| EricHiggin said: To keep the old Pro consoles relevant in the upcoming next gens, assuming that's what you wanted, the best thing to do would likely be what MS has done when it comes to next gen (present) hardware. Assuming the tech keeps advancing like it has or even faster. I was one of very few who thought replacing the XB1X with a new version, with new hardware as a low tier next gen console was a good idea for this very reason. Now you have to be careful about making sure the hardware isn't too weak but also that its not too expensive. The XBSS has the right ballpark price at $299, but is ever so slightly lacking in some hardware, though it's no doubt a better option than the XB1X overall. Let the console gamers who care about lower prices play next gen games with next gen hardware, just let them play those games at reduced fidelity. This way they have a choice. If you want the best 4k and overall experience, you've gotta pay for the XBSX. If you don't and just want to play next gen games at reasonable fidelity for cheap, get the XBSS. With more recent impressive upscaling tech, this makes even more sense for the lower end SKU. It makes sense, if that's what you're going for. If MS wasn't also planning to introduce cloud based gaming asap, a hard push to get people onto next gen hardware would be smart. If you compare the value of the XB1 at launch for $500, or even the XB1X at $500, vs the XBSS at launch for $300, then it's a no brainer to upgrade if you can get the cash. The only thing a company can really do to help those out who can't upgrade, is also what MS is doing with cross gen, but that hinders game progress. Cloud however may fix this problem in due time, perhaps. It depends a lot on cloud gaming and how that goes. Game Pass as well. The better they do, cloud more so, the less reason to upgrade your hardware. Unless MS makes a change like Win 11 and forces you to get more recent hardware to use the service. Maybe, maybe not. Even then you'll have a cheaper option and I wouldn't doubt you'd eventually have the choice of a new Xcloud SKU for much cheaper than the XBSS. |
I totally agree with you. I upgraded from the One X to the Series S, and it was an undeniable upgrade overall. Yes, the One X had 2 GB more RAM, and it had a better texture fill rate, but the vastly better CPU and storage on the Series S is a game changer. Quick Resume, and very short load times, did more for it as an upgrade than anything the One X did for me as an upgrade. And it did it with a smaller and more efficient footprint. It truly felt like a next-gen upgrade compared to the One X, as the Series S offered so many QOL improvements.
That said, something like Microsoft Flight Simulator (among others) could probably be made to run on it. Heck, there's a poker game that's Series X|S-only, which surely would run on the One X? And it just feels like a shame that none of this does. Because even as people upgrade, those One X units are being passed on to other people. I loaned my One X out to a co-worker who's having fun with it, and is eagerly awaiting Forza Horizon 5 on Tuesday.
And Microsoft cares less about how much hardware they sell, and more about how many people remain plugged into their services. So offering as many of their services to as much of their old hardware as reasonably possible sounds like a good goal. But I guess it's a matter of return on investment, if the unit sales being speculated about here are anything close to correct. It sounds like the One X did sell enough to be worth customizing code for if you're also doing a regular Xbox One version, but not enough to write code from scratch for if you're otherwise only doing a Series X|S version. Bummer.
