PS4/X1 should have been more powerful, mainly after an historically long gen that was ps3/x360/wii with full 8 years. PS4 already were outdated when it released. This generation machines are extremely boring.

What I defend is a PS3 like strategy, release state of art technology for the price it need to be and cut the price when it gets cheaper to produce. The game thing with VR sets in my opinion. It`s a good thing they are expensive so they don`t have to compromise functionalities in order to be affordable.

If your console buying price point is 400 USD or 300 USD wait til the price comes down to the level you believe is right, waiting two or three years to your system of choice to get there won`t kill you.

I also think Switch pricing is good, there were an outcry because it was 299 USD but if were to be cheaper the compromises would be too big.

And if this gen were going to be a 5 year cycle i wouldn`t complain this much, but they are aiming for another 8 year generation and releasing mid-gen upgrades to try to keep it going ( it looks so much with what Sega did to Genesis/Mega Drive). We shouldn`t even be talking about Scorpio or Ps4 pro, we should already be speculating about Xbox One Two and PS5, like people already were talking about NX in 2016.

Extremely underpowered? Bullshit. Obviously they don't compare to, say a $1200 Custom built PC but plenty of games look absolutely stunning on a base PS4/xb1 regardless of theoretical performance on paper.  Let's not start paying for $6-700 PC consoles.

If they released a $700 console, then within 3 years just like now people would call it underpowered.

If consoles start approaching PC prices, then people will just become PC gamers. That is an awful idea and the notion that someone supports 700 consoles is deplorable. Fuck outta here!

Let me also add that these mid-gen upgrades are extremely unnecessary. I mean, EXTREMELY! These upgrades are not offering the graphical upgrades people thought and they are not really adding anything to game play. People should go back to playing games for the joy as opposed to social status.

You got it all wrong. There is nothing wrong with the price and power of the consoles. What is wrong is how developers think all they should do is push tech. Making original or diferent games instead of FPS and open-world only could tap into many markets. Ideally, the tech not beeing cutting edge and beeing cheaper would allow for more genres to re-emerge again and be profitible. But, the focus on big tech and big profit leads the market to a dead-end where consumers aren't willing to pay more, but game makers need to sell more.

Basically, everyone should chill the hell down and focus on making fun games.

I think they always have to have a $200 device on the market. Whether it be last gen getting continued support or the new gen getting an extreme budget option, they haveto have an entry level device.

With that said, I think having multiple Sku's for PS5 would be great. I would pay $1000 for a decked out console, with more RAM for higher resolutions and better multi-tasking, more inputs, and a higher end version of the same CPU/GPU tech found in the lower end models.

The market is definitely changing. It will be very interesting to see what kind of hardware offerings come in the future. One thing I think is for sure though. You can not compete i todays market with a static piece of hardware, or an OS/Chipset that is limited to one form factor. How Sonyand Nintendo address that to remain competitive is yet to be seen. Microsoft will compete via Surface Phone, Surface Pro, Surface Book, Surface Home (Scorpio), and Surface Studio. I think the other two will have to follow a very similar formula.

When I played Monster Hunter on 3DS, I immediately thought, "how in the world is PS4 power not enough to do anything? This game is huge and beautiful and full and it is limited to 3DS" this whole, "we need more power" stance is a lie and customers need to start telling develpers no with their money. They will not, but they should.

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said.

Precisely.

No matter what specs consoles have, they're going to be outshone by a PC in 2-3 years. So either $250 is a "waste" or $700 is a "waste". I know which one I pick.

I think what some people haven't realized is that the whole teraflops nonsesne is just silly. Now more so than ever.

PR has always cooked up new and improved ways to make gamers want that next best thing. Once it was sprites, then polygons.... but those things became less relevant when hardware was pushing more than was needed. And thats the same thing that will happen with teraflops or more specificaly resolution.

We can all talk boosts as much as we want, but I sincerely feel that by the next gen, graphical quality or resolution and framerates wouldn't be how games are told apart.

I don't know if I agre with the whole nintendo thing though, cause I don't think that there is anything wrong with what sony and MS are doing for gaming too. But I am with you that the chase for more power should not be a prority. My issue with nintendo though is that they seem to always be a generation behind. To say what they are doing is good is kinda disingenious cause you are looking at two extremes of the same situation. Nintendo may innovate in usage scenario and control interfaces, but sony and MS are innovating in hardware engineering and performance. Those two different things are very important.

The market is not changing as evidenced by the fact that very few people (in the grand scheme of things) care about th PS4Pro. My guess is that Sony will never do a mid-gen refresh again.