Xbox One - A foundation for an iterative console?

[trainplane]

With the release of the Xbox One, MS is probably starting to think about the Xbox One Two. Could the Xbox one be the start of an iterative console? Many reasons exist why this could be the way forward.

• Xbox One is essentially an x86 PC and hardware upgrades will consist mostly of CPU/GPU/Memory subsystem upgrades.
• Like the iPad and PC, games can be written to be cross compatible. This will solve the issue launch consoles have of few games.
• A shorter upgrade cycle produces more frequent console launch excitement like the iPad has every year. In this case, it could be every 2-3 years or so.
• Like the iPad, Xbox One and Xbox One Two can be sold together, one as the value unit and the other as the premium. As Xbox One Three comes out, it then become the premium and the previous one becomes the value.
• Developers will no longer have to worry about small install base if their games can run on 2-3 hardware generations.
• Steam will do this more or less, so MS (and Sony) need to compete on the same level. The seven year cycle is too long.

 

[Pete]

I don't think that a long refresh cycle is at all a bad thing. The games being produced for the 360 continued to technically get better and better (GTA V and BF4 are prime examples).

Xbox One is a great platform which will continue to create increasingly rich experiences for many years to come.

 

[Keith Wallace]

We definitely need to see that:

1. The One can get big performance improvements, so it can hit 1080p by next holiday season.
2. External HDD is enough when games are as big as they are.

I'd rather see this cycle last about 5 years, because I don't have the strongest faith in the hardware. I don't know how they can squeeze 10 years out of a machine that has games stuttering under 40 FPS at 720p like Dead Rising does.

 

[Polychrome]

I've wondered this myself. It seems that some games that use the cloud service will also be on PC.

I think the end-goal has always been to loop it back to the PC and consolidate everything. Steam has definitely helped, but they can't be expected to do Microsoft's work for them.

 

[ncxcstud]

Alright, I've played a ton of Dead Rising 3. It doesn't stutter. When you hit a mass of zombies you definitely slow down because well... there are about 50 zombies in front of your car.

We definitely need to see that:

1. The One can get big performance improvements, so it can hit 1080p by next holiday season.
2. External HDD is enough when games are as big as they are.

I'd rather see this cycle last about 5 years, because I don't have the strongest faith in the hardware. I don't know how they can squeeze 10 years out of a machine that has games stuttering under 40 FPS at 720p like Dead Rising does.

 

[trainplane]

I don't think that a long refresh cycle is at all a bad thing. The games being produced for the 360 continued to technically get better and better (GTA V and BF4 are prime examples).

Xbox One is a great platform which will continue to create increasingly rich experiences for many years to come.

If MS (and Sony) releases consoles every 2-3 years like the iPad, Surface, etc, it doesn't mean people who buy the XB1 need to upgrade. Just like not everyone who buys an iPad 3 need the iPad 5. Only those who care about the latest graphics and features will upgrade. Apple has proven there is enough of an audience for getting the latest even if it isn't needed. The important thing is that consoles going forward are cross-compatible, which has never been the case before. People who keep the XB1 for 7-8 years can still play the latest games, just at lower settings and reduced framerate.

 

[Keith Wallace]

Not the same. Mobile devices often run the same OS, while consoles change it up every time. Those who don't get a new console get shut out of a LOT of games after a couple of years, if not immediately (like Ryse and Forza 5). Additionally, consoles are expensive. Part of the making-up for selling the consoles at a loss early on is that they drop in manufacturing costs over time. If companies constantly release new consoles, they risk wasting expensive stock AND keeping manufacturing costs high. It also means a rising cost of R&D, as they release more and more consoles.

Truth be told, the people who suggest a short-term hardware cycle have that solution already, and it's called a PC. If you want your hardware to refresh sooner, rather than later, getting a PC is the solution there. Consoles don't have their hardware strained as much as PCs do, which is why you saw static hardware with improving visuals over the 7- and 8-year console cycles. You can't play Battlefield 4 on a 7- or 8-year old PC, but you can do it on a console.

 

[Mystictrust]

Alright, I've played a ton of Dead Rising 3. It doesn't stutter. When you hit a mass of zombies you definitely slow down because well... there are about 50 zombies in front of your car.

haha, yup! Thanks for posting this. I don't have any stuttering at all... was just kind of afraid to state that anywhere out of fear of being "attacked" and accused of lying to protect the Xbox One or cover up shortcomings or whatever other garbage is being spewed out there these days.

I'm basically scratching my head here and waiting for the part where I see stuttering. There are times when I'm not sure there can physically BE anymore zombies around me and the game is smooth as butter. Have you experienced it yourself, Keith? When does it happen? Any particular chapter or part of the story or area of the city? Maybe there's a bug in a spot of the city.

On topic, didn't Microsoft say that XB1 will last 10 years or something? Unless they release new models with upgraded components... I guess it depends on how the machine is built and if components even can be upgraded without messing with the entire architecture and giving it compatibility issues

 

[trainplane]

Developers can produce games that run on multiple versions of a system, with different graphic effects turned on and off. It's been done with PCs and it can be done with consoles easier when there is only 2-3 pieces of hardware to target versus many on the PC. You can still get low level with 2-3 similar hardware targets. The difference between a console and a PC is that the console is a closed system and is simple to use. People compare consoles and PC's a lot but a PC isn't just a more powerful console. It is something entirely different in many ways. Consoles are in more ways similar to an iPad, a closed system with one company controlling the experience.

And R&D for future versions of the Xbox will be much less. It's basically now an x86 with slightly modified parts. MS continues to upgrade the Surface every year and you'll see the Steambox get upgraded every year. Future versions of the Xbox will be iterative upgrades rather than generational restarts that we've seen in the past.

 

[MobileVortex]

Developers can produce games that run on multiple versions of a system, with different graphic effects turned on and off. It's been done with PCs and it can be done with consoles easier when there is only 2-3 pieces of hardware to target versus many on the PC. You can still get low level with 2-3 similar hardware targets. The difference between a console and a PC is that the console is a closed system and is simple to use. People compare consoles and PC's a lot but a PC isn't just a more powerful console. It is something entirely different in many ways. Consoles are in more ways similar to an iPad, a closed system with one company controlling the experience.

And R&D for future versions of the Xbox will be much less. It's basically now an x86 with slightly modified parts. MS continues to upgrade the Surface every year and you'll see the Steambox get upgraded every year. Future versions of the Xbox will be iterative upgrades rather than generational restarts that we've seen in the past.

This is defiantly how i see things going ahead. I've said it in many threads, there will be a new xbox in 2018.