Is the Scorpio next gen?

[nemo37]

From a hardware stand point I would say it is very much next-gen (it is a big step up from Xbox One). However, as of now, from a software stand point it is not, since all of its games will run on One/One S. Moreover, it is certainly not next-gen with regards to how MS is marketing (it is essentially being marketed as a premium XOne).

With that being said though, I believe what we consider to be generational upgrades are changing (at least with regards to XOne and PS4; I am not quite sure with Nintendo, but maybe this will also apply to them if platforms succeeding the Switch keep the same basic hardware/software architecture much like they did with the hardware in GC-Wii U). With PS4 and Xbox One adopting more PC-like hardware, I think it will be a good decade or two (maybe even more) before we get another wave of consoles that do a complete architectural reset with regards to software and hardware; this is a departure from previous generations, where every generational leap resulted in a completely new hardware and software architecture. From now on I can see Sony and MS (and potentially Nintendo if they keep the same architecture as on Switch and not do a reset with their next system) create a new system every 3-5 years that evolves aspects of the architecture but is fully backwards compatible and previous systems are forwards compatible with it, at least for a while; then when a new revision arrives 3-5 years later the revision before last is left behind with regards to forward compatibility. For example, right now all games will be compatible with both Xbox One S and Scorpio (with One S being the base target system); however, in 3-5 years time MS will make a successor to Scorpio, which will result in the discontinuation of One/One S (both with regards to software support and hardware) and Scorpio will take the role of One S as being the base system for targeted software. If my prediction is correct, then Scorpio will eventually become the generational successor to One S.