Would you buy a 9th or a 9.5th gen console???

[binary solo]

Clearly PC developers make their games run at 6 "speeds" or more, and there isn't even unified hardware, with competing CPU and GPU manufacturers. And of course we get a whole heap of cross gen titles for the first 2 or even more, years of a new gen. This means all studios have, do and can make 2 or more speed games. Therefore making, for instance, a consoles game that runs on an AMD A8 APU and runs much better on a supercharged A10 APU with the would be a piece of piss. So, I think it would be feasible from a software support perspective. But I wonder if it would be viable from a hardware development perspective. If the supercharged sku onl;y added a few% to the hardware development costs then it could be viable. Especially if the supercharged sku is sold at a profit from the start and only the base sku is sold at break even or slightly below cost. But if the cost of hardware development is significantly increased it may not be viable.

I would personally buy the base model, because I don't care that much about resolution and framerate so long as it's stable.

But I wonder also if streaming comes into play. Perhaps you release a console that is streaming only (basically a PS4 with the Blu-ray drive removed) it will stream all games at variable resolutions and fps depending on the owners internet speed and data allowances, up to 1080p 60fps. the streaming service includes all new release games, perhaps 1 month after the retail release. The streaming only console is $199 and sold at a profit from day 1. You also release a console that is fully functional and plays downloaded or disc-based games at 4K 60fps. The hardware is strong enough that it can be mandated for all titles. If you want to make big open world games with lots of effects, then you have to sacrifice other parameters to meet the resolution and fps minimums. There's basically no development cost for the streaming only device, because it's actually a PS4. It's also the entry level device, which is so cheap it will sell well and at a profit. The the supercharged sku can also be sold at a premium price and at a profit, and it doesn't matter if its sales are slow.