Microsoft's Next-Gen Xbox Will Arrive in 2020: Report (thurrott.com) 69
Brad Sams, writing for Thurrott blog: This past week, I was tipped off that the next generation Xbox was codenamed Scarlett and in an effort to track down if this information was accurate, I was able to view content that highlighted several unannounced Microsoft products that are coming in the next two years. Microsoft is planning for the next Xbox console release to arrive in 2020. But what is more interesting, is that Microsoft describes 'Scarlett' as a family of devices; meaning we may see multiple pieces of hardware released that year.
X-Ad Machine (Score:3, Informative)
It is an ad machine. Has been since they removed the blade interface from the 360
90% of the home screen is ads and 'recommendations' (Fancy way of saying ads.)
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Yup, the first time my XBox 360 started showing in-game ads I disconnected it from the network, and it's never been connected again.
Sorry, I bought the console and the game at retail prices, you do not get to decide there is now a bonus ad revenue stream.
And since i have no interest in the social media aspects of it, nor the ability to play games on-line ... modern console gaming isn't worth my time.
I have zero interest in a video game console which can't be operat
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yo do you and the rest of the bandits in this thread not know how to black a domain at the router level
because if you blackhole LITERALLY two dns names you get no ads
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That's a pretty bad exaggeration.
All of the 'ads' I have seen are related to games, movies, etc. that are available in the Store. Of course the Store is one big ad essentially, so once you are there, it doesn't count. But telling me that I can get a game for 75% off on a small part of the screen is fine.
Possibly 25% of the screen is taken by 'ads' at most. The most recent ad/notification I remember seeing was for 'State of Decay' (I think that is it) which is a game that I can download for free as part o
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But still, the ads. Yuck.
Re: X-Ad Machine (Score:1)
Perhaps gamers who don't have any friends see the ads instead.
I rarely say any good about M$, but I see no Ads (Score:2)
If Xbox wasn't useable offline, I would never had bothered looking at it - if only because you can be sure, if the machine is online, MicroSoft will harvest personal data from you like crazy.
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Make it a platform play (Score:1)
Would be nice if they thought of Xbox as a platform. With apps/games on one side of the equation while they continue to build new hardware that adds new capabilities. Think of it like an iPhone from a hardware perspective where even new hardware has full compatibility with old games. Basically continue moving forward with new hardware like they did with the Xbox One X.
Re:Make it a platform play (Score:4, Interesting)
The problem with that approach is that it destroys all benefits of a console. Games devs target consoles exactly because they know exactly what hardware they're targeting, and what performance constraints they have to hit. Making versions with all kinds of different hardware in them just makes them under-powered PCs.
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I disagree. A console existed to deliver a high quality and consistent experience based on specialized hardware and input interfaces at a time when the general consumer couldn't be bothered to labor through the complexities of building a computer, adding an appropriate graphic and sound card (yes, you used to have to do that), and then attaching an input peripheral (do I have a free serial port?). Eventually it evolved to extract the most amount of performance out of the lowest cost hardware and, with the i
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That's a nice story you've got there, pity it's complete bullshit.
See, consoles like the Atari, NES, and SNES .. these were all prevalent before most people had PCs, or had ever heard of the interwebs.
In 1992 when the SNES came out, very few people would have been building gam
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That's a gross exaggeration. The original IBM PC is older than the Commodore 64 and Coleco Adam and very few of those were sold as gaming boxes. The PC had a very good keyboard and hires text display for it's day. It excelled at word processing and spreadsheets. Some fine games were available for the CGA graphics card but the much cheaper Commodore 64, Atari 8bits, MSX and friends were better suited to that function with their hardware accelerated graphics chips and sound.
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it doesn't have to be, the platform could be intelligent in a way that it would reduce the quality of gfx/sfx/... dependin on the device it is running on.
much like the switch degrades to 720 when it is in handheld mode, but goes to 1080 when docked.
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That's fucking awful. A console should last a decade, not 2 fucking years. The N64, SNES, NES .. they're all still classic devices we play and know as a discrete device.
Both the exBox and PS4 made a good move by simply adding 4k/HDR to an interum release (as graphic tech hasn't really changed enough for new consoles yet). Consoles should move up slowly. They shouldn't be on the planned obsolescent cellphone junk cycle.
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In short, we should be able to play Xbox games from 2025 on the current Xbox One, but limited to 1080p at 30~60FPS.
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you can always get great deals being one gen behind. especially with the shortened cycles like now
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I'm staying seven generations behind. I'm getting free games and free consoles from trashcans!
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A few months back I bought a Wii U with ~25 games off eBay for $350. Great games, phenomenal value. I think it's about the perfect time to buy a Wii U because people are unloading their old stuff to buy a Switch, but the Wii U isn't old enough to have nostalgia value.
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Depends on compatibility. Like phones, I don't buy one every year but it doesn't bother me that they release new ones that often.
My opinion: a game should be playable on any console released within 6 years (prior or after the game's release date). And it should work on any console released while the game is still being sold "new" or still collecting in-game purchases.
Re:So buying the X right now wouldn't be too smart (Score:5, Informative)
Where do you see 3-year life cycle? I have an Xbox One that I bought in 2013. It still does and will always play every Xbox One game released. A new hardware platform in 2020 would be a 7 year life cycle for a console which is completely reasonable. Remember that the Xbox One S and Xbox One X are effectively mid-cycle refreshes that just try and keep the platform viable until the next generation. They didn't drastically alter anything other than supporting some higher resolution needs of a subset of users.
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That depends. Smart people likely have a job where spending ~$500 for 3 years doesn't break the bank when you can likely recoup %25 of the cost. People spend much more than that a year for 5m/day worth of coffee.
Will it have a less stupid name than XXX? (Score:1)
That was just a dumb name for a product for children.
No fun (Score:2)
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I went from the 360 to the Xbox One and don't have any complaints. Fantastic piece of hardware and an enjoyable user experience. Also love the integration with Windows 10, allowing me to access the console, stream games, interact with parties, etc. without leaving my desktop.
And when do the exclusive games come out? (Score:2)
Because Sony seems to have all the best exclusives right now, and MS has specifically stated that all their Xbox exclusive games can be played on a PC too. So remind me why I should thrown down another $500 on a Xbox in 2020 after I just wasted $500 on one in 2017 and could just buy a PS5 and PC instead?
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Because Sony seems to have all the best exclusives right now, and MS has specifically stated that all their Xbox exclusive games can be played on a PC too. So remind me why I should thrown down another $500 on a Xbox in 2020 after I just wasted $500 on one in 2017 and could just buy a PS5 and PC instead?
"You" personally, or "you" in general?
You personally, from your description, probably shouldn't.
You in general may want to for any number of reasons, a couple good ones being A) you in general doesn't own a PC or a good enough one, and/or B) you in general prefers consoles over computers.
Neither of the above apply to you personally, thus the different answers.
In case it needs stated: not everyone in the world is exactly identical to me or you, and having different options for different peoples wants and ne
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why I should thrown down another $500 on a Xbox in 2020 after I just wasted $500 on one in 2017 and could just buy a PS5 and PC instead?
I have a gaming PC and an Xbox One X attached to my TV. An Xbox is still a driver free experience that "just works". And $500 for a gaming PC is cheap. It also works well with a TV remote for streaming 4k HDR Surround sound reliably. Windows Apps aren't nearly as consistent in framerate and HDR output or surround sound.
Also why would Microsoft care? You either buy a Windows PC or a Windows Xbox. They get your money either way.
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And $500 for a gaming PC is cheap.
You should see the amount of times people have explained to me that they can build a gaming-PC that's both higher-specced and cheaper than PS4s/X1s ... and then immediately start on about how a GTX1080 is faster than either.......
Sherlock (Score:2)
No fucking shit.
MS's E3 conference came and went, and they had a one line mentioned they're working on future Xbox hardware, they didn't reveal anything at all.
MS probably could launch a new Xbox in 2019 running on AMD's latest shit fabbed at 7nm. That would be Navi and Zen 2.
But my bet is they're going to force Sony to make the first move so they can one up them. The One X is a better hardware proposition than the PS4 Pro (fuck you, Sony, for not including UHD BR playback), but on games it seems like a l
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I agree with most of your points. After getting burned by potential customer backlash over their original Xbox One reveal (more specifically over the game licensing changes, which I was in favor of), they probably prefer to see Sony make the first move and then respond in kind. I also agree that the One X is a nicer piece of hardware and I think they've done an excellent job of soliciting user feedback through their online portal (https://xboxideas.uservoice.com/) and have continued to enhance the product w
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The only point I disagree on is the Windows 10 / Xbox cross-play and licensing. I love the idea of buying a game and getting the option to play it on my console or my PC and have the same online experience and I suspect this will only continue as the Xbox turns into more and more of a PC-based hardware solution. I prefer playing on the computer but many of my favorite games started off as Xbox only or I have to play on the Xbox if I want to play with my friends. As soon as that barrier is made completely transparent and I can just enjoy the game regardless of which Microsoft product I'm playing it on, the better.
I think you misunderstood me. I love that part too. It means I'll be able to play Killer Instinct, for example, and whatever other games I want.
But for MS it just means I won't be buying an Xbox. Because I don't have to. Publishers look at console sales numbers. And because I won't "jump in" to Xbox, I will buy fewer Xbox games, and be less likely to pay for Game Pass or Xbox Live. (If I buy a console for $400 or so, buying games to go with it is a more casual affair than buying games for PC. For my
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Oh, yes, that makes more sense. My guess, and I stress that it's a guess, is that MS makes far more money on the recurring revenue from licensing to game publishers and Xbox Live subscriptions, and from their standpoint would prefer to bring that model to the PC market as well. If they can just charge you as a "gamer" to support their Xbox ecosystem, then they shouldn't care whether you're playing on a "console" or a PC. They benefit from increased revenue from PC gamers, and people like me benefit from the
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My prediction:
Xbox Two Mini - 4k HDR media playback. Equivalent to Xbox One S performance.
Xbox Two - 4k Games and Media. Equivalent to Xbox One X 1080p Quality but in 4k. 90fps VR.
Xbox Two X - 4k Games and Media. Hardware raytracing.
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Xbox
Xbox 360
Xbox One
X
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One
X
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Xero / Xtreme
Big Whoop De Fucking Do (Score:2)
Graphics tech hasn't really advanced enough for this to matter. It's the reason we're still on the PeeS4/exBox. The 4k/HDR upgrades were nice and a lot of games are taking advantage of them; but before we get a new generation of consoles, we need some major innovation in graphics. Like, uncanny divide breaking graphics. Like making you uncomfortable like you're controlling a movie graphics.
Trouble is, studies show customers do not like those styles of realistic graphics. They get creepy. So what's next? Wha
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A huge innovation would be hardware raytracing. Global illumination, raytraced shadows and better reflections would not be creepy at all. In fact it can help with stylized graphics. Better Sub Surface Scattering makes things look softer and friendlier not creepy robot plastic-y.
NextBox (Score:3)
It's plausible that two models of Xbox will be released out the gate: a standard model with a spinning hard drive and baseline performance (enough for 4k 30fps play), and another model with a SSD and substantially more powerful graphics (for 4k ~60fps). Coming late 2020, that could be ~11TFLOPS (40% improvement from architecture, and a compounded 35% from 7nm die shrink) for $399, and ~18TFLOPS for $549 respectively. Expect a price drop as NAND prices come down and the 5nm shrink happens a year or so later, eventually ditching the standard model. Compatible with (maybe only 2nd-gen) Windows Mixed Reality headsets, as well.
Rumor is also that the PS5 devkits are going out to 3rd party developers already. That could signal a late 2019 launch, although rumors suggest 2020 is more likely. In any case, new console generations will be defined by how much RAM they have, rather than how much graphical power they have. Scaling back graphics (particularly resolution, now) is relatively straightforward but changing coding to require less RAM isn't so easy.