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Veknoid_Outcast on 25 May 2016
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setsunatenshi said:
Veknoid_Outcast said:

So, as I wrote earlier, I'm all for advances in technology - just at a slower pace. If graphics and lighting meant nothing to me, I'd still be playing ColecoVision. As far as B goes, I don't recall writing I would feel forced to buy an interative console. I wrote that the act of upgrading mid-cycle would cloud the line between PC and console, and, in the process, destroy the raison d'etre of console gaming.

I think my points comply with and inform each other. I don't want iterative consoles because 1) when I invest in a console I expect a stable, uniform experience for a five or six year period and 2) I object to the principle that mid-cycle refreshes are necessary in the first place.

It's a matter of opinion on how frequent is too frequent, so I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, but having said that my point still stands. Taking the rumors we have (and it's pretty much all we can base this on), they plan to share the same game library between both console generations. So what would you have to lose by keeping your current console and skipping the so called mid-cycle upgrade?

There is a stable uniform experience for you during whatever time it takes for the new leap to happen, so if you don't want to upgrade you really don't have to at all.

Is there something I'm missing here?

If I can play all Xbox games on both Xbox 1 and Xbox 1.5, and the only thing that Xbox 1.5 provides is higher resolution and frame rate, then, yes, I agree there's no issue from my end. After all, that's how I treat PC gaming. I have a modestly-powered PC, and have no problem playing newer games on low settings.

But that's a big if. We're assuming developers will continue to support all iterations, and we're counting on the benevolence of Microsoft. Isn't it possible that Microsoft copies what Nintendo did with Xenoblade Chronicles on N3DS, locking out those who bought earlier iterations of the system?

I'll return to my first point: what I love about console gaming is the fact that I can drop $300 or $400 in year one and know exactly what I'm getting in year five. Mid-generation upgrades interrupt that predictability. Who knows how console manufacturers will incentivize upgrades? Who knows how first- and third-party developers will react? Who knows if online multiplayer will  maintain a level playing field?