PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio confirms the abandonment of the generations of video game consoles ?

Sunday, 9 April 2017 12:39 GMT, by Anthony

The future was emerging slowly when Sony began to approach with his little PS4 Pro. It is confirmed today with the reveal of the Xbox Scorpio : the manufacturers of video game consoles no longer want to start from beginning by releasing a new generation of machines, and rely on evolutionary ecosystems that allow all the owners of Xbox One And PS4 first generation to play for long time, with a possibility to buy a more powerful version to enjoy especially 4K graphics. A sustainable philosophy that is likely to be renewed in the future ? In this article, we propose to see more clearly in the plans of the two manufacturers that are Sony and Microsoft, and to try to see the limits of such a practice and that it also brings good and bad to the Consumers : the players.

PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio - New with old

Whether we're talking about the PS4 Pro or the Xbox Scorpio, the strategy is the same for Microsoft and Sony : to gain raw power with components that do not cost too much, and especially coming from the same range to ensure perfect compatibility of games on all versions of console. If we develop this point in the next paragraph, we will notice that the consoles still use the same processor of AMD, the Jaguar, customized a little for the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One. A tiny overclocking that better accompanies the gain of power that passes mostly through a more swift graphics chip.

At Sony, the PS4 Pro just simply double the graphics chip with also a tiny overclock, while Microsoft chose to take a more powerful GPU by also reviewing the architecture of Xbox Scorpio which can then express its power without being slowed down by ESRAM, which made life hard for multi-carrier developers. As a result of machines significantly more powerful, while reducing the cost of manufacturing and therefore the selling price, since using well-amortized AMD components. This is one of the reasons why we are somewhat disappointed with the choices of Sony and Microsoft that could have used AMD's latest technologies, even if the sale price would necessarily suffer.

Nevertheless, whether we talk about the Xbox Scorpio or PS4 Pro, the magic of console optimization allows these "old" components to ensure a show that is not a discount. If we must wait to see the games turn on Scorpio, we already see that the most beautiful titles turn perfectly on PS4 Pro, with an upscale technology called Checkerboard Rendering that works as miracles when you know what is inside this machine. An impossible thing to do on a PC under 1000 €, and that's where the Xbox Scorpio should get even better with its superior power. We do not bet on the native 4K at 60 frames per second on all non-exclusive games, but the onscreen result should be even more impressive than on PS4 Pro.

New retrocompatible versions every 3 or 4 years ?

If the Xbox One quickly gave way to the sirens of the players by deploying a backward complex compatibility to be put in place, neither the PS4 nor the PS4 Pro allows the reading of PSone, PS2 and PS3 games other than by passing versions On the PlayStation Store, or by PlayStation Now, Sony's cloud gaming service. With the new strategy of Microsoft and Sony, a trend is confirmed : the manufacturers do not want (or not yet) to move to a new generation of console by making a clean slate of the previous one. We live in an extraordinary time in terms of productions, but as the development costs of a video game are increasingly staggering (partly because of marketing budgets that sometimes exceed creative costs), Sony and Microsoft have every interest into expand as much as possible their consoles to attract publishers and encourage them to invest millions.

For the first time in history, Sony and Microsoft have therefore devised a more powerful console, without depriving the owners of PS4 and Xbox One of continuing to use their consoles that run the same titles. Nintendo had broken its teeth with their New Nintendo 3DS which only saw Xenoblade Chronicles exploit the surplus power of the machine, but it must also be said that the gain of power was minimal, and the park of 3DS installed already too much to really be nine-lived.

The advantages for players are numerous, for builders too

This mid-generation was fairly poor first of all by the players who reproached Sony and Microsoft for not having respected their commitments of departure by leaving "already" a new PS4 and Xbox One, but in the end, we are according that we win all along the line. For the moment, we do not see PS4 versions badly finished compared to what they are on PS4 Pro (it's even the opposite at the moment), and developers really seem to get along with Both versions of Sony's console. There is no reason for it to be otherwise with the Xbox Scorpio which relies on the same technique as the PS4 Pro, with resources however allocated otherwise.

You do not want to switch to the PS4 Pro or the Xbox Scorpio? We do not change machine for x or y reason (no budget, no 4K screen etc.), you will be assured to be able to continue playing on your Xbox One or on your classic PS4 for at least 4 Or 5 years. We recall that apart from the generation Xbox 360 / PS3, a "gen" very rarely exceeded the 6 years of life greatly active. The gain is therefore significant, and this new strategy is therefore to the advantage of players who have the choice of investing or not in a console more powerful, and that is as new as pleasant.

For Sony and Microsoft, this tactic is also beneficial, instead of going away with a zero player base when releasing a new console, they can now stretch the console pool to seduce publishers and developers. The operation is already well-amortized and optimized components is also a comfortable axis for them, allowing additional power without going through huge research and development costs. Will we swallow the PS4 and the Xbox One all over again for decades with Pro / Plus / Ultra versions all the time ? A limit will inevitably arrive, but it remains to be known when ... and in what form !? Cloud gaming is becoming more and more important, but it is not yet a threat to video game consoles, we could imagine a conversion of Microsoft and Sony in this sector in total, which would prove that the PS4 and Xbox would might be the latest video game consoles as we knew them.

But this option seems to us to be too premature, and we do not say this because we do not want to see the consoles disappear, but because the network infrastructure and the Internet equipment in the world is still very weak to ensure stable experiences for all players. And given the consumer enthusiasm around the world when a new console comes out, we also believe that the public is not ready to change its consumer habits. On the other hand, if Sony wanted to continue on the same track with a PS5 / PS4 Pro Plus Ultra, then it would have to go through a new technology that would pose big compatibility problems with the first PS4. Unless hardware or software emulation (very resource-intensive), and therefore extra cost, we think that it will be necessary to go back to square one for the next Xbox and PlayStation generation.

PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio clamped by their parents ?

If the PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio do not bridle the games on classic PS4 and Xbox One, the opposite is true at the moment. No developer has yet really exploited the power of the PS4 Pro, nor even Guerrilla Games, which declared some time ago that Horizon: Zero Dawn exploited only a small part of its power. Apart from the upscale 4K, there are few titles that allow for better graphic effects, while the 1080p mode is often limited to the minimum: supersampling for games without aliasing and some more swift visual options (The case of Rise of the Tomb Raider is most evident with Titanfall 2).

Graphics improvements may come, but the trend is gradually confirming that the most powerful consoles are limited to the 4K without taking too much account of the 1080p screens still largely majority in player's homes. This confirms that the PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio are both limited by the 4K technology which vampires the use of their power, but also by the existence of the consoles of first generation which still remain the lead platforms in the Developers.

It is easy to understand for now that publishers and developers do not wish to inject much more time in the PS4 Pro optimization (and probably Xbox Scorpio by the end of 2017) for the moment, the majority being still on PS4 and Xbox One classic . But in a logic of power as we knew it before, buying a console more swiftly should allow us to see differences without going through the digital box comparison from Digital Foundry. Let us leave the time for this new wave of machine to express itself otherwise than by the very fashionable 4K (and future standard), but with cycles of life which risk not more than 3/4 years, it is running on time.

What about Nintendo then ?

Very apart since it stopped the race to power in its consoles, Nintendo already practicing a little the system of Microsoft and Sony. We will remember that the Wii was close to a Game Cube, and that the Wii U was only a Wii greatly boosted. With its Switch, things are different, Nintendo having approached Nvidia by implanting the Tegra X1. Here again, a similarity piercing on the screen : Nintendo chose to make the choice of an old chip rather than waiting for the release of the Tegra X2, only reserved for the automobile market at the moment. A choice really made under the unavailability of this new powerful chip of Nvidia? We think that by choosing the X1, Nintendo has given itself time to see if the Switch concept appeals to players, while controlling the costs production of Joy-Con that inflate the bill.

By using the X1, Nintendo also allows itself to switch to a Switch Pro in some time using an X2 that would not ruin the compatibility between the two versions of the console nor the plans of developers who could continue to develop under the same environment. A double gain that could therefore bring us in 1 or 2 years to a more powerful Nintendo Switch, if the manufacturer decides to imitate there also Sony and Microsoft.

What we think of this new era of gaming

When the first rumors of mid-generation consoles began to emerge, we were skeptical as much as you, imagining us having to start from beginning every 3 or 4 years. Finally, since the release of the PS4 Pro, we realize that things are not revolutionary at the moment, especially if you do not have 4K TV. The games are certainly thinner, sometimes more fluid too, but staying on classic PS4 is nothing of a punishment at the moment. In any case, we appreciate that the manufacturers allow players to succumb to temptation or not with more powerful consoles, and really like the direction the builders take, letting players choose what they prefer. Playing games for a long time on the same machine is, in any case, a luxury offered to us, even if compromises are still to be settled, such as the real exploitation of more power.

The Xbox Scorpio obviously taking the same path as the PS4 Pro, so we should not expect a graphic revolution unless the developers decide to work harder on it. In any case, the term "new generation" for video game consoles seems to be coming to an end, or at least to be extended by several years. A smooth evolution of our favorite media which has more strengths than weak points according to us, and which has not finished making us dreaming !