Do you think there will be a mid gen refresh console from Sony and Microsoft?

[Johnny Awesome]

A year and an extra $100 should get close enough IMO. The PS5 Pro is more than twice the PS5 when you look at the whole package btw, with ML and RT improvements.

 

[arandomguy]

Are we already predicting the PS5 Pro will only be $500?

That aside ML upscaling and even to some extent RT perf is low hanging fruit the PS5 Pro is already predicted to take advantage of. Even with that I'd be skepetical that outside of select hardcore diehards that people will really find the PS5 Pro as more than twice as good as the PS5.

Yes you can fudge the technical and thereotical numbers but to actually demonstrate and the sell the idea is another matter, which would entail something like 30 fps vs 60 fps for common games (or even worse if PS5 Pro games are 60 fps, that would mean 120fps...) or having the games look subjectively twice as good (even harder).

This just feels like very overly optimisitc in terms technology scaling, industry inertia (in terms of taking advantage of said tech), and user perception.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I doubt PS5Pro will do that well, and if it does, it'll be because there's a cadre of PS players with plenty enough disposable income. They won't be sold on the spec or the marketing, but "it's another, better PS5". Another, better XBSX will do the same. We can't compare to One X as MS didn't release any numbers, so we can just go off PS4Pro which sold in the order of 1:4 versus base PS4. So MS would be investing lots on new hardware for one fifth the sales of Series, probably one fifth the sales of XBSX as it's unlikely XBSS buyers will be upgrading to the latest, more expensive hardware.

XBSS is half the XBS market? And there's 28 million sold maybe? So 14 million XBSX, and you'd expect 20% of those to be upgraders, a market of 3 million fora new BSXPro2+. Sounds like a loss leader to me.

Given MS's own numbers on the mid-gen refresh, they don't seem enthusiastic about investing heavily, and that tracks with my back-of-the-envelope maths. What would be the costs and positive dollar gains from a new next-gen half-gen Xbox? Or is the plan to just spend more money to keep the brand relevant?

 

[Seanspeed]

Are we already predicting the PS5 Pro will only be $500?

That aside ML upscaling and even to some extent RT perf is low hanging fruit the PS5 Pro is already predicted to take advantage of. Even with that I'd be skepetical that outside of select hardcore diehards that people will really find the PS5 Pro as more than twice as good as the PS5.

Yes you can fudge the technical and thereotical numbers but to actually demonstrate and the sell the idea is another matter, which would entail something like 30 fps vs 60 fps for common games (or even worse if PS5 Pro games are 60 fps, that would mean 120fps...) or having the games look subjectively twice as good (even harder).

This just feels like very overly optimisitc in terms technology scaling, industry inertia (in terms of taking advantage of said tech), and user perception.

$500 without the disc drive seems doable given the hardware itself doesn't sound all that ambitious. The base PS5(Slim model included), despite not getting any official price cut, does seem to be consistently selling at a lower price point than MSRP nowadays. So effective gap between PS5 and PS5 Pro in price can make sense. And I think it'll actually be fairly appealing to many given it's not that large a gap, and the '$500 price without disc drive' gives it something of a misleadingly appealing psychological edge. Reminds me a little of how the base Xbox360 was praised for its 'attractive' $300 price point, despite pretty much everybody ultimately needing the $80-100 HDD.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I doubt PS5Pro will do that well, and if it does, it'll be because there's a cadre of PS players with plenty enough disposable income. They won't be sold on the spec or the marketing, but "it's another, better PS5". Another, better XBSX will do the same. We can't compare to One X as MS didn't release any numbers, so we can just go off PS4Pro which sold in the order of 1:4 versus base PS4. So MS would be investing lots on new hardware for one fifth the sales of Series, probably one fifth the sales of XBSX as it's unlikely XBSS buyers will be upgrading to the latest, more expensive hardware.

XBSS is half the XBS market? And there's 28 million sold maybe? So 14 million XBSX, and you'd expect 20% of those to be upgraders, a market of 3 million fora new BSXPro2+. Sounds like a loss leader to me.

Given MS's own numbers on the mid-gen refresh, they don't seem enthusiastic about investing heavily, and that tracks with my back-of-the-envelope maths. What would be the costs and positive dollar gains from a new next-gen half-gen Xbox? Or is the plan to just spend more money to keep the brand relevant?

That's because you're looking at distinct generations still. There's not need for it anymore. This is just the next Xbox for $599, later to be $399, later to be $199, later to be portable. A new $599 box every 4 or 5 years.

And spending money to keep the brand relevant is important. MS should have lost $5 billion impressing people with hardware instead of having to spend $75B on acquisitions, or at least in addition to.