Why release the Xbox One X

[Ranger03]

it's the equivalent of giving a child an atari 7800 then giving their sister an NES. the point is, why have preference over the original console and create jealousy within the community?

[Flojomojo]

Because 2013 was five years ago?

 

They're pretty good about backwards compatibility, and arguably the cheaper system is the better financial deal. Nobody has to upgrade until they're ready.

 

Wouldn't a better question be, why not?

[Lost Dragon]

I would of gone for the same question..Why not?

 

Since the Xbox One launched, Sony ran with the 'Most Powerful Console' marketing angle, lot of meaningless fuss online over PS4 games running in 1080P and Xbox One versions running in 900P

.

 

Shoe is firmly on the other foot now with the Xbox One X being slightly ahead of the PS4 in terms of power.

 

Plus..4K TV's are a lot more commonplace in homes now and if you want the best gaming experience without the fuss of a PC...you have 2 higher end options to choose from in the console market.

 

Plus..developers always say they need more power for later generation games..The X and Pro models give them that so things don't have to be scaled back as far from the PC versions.

 

 

If you can sell more hardware to new and existing customers without them feeling their old hardware is obsolete. ..go for it.

 

MS and Sony handled enhanced hardware better than Atari did with the STE..

 

I was an STFM owner when Atari annouced the STE..STFM to be phased out..games written to take full advantage of the STE hardware..i felt i owned yesterday's machine.....Until i saw how little the STE hardware was used by the development community.

[spacecadet]

I don't see why it should create jealousy in the community. They both run the same games. It's hardly the same as NES vs. 7800. It's more like A/V NES vs. original NES.

[+Gemintronic]

The half step console generation IS pointless. Are people really getting zealous about "pro" versions of the same console?

[Gentlegamer]

Since neither xXboxX nor PS4 Pro have adopted a 60 fps standard, there is no point.

[Austin]

Since neither xXboxX nor PS4 Pro have adopted a 60 fps standard, there is no point.

XBOX is most certainly moving in that direction and has been for a while, as stated by the head of Microsoft's gaming division.

[PhoenixMoonPatrol]

Because some people don't wanna own a PSPro that sounds like a hair dryer out of control?

Also the graphics are real perrrrrrdy at 4K with HDR.

it's the equivalent of giving a child an atari 7800 then giving their sister an NES. the point is, why have preference over the original console and create jealousy within the community?

[zzip]

The biggest issue with this type of upgrade is it dilutes the advantage of consoles over PC.

 

With PC there're tons of different possible hardware configurations, and it's difficult to optimize for them all. So PC games are never as optimized as well as they could be.

 

With a console, there's one hardware target, you can squeeze those extra CPU cycles out because you know exactly how many there will be, rearrange your pipeline to get the most performance, you know how many cores there are, and what speed they run at so you can arrange your threads accordingly.

 

This is why consoles consistently outperform PCs with similar specs

 

Creating mid-generation updates complicates that. Now you have to optimize for two different systems and the systems may require different optimization strategies.

 

Plus if an older game has tight timings based on the original hardware, will it still run OK on the souped up hardware? I know the PS4 Pro has a PS4 compatibility mode that slows the processors to the same speed as the original to deal with this. Not sure if the XB1X does the same.

[Hannacek]

The half step console generation IS pointless. Are people really getting zealous about "pro" versions of the same console?

 

It is pointless, but no one has the job at a big corporation of deciding to not do things. People have the job of creating new products to make more money.

 

The real reason both Sony and Microsoft released half generation consoles is because of the way chip manufacturing works. After 5 years, it was no longer profitable to keep making the same CPU/GPU chips using what was after 5 years outdated manufacturing. They had a decision to make, shrink the die and make a smaller more efficient cost reduced console (which they could release as the slim model), or they keep the die the same size and add more horsepower and release it as the pro model. Both companies choose to do both, and release a cost reduced slim model, and also a pro version.

 

The reason the PS4 pro doesn't have a 4k Blu ray is because it uses the same drive as the slim model to save money. A lot of this stuff is logical is you understand how big companies work. They have a price point they want to sell the product at, and they have a profit margin they need to keep.

[slab0meat]

What is wrong, exactly, with more (and improved) options?

[Flojomojo]

The biggest issue with this type of upgrade is it dilutes the advantage of consoles over PC.

 

It's still a tidy, managed box under the television, much simpler than even a simple PC. I like consoles for that reason.

[youxia]

 

It's still a tidy, managed box under the television, much simpler than even a simple PC. I like consoles for that reason.

 

I'm not so sure anymore. My last console was PS3 but even then it was polluted by faffing with logins, stores and the insufferable updates. Most likely this is even worse now.

 

The old switch on/put the game in/play simplicity of the old-gen that I really appreciated (even though I am a PC head through and through) is not there anymore.

[Flojomojo]

I'm not so sure anymore. My last console was PS3 but even then it was polluted by faffing with logins, stores and the insufferable updates. Most likely this is even worse now.

 

The old switch on/put the game in/play simplicity of the old-gen that I really appreciated (even though I am a PC head through and through) is not there anymore.

 

For the most part the updates take place in the background or while you're sleeping, but yeah it's no longer like a toaster, it's more like doing laundry now.

[pacman000]

I don't leave consoles plugged in. I had a Wii & a Wii U plugged in for a few years, but there are only so many ports on my TV, & those wires were a tangled mess.

 

So, yeah, no updating while I'm asleep.