Then PS6 a couple of years down the line. So either MS starts going the ugly path of a console every two years or they risk developers working on cross gen stuff still optimised for PS5 / PS5 Pro waiting to see what PS6 brings.
Heck maybe this leads to Sony canning PS5 Pro and releasing PS6 a bit earlier… I do wonder what they will be on next in terms of custom tech… a lot will be faster (iterative… RT in PS6 will be a lot faster and more capable, but it is still in the area of “existing dreams” and the same will be for general processing power and SSD speed and capacity), but what will be next?
I guess AI/ML acceleration makes sense: Sony Corp. has in their best interest to develop their own ML accelerators for many of their products and together with AMD they could co-design a first generation building block they could reuse down the line (they can take advantage of the experience they gathered with SPU’s too).
Sony knows their mid-term future is in hardware. It would be a huge mistake for them not to launch a PS5 Pro.
- Allows them to differentiate themselves more from Microsoft, XS, and targets core gamers who generally speaking lead the conversation in gaming for non-core gamers.
- Allows them to stay more competitive with PC gaming
If Microsoft doesn't put out a pro-Xbox in 2024 and GTA6 launches in 2024, it'll be the end of their hardware business. We're already seeing the death of the XS, but this would kill off any remaining interest in the brand.
If XS sells 40 million units and the PS5 sells 130-150 million units, I don't think Microsoft can put out a new Xbox next generation.
Looking back at the X1 and PS4 60 million to 120 million.
We're in year 3 of the XS and we're already seeing a decline and that decline will be percipitous if there is a PS5 Pro in the equation with no competition.
If you go from selling 84 million units with the 360 to 60 million units with the X1, to 40 million units with the XS, what is the prognosis for the next hardware unit? 20-30 million?
The question Microsoft has to ask is whether there is value in subsidizing the hardware costs for that small number of largely gamepass subscriptions and very limited B2P sales.
It's totally possible that could be the case, but my guess is the next xbox will be largely sold at cost, regardless of its specs and that it might not be a graphical powerhouse. I.e. sell only an XSS model, but at cost.