Microsoft is Still Planning a Cheaper, Disc-Less Next-Gen Xbox, Report Says (kotaku.com) 32
In June, Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, a new iteration of the Xbox that the company said would "set a new bar for console power, speed and performance." What Microsoft didn't say is that it is also working on a lower-cost, disc-less version of Scarlett, code-named Lockhart, Kotaku reported Wednesday, citing four people briefed on the company's plans. From a report: If those names sound familiar, that's because they've been floating around for a while. The earliest rumors about Microsoft's next-gen roadmap, circa 2018, suggested that Project Scarlett would consist of two Xbox models: the high-performance Anaconda and the lower-end Lockhart. In June, however, Microsoft announced that Scarlett was a single, high-end console, which led to speculation and then press reports that Lockhart had been canceled. But Kotaku has learned that Lockhart is in fact still in the works as a cheaper, digital-only alternative to Scarlett, as the original rumors suggested. What we don't know -- and what likely isn't finalized yet -- is how the pricing will shake out. But it's easiest to think of Anaconda as a successor to the Xbox One X and Lockhart as a successor to the Xbox One S, with a similar performance disparity. Game developers will be expected to support both Anaconda and Lockhart, which some are worried might hamper their ambitions for next-gen games in the coming years.
im no snob but... (Score:2)
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They really threw the Xbox One and Xbox One S under the bus when the higher spec Xbox One X came out. Games run terribly on the original systems, but the base PS4 keeps a much closer pace with the PS4 Pro by comparison. Recent graphical monsters like God of War and Death Stranding run just as well. VR works well on the launch PS4 too. I would have more faith in Sony's commitment to a smooth experience all generation long when buying a launch PS5.
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Yeah, reduce the grinding by paying, and they're often one-time use items.
I thought Microsoft would want to put forth their best in first party games to set a high standard, but they are cramming that stuff in on their own games anywhere they can.
Their own studios are trying to make online games with no ending as well to keep people playing, their games give you bonus points for streaming on their Mixer video streaming service to boost that, their UI is full of ads even if you pay a subscription for Gold to
Re: im no snob but... (Score:2)
Wait...
Are you trying to tell me that if we accept shitty, laggy games with tons of microtransactions that make millions/billions they'll just keep doing it?!
WHAT?!?
Obviously the only solution to this is what we, the gaming community as a whole, have been doing...
Whining online while buying said games and buying those microtransactions and never demanding anything different. I mean we HAVE to have the newest game RIGHT FUCKING NOW right? How could we ever do without until they get the picture and produce de
Probably not much cheaper (Score:2)
If you look at the price difference between the current Xbox One S and the Xbox One S All Digital Edition, the discless XoSADE has a higher MSRP than the normal console and is usually only about $20 cheaper when on sale than the one with the disc. It's been out for almost a year and it hasn't really been that relevant when considering price.
The Xbox One already makes users download a Blu-ray app, and MS only pays the Blu Ray license fees when a user downloads the app. They could even charge for it if they w
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Problem is, most people don't caqre - PC users are already used to digital downloads only. Most games are sold as downloadables - Sony's stunt was correct at the beginning but you can bet the majority of sales for games are digital downloads on both
Physical isn't dying, there's a renaissance (Score:2)
Physical sales are only down because downloading games became viable. The original 360 didn't even have a hard drive in the base model, and downloading games was a new thing and reserved for small projects. They limited downloadable games to under 100MB, slowly increasing size over time, and many games were disc-only and never saw a digital release.
Physical games are not going to just die off, a lot of people see the value and refuse to go digital unless that's the only way to get a game, and that's still r
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Re: Probably not much cheaper (Score:2)
There are constant sales on the PSN store, and I'm pretty sure the Xbox store too. Nintendo's store is another story.
If you don't believe me, visit the PlayStation store website. There are recently released games (like The Outer Worlds) at sale prices now. I don't think thereâ(TM)s been a week without a sale in a couple of years...
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Data Caps (Score:2)
This may go over well to start, but when folks start breaching their bandwidth data caps every month, it won't be nearly as fun.
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If you look at the 4k texture packs for games on the Xbox One X I'd wager you're right.
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This is why we need 5g to the home. In New England there are no data caps because the population is dense enough that fiber was rolled out to compete with cable. Thus no cable bandwidth limits here. Verizon and ATT have pretty much stopped or sold off their fiber roll outs. Only 5G will pick up the slack to expand internet competition for most places.
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The publishers would increase the volume of content to fill the new greater capacity.
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Probably in the US.
In terms of internet: Yes, that's where the past is. The companies there laid out internet early, and didn't exactly reinvest a lot. In some places you have an infrastructure that does actually look like it belongs into the 1990s.
And I'm still planning (Score:2)
MS announces Scarlett is *single* (Score:2)
Hello there, but I for one think you're quite capable of making your own announcements.
Score another point for the low-comprehension face-palmers.
Cheaper. Like printers, I guess. (Score:2)
It's no secret that many consoles are sold at a loss or at least very close to cost with little, if any, profit margin, and the margin is picked up by the games. There is a reason why console games cost more, and often way more, than their PC counterparts.
And no, people, it ain't because they're better. If anything, they are worse.
Consoles milk you for any step you want to take. From "live passes" so you can play online at all (I'm not even talking about "playing a certain game" that requires subscription,
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And even that isn't the case anymore with updated versions of the consoles that cause newer games to lag and stutter on older versions. With the added bonus that you can't even turn down the resolution or graphics settings usually to adjust to your machine's capabilities.
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Not much to say about it right now (Score:3)
I really don't like the direction Sony's been going in the past couple of years. It's too bad, I was a fan of the PS3, PSP, and Vita. Maybe this'll be Microsoft's chance to stage a comeback in the console industry.
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Lack of an optical drive is an obvious massive fail. You can no longer own games in any meaningful way, it's all rental. Second hand market dies with the next generation of consoles, meaning prices go way up for everyone because you lose the ability to recoup some of the cost or buy at a lower price.
Imagine getting your account banned for some stupid reason and losing hundreds, maybe thousands of Euros of games. Mistakes happen all the time.
My [Xbox] Anaconda don't... (Score:2)
...want none unless you got discs, hun!