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[Bernoulli]

I still don't believe that xbox won't release a pro console, but in the case they don't would it be a good strategy to release the next gen console 1 or 2 years earlier than the competition during 2026

The only bad thing i see is games that really use the hardware power

Edit what about doing a portable version of the Series S

 

[X-Wing]

Series hasn’t even started getting traction and you already want them to release a new console? Clearly there isn’t that much interest in Xbox. Xbox will become a service in the future

 

[T0minator]

I could see not releasing a Pro version of Xbox being an issue only if games like GTA6 comes out around the time of PS5 Pro and is marketed to be the definitive version. That could be a big misstep for MS. PS 1st party games like Wolverine will probably take full advantage of a Pro version, that'll be another nice draw to upgrade

Marketing wise Xbox needs something to help push console sales for the rest of the gen, unless MS is already lowering their motivations to out console Sony and Nintendo and will mainly focus on getting their subs up, if that's the case then no they won't have a Pro and continue to offer Day 1 games that will get people to subscribe to GP

 

[Bernoulli]

I could see not releasing a Pro version of Xbox being an issue only if games like GTA6 comes out around the time of PS5 Pro and is marketed to be the definitive version. That could be a big misstep for MS. PS 1st party games like Wolverine will probably take full advantage of a Pro version, that'll be another nice draw to upgrade

Marketing wise Xbox needs something to help push console sales for the rest of the gen, unless MS is already lowering their motivations to out console Sony and Nintendo and will mainly focus on getting their subs up, if that's the case then no they won't have a Pro and continue to offer Day 1 games that will get people to subscribe to GP

Financially it would be better for them to focus on day 1 GP games than lose millions on a pro that would be sold at loss

 

[Perrott]

I don't know if it would be a good strategy or not, but what I do know is that there's no chance in hell that they put out next-gen on the streets just around the time in which they'd only begin to enjoy of a steady cadence of releases for games conceived around this gen's specs.

 

[supernova8]

Objectively speaking, no because they would still be constrained by the fact that they already promised to release all of their titles not only Series X but also Series S (and then also PC for most of those).

Subjectively speaking, sure why not. I have a Series S and my plan is to upgrade to a Series X once I see a steady stream of games that make said upgrade seem worthwhile, and if at that time the Xbox Series X Elite (or whatever) is out I'd probably just get that instead.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I think they'll just release a new xbox in like 2025 - 2026 and both companies will move away from releasing around the same time.

Well potentially.

As long as any upgraded machine offers a significant step up over the original, then all good.

 

[Caio]

That would be a catastrophe for XBox, and it will never happen.

 

[Bernoulli]

I think they'll just release a new xbox in like 2025 - 2026 and both companies will move away from releasing around the same time.

Well potentially.

As long as any upgraded machine offers a significant step up over the original, then all good.

I like this
The older consoles can still get the games but scaled down graphics nd release a new console each 3-4 years

 

[Fredrik]

Nope. I think they just have to take the L and try to do better next generation. If they go early they’ll just end up in a scenario where they go between AMD’s big CPU/GPU upgrades, then Sony can say ”the real next generation starts when we say it starts” and people will wait for the next PS instead. Happened to DC. Would’ve happened with 360 but MS got lucky when Sony used Cell.

 

[Drizzlehell]

The best strategy for them would be to release a console that's 8 times as powerful as anything that we have on the market now, they expand their library with full backwards compatibility for all games released for Xbox consoles, releasing at least 3 new IPs that will be killer apps on par with the original Halo and Gears of War, and then each console would come with a lifetime Gamepass Ultimate subscription, a box of Cadbury Creme Eggs and a signed photo of Todd Howard.

If they'd do that, I would probably be convinced to sell all my gaming hardware and vow my undying allegiance to the cult of Xbox, inked in blood on a black goat's skin parchment, of course.

 

[SHA]

With monstrous specs, hell yeah!

 

[SHA]

With Bethesda and Activision they could release a new crash that could rival the swan song of ps5.

 

[X-Wing]

I like this
The older consoles can still get the games but scaled down graphics nd release a new console each 3-4 years

That’s not happening. Developers are already telling you that having to scale to a weaker SKU (Series S) is an issue.

 

[theStartupSound]

When I look at the current generation and how the games coming out there are not that mind blowing in terms of “this looks insane compared to PS4/XBO era”, I don’t see Xbox can offer anything that stands out apart from the higher price.

 

[Ar¢tos]

The best strategy for them would be to release a console that's 8 times as powerful as anything that we have on the market now, they expand their library with full backwards compatibility for all games released for Xbox consoles, releasing at least 3 new IPs that will be killer apps on par with the original Halo and Gears of War, and then each console would come with a lifetime Gamepass Ultimate subscription, a box of Cadbury Creme Eggs and a signed photo of Todd Howard.

If they'd do that, I would probably be convinced to sell all my gaming hardware and vow my undying allegiance to the cult of Xbox, inked in blood on a black goat's skin parchment, of course.

No Spencer's panties? Or those are only for the Ambassador's Edition?

 

[KungFucius]

Maybe. I mean why not move away from generations? They tried to do that this gen. If they release something more powerful but all games run on Series too, they could keep people happy and try to attract more people to Gamepass. The only problem is that the XSS will really hold them back.

 

[Sakura]

There wouldn't be a big enough difference between the new Xbox and the current Series X. And especially not compared to a PS5 Pro.
It wouldn't sell.

 

[Horseganador]

With Series S bothering me, I find it very difficult to release a mid-gen version (it would be absurd to have 3 machines of 4, 12 and 24? Tflops), launching a new generation in 2025-26 would directly kill the brand.

 

[Bernoulli]

That’s not happening. Developers are already telling you that having to scale to a weaker SKU (Series S) is an issue.

That's another issue
Microsoft went backwards by releasing a weaker console
The way to gonis keep releasing more powerful hardware

 

[Belthazar]

So... The same strategy Sega used for the Dreamcast? Eh, u don't think it'll work.

What'll happen is: they'll have a more advanced, but prohibitively expensive console, which will end up as the weaker console when PlayStation releases their next thing. So nobody will want it then. Also, as Xbox isn't really that popular it won't get enough traction for developers to make games that actually use that power until PlayStation has a console with similar specs.

 

[Freelance Yakuza]

The Xbox Series are far behind the PS5. I don't see the point of launching new hardware if you don't have a strong demand. Moreover, every game must work on Series S too, so your new hardware will be dragged down.

 

[bad guy]

Players will just wait 1-2 years for the PlayStation expecting it to also release soon And AAA games won't use the power because of the massive last gen player base.

 

[drganon]

Nope.

 

[The Fuzz damn you!]

This has been MS’s stated goal for a while. Do away with “generations” and have constant hardware iterations. Of course, XOX didn’t work out the way they wanted in that regard, but still the XSX’s very modular design would allow for the easy swapping in/out of components with each refresh, if that’s the direction they chose to take. It fits well with their backwards-compatibility focus, it’s hyper visor OS approach, and it’s stated desire to be able to claim the upper and lower ends and have the “most powerful” as well as the “cheapest” console on the market.

The problem with all of this, of course, is that it ignores the strength of the console as a platform. A single spec allows for much more economical development and much more performant optimisation. They want to treat the console space like the PC space and, to date, it really hasn’t worked out for them. I think they’ll keep trying. Single-spec optimisations can, maybe, be overcome with incremental power upgrades, but generation-specific features / gimmicks have worked pretty damn well for both Sony and Nintendo.

Yeah, I think it would hurt them. Mostly, I think this because Nintendo and Sony are not pursuing this line of hardware development, and they seem to understand the console business better than either Microsoft or myself. I’ll defer to their judgement on this one.

 

[jroc74]

I voted yeah, might as well.

What else do they have to lose? While I dont think MS will release a mid gen refresh I would be shocked if they really thought a stronger console in 2020 would be the equivalent to an actual mid gen refresh....as if tech doesn't improve as the years go by.

 

[ManaByte]

I still don't believe that xbox won't release a pro console, but in the case they don't would it be a good strategy to release the next gen console 1 or 2 years earlier than the competition during 2026

The only bad thing i see is games that really use the hardware power

I still don’t see Sony doing a Pro, or it’ll be a huge mistake.

The PS5 was supply constrained for 2020-2022. People couldn’t find the system. They finally got consoles on store shelves in 2023 and people are able to finally buy the console, but then in 2024 Sony’s like “Fuck you, buy the Pro!” That’s a 32X level optics mistake.

 

[reinking]

I think they should stay on pace with Sony so they can leverage COD when the time is right. If they start trying to release early or do other weird things, they still risk people buying PS6/7 at their releases. Releasing the Xbox whatthefudgeever with a COD incentive against the Sony console might be enough to convert some COD fans over to Xbox. Especially if they give them all of the back catalogue with GPU.

 

[damidu]

they are in no position to start console generations, they are distant third.

and sony releasing a weaker, more expensive console a year later like ps3 won’t happen again.

if they launch early, they’ll be just leapfrogged a year later.

 

[theStartupSound]

While I don’t think, that releasing a new generation early is a good plan, I don’t think that they would need to keep their Series S promise then because this promise was only made for the current generation, right?

 

[Banjo64]

It doesn’t matter when they launch, the only thing that will right the ship is tight quality control and regularly releasing quality games, and some of them need to be of the calibre of Zelda, Mario Kart, Smash, Uncharted, TLoU and GoW.

 

[Seider]

No Playstation 6 till 2028.

 

[skneogaf]

I haven't seen anything from either playstation 5 or xbox series x that feels like it has maximised their potential.

PlayStation 5 pro makes more sense as playstation fanatics even think the playstation 5 looks nice yet its by far the ugliest wobbliest console I've ever owned.

I'd buy a playstation 5 pro just to get rid of my non pro.

If xbox and playstation do release a pro console I want it to be £999 and be ridiculously powerful in comparison to the non pro versions.

 

[Roufianos]

No because then they'll spend 2 years ahead and 5 behind in terms of tech. Song will release a much better box a couple of years later.

 

[VectorVictor]

Folks saying the Series S is a millstone around Microsoft’s neck for this gen are forgetting that Microsoft made the parity rules, and Microsoft can undo the pairity rules.

We’ve already seen Microsoft go to steaming-only versions of titles for upcoming games if someone has an XOX or XB1, so why not eventually move the Series S to a streaming gaming box and introduce a more powerful console?

As long as the games are still compatible, then Microsoft can start their next gen whenever—devs can scale for the previous couple of consoles, and anything earlier can utilize streaming.

 

[RickMasters]

nah. I think we will get next gen consoles in 2028. they will have a mid cycle refresh. just because its not being talked about doesnt mean its not being worked on. and hopefully we dont see that till 2025.

 

[Ulysses 31]

As long as it's backwards compatible.

 

[Varteras]

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

Earlier...later... doesn't matter, I don't want to see any hardware release from MS until they get their house in order.

They have so much IP it's a damn shame I barely ever turn on my XSX.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

without games nothing is a good strategy.

and their current games are talking forever to make, sooo they are fucked if they want to release a next-gen console two years early.

 

[Sanepar]

It will not make any diff since this gen will have a install base of more than 100 mi and games will be made around current consoles. It will work like a pro and not a new gen.

 

[ReBurn]

I think new consoles should release every 3-4 years so sure.

 

[Varteras]

I think

 

[MisterXDTV]

"Next-gen starts only when Sony says it does"

 

[Captain Toad]

History says no.

 

[Daniel_Mallorca1985]

No

 

[Aguero9320]

I hope the reason they aren't planning a Pro is because they want to get ahead of it, yes. Generations should be consigned to history.

They make zero sense any more. These things are basically easy to operate PCs anyway, and they don't release at the top end of PC specs when they do come out, so if you release one then wait seven years for another you're creaking around on mid range hardware from almost a decade ago. Which would seem to be insane in the tech business.

Just release a new one every year with spec bumps, like phones, and let people upgrade when they feel it is necessary. You can still support the hardware back for seven years if you want, people can call those generations if they need to.

Here's an idea everyone will love - hardware subscriptions! Monthly fee, new console every two years. You love it, right?

 

[ReBurn]

History says no.

The time between console releases wasn't what killed Sega's hardware business, though. You should replace the Dreamcast logo with 32x and $399.

 

[The Alien]

Sure. Why not.

If Sony wants COD on the PS6, XBox will have their dev kits early so they'll all but secure having the most powerful console 2 gens in a row.

 

[Dream-Knife]

They could, but generations really don't mean anything anymore. They're just prebuilt PCs that get updated every few years.

They might as well just release a new console every year or two and have minimum specs for games.