with the release of PC's with console like form factor along with portable handhelds, is there really a need for Xbox hardware and Xbox branding specifically for Microsoft and Windows OS?
I think Xbox was a stepping stone that was needed to get us where we are at now, but I really dont see the need for it anymore. I think Xbox needs to be dismantled, because you will literally have hardware refreshes every year for PC console form factor along with handhelds from NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, and soon Qualcomm. Microsoft will literally win the hardware wars on titiflops, gigmahertz, ray beams etc every fucking year.
Sony (along with Nintendo)*do* need to make hardware refreshes every 4-5 years, because well....they are not Microsoft
That's actually a pretty bold statement. I don't know if I can quite picture MS just stop making consoles altogether, not just yet. There's still one more gen in them on that front. I'm thinking they basically take another stab at the Steam Machines concept, but actually put their backing behind it, unlike Valve. I also think they'll leverage their Surface device line as a way to design a lower-cost (well, kind of) Xbox device that can also be used like a laptop, and maybe they have the more powerful Xbox that can have an upgradable GPU (via some type of eGPU add-on; mini-tower form factor for a console wouldn't fly) and some PC-like expansions including upgradable system RAM.
Giving up the console end altogether would mean MS also has to give up the higher-priced GamePass Ultimate (since you don't need to pay for online on PC), XBL Gold (granted they may be considering phasing that out right now anyway), 30% cut off of 3P software sales AND DLC/MTX content revenue cuts, too. That's a lot less revenue from Xbox division, maybe too much in all honesty, and I don't think they could be a competitive enough storefront against Steam to use that as their new revenue stream (also don't think they'll be able to buy Steam, for monopolistic concerns). So for those reasons alone they'll probably still want to make 10th-gen consoles.
Instead of game development on x86 PC, Xbox, and ARM, take out Xbox, and you are left making games using DirectX12Ultimate-WIndowsOS for x86 and ARM from the ground up.
I mean, I guess. But they technically already target a generic DX12U environment for their game development as-is, now that they unified everything in the GDK. They wouldn't have to optimize specifically for Xbox consoles anymore, true, but compared to everything they lose out on, it wouldn't seem like a good trade-off.
The point about ARM is interesting tho, because if ARM can actually see some big advancements (either through MS, AMD, or both) and it can run the x86 microcode with little penalty, they could (and the same goes for Sony) use it for their 10th gen systems rather than x86-64 CPUs. But that's a big "if" for right now.
A good way to transition from Xbox to PC console form factor is by using the microsoft account, and taking your purchased downloads, and DVDs/BluRays from Xbox and transition into something that is already purchased from the Microsoft store, along with your saved progress of the game (in the cloud), and literally play anywhere you want: PC handheld, PC Desktop, PC console. You could say being ubiquitous?
It's a good idea, the problem tho is a Microsoft Account doesn't require a subscription the way XBL Gold or GamePass does, so this would just be Microsoft doing this for free, essentially, or at least that's how I read it. Which would basically put Xbox in the deep red revenue-wise, so I don't know if that can be done.
They could do this, though, basically as an extension of what they do right now but with hardware of their own.
I wish there was a Windows OS for smart TVs, instead of Android, so there can be some sort of seamless transition-recognition-optimized experience from the PC desktop/handheld/console form factor.
I honestly dont see the need for Xbox and its branding anymore, I am seeing the future through a Window(s)
I can see where you're coming from, but ultimately I still think there's a purpose for Xbox in the hardware space (and therefore, in the OS and services space, too): it allows MS to retain vertical integration and control of things up and down the pipeline, and is probably the best way for them to maximize revenue. They can't really do this going software-only because on PC, for example, MS may own the OS but it's Valve who actually own the storefront in Steam, so MS are always going to be beholden to Valve in that dynamic.
Just like how if they go software-only in the console space, they'd be 100% beholden to Sony and Nintendo, whereas otherwise they at least can use Xbox as some leverage. If they want a more hardware-agnostic future where they can have their cake and eat it too, though, I think they will just design the OS for their next consoles in a way where you get almost the degree of functionality you can get with Windows on PC, but where competing storefronts like Steam, GOG and EGS are still not usable.
So they could do things like whitelisting use & functionality of their Windows apps on a future Xbox, whitelist 3P productivity Windows apps for Xbox (graphic design, audio, video editing, text document, spreadsheets, CAD etc.) etc. MS always wanted Windows on Xbox, and every generation they've added more and more Windows functionality to Xbox consoles. With 10th gen they could have systems in a design sense and OS sense that get as close as possible to finally doing that in full minus having competing gaming storefronts accessible.
That seems like a direction they might consider going in.
Looks non-gaming related. combining ARM/AMD in a package is wild. This goes in hand with AMD's investment in Xilinx's FPGAs.
Kind of turns the SOC into a motherboard.
Yeah for now, it's specifically focused on markets like AI, enterprise and the such, not gaming. However, it's not hard to see it being used in gaming systems for 10th gen at all; AMD are already building a beefy chiplet package with the MI300, Intel have Ponte Vecchio etc. Not hard to see that type of tech having design elements introduced in future gaming GPU products, among other new (to gaming) technologies.
But it's going to be very important in the future for computing, let alone consoles, especially as the limits are node shrinks are being reached.
I think the more you offset redundant mundane tasks\overhead from CPU to co-processors or controllers or accelerators (whatever you want to call it), the more the CPU will be dedicated to hi-fidelity graphics.
Example, I/O SSD for XsX|S and PS5 for compression/decompression using controllers. It would take something like 10 Zen 2 cores or something to get the same results (forgot the exact number)
Can anyone think of controllers\accelerators\dedicated hardware that would be useful for XsXPro and PS5Pro? (Besides machine learning cores, and more efficient raytracing cores)
Well, I think you could see things like things usually dedicated to the Southbridge chip integrated into an active interposer; I think there's some wild stuff Sony could do in that regard that would be really neat and fit their design scope. Microsoft would probably take a bit different approach but still offer a lot of the same functionality.
PNM logic will help a lot at system-wide data management and cutting down traffic of data across the memory bus (which uses the most power in any system, much more than actual arithmetic calculations for example). Otherwise I think the GPUs in the 10th-gen consoles will be capable enough to handle a lot of particular tasks through raw GPGPU asynchronous compute, much more than the current systems can.
Because also keep in mind that things like mesh shading will become more used this gen, and those benefit from compute. In fact I think with 10th-gen systems we'll finally have 1:1 photorealism in the big AAA games.
