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Microsoft unifying PC/XB1 platforms, Phil implies Xbox moving to incremental upgrades

I

In Service

Member
Polygon have something on this too.

He didn't say XBO from memory but he did say "in future" meaning what? 5 years, 10 years? Next cycle?

Waiting to see about this.
 
R

RoKKeR

Member
You are bolding complete speculation on their part.

But, the overall idea is unsurprising, and I think could be interesting if done correctly.
 
O

old manatee

Banned
Lol an underpowered PC with fully locked down software. Sounds like the least appealing console of all time. Maybe at some point Microsoft should try to compete with games.
 
F

foxbeldin

Member
So how does it work?

Let's say they release 3 versions of it.
Gears X comes out.
Does it run on every console or just the 2 more powerful? Is it optimised for every console (devs am cry)?
Does it work like ipads and when your console is 3-4 years old you're not eligible to the new updates and therefore, new releases?

I hope they have a solid plan for this.
 
I

iMax

Member
As I said in the other thread, catering for a handful of console configurations isn't really any different to what multiplatform developers do now.
 
M

Man

Member
Steam machines featuring Windows 10. Seemed pretty likely seeing the moves they have been making lately.

I'm calling another thing: Oculus VR support (using CV1) incoming with first upgraded model.
 
S

Samurai G0SU

Member
It Appears Windows 10 is really the new world for them. Next xbox console is coming soon that will have full backward compat day 1.
 
I

In Service

Member
oti xero said:
Well now this is where it gets interesting.

Spencer says they could do this and that. Press believes and reports they will do this and that. Now it's either A: what Spencer wants the media to report or B: the media is blowing this way out of proportion and he'll have to backtrack on this.
Click to expand...

Check out Poloygon's article - they went back and asked for clarification and got a good chunk of text back from Phil.

Spencer on Polygon

He starts with:

We look at these other ecosystems out there like mobile, tablet and PC and we see that they have a very continuous evolution cycle in hardware, whereas between console generations most of the evolution is making it cheaper and potentially making it smaller.

Both are meaningful but don't make the games play any better. If you look at PC specifically and see the evolution that happens there, there's no reason why console can't ride that same curve.
 
W

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
They updated their article to say Xbox One could be updated at regular intervals instead of every year. Sounds like they're just speculating on what could happen lol.
 
Freeman

Freeman

Banned
Ol No Bones said:
Lol, this has less to do with the PC platform than people believe I think. Think IOS. It makes no sense for the plethora of digital games I own be obsolete on a new Xbox device. Being able to upgrade to a new device would be incredible. Gamers are so change averse. It's weird.
Click to expand...

Has everething to do with PC. What they are doing is pretty much Steam Machines without Steam\Linux but with Windows instead. Xbox line of dedicated consoles as it is now makes no sense to anyone.

Smartphones follow the same logic PC does.

The catch is that if MS thinks they can retain the same level of control they have now o Xbox they will fail miserably.
 
A

Averon

Member
I wonder what developers and publisher will think about this. Targetting multiple configs will complicate matters and increase dev costs.
 
H

hodgy100

Member
excellent. more games for me :D

Averon said:
I wonder what developers and publisher will think about this. Targetting multiple configs will complicate matters and increase dev costs.
Click to expand...

this is precisely what software api's and SDK's are for. The hardware is abstracted and you don't have to worry about the exact hardware you are targeting because microsoft's code handles that.
 
K

kiguel182

Member
iMax said:
As I said in the other thread, catering for a handful of console configurations isn't really any different to what multiplatform developers do now.
Click to expand...

Pretty much.

I could see this working if devs can at least manage to make the games fully playable on all configurations. Cheaper consoles might help too.
 
M

Mindwipe

Member
I can see a "slim" revision with UHD Blu-ray playback and HDMI 2.0a ports, and maybe something extra like additional support for VR or something.

I don't think that will translate to hardware upgrades for the gaming part. Developers having to hit a split platform would revolt.
 
D

DomsPlaying

Member
Somewhat skeptical here, especially on how this will be implemented and what caused this divergence from creating a "slim" or similar X1 instead..

As others have noted, this approach doesn't have a great track record in the past.
 
C

Christian

Member
Well, they won't have my support. I buy dedicated video game hardware to avoid having to worry about updating for five or six years. If this is your thing, more power to you, but I'm out.
 
O

Ol No Bones

Banned
foxbeldin said:
So how does it work?

Let's say they release 3 versions of it.
Gears X comes out.
Does it run on every console or just the 2 more powerful? Is it optimised for every console (devs am cry)?
Does it work like ipads and when your console is 3-4 years old you're not eligible to the new updates and therefore, new releases?

I hope they have a solid plan for this.
Click to expand...
Eventually tech will go beyond the revisions and some games won't work but the benefits are so high to doing this. Not only can I play my games I own but they perform better. I think the dev difficulties may be overstated considering how sophisticated the API has become. I'm not a dev so I don't know but devs don't seem to have too much trouble with the PC platform.
 
vpance

vpance

Member
In Service said:
Check out Poloygon's article - they went back and asked for clarification and got a good chunk of text back from Phil.

Spencer on Polygon

He starts with:

We look at these other ecosystems out there like mobile, tablet and PC and we see that they have a very continuous evolution cycle in hardware, whereas between console generations most of the evolution is making it cheaper and potentially making it smaller.

Both are meaningful but don't make the games play any better. If you look at PC specifically and see the evolution that happens there, there's no reason why console can't ride that same curve.
Click to expand...

Sounds like Gaf's dream come true console.
 
W

Weevilone

Member
Christian said:
Well, they won't have my support. I buy dedicated video game hardware to avoid having to worry about updating for five or six years. If this is your thing, more power to you, but I'm out.
Click to expand...

This is me too. I'm shocked at the positive comments. This is where I'll get off the train.
 
T

thefro

Member
Ol No Bones said:
Lol, this has less to do with the PC platform than people believe I think. Think IOS. It makes no sense for the plethora of digital games I own be obsolete on a new Xbox device. Being able to upgrade to a new device would be incredible. Gamers are so change averse. It's weird.
Click to expand...

Yes... this is what a lot of us expect for Nintendo's NX platform going forward as well.

All the games carry over and some new games on the store would work with the older XB1 going forward even after the upgraded XB1 comes out (depending on what the developer preference is). Some might be built for the ground up for the upgraded XB1 and not run on older models, others may just scale up to take advantage of the extra power (i.e. better resolution/framerate).
 
L

Lucifon

Junior Member
This sounds great to me, we're happy to spend far more upgrading other tech devices more regularly, why not consoles.

However, the reason I see this not working is the negative consensus surrounding the Xbox One. People cling on to things. The only way to solve this, is to reset and start again with the next Xbox. Building on the One is a huge uphill battle from a mindshare point of view. Personally I think they're trouncing Sony in terms of effort, and I've ironically done a full 180 on the console, but many aren't willing to give Microsoft the chance to show them otherwise until a brand new successor.
 
O

oti

Banned
In Service said:
Check out Poloygon's article - they went back and asked for clarification and got a good chunk of text back from Phil.

Spencer on Polygon

He starts with:

We look at these other ecosystems out there like mobile, tablet and PC and we see that they have a very continuous evolution cycle in hardware, whereas between console generations most of the evolution is making it cheaper and potentially making it smaller.

Both are meaningful but don't make the games play any better. If you look at PC specifically and see the evolution that happens there, there's no reason why console can't ride that same curve.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's pretty clear then. Interesting times ahead.
 
T

TurboButts

Member
Isn't this the exact opposite reason people buy consoles? I buy a machine in 2013 and know that it will play everything for the next 7 years, no headaches.
 
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