Microsoft told digital foundry that the Series X is their mid-gen refresh (DF direct Weekly #116)

At the risk of saying the obvious, If the things below aren't a factor for you, it's probably time to invest in a good PC.
- Money
- Couch gaming
- Technically illiterate

There can be arguments made that the points above are not an issue on PC.
 
Happy Big Brother GIF by MOODMAN


At this point you gotta start thinking Phil is TRYING to get canned
 
P. Spencer said "RIGTH NOW" ... That is, he refers to the current moment in which most people do not see a Pro console as adequate when the current ones have not begun to be squeezed properly.

Spencer statement couldn't make more logic in the business sense. If they had planned to launch a "Pro" console, for example, within two years, saying other things would have been surprising. Inviting people to wait for the announcement of an XBOX Series Z would be hitting the sales of the current X/S.

This Gen is outlier. The game developments are longer and everything indicates that this gen will be too. Time will tell, but I am clear that if Sony has a PS5 Pro, MS will also have an answer.

P.S. I remember that XBO X was released a year after PS4Pro

I think if another Xbox were in the works then Spencer wouldn't be saying anything at all. But.....we will see.
 
Xbox might release there next gen console before PS, skipping a mid gen. They might try the surprise method lol

If we continue the thought that this message isn't misunderstood and Series S was the supposed base model with Series X being the mid-gen refresh, then a Microsoft "next-gen" console would most likely be around whatever Sony cooks up as a Mid-gen refresh...
I completely switched over to the PC ecosystem after XO and PS4 era, so I don't really care, but if, and that is a huge if, Microsoft really meant the X as a Mid-Gen refresh, it really makes me question the knowledge and leadership of whoever is making those calls behind the scenes, because either they have the most tech illiterate people hogging critical staff positions or Microsoft has lost all touch with the current tech landscape and might as well let a Magic 8-ball decide their business strategy going forward.
 
And behold now is time to defend 30 fps first party games on this monster console
Last year a lot of kudos went out to xbox first party for leaving last gen behind. How has that worked out on released, current gen games and trailer breakdowns of upcoming releases?
 
I think if another Xbox were in the works then Spencer wouldn't be saying anything at all. But.....we will see.
I think the opposite. Spencer would shout it from the rooftop about things years down the line. Unless they have a huge change of tact, that is.
 
I mean the Series S is outselling the X by a large margin I bet so it's the primary console I guess. And the PS4 pro and One X didn't really count for that much sales from that Gen. I didn't know any friends or work colleagues who bought a pro or X they were happy with the old ones.
 
PS4 Pro was 20% of the sales of PS4 once it was released. Xbox One X probably didn't sell that well. So I get why they don't do a mid-gen refresh. It's just not worth it.
that is pretty dumb if true, as consumer behavior and choices may change.

More and more people want 60fps, not surprise if more people going for PRO version this time around.

Starfield PS5 PRO bundle 60fps confirmed!!!!!
 
Last edited:
Series S as the standard for next gen. God damn.

This is why I don't want this fucking company buying up publishers. Bethesda is enough. No more. They will ruin everything with their low standards and "Play everything, everywhere, yay!" mentality.

Fuck that shit.
 
Last edited:
More and more people want 60fps, not surprise if more people going for PRO version this time around.

The problem with this comment is, as I've been saying for the last few days in various threads, we were sold on both the PS5 and XSX as being 60fps (with 120fps later!) machines. These current machines were supposed to be those 60FPS boxes. Why would anyone believe the marketing hype around mid-gen refreshes? I know I certainly wouldn't -- nor would I be inclined to spend gobs of additional money to get what I was told I was going to get from the XSX and PS5 in first place.
 
come on..... wish one of them would make an enthusiast box. 800, 900, 1000 something pro level and make alittle profit on it.
 
I think the opposite. Spencer would shout it from the rooftop about things years down the line. Unless they have a huge change of tact, that is.

Well, that's true in that Phil Spencer had revealed "project scorpio" by this time last gen. This time he is shutting down mid-gen talk. Who knows?
 
So far we've seen devs barely scratching the surface of Unreal Engine 5, SFS, Direct storage, etc.

Mid gen refreshes seem pointless at this point.
 
I think if another Xbox were in the works then Spencer wouldn't be saying anything at all. But.....we will see.

Dude was itching to reveal the Xbox One X becuase of that 6 teraflops. I vaguely remember this forum losing its shit over that when they announced it.
 
Not according to Sony as they said they had internal data showing people started to migrate towards PCs about mid console life and the PS4 Pro was designed to try and keep them in the PS ecosystem
But now there's the stuttering issue and Sony's secret weapon (bad ports).

:p
 
They will come around as soon as they ps5 pro specs leak. Just like they did last Gen. They literally sat down and hashed out specs in a month or two because they thought Sony would reveal the pro at e3. Sony ended up beating them to the market by a full year.
 
The two target markets was obvious, but what is strange is how the Series X is now characterized as the "mid-gen refresh". That's a new wrinkle.
It's just one of many perspectives one can take with the dual console strategy. I like John and his commentary, but I wouldn't put too much stock in this particular perspective. It is just John contextualizing MS strategy of 2 console configurations from the get go, when there are rumours of their competitor releasing their second console a few years later. Essentially, his use of the term "mid-gen refresh" is just a turn of phrase.

edit: we are also contending with a misleading thread title.

They will come around as soon as they ps5 pro specs leak. Just like they did last Gen. They literally sat down and hashed out specs in a month or two because they thought Sony would reveal the pro at e3. Sony ended up beating them to the market by a full year.
Are you just spitballing here or do we have any evidence that this was the case? I say that because they share a core component vendor, and I find it unlikely that Sony working on a new configuration would catch MS by surprise.
 
Last edited:
The problem with this comment is, as I've been saying for the last few days in various threads, we were sold on both the PS5 and XSX as being 60fps (with 120fps later!) machines. These current machines were supposed to be those 60FPS boxes. Why would anyone believe the marketing hype around mid-gen refreshes? I know I certainly wouldn't -- nor would I be inclined to spend gobs of additional money to get what I was told I was going to get from the XSX and PS5 in first place.
because they may believe more upcoming games may run at 30fps only, which makes them to buy a PRO version.

Why would consumer go for a PRO version, assuming the current gen ones alraedy running games at 60fps?
 
Last edited:
Well, that's true in that Phil Spencer had revealed "project scorpio" by this time last gen. This time he is shutting down mid-gen talk. Who knows?
Spencer announced the Xbox One S at the start of the same show he announced Project Scorpio that rendered the One S redundant. The man failed upwards
 
Not according to Sony as they said they had internal data showing people started to migrate towards PCs about mid console life and the PS4 Pro was designed to try and keep them in the PS ecosystem

LOL I did just that after my PS4 Pro handed in his resignation. Been on PC ever since and still looking for a reason to get a new console.
 
Good, would rather them focus on series x and wait for next gen. Would rather have a handheld version of the series s.

Mid gen refreshes are fucking lame. The ps4 pro released too early and kinda sucked. Ps5 doesn't really need a pro model, this generation hardly started in terms of software.

This generation feels worse because the previous gen's pro consoles.

I like how Sony said they "believe in generations", sony fanboys gave Xbox a ton of crap, yet sony are the ones "doing wrong". Seems like Xbox and Nintendo are the only ones who believe in generations.
 
Last edited:
edit: we are also contending with a misleading thread title.

No we are not. That is exactly what John said.

"Also, Microsoft told us this back when we saw the Series X for the first time that the Series X is their mid-gen refresh. They just decided to do it ahead of time, I guess."

The thread title is spot on.
 
Yeah it sounds dumb, but given the timeframe it's not so bad. John says that it's what MS told them at the time of launch. To be charitable, that's probably some BS marketing speak to try to make it seem like they were giving you future tech back at launch. The environment is a lot different now, so if a Microsoft rep were to say that now, I think that would be incredibly dumb.
 
Most of their marketing is focused on the S. If you see an Xbox in tv shows it's always the S.

The S getting a bigger hard drive and black edition but nothing for the X tell you that Microsoft is focused on the S.
 
Good, would rather them focus on series x and wait for next gen. Would rather have a handheld version of the series s.

Mid gen refreshes are fucking lame. The ps4 pro released too early and kinda sucked. Ps5 doesn't really need a pro model, this generation hardly started in terms of software.

This generation feels worse because the previous gen's pro consoles.

I like how Sony said they "believe in generations", sony fanboys gave Xbox a ton of crap, yet sony are the ones "doing wrong". Seems like Xbox and Nintendo are the only ones who believe in generations.
You know the believe in generations was taken out context. Added the context here.
Ug72iTu.jpg


You believe in spreading fud.
 
Is there a single Xbox Series game you can't play on the PC? Like, even one? Maybe they really should tell people who want more to just build a PC.
 
At the risk of saying the obvious, If the things below aren't a factor for you, it's probably time to invest in a good PC.
- Money
- Couch gaming
- Technically illiterate

There can be arguments made that the points above are not an issue on PC.
You barely need any technical literacy to run a gaming PC, and couch gaming is absolutely easy as fuck on a PC.

You will pay more for the better experience, though.
 
Did I misunderstand or was this something they said a long time ago when the xsx was expected to outperform the ps5?


Good, would rather them focus on series x and wait for next gen. Would rather have a handheld version of the series s.

Mid gen refreshes are fucking lame. The ps4 pro released too early and kinda sucked. Ps5 doesn't really need a pro model, this generation hardly started in terms of software.

This generation feels worse because the previous gen's pro consoles.

I like how Sony said they "believe in generations", sony fanboys gave Xbox a ton of crap, yet sony are the ones "doing wrong". Seems like Xbox and Nintendo are the only ones who believe in generations.

Is your blood green?
 
Is there a single Xbox Series game you can't play on the PC? Like, even one? Maybe they really should tell people who want more to just build a PC.
Some of the BC games I'm sure.

I personally don't want to play against k/m users and cheaters.
 
No we are not. That is exactly what John said.

"Also, Microsoft told us this back when we saw the Series X for the first time that the Series X is their mid-gen refresh. They just decided to do it ahead of time, I guess."

The thread title is spot on.
Yes, John did say that in the direct, but what I mean is when we were originally were informed of this info, it wasn't phrased in that manner. The 2 console strategy was for sure a strategic move due to MS having little faith in acquiring components performant/affordable components down the road to warrant a refresh, but them attempting their need to mitigate the need for a mid-gen refresh is different than them positioning the Series X as their mid-gen refresh. I will admit, I am debating semantics, but John seems to be paraphrasing and I don't think it should be taken literally.

Also, I am going off of information that is 2 years old, so I could be remembering wrong.

Edit: I do reciend my assertion that title is misleading as they are just going off of Johns comments, you are right.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom