| Landguy said: But, if you are like MOST console owners and a majority of your time is spent on multi-plats, then get a Scorpio. |
I wanted to address this general sentiment on this thread, that, since multiplatform will presumably run better on Scorpio most console buyers and mainstream audiences will switch to it.
I'll try to be less snarky than my previous posts, because this has very little to do with what I don't personally like about XBox's direction as a brand.
This is also not a response to Landguy's comment specifically, he just happened to encapsulate quite well.
First of all, let's get this out of the way: if you are excited about the Scorpio? Great! I'm sure if you liked XBox until now that a better version of it will undoubtely be really cool. I mean, even if updates are in line with the Pro's (and MS will probably push for more) this should be pretty good. I don't see the appeal but, who cares? Have fun.
What I wanted to address was that better running multiplatforms would immeadiately translate into better sales with the gaming market at large.
It's true that having better running multiplatform titles clearly benefited the PS4 and the XBox 360 at the start of their generations.
It's also true that multiplatform clearly appeal to a mainstream gaming audience than exclusives do.
Here's the thing though: the Scorpio is not selling to a mainstream audience.
By Microsoft own admission they are targeting the core gaming market with an elite product.
We are talking people with a 4K screen (an admittedly growing niche), presumably an already large gaming catalog, enough disposable income to afford a premium system and looking to upgrade as early as they can.
These people are not the mainstream. They are people that are invested in the gaming market, people that actually would care about exclusives.
They probably already own a system based on their willingness to be early adopters of a mid-gen refresh even when cheaper options are available.
Positive buzz for hardware obviously exists. The PS4 and XBox 360 widely benefited from this during their first few years, but what sells consoles over a long period of time is primarly availability of few, widely marketed titles (think CoD, AC, Fifa, GTA) and what their friends play on.
It's why the Wii U, lacking CoD, Fifa etc., could never appeal to a mainstream audience, while the Wii could.
It's why, even though the PS3 started selling better later in the last gen, they still couldn't flip the US and the UK, where the XBox brand was stronger.
What we'll see, as has been the case for the Pro and the base PS4, is the base hardware (in this case the S) still be the driving force behind hardware sales, while premium hardware will be more profitable per capita from a software and service spending standpoint.
Which really, shouldn't affect your enjoyment of it, it's still going to get support from MS and you're still going to get more games (I wasn't as lucky with the Vita, *sigh).
However, you shouldn't expect it to be a hit with mainstream audiences specifically, since they tend to buy consoles for different reasons than you do.
