And so it begins...
Sony have apparently caught Microsoft with their pants around their ankles. The upgraded Playstation consoles will supposedly be ready for launch (October) well before Microsoft can have a counter-console ready for sale. This adds insult to injury, seeing as XBone has already been lagging against the PS4 sales.
So MS seem to be fighting back desperately with everything they can muster, including anonymous "insider" leaks that claim the new XBox will be significantly better than the coming PS4 Neo !
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-one-will-run-faster-than-ps4-neo-report-c/1100-6440193/ E3 is going to be interesting...
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I remain with the view that neither one of them would be doing this is if wasnt because of what is happening in the PC space, not least of which VR
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But I've noticed that the "console wars" are starting to have the potential to affect my PC gaming, so I'm watching with great interest and considerable trepidation.
Microsoft are attempting to win the console wars by using Windows as their weapon-of-mass-destruction (via UWP). That's going to affect PC gaming as well.
Microsoft have also been mumbling about a possible shift to "modular and upgradeable consoles", which is just another way of saying "budget gaming-PC with a Microsoft logo". Naturally, they will try to force all game developers to make their games playable on whatever hardware configuration MS chooses...
1. UWP is going to be irrelevant fairly soon because developers will not want to use it anyway.
2. if BOTH consoles are upgrading then it means the day of so called AAA games not pushing the limits are over.
3. As a PC gamer it doesnt matter which turns out the most popular, them both upgrading however is a win.
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"Polygon have since shared information that Xbox Scorpio will have approximately 6 Tflops vs. PS4 Neo's 4.2 estimated Tflops"
Scorpio here I come.
To be fair they did less than a billion in 2015...after selling off a bunch of divisions.
I found some numbers that I THINK are what i am understanding
Xbox division $1.62 billion, rest of MS...$17.41 billion
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MS could loose their entire Enterprise business and its not related at all to its gaming division.
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Btw I'm writing this from the international space station.
This is not really up for debate.
Microsoft, like Sony has a metric fuck ton of businesses not remotely related to gaming and evaluating the health of either of those companies in the gaming space by looking at their overall business is stupid. peroid
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But I am not talking about it anymore
HERE
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/07/15/xbox-not-a-core-part-of-microsofts-business-ceo-says/#48ed6c614480
Xbox Not A 'Core' Part Of Microsoft's Business CEO Says
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Funny to watch? Well is scary watching you post random things then complain about your blood pressure... You really Shouldn't get that worked up.
If you like I can just make this a standard answer to every question you ask me on this subject until I read a question that might actually change the validity of the statement. would that work for you?
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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Companies desperate? Maybe, but I agree that it's probably to try and catch the current VR wave/hype, and to try and woo more customers by claiming new spiffy ultra deluxe model.
The game divisions are only a lesser segment of both companies, but actually, the overall health of the company does affect those divisions. And yes, if the company gets desperate, it may sell off that division, since they both claim it's not a core division, and profitable divisions tend to sell for a LOT more than the moneysinks. I've heard it referred to as 'Pairing Down to your Core Competencies'. Companies have done it before, and I've specifically seen Sony do it as well.
Anyhow, the point is that if the company is shaky, they will be issuing internal edicts to the game division to stop trying risky things, pull back the expenses, and concentrate on what will make us more money. (I doubt either of those two companies will go for the pie in the sky go for broke ideas.)
Overall I see this whole move as both marketing one-upsmanship, and an attempt to extend the relative lifecycle of the platform before needing a complete refresh. Let's see how it plays out.
Lost my mind, now trying to lose yours...
ok well sorry back on topic.
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The only reason why Sony is releasing PS4 Neo, is for their VR headset. As extra bonus they drop in 4K output support, so people can watch movies in 4K on their 4K TV's.
That's it! There is nothing more to it! Developers still need to develop their games for the regular PS4 and are not allowed to develop for the PS4 Neo only, unless it's PS-VR game.
So I don't see anywhere nor any reason why you think Microsoft has been caught with their pants down, as they don't have a VR headset (nor one in the works. Hololens is very expensive Enterprise bussiness peripheral).
They also knew for a very long time that Sony was going to release a VR headset this year that required extra power the current PS4 doesn't have.
So there is absolutely no suprise that Sony is coming out with PS4 Neo at all! Everyone and their grandmother saw it coming.
And if Microsoft is really going to release a new XBOX One this year that is almost twice as powerful as the current one (as that article states), then the backlash from the XBOX community is going to be severe!
All hell will break loose for sure! It's not going to be pretty.
As what in Earth are they expecting to do with a twice as powerful XBOX One? Unless they offer free trade-ins for current XBOX One owners lol. /shrug
PS-VR will work on the current generation of PS4's despite some possible performance issues. I have not read anywhere where it says that PS4 developers CAN build VR games for ONLY the Neo.
Xbox is transitioning into a new business model regarding their Xbox Hardware, they mentioned that months ago. They will utilize it alongside their windows store as that transitions into an app store built for devices instead of operating systems, with cross compatibility.
Of course that includes support for VR devices as well as 4K, likely keyboard support and expanded items as well. Listening to Microsoft talk about the new windows store it actually makes sense. Microsoft will likely do something regarding current XB1 trade ins as well as they did with the 360 before it.