Based on the fact that some seem to think late 2019 would be acceptable, yet others really want a late 2020 launch, and few seem to be willing to wait for a 2021 launch, taking into account the odds of an 'XB2' launching before late 2020 at the earliest, or 2021, why not extend this gen even further and end with a bang?
Right now, one of the only things XB has over PS is the power crown. They also have games as a service, but I think we can agree that PS really isn't interested in that at all. Why not drop Pro altogether, and launch a new "Pro" like model, that takes back the power crown, even if only by 1-2TF? The odds of XB firing back in 2019 is slim to nil.
If I were PS, not only would I take back that power crown, but I would make sure, no matter what, that it matched the price of the XB1X, or was darn close. PS may very well need to subsidize it to make this possible, but it has the money to do so right now.
I don't see why this wouldn't make sense either, because there would be so many benefits.
-For those who want a Pro as it exists now, for $349, you have a couple of months after E3 2018 to buy one.
-If you haven't or won't buy a Pro, it's because your not that hardcore about specs, or your too hardcore, and want at least 6TF or more, at the most reasonable price possible.
-Some PS gamers left and are now solely playing on XB1X due to performance, so we might as well take them back.
-Some gamers are still playing both PS4 or Pro, and XB1X, so why not sell them another more capable console?
-Since 'XB2' more than likely isn't landing until holiday 2020 at the earliest, we have at least 2 years to sell this new model, if not 3, uncontested.
-This may very well force XB to announce 'XB2' early, like they did with Scorpio, which would give us a nice heads up for PS5.
-This may take pressure off of XB in a way, thinking they need to make sure they are ready for a PS5 come 2019, and may push them into waiting 3-4 years, meaning 'XB2' and PS5 can wait until 2020/2021 to launch.
-We've done a bunch of engineering already for the beefed up version of Neo (Pro), so why not go a little further and release a more capable console than the XB1X, for a similar price?
-Even if XB drops the price, we will just stay within $50, and who is going to worry about saving $50 this late in the gen if your going out of your way to buy a more capable console?
-Pro isn't making much money in terms of hardware, but has covered it's costs, so as long as the new upgraded version overshadows XB1X, for a small subsidy, who cares as long as it keeps selling tonnes of software and subs?
-Devs don't quite seem to be using Pro to it's full potential, yet XB1X seems to be getting used more so to it's potential, so maybe we need to go further and make sure the new model is more dev friendly.
-We can once again claim we are the most powerful console brand and care most about the gamer.
-We will be putting XB in a really really tough position, even more so than they are right now.
-We will be putting pressure on Nin and third party support do to widening the specs gap even further.
-We will be allowing PS5 to use more advanced tech that wouldn't be financially possible in the next year or two.
-We will break more sales records by extending the gen, not to mention making more money.
-We will break the trend by having the most powerful console win the gen.
-Etc.
There most certainly would be some downsides to this, like potentially subsidizing the new Pro model, but I would say the pro's far outweigh the con's. In this scenario, PS5 would need to be ready to launch around the same time as' XB2'. A holiday 2020 'XB2' release would probably mean getting the PS5 out early *2021 at the latest.
PS1 - ! - We must build a console that can alert our enemies.
PS2 - @- We must build a console that offers online living room gaming.
PS3 - #- We must build a console that’s powerful, social, costs and does everything.
PS4 - $- We must build a console that’s affordable, charges for services, and pumps out exclusives.
PRO -%-We must build a console that's VR ready, checkerboard upscales, and sells but a fraction of the money printer.
PS5 - ^ -We must build a console that’s a generational cross product, with RT lighting, and price hiking.
PRO -&- We must build a console that Super Res upscales and continues the cost increases.
