that an Xbox Streaming service from them is now underway and likely coming out in a few years, this roughly translate to 2020, when the next XB comes out. It would be interesting if Microsoft without leaving those users behind, XB1/S consoles becoming streaming boxes in the future, this means that user base isn't left behind and they can play future games.

• So when Scarlett comes out. It will become the premium XB console
• Xbox One X becomes the base Xbox console like XB1S is today
• Xbox One and S become Streaming devices for games.
• When Scarlett v2 comes out
• Scarlett V1 becomes the base console
• Xbox One X becomes the Stream box, stream tech will have likely improved by then.

However this doesn't mean that after 2020, it will become a Streaming only console, you'll be able to play local games before 2020, however going forward, if you want to keep that hardware and play new games you will need to Stream it.

 

[MayauMiao]

Possible and maybe Sony will take this approach too but not sure if 3rd parties will be happy with this since it also means not getting much profit from sales.

 

[12Dannu123]

Possible and maybe Sony will take this approach too but not sure if 3rd parties will be happy with this since it also means not getting much profit from sales.

Can Sony even compete in this race. They really don't have the infrastructure to make this work. They will have to rely on Google, Amazon or Microsoft themselves to have a decent service. Even that, this will make their service much more expensive

 

[MayauMiao]

Can Sony even compete in this race. They really don't have the infrastructure to make this work. They will have to rely on Google, Amazon or Microsoft themselves to have a decent service. Even that, this will make their service much more expensive

Guess we will have to wait and see. MS ain't exactly great at delivering on their promises.

 

[cireza]

Not too sure about it. What is certain however is that Xbox One X will become the base console while Scarlet becomes the new X. One and One S will be abandoned, which is only natural.

 

[Mattyp]

Can Sony even compete in this race. They really don't have the infrastructure to make this work. They will have to rely on Google, Amazon or Microsoft themselves to have a decent service. Even that, this will make their service much more expensive

Sony would have buckley's chance of making this work. As long as Microsoft roll out their streaming service with gamepass still offering downloading as well all for further progression and options.

 

[SaucyJack]

Can Sony even compete in this race. They really don't have the infrastructure to make this work. They will have to rely on Google, Amazon or Microsoft themselves to have a decent service. Even that, this will make their service much more expensive

Of course they can.

They have the experience from Gaikai and running PS Now for 4 years.

Provision of cloud services is really competitive now so working with AWS or Google Cloud (both of whom are streets ahead of Azure) would do the job.

 

[12Dannu123]

Of course they can.

They have the experience from Gaikai and running PS Now for 4 years.

Provision of cloud services is really competitive now so working with AWS or Google Cloud (both of whom are streets ahead of Azure) would do the job.

I'm pretty sure Google Cloud is behind Azure. It's only Azure and AWS in the duopoly race.

 

[TheMikado]

Yes, I believe MS will differentiate from Sony by no being a set console, but a family of consoles which play similar games. Similar to the 3DS/2DS or Rokus or Amazon Fire sets. The only difference it that these will play Xbox games and run Windows Apps. Thereby getting MS into the living room in mass the way they always wanted.

Further I see a $99 streaming option similar to what the PSTV was suppose to be. Further I see Sony following suite with streaming and small refresh mid-gen box of their own which doubles or at least is the basis of portable PS5.

Basically Next gen will be a bevy of different versions of the consoles with different needs. Optical drives and HDD may be on the initial release but they will not be required for future releases. The xbox and PS4 already don't really run games of the HDD and its far more efficient and better performance to run off 64GB or 32GB card and get those for under $10.

 

[GoldenEye98]

What is certain however is that Xbox One X will become the base console while Scarlet becomes the new X. One and One S will be abandoned, which is only natural.

Not sure why this keeps being said. The install base of X is nowhere near enough nor will it likely ever be enough to justify it becoming the new "base model". 20 million units is considered bad for a console and Xbox One X will likely only reach a fraction of that. It was designed and marketed as a premium option for gamers in this gen.

 

[cireza]

Not sure why this keeps being said. The install base of X is nowhere near enough nor will it likely ever be enough to justify it becoming the new "base model". 20 million units is considered bad for a console and Xbox One X will likely only reach a fraction of that. It was designed and marketed as a premium option for gamers in this gen.

In 2 years, One X will be below 300$ and will be the base model. Pretty sure it will end this way.

Edit : well you might be right.

Microsoft might introduce two new SKUs at once, one that will be cheaper, and one that will be more expensive but more powerful. They will still be built around compatible "next gen" components. If this is even possible.

 

[Nintendo Switch]

With current Xbox Consoles being close to the 40 million market. Microsoft has said that an Xbox Streaming service from them is now underway and likely coming out in a few years, this roughly translate to 2020, when the next XB comes out. It would be interesting if Microsoft without leaving those users behind, XB1/S consoles becoming streaming boxes in the future, this means that user base isn't left behind and they can play future games.

• So when Scarlett comes out. It will become the premium XB console
• Xbox One X becomes the base Xbox console like XB1S is today
• Xbox One and S become Streaming devices for games.
• When Scarlett v2 comes out
• Scarlett V1 becomes the base console
• Xbox One X becomes the Stream box, stream tech will have likely improved by then.

However this doesn't mean that after 2020, it will become a Streaming only console, you'll be able to play local games before 2020, however going forward, if you want to keep that hardware and play new games you will need to Stream it.

I think you’re dead on in your prediction.

I also think the next Xbox will be called Xbox V

And the one after that will be called vi

 

[hiphopcr]

• Xbox One and S become Streaming devices for games.

Interesting. Will the streaming version have the fidelity of the high-end console versions? If so, who's buying the new $500 consoles?

 

[AgentP]

So like PSNow? Anything can stream, you don't need a 100W console. Just a $15 ARM box and controller.

 

[Nintendo Switch]

Interesting. Will the streaming version have the fidelity of the high-end console versions? If so, who's buying the new $500 consoles?

Those who don’t want to be always online to play games, those without broadband, those who want 4k gaming, not 1080p streams etc.

 

[hiphopcr]

Those who don’t want to be always online to play games, those without broadband, those who want 4k gaming, not 1080p streams etc.

I'd assume those who want 4K and those with broadband are typically the same overlap in the venn diagram.

And Microsoft is already doing 4k streaming.

 

[NickFire]

I don't see it happening because two reasons:
1) I am not convinced the technology exists to stream graphic intensive 1080p games without regular lag yet; and
2) I have yet to see a national solution to the loss of net neutrality. Without that, I expect data intensive game streaming to end up costing more than buying a new console over time.

 

[baphomet]

Not too sure about it. What is certain however is that Xbox One X will become the base console while Scarlet becomes the new X. One and One S will be abandoned, which is only natural.

That's far from certain, in fact it's wrong.

The X will not be forward compatible with next gen games. It and the Pro are very squarely in the current generation of consoles.

 

[Nintendo Switch]

I'd assume those who want 4K and those with broadband are typically the same overlap in the venn diagram.

And Microsoft is already doing 4k streaming.

The original Xbox One isn’t even capable of outputting at 4K. So 4k streaming in not an option for it. It’s also much more bandwidth Intensive.

The main goal will be minimizing input lag which means 1080p steaming is more likely.

Those that want 4k gaming will need a One X or an Xbox V

 

[Son_of_Zardoz]

Interesting idea to keep those consoles "forward compatible." No idea if that's how they'll go. Don't see why Sony couldn't do it either, MS would just have the luxury of having the cloud architecture in-house.

 

[daibaron]

I don't see it happening because two reasons:
1) I am not convinced the technology exists to stream graphic intensive 1080p games without regular lag yet; and
2) I have yet to see a national solution to the loss of net neutrality. Without that, I expect data intensive game streaming to end up costing more than buying a new console over time.

Exactly, the lag will always be too much for any serious gamer. And we still have to find a way to power 4k120fps vr with awesome graphics.

 

[hiphopcr]

The original Xbox One isn’t even capable of outputting at 4K. Those that want 4k gaming will need a One X or an Xbox V

The S does 4k streaming.

The X will not be forward compatible with next gen games. It and the Pro are very squarely in the current generation of consoles.

Source?

 

[baphomet]

Source?

Common sense. Oh and the fact that Microsoft has made it as clear as day that this isn't a next gen console, that's it's an upgraded Xbox One.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

If the next console becomes a stream box I am 100% out. Ill support the option for streaming, but not if that is the only way to enjoy games.

That'll get me back to exclusively PC in a hurry.

 

[cHaOs667]

I'm pretty sure Google Cloud is behind Azure. It's only Azure and AWS in the duopoly race.

Azure and AWS are pretty equal when it comes to features but Azure has a leap forward as they operate a special Azure Cloud for german and european companies which is totally out of scope for the US government and laws.

 

[cHaOs667]

Common sense. Oh and the fact that Microsoft has made it as clear as day that this isn't a next gen console, that's it's an upgraded Xbox One.

The whole X1 architecture is built to be forward compatible. Every App and Game runs in virtualized containers on top of an Hypervisor, the games itself are written with an Direct-X like API. So as long as Microsoft updates the Hypervisor of the old consoles they are very likeliy to run the next "generation" of games with an reduced set of effects and resolution.

The X1X as well the X1S is the perfect example for this.

 

[Fbh]

I don't know if they'll want to keep the X1X as the base console for next gen. That would imply that the jump to next gen won't be a very significant one. Also marketing wise it would be weird to have the X go from being the most powerful and 4K centric console to having it be the weakest and needing to significantly drop the resolution and graphics in order to keep up at all.

Streaming though, sure. MS themselves said the idea is for you to be able to play games on pretty much any device so having the entire Xb1 family of systems support the feature makes sense. Personally though, I still think we are at least 10 years away from streaming becoming a viable option for most people. There's still latency and image quality issues with every service on the market right now and while the engineers working on Xbox have shown to be very talented I don't think they'll solve every issue with game streaming in 2 years

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I don't know if they'll want to keep the X1X as the base console for next gen. That would imply that the jump to next gen won't be a very significant one. Also marketing wise it would be weird to have the X go from being the most powerful and 4K centric console to having it be the weakest and needing to significantly drop the resolution and graphics in order to keep up at all.

Streaming though, sure. MS themselves said the idea is for you to be able to play games on pretty much any device so having the entire Xb1 family of systems support the feature makes sense. Personally though, I still think we are at least 10 years away from streaming becoming a viable option for most people. There's still latency and image quality issues with every service on the market right now and while the engineers working on Xbox have shown to be very talented I don't think they'll solve every issue with game streaming in 2 years

What I would do if I were MS and Sony is I would announce the end of producing the Xbox One S and PS4 (in like 2019) and just make the Pro and the X1X the base models and then announce new Pro and X1X models available in 2020 that maintain compatibility and give developers the ability to support the older consoles as long as they want.

Basically, the ipad/iphone/galaxy model, but every 3 years instead of 1 year. Basically nobody would be required to upgrade until after 2 generations.

I know I am not the first person to mention it but it seems like that is the direction they are going.

 

[Your Cousin Vinny]

I don't think anyone who uses OBS would ever consider trying to stream off of a console.

 

[Hendrick's]

What I would do if I were MS and Sony is I would announce the end of producing the Xbox One S and PS4 (in like 2019) and just make the Pro and the X1X the base models and then announce new Pro and X1X models available in 2020 that maintain compatibility and give developers the ability to support the older consoles as long as they want.

Basically, the ipad/iphone/galaxy model, but every 3 years instead of 1 year. Basically nobody would be required to upgrade until after 2 generations.

I know I am not the first person to mention it but it seems like that is the direction they are going.

This is the model I would like to see. Streaming is probably the future, but we are at least 10 years away from high quality 4K streamed games with low latency.

 

[Fbh]

What I would do if I were MS and Sony is I would announce the end of producing the Xbox One S and PS4 (in like 2019) and just make the Pro and the X1X the base models and then announce new Pro and X1X models available in 2020 that maintain compatibility and give developers the ability to support the older consoles as long as they want.

Basically, the ipad/iphone/galaxy model, but every 3 years instead of 1 year. Basically nobody would be required to upgrade until after 2 generations.

I know I am not the first person to mention it but it seems like that is the direction they are going.

The Xbox One X..... maybe.
But as a Pro owner the console just feels too weak to keep up with next gen, it was definitely designed to be a Ps4 with nicer IQ but nothing more. It can't even run current gen AAA games (aside from a few sports games) at native 4K and the framerate improvements (if there are any at all) seem limited to sticking closer to the target instead of substantial improvements like going from 30fps to 60fps.

I just don't see the Pro running any game that wouldn't run on a base Ps4 and having it be the base for which next gen games are designed would be disappointing. Even more so now that we have rumours surfacing that next gen consoles will try to have a better balance between their CPU and GPU. It would be a shame to have a new gen launching with better CPU's but have no game be able to take advantage of it because they still need to be designed with the Ps4 pro in mind

I expect that just like this gen we will have a 1 or 1,5 year period of mostly cross gen games (at least for third parties) and I really hope games embrace a forward compatibility mentality so that I can buy Battlefield 6 for Ps4 but then have my copy work with a Ps5 when I decide to upgrade

 

[cryptoadam]

Streaming and Gamepass is the future. 10-15 years ago the notion of watching 1080p or more on a phone/laptop/tablet/smartTV was seen as futuristic and impossible, and now every one and their mothers wants to create their own netflix.

Someone will crack the streaming code. What I think we might see is Ultra versions as download only on the Xbox Scarlet, while you can stream the lower graphic setting version on any device. I played PSNow and the games all ran well and was good enough for me. So I can imagine in 5 -10 years you will be able to stream games that today seem impossible. Then the really high end stuff you buy hardware and download it like gamepass.

Now what will eventually happen like Netflix, is 3rd parties will create their own services and pull content from MS/Sony.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

The Xbox One X..... maybe.
But as a Pro owner the console just feels too weak to keep up with next gen, it was definitely designed to be a Ps4 with nicer IQ but nothing more. It can't even run current gen AAA games (aside from a few sports games) at native 4K and the framerate improvements (if there are any at all) seem limited to sticking closer to the target instead of substantial improvements like going from 30fps to 60fps.

I just don't see the Pro running any game that wouldn't run on a base Ps4 and having it be the base for which next gen games are designed would be disappointing. Even more so now that we have rumours surfacing that next gen consoles will try to have a better balance between their CPU and GPU. It would be a shame to have a new gen launching with better CPU's but have no game be able to take advantage of it because they still need to be designed with the Ps4 pro in mind

I expect that just like this gen we will have a 1 or 1,5 year period of mostly cross gen games (at least for third parties) and I really hope games embrace a forward compatibility mentality so that I can buy Battlefield 6 for Ps4 but then have my copy work with a Ps5 when I decide to upgrade

I dont know if I agree with you. The Pro offers a pretty nice image quality improvement over the base Pro (God of War looks breathtaking compared to the base). You are correct in that it is now a huge leap, but I do think it's more than adequate.

Obviously the game between the S and the 1X is much greater than the PS4 and Pro.

Keep in mind this doesn't mean that MS and Sony both have to do this in the same year.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Streaming and Gamepass is the future. 10-15 years ago the notion of watching 1080p or more on a phone/laptop/tablet/smartTV was seen as futuristic and impossible, and now every one and their mothers wants to create their own netflix.

Someone will crack the streaming code. What I think we might see is Ultra versions as download only on the Xbox Scarlet, while you can stream the lower graphic setting version on any device. I played PSNow and the games all ran well and was good enough for me. So I can imagine in 5 -10 years you will be able to stream games that today seem impossible. Then the really high end stuff you buy hardware and download it like gamepass.

Now what will eventually happen like Netflix, is 3rd parties will create their own services and pull content from MS/Sony.

Getting rid of latency is going to always be an issue though. There is simply no way to get latency down to the levels that can rival that of the TV being connected directly to the console.

 

[SaucyJack]

I'm pretty sure Google Cloud is behind Azure. It's only Azure and AWS in the duopoly race.

Depends what for, MS is probably the biggest cloud provider overall but that covers a really broad range. My organisation (a major international bank) will only consider two options as suitable for cloud services for enterprise applications, GCP and AWS.

There’s plenty of other big IT providers in the space - IBM, Oracle, SAP - as well as other more specialist firms like Rackspace. This market segment has a long way to go before anyone is dominant.

 

[cireza]

That's far from certain, in fact it's wrong.

The X will not be forward compatible with next gen games. It and the Pro are very squarely in the current generation of consoles.

You should have read my next post before replying.

However the X not being compatible with the next system goes against everything Microsoft has been putting in place and saying in recent years...

The One X will stay there and still be supported. My guess is that two SKUs will be revealed, both using the new technology that will be decided for next generation of Xbox. One SKU will be less expensive and targeting 1080p while the other one will be much more powerful and targeting 4K. One X will still be supported, but of course not for as long as the two new SKUs.

 

[hiphopcr]

However the X not being compatible with the next system goes against everything Microsoft has been putting in place and saying in recent years...

This.

Microsoft is the king of compatibility. They mention new consoles in the context of "family".

 

[Fox Mulder]

Streaming and a game pass where you don't own anything is the future. Everything is connected now when that seemed crazy even a few years ago. One day Amazon could just offer the same AAA games to a TV that we pay $60 and a $400 console for now.

Games will also have to be designed around streaming where things like racing, fighting, or other games with fast paced input don't work well at all currently.

 

[SaucyJack]

Streaming and a game pass where you don't own anything is the future. Everything is connected now when that seemed crazy even a few years ago. One day Amazon could just offer the same AAA games to a TV that we pay $60 and a $400 console for now.

Games will also have to be designed around streaming where things like racing, fighting, or other games with fast paced input don't work well at all currently.

It might be the future, but it’s a dystopian one.

 

[kaczmar]

If the next console becomes a stream box I am 100% out. Ill support the option for streaming, but not if that is the only way to enjoy games.

That'll get me back to exclusively PC in a hurry.

Don't expect the PC to stay out of the migration to streaming. I see mobile, console, and PC worlds colliding in less then 5 years.

 

[cryptoadam]

Getting rid of latency is going to always be an issue though. There is simply no way to get latency down to the levels that can rival that of the TV being connected directly to the console.

It will be an issue but I think tech will move forward enough to cover for it. Like I said the idea of streaming 1080P seemed impossible not to long ago and now we have 4K, and Full HD on devices we fit in our backpacks/pockets.

But I think what we will see is a combination of streaming and downloading. Those who are happy with good enough will get the streaming option. Phones/TV 15$ Raspberry Pi whatever. Those who want the best graphics and lowest latency will get a console or PC. Heck they might even have dynamic streaming like we have dynamic resolution where certain parts of the gamed are streamed (think cut scenes and all those walking parts in games) and the more intense parts are downloaded.

Its the future though. And this E3 showed that 3rd parties at the least have MS by the short and curleys. EA/UBI/ACTIVISON are going to smarten up. EA already has. Eventually they are going to go exclusive to their own gamepass service and require the console guys to either have their service or not have their games.

Look at Netflix. 10 years ago they had so many movies/tv shows. Now all the big players have pulled or will pull their content and are more than happy to make their own service. Thats where I see the future going. MS will hit it out of the park with gamepass, get 3rd parties on board and then half way through next gen 3rd parties are going to wake up and realise they can offer their own gamepass and by pass MS.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

So like PSNow? Anything can stream, you don't need a 100W console. Just a $15 ARM box and controller.

But nobody likes PSNow. It is soulless.

 

[kaczmar]

It might be the future, but it’s a dystopian one.

Maybe. It's not coming tomorrow. There was a time where we purchased music albums on CD's, then songs in iTunes, and now streaming seems to be direction everyone is comfortable with. Time will tell.

 

[cryptoadam]

Streaming and a game pass where you don't own anything is the future. Everything is connected now when that seemed crazy even a few years ago. One day Amazon could just offer the same AAA games to a TV that we pay $60 and a $400 console for now.

Games will also have to be designed around streaming where things like racing, fighting, or other games with fast paced input don't work well at all currently.

Dynamic streaming, like dynamic resolution. You stream the slower parts, but download the more twitchy parts. It will end up being so seamless that you won't even notice.

In the end game makers are beholden to console manufacturers. If MS and Sony said its all streaming then those game makers either make their games to match the "hardware" or they go PC.

 

[flashfire926]

I think it's going to go something like this:

X1X turns into base variant, $300 in fall 2020. X1S no longer supported.

Xbox Scarlet launches at $500, fall 2020.

No streaming boxes.

 

[AgentP]

Source?

Next gen consoles will have much better CPUs, more GPU and higher bandwidth memory. The best you can do it cross gen games where they do a port, making it for both generations (like Destiny 1 or Titanfall), but that cost money and holds back real innovation.

 

[Louis Cyphre]

Of course they can.

They have the experience from Gaikai and running PS Now for 4 years.

Provision of cloud services is really competitive now so working with AWS or Google Cloud (both of whom are streets ahead of Azure) would do the job.

That's just it, in 4 years I still feel the experience is subpar. Microsoft has the finances and the experience in this area that could do a much better job.

Not sure why this keeps being said. The install base of X is nowhere near enough nor will it likely ever be enough to justify it becoming the new "base model". 20 million units is considered bad for a console and Xbox One X will likely only reach a fraction of that. It was designed and marketed as a premium option for gamers in this gen.

A $249 Xbox One X will sure look good against a $500 PS5 or a $500 next Xbox if it can play the new titles as well. Right now the Xbox One X is the most expensive and plays all the same titles and Sony has no desire to use it's PS4 Pro to its full potential. It will always be tethered to the original PS4 and they won't even allow their first party titles to play at higher frame rates in multiplayer.

 

[rokkerkory]

Tech isn't quite there yet on the server / infra side... thus I don't think so... perhaps small chance on X but not really. We're still 10-15 years away I bet.

 

[deriks]

I guess is a nice idea that Microsoft can try out.

 

[12Dannu123]

It will be an issue but I think tech will move forward enough to cover for it. Like I said the idea of streaming 1080P seemed impossible not to long ago and now we have 4K, and Full HD on devices we fit in our backpacks/pockets.

But I think what we will see is a combination of streaming and downloading. Those who are happy with good enough will get the streaming option. Phones/TV 15$ Raspberry Pi whatever. Those who want the best graphics and lowest latency will get a console or PC. Heck they might even have dynamic streaming like we have dynamic resolution where certain parts of the gamed are streamed (think cut scenes and all those walking parts in games) and the more intense parts are downloaded.

Its the future though. And this E3 showed that 3rd parties at the least have MS by the short and curleys. EA/UBI/ACTIVISON are going to smarten up. EA already has. Eventually they are going to go exclusive to their own gamepass service and require the console guys to either have their service or not have their games.

Look at Netflix. 10 years ago they had so many movies/tv shows. Now all the big players have pulled or will pull their content and are more than happy to make their own service. Thats where I see the future going. MS will hit it out of the park with gamepass, get 3rd parties on board and then half way through next gen 3rd parties are going to wake up and realise they can offer their own gamepass and by pass MS.

It likely explains why Microsoft is buying talent. Because in order for this model to work, you need original and first party content.