Should Xbox End their Generation Early?

[Mnementh]

haxxiy said:

The main problem with an early release is that a generational leap (say, 4090-tier hardware at console prices) isn't there. If you're lucky, a 2025-2026 release will get you a very early and expensive N2 with no backside power delivery, but more likely just N3. The latter is only twice as efficient and dense as the N7 node used in the 9th gen consoles. Not good enough unless you want to rely heavily on FG/ML upscaling.

Mind, the problem doesn't get much better in 2028, but at least by then some of this stuff will get a bit cheaper, and people will be more likely to take what they can get if they've been gaming for 5+ years in the same hardware. Maybe it works if you just want a reboot of the brand to play the same games at higher resolutions and framerates - I don't know, that's sort of what the Pro consoles are for already.

I don't think going for more power is going very well currently. There are certainly indications the current AAA productions are in trouble, signified by the massive layoffs. Games got too expensive to produce and too many are going after always the same models - if a game is successful 10 big companies try to copy that model as an AAA game. Given that game development at this level now take six years or longer, they arrive mostly once the hype is over. So you get a lot of failing AAA games: Forspoken, Immortals af Aveum, Babylons Fall, Redfall and so on. This is not sustainable. The big companies need to change and I think the hunt for the best in graphics has to end. That also is at a point, where new advancements in chip tech is no longer a given and prices stay stable or even increase. I think betting on the most powerful system next gen might be not the best choice. Especially since the power hungry gamers are already mostly aligned with PS anyways and will pick it even if the XBox ends up being a bit more powerful. And much more powerful will not work, as the tech is not available at a reasonable price.