Rumors indicate a Fall 2017 launch, 18 months from now, that's just too late for a mid gen upgrade, 4 years after the Xbone launch, unless they plan to do another 8 year cycle, or are doing away with gens by going the smartphone model where backward and forward compatibility are maintained down until a certain Xbox version number. Like a year or 2 after Scorpio we'll start seeing games that minimally require that console and any and whatever future console revisions MS has planned next.
This disruptive strategy is a big gamble by Microsoft especially if they want parity with Sony. Suppose MS has a 6Tflop console for 2017, there's 2 scenarios going forward:
Scenario 1. MS don't have anything for another 4 years, MS is finally switching to exclusive Scorpio development after a year or 2 thus leaving the Xbone behind, which by that point had a 5-6 year cycle. The problem: Sony comes out 2 years after Scorpio with the PS5 in late 2019, a much faster console with let's say at least 9Tflopz, exactly when MS switch to exclusive Scorpio development. MS don't have a new upgrade planned for another 2 years, and another 1-2 years after the launch of the nextbox where they're bound to the Scorpio shackles making them stick with 6Tflopz games for at least 3 years with a much faster PS5 on the market.
Scenario 2: MS doesn't have the smartphone model in mind, cuts the Scorpio life short and comes out with the Xbox 2 also in 2019, angering people of a 2 year cycle. This is not a likely scenario, they wouldn't put a 6Tflop console if it was just to make prettier games of a 1.3Tflop console.
Do you prefer a new Xbox 2 soon after Scorpio or do you want what's essentially 4 year gens?
