Kotaku - Sources: Sony Is Working On A ‘PS4.5’

[KBG29]

SvennoJ said:

KBG29 said:

 Actually, Sony and Microsoft set themselves up to break even or make profit from day one with PS4 and XBO. There are also a good amount of gamers that like consoles but do get dored after 3 or 4 years with the old hardware. By bringing out even a mid cycle power bump they could keep these people putting the money in their pockets instead of poking their head into PC gaming for a year or 2 tell the next console comes.

There is a difference between not selling at a loss or breaking even on console + 1  game sale, and starting to make a profit on a new generation. Unless you think designing the console, retooling the factories, developing SDKs, dev kits, upgrading your studios, marketing the console all cost nothing?

If you want the cell phone model, prepare to pay $600 for upgrades and get locked into a 2 year contract at $80 a month, at least that's what it is here in Canada. And no game is optimized for that high end phone or any model, nor guaranteed to work on all older models. (Nor are there any AAA games on phones, games can only cost a few bucks after spending that much on the hardware :p)

A slim version with some enhancements have always been enough to revitalize sales. And at this point sales are still way above expectations, why would Sony risk pissing off the 99% now?

Here's how scaleable console games are:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-tears-for-gears-why-gears-of-war-ultimate-fails-to-deliver-on-pc
https://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunter/comments/40s49g/mhx_monster_hunter_x_on_old_3ds/
http://mynintendonews.com/2016/03/16/destructoid-hyrule-warriors-legends-runs-like-garbage-on-the-old-3ds/

Cross platform builds aren't magic, never will be. The game needs to be optimized or at least tuned for each platform. Multiple hardware specs makes the game run worse on each separate spec. Either the extra power gets ignored like all but 2 3DS games, or the old version suffers. And on PC you generally need a lot more power to get the same console settings. You can't actually get an exact match as console games are optimized/tuned on a per scene basis, while it's left up to the user on PC to tweak settings while playing.


I wonder if all this whishful thinking is a left over from last generation's bad choices. PS3 and 360 were an upgrade ahead of the curve hardware wise, and sold at a loss. This caused a longer generation (and big initial losses) while people complained about the high prices. So both listened with a more modest upgrade this gen that could be sold at a much more attractive launch price. Don't worry it won't be another 8 years (360 -> One) this time. This generation will pay for itself a lot faster, unless they'll make some stupid moves like bringing out upgraded hardware mid gen.

Well, I have some good news for you. $600 consoles is not going to happen. It won't happen with the mid cycle hardware revamp on PS4 and XBO, and it won't happen when the PS5 and XBT come out either. Also, both Sony and Microsoft are going to continue to sell these consoles, even in there revised form for a profit, and they will be less than the current retail price. 

Al three conole manufactures are on a much smarter business model now, and you are right, last gen has a lot to do with it. From now on we are not going to see consoles that are more powerful than SLI'ed computers day one. We are going to see updates at every new fab process that are mid high range for the time, and keep the price point in the very friendly ballpark of $199 - $399. 

This generation is going to sell more consoles than ever before. It is going to set a new standard on the way the business is ran. This upcoming PS4 could very likly not be the only upgraded PS4 we see this gen. It is very possible a PS4 Rev 3 will be released once the fab process drops again. I don't expect a leap in console tech until the mid 2020's, and that is when I expect the cut off to happen, and a real transition from the PS4 family of products to the PS5 family.

The world of consoles is changing and the old model does not work anyomre. It is time for people to move. If you are happy with your day one PS4 or XBO, then stay happy, but if you have an itch for a better unit with bteer HDMI, USB, Faster Wifi, More RAM, and a Faster APU, then that option will be on the table. You have the choice, and that is what being a consumer is all about, more choices are better.