Silent_Buddha
Legend
power is such a critical component of the hardcore group, and the Xbox player base is so much about power, I can't imagine them going through another cycle of Xbox One. They would lose their player base.
Yes, it's like graphics hardware. For many years the bulk of the profit was made on mid tier and lower GPUs while the rarified air of the enthusiast level GPUs generated relatively paltry revenue and profits (albeit at high profit margins). So, in theory ditching the enthusiast class of GPUs all together would seem to be a way to maximize revenue and profits since you can make multiple lower tier GPUs for each single enthusiast GPU.
However, that's not the case since you also need the enthusiast GPU as a "halo" product that generates word of mouth is an example of the state of the art quality of that particular product stack.
Of course, that GPU model has been turned on its head somewhat with the disappearance of the budget market due to "good enough" integrated graphics combined with enthusiasts now being willing to pay absolutely ridiculous prices for the halo products.
Xbox needs to be seen as at least on par with its competitor or it risks becoming irrelevant to console gamers. No halo product, no word of mouth, no casual gamers picking up the less capable product because they can't afford the more performant product that they want. Again like GPUs. Or home theater receivers. Or HDTVs. A relative of mine just bought their first ever LG TV purely because I gushed so much about the LG OLED that I have. The TV they bought? An approximately 500 USD LG LCD TV.
It's a psychological thing as well as a practical PR thing.
Regards,
SB