| scrapking said: I agree with Microsoft's naming convention suggesting a series of consoles with updates. The question is at what cadence, and whether they designed to be "pro" consoles of what came before, or a new generation each time (or perhaps whether they'll even alternate between those extremes). The span in between, and what past console iterations that developers are required to support, will tell the |
Seems the cadence has already been set.
Xbox One (2013) > Xbox One S (2016) > Xbox One X (2017) > Xbox One S Digital (2019) > Xbox Series X/Series S (2020).
And considering they all use the same software, controllers and games for the most part (My One X and Series X controllers are the same, except for the share button)... We are probably due for a new device for this 2023 year.
| scrapking said: As for pro consoles being justified, it's a question of two things IMO: is there a market for it (as there was for 4K-focused mid-gen refreshes last-gen), and can it be done economically. Those 5 and 3 nm processes you speak of, Microsoft has signalled that they'll reduce heat and size, but not reduce cost as those processes are expected to cost enough more that the increase in yields will at best compensate. Time will tell if Microsoft is proven correct, but at this point they're not anticipating big cost reductions in Series X|S and PS5. That makes a "pro" console that can be offered at a cost that drives market acceptance hard to come up with, if that prediction holds true. |
There doesn't need to be a market for it. It's what is called a "Halo" product.
It's why nVidia tries stupidly hard to have the fastest, most expensive GPU that 99.9% of people cannot justify buying or afford.
It's not because they have a market for it, but because it helps sell the rest of the product stack, it's what gets everyone talking, it's what is showcased.. And that is then associated with the brand.
5 and 3nm will reduce cost, you will get more chips per wafer. - TSMC will simply charge more until there is less competition for the node. Supply/Demand.
| scrapking said: As for those upgrades not breaking backwards compatibility, that was done in part through emulation of elements of past platforms. Even Xbox One on Xbox Series has an emulation layer, from what I understand. So Microsoft either needs a fully backwards compatible architecture, or a big enough power bump each time to emulate as necessary. |
They are abstracting and using virtualization for the most part, not emulating the Xbox One, except for a few key hardware features. (Like Xbox 360 texture formats as the Series X doesn't have hardware support, but the Xbox One does.)
Last edited by Pemalite - on 08 January 2023--::{PC Gaming Master Race}::--
