potato_hamster on 18 March 2016
| SvennoJ said: It was fun to read all the wishful thinking! Will never happen. Why is a console cycle 6 years on average? - The launch price of a console is justified by selling at a profit in the second half of the gen. That's when R&D costs, marketing, etc are made back, and used to fund the next version. - The majority of the user base switches over during the second half of the gen when the machine is cheaper to make, cheaper to afford, and makes a bigger profit. - Developers need to get used to the new hardware, they also need to invest in new game engines, then reap the benefits of experience and bigger margins in the second half of the gen which generates cash for the next transition. Incremental hardware screws up this whole system: - Less profit for the console manufacturer, system prices will need to be higher for all versions. Perhaps not as high as Steam boxes but definitely not $400 at launch. (or weaker hardware, also possible) - Confusion for the customer. The majority of sales happen with the cheaper system (slim version) that can do all the main system can do. Now you have a new system back at launch price and an affordable yet not so attractive lesser system. Not to mention risking pissing off your early adopters. - Developers now need to double the QA process and provide an optimized experience for multiple hardware specs, just as they get comfortable with the current system. What does make sense is a slim ps4 with HDMI 2.0 port and HDR support for movies. A bigger HDD obviously. And maybe a version with dedicated VR port which can be bundled with a VR headset. Eliminating the need for the external box which saves money. |
I couldn't have said it better myself. You're 100% correct.
