As Microsoft Looks Poised to Discontinue Xbox One, Sony Has a Huge Opportunity with PS4

Microsoft discontinuing its current consoles makes its decision not to make Series X exclusives make even less sense then it does now.

A bargain price PS4 could be a good move even as it'll still have 3rd party support for a while and with PS now giving access to most of its exclusives

@get2sammyb Did Sony discontinue the PS4 Pro and nobody told me b/c there is no mention of it in this article and I find that kind of weird with so much talk of the PS4 and it's price.

Also, there are 3 Xbox models, article left out the SAD.

"For those of you who have been following the latest rumours regarding the Team in Green"

What about those of us who have not been following?

You rush this one or something?

@get2sammyb I do wonder if Microsoft have a different focus for next gen with higher framerates, where as Sony seem to be focusing on 30fps games with much higher visual fidelity. Supporting their existing consoles would play into that, as its not hard to imagine the Series X going for faster fps and higher resolutions on those games as the way to show off next gen

If Microsoft is discontinuing its current consoles, that essentially confirms the existence of Lockhart for me. They'll want a cheaper SKU for children and people with less money.

I'm sure the PS4 will continue to sell fine, but Microsoft is going to make significant gains next gen if a cheap 1080p-focused next gen console launches out of the gate and significantly undercuts PS5. I might even pick one up if it's cheap enough.

One of the reasons I’m not a fan of XBox in general is that I bought the original XBox way back when and Microsoft canned it too quickly. I felt burned. I was hesitant to invest in 360 because of how fast the original was shuttered, so I moved over to Sony platforms and rest is history. Seems as though this is another example of history repeating itself.

Although the lockhart will be weaker apparently the cpu is still more powerful than the ps5 and even has ray tracing im reading but obviously just rumors but I would be surprised if it turns out true. Anyway ps5 is gonna be a blast, give us the release date and price already.

@hoffa007 not a chance a 4tf Xbox series S has raytracing.

@get2sammyb I was highly critical recently of games not being 60fps next generation but playing The Last of Us 2 recently and going back to the remaster at 60fps, I realised the visual gains of the sequel far outweighed the framerate of that remaster. Same for the likes of Spider-Man and Ghost of Tsushima, higher detailed worlds at 30fps will be better overall experiences than sacrificing many elements just to hit 60. Also the quality of motion blur and whatnot these days make 30fps games look very smooth in motion anyway

I much prefer Sony’s approach to games and I am totally not bothered by games being in 30fps.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.

I suspect that not that many people will be too bothered by Sony’s first party titles being a locked 30fps for the likes of GoW, GOT, Spider-Man etc...

I could see Sony having performance and quality modes going forward though if enough people make a fuss.

There is also a rumour they are making an entry level (cheaper) xbox series x so stopping production of the xbox one and s make s alot of sense.

@MarcG420 I doubt it would be running at 4tf when you may as well own a xbox one but I could be wrong.

Edit: incase you are interested. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.t3.com/amp/news/xbox-series-s-has-faster-cpu-than-ps5-and-supports-ray-tracing

@carlos82 Tlou 2 is one of the most smoothest 30 fps games that I've play on ps4, it's the same level as the order which I'm not quite sure if the game is 30 fps or 40-45 fps. I think most people are okay with 30 fps as long as it isn't racing or fighting games.

@wiiware the order is 30, trust me a 40-45fps game would look horrendous in motion. But yeah apart from specific genre's I'm not sure 60fps is needed as they're so smooth now anyway

@hoffa007 those are the rumours for its tf level. Who knows at the end of the day, I would expect a “barebones” type experience though which wouldn’t include raytracing.

Edit: as for your linked article in your edit I’m not buying it. I’ll believe it when I see it. With ray tracing capabilities it would need to be more expensive than they’d want to go with the budget system imo.

The irony being that the PS4 won’t have anymore new games as Sony turns its back on it and focuses only on PS5 games, leaving PS4 owners at the mercy of third parties....

At least they get two “closure” games.

Most of Microsoft's messaging for next gen has been a bit daft, this just confuses things even further and another own goal, if true.

@carlos82 Yeah I don't notice when a game is 30 or 60 fps, only when there are sudden drops when playing a game. I know some people seem to think it is the be all and end all when it comes to gaming, but it is only one of many factors to consider which make video games enjoyable.

I really don’t follow Xbox that closely but all these different models makes me really not want to start trying. In my head there is an Xbox One that came after the 360. Then there are lot of different versions with a letter on the end. I’ve heard of an S and an X. And now they are releasing an Xbox series That is a super powered one.
I’m lame when it comes to computers. I hate trying to understand what a decent PC is based on numbers, cpu, ram names etc. Can’t we just have PS4, ps5 style set ups? Less scary!

@get2sammyb expecting a game like Halo, a flagship title, to just have higher frame rate on the XSX is like expecting all PS4 Pro optimized games to only run in boost mode.

Im sure some devs will indeed do that, but unless MS is extremely dense, I expect them to be building these games with the power of the new consoles in mind and then reducing all visual flare to make them run on the XBox One, not unlike how we saw the Witcher run on the Switch.

@jgrangervikings1 how is this even close? The PS4 and XBox one are going to basically last the same lifespan.
MS will keep making games for the XBox one for 2 or 3 years
Sony last PS4 game will be Ghost of Tsushima in a few months.

Only difference is that, should your Xbox break, you would have to replace it with a Series X or Series S, and then keep playing all the XOne games on that.

Do a Lidl and sell them for like £89, watch them fly off the shelves and attack the subscription models. At this point anything it sells is just a bonus for them. Clear the stock before ps5 arrives.

Time for MS to go and bury all their unsold Xbones in the New Mexico desert then.

I dont understand what the Lockahrd is for anyway. They were screaming that the one X was doing 'TRUE' 4k with no compromise and now saying an even more powerful new gen will be for 1080p? Doesnt make sense.
What I know is they need to announce it soon and that means they have to announce the price and that means...:Sony will announce the PS5 price..

@get2sammyb plus higher resolution textures, higher polygon models, longer line of sight, more light sources and more models casting shadows... those are all things that can make a huge visual fidelity difference beyond just higher res and frame rate. Things like particle counts are also very easy to limit on any engine based on the hardware limitations.

They are also all settings expected on PC versions of games, and almost all games these days (even Sony games it seem) end up on PC too.

Almost all game assets in the last decade and a half start life as ridiculously high density zbrush (or similar) 3D sculptures that end up automatically decimated (down-sampled) to meet target polygon counts, making it very easy to ship low-poly versions of the game to the older console.

Only thing I don’t expect out of a cross-gen title is complete removal of losing screens, just shorter ones, since those games will need to be designed with some potential loading in mind.

This comes to no surprise to be honest as Microsoft are really pushing the cloud and backwards compatibility next gen as a selling point. They seem to be going towards one main direction of having one main console family on the market. Look back at the original Xbox one, this got discontinued once the X and and Xbox one s got released.

I disagree with this sort of move though because a lot of gamers play a gen behind because of the dropped price in both software & hardware. And the main affordability of the cost of the new consoles etc.

@Ralizah a sub 300usd lockhart with all the BC stuff and a free month or two of gamepass ultimate with project x cloud would be very tempting for a lot of people

@get2sammyb funny this story came up I received information on monday stating that the ps4 pro is being discontinued.

Whether it's true or not I wouldn't really be surprised to be honest.

I've always said that - for me, at least - frame-rates are not an issue.

I'll take a detailed world at a rock-solid 30fps over a sparse world at 60fps any day. 60fps only really benefits racing and FPS games, and even then the 'benefits' are questionable... especially if those 60fps are 'targetted' and not 'locked'; a game which varies between 40 and 60fps can be far more unplayable than a solid 30fps, especially as the drops tend to happen at the busiest moments, and the busiest moments are often the most crucial.

@teknium_ I doubt it'll be that cheap. Microsoft would be bleeding money. But it won't matter: the new consoles are $500 minimum. If Series S can reduce the price to $349.99 or so and bundle in a few months of Game Pass, it's going to sell extremely well. Most people are still gaming on 1080p sets, and price is almost always more important for initial sales than power. That's doubly true in the wake of a pandemic that is wiping out peoples' livelihoods and draining their savings.

This is a smart move from Microsoft. They have recognised that a lot of people who still have 1080p TVs cannot afford to pay for a new TV as well as the next gen console so this bridges the gap. I know that the higher spec next gen consoles would have the 1080p option for users to utilize but a cheaper next gen console with 1080p would fit the bill for people with smaller gaming budgets if they want to take the leap into the next generation without breaking the bank.

@JapaneseSonic @JJ2 It’s about reducing costs. It’ll be substantially cheaper to manufacture them the One X And because it uses mostly the same parts as the series It means they no longer need to produce antiquated processes and old types of RAM just the One S.

@MarcG420 It’s got the same architecture but about a third of the computer unit. It should be able to manage the same effect just at a quarter of the resolution. If the series X is 4K 60fps then it will be 1080p 60fps. If the series X is 1440p 30 frames per second then expect a 30 frames per second blurry mess with all the ray tracing still happening.

What if Sony prices PS5 in the middle? Where will that leave Microsofts strategy?

I think welding the axe on Xbox One is a mistake, there are a lot of people that won't upgrade straight away and will be happy to wait a year or two for the games to have reached an amount, and the consoles have dropped in price, to a level they are happy with. Microsoft is effectively throwing out the current gen leaving people in the lurch. Sony isn't, and there we have a situation where people will still be content with new PS4 games coming out until they upgrade

@Ryall I don’t think it would be a linear curve for the raytracing features.

Only time will tell what will be the actual case.

@nookie_egg They might be clearing stock for the PS4 superslim. For PS4 got slim down at the same time PS4 pro came out to take advantage of the new smaller manufacturing node. I expect the same thing will happen with the PS5.

@SuperNintendoMii i keep seeing this and it confuses me: if you already have an Xbox One, the discontinuation of that hardware does not hurt you. You already own the console.

What would hurt you is if MS stopped making games for the machine, and controversially enough, they actually refuse to stop making Xbox one games.

At the same time, Sony is sticking to their “forward” strategy, and their last PS4 game will be ghost of Tsushima. If you don’t plan to upgrade the PS4, you better like third party games.

@Tharsman pretty sure there will be a new mlb game they release on PS4.

@MarcG420 always thought sports titles never counted for these debates 😅

But yea, all sports titles tend to support older consoles for years if they can help it, and The Show is now going multi-plat so even the switch will join that fun ⚾️

@MarcG420 If we were talking about purely software-based Ray tracing similar to that used on PCs today then you would be correct. However the Xbox series X and by extension we have to assume Lockhart has a dedicated Ray tracing chip. That for that specific workload is equivalent of about 13 teraflops of additional performance.

It is kind of ironic that games with the worst performance also have the smallest performance gains from reducing resolution.

I'm glad there are a few people here who want 30fps next gen. A solid 30fps at 4k is much better than sub 4k/4k at 60fps with an erratic framerate that's all over the place. Developers will always prioritise resolution over framerate and that's the way it should be.

@Tharsman I think Microsoft will eventually stop making Xbox One games, of they axe the console they are obviously trying to nudge people into next gen quicker.

Sony's last game might be due out next week, but PS4 will still be on sale with games coming out for it in three years. Will you be able to say the same for Xbox One?

You also have to think about the goodwill. Here we have Sony basically saying that your PS4 is still good to go for a few years, whereas Microsoft are essentially saying they don't care and want you to upgrade.

I get this gen has been a disaster for Microsoft and they've wanted it over and done with for awhile but it doesn't sit right

@Ryall we’ll see.

@get2sammyb "The Xbox One SAD is a non-factor really"

If the SAD is a non-factor doesn't that make the PS5 DOE a non-factor as well or are you assuming Lockhart is a SAD replacement?

"PS4 Pro. I think it would be discontinued."

I'm still going revision - Pro power in a slim body, they just call it PS4 or "New PS4". I own a junky piece of plastic PS3 Superslim so that's why I think revision.

I still think Sony looks really stupid if they say - "Hey we have this great powerful PS4 Pro console, that we're discontinuing, so if you want a PS4 you have to buy the old obsolete model." They have to drop the the Slim and lower the price on the Pro or do the revision, only thing that makes sense.

Well at least we know the PS4 story isn't done, something has to give, they can't sell 4 models at the same time, Slim, Pro, 5, DOE, that's too many. But if they do:
Slim $199
Pro $299
DOE $399 (or $449, you know who you are)
5 $499

@rjejr If you want a premium console for a 4K TV buy the PS5.
If you want the cheapest possible console for a 1080p TV by the PS4 superslim.
At PS4 superslim is going to need to be as cheap as possible to entice the people who don’t care about resolution or performance and just going to play excellent games. The way the PS4 is going to continue to sell is by undercutting everything else. Particularly the Xbox series S. Why would anyone buy a PS4 pro if I could get a next generation Xbox cheaper and it would offer them better performance?

@Tharsman I’d say they count since it’s one of their studios making it.

I really doubt Sony wants to compete with Lockhart by trying to sell ps4's. The whole message I got from their event last month was these games aren't possible with last gen tech. Why would they then push people to buy last gen tech where they know the games wont play?

It would be a nightmare at retail as well. Would you try to sell customers a 200 console where you can't sell them the playstation games that are coming out or do you sell them the 200-350(rumoured) Lockhart that plays all the next gen games from Microsoft?

"Microsoft is not stupid" let's agree to disagree there 😅

What about... PS4 Slim discontinued, revised PS4 Pro becomes 'standard' at £199?

PS4 has still got another probably 3 years life left in it. With over 110M units sold, even if only half of those are in use post PS5 launch, it would make sense for Sony to drop the price for this Christmas.
The Pro's days are numbered as the PS5 will fill the 4K upscaled visuals gap in the market so I think it'll be a cheaper to produce, base PS4 that continues on. I just hope they don't do a PS3 super slim style travesty...

It depends on one thing. If Sony charges users to get the next-gen version of a game they have, then consider PS4's chances D.O.A..

@Paranoimia yes they could axe the PS4 but put out a super slim PS4 Pro and market it as an entry level 4k console that's cheaper than lockhart.

@AFCC to be fair Phil Spencer has done a lot since Mattrick. He just had to do the best with what he had.

@Paranoimia That's what I've been saying, but nobody ever listens to me, maybe they'll listen to you.

@Ryall "buy a PS4 pro if I could get a next generation Xbox cheaper and it would offer them better performance?"

Do you really need me to answer that?
1 word, starts w/ "g", ends w/ "s".

I understand how from Sony's perspective it makes sense to discontinue the Pro and keep selling the Slim for $199, but they'll need to spin it. Though considering how bad MS has messed up, well just about everything the past few years, I suppose Sony wont' have to try that hard.

To me, it makes perfect sense to discontinue making the XB1 and replace that with the Lockhart. It makes more sense than making '4' separate consoles. The Lockhart at least looks to be as capable as the XB1X graphically, but with the same CPU as the series X.

Discontinuing a 'console' from its manufacturing perspective is very different from discontinuing ANY support. It just means that when the current stock of XB1's (S and X) are sold, there won't be any more. The Lockhart and Series X will play XB1 games anyway - maybe not the 'few' Kinect ones as the new console doesn't look like it will support Kinect or the Kinect adaptor.

All that means is that MS are considering stopping the manufacture of the 'older' console in favour of manufacturing the newer that will still play all the 'XB1' games, new and old, and in some cases offer enhanced performance too.

Sony has a history of making their consoles for around 10yrs and supporting them longer. It also makes sense for them to continue making at least 1 PS4 (maybe just the Pro) for a few years as the PS5, whilst it does come in two flavours, is just with or without a physical media player. Granted the one without will be a 'cheaper' model, but its not likely to be competing on price with the Pro like the Lockhart could with the XB1X. The S is, as we know, the weakest of these consoles (not counting the Switch of course) and has been 'struggling' to deliver multi-platform games at a HD and consistent frame rate so makes sense to move on from that too.

@rjejr Oh, I doubt that. 🤣

@SuperNintendoMii obviously MS will eventually stop making games for the One, but they are promising so far they will keep making them for 2-3 years.

Third party game’s will likely keep going for both, PS4 and XOne for exactly the same amount of time.

We might have to agree to disagree on the good will point. For me, goodwill would be Sony promising first party games for the PS4 for another 3 years (not just The Show.)

It does nothing for me that someone else can buy a PS4 a year from now. I already own 3 PS4 consoles. I doubt illl ever even need to buy a replacement.

With 3 PS4 consoles and 160 PS4 game disks, I am/was neck deep on the PlayStation ecosystem, but MS reassurances on how they are handling the generation jump, plus faster hardware, already set me up on a path to go all in Xbox, and not just starting next gen, but starting months ago. I feel Sony already is turning it’s back on me as a PS4 owner.

@rjejr I don’t think the economics of a PS4 pro slim work out.

It’s an expensive console, they have barely held any sales on it over its life cycle, making me think they still barely make any profit on it, and given the insane size they went for with the PS5 just for silent cooling, I doubt Sony has managed to come up with smaller cooling tech to achieve a slim PS4 Pro, even size wise.

I’m also under the impression the base PS4 slim sells a lot more than the PS4 Pro, and that is a console they have managed to lower production cost on significantly.

It Sony keeps a PS4 on the market for a few more years, you can bet it will be a Slim revision. Maybe fewer USB ports or something like that.

I can just imagine little Timmy seeing all the new Xbox X games on Youtube, and pestering his parents he wants one as it's the best with most flops etc.
Timmy's parent can't afford the (maybe) £500 Series X, but can afford the £300 Lockheart, so get him that for Christmas.
Little Timmy is disappointed that his Halo Infinite doesn't look as good as the one on Youtube, and his Assassins Creed Valhalla runs slower then on Little Tommy's PS5 that he got from Santa.

This is what MS are doing, will advertise the top end, sell the cheapest with a new GP to first adopters, Series X will be for the disposable income crowd who gritted their teeth through the Xbone generation, possible even upgrading to an Xbox One X a year or two ago. All the time enjoying old games (or 'classics') while PS4 exclusives kept getting the 9's and 10's.

I hope little Timmy isn't disappointed this new gen, as I hope I am not too.

If Sony did cut the price of the PS4 I'm going to buy another one 🙂

@Futureshark little timmy only plays fortnight

@MarcG420 I agree with what you are saying about peobably no ray tracing but then would you say you couldn't box a next gen console with 4tf either if the next gen is alot more to play the games? I think it would be nearer 9 or 10tf to even run the next gen games at something otherwise no actual point buying the console as it doesn't actually advance anything it would still be sat in current gen, im not saying im right but even the xbox one x is 6tf so thats just what I'm going by. Anyway we shall see what is going on what Microsoft will announce.

@hoffa007 I mean it’s obviously all guessing at this stage but the rumours are saying it’ll be around 4tf rdna2 with more or less the same cpu as in series x and slightly lower ram.

As to your point about one x being 6 tf that’s true but it’s of different architecture and it’s not a direct comparison as rdna 2 is more powerful.

I think many people will be buying the lower end and will be upset when the ps5 blows it out of the water not understanding it was never really meant to compete with the ps5.

@MarcG420 Yeah that is for sure i could agree with you there.

What I would like to know is if a ps4 game is locked to 30fps will they have to somehow unlock this to a higher frame rate when played on ps5 or will they still keep it locked to 30fps? I ask because I'm sure they would need to do some work to the game as its not as simple as putting a disc in and running it at a higher frame rate.

@darksoul77

Haha, quite right.
Xbox lockheart it is then!!

$200 playstation 4 would sell like hot cake, especially if ps5 is $500 😃

@carlos82 Yup, I have no problem playing uncharted 4, spidey, ff7 remake, and tlou 2 at 30 fps, just let the developers decide the best fps for their game 😃

I think I know why Sony is still producing PS4s until the middle of the PS5 generation probably the reason is to maintain a presence in certain countries like India and Central and South America and South East Asia where not all people don't have $300 to drop on a console so they probably going to sell it on around $150 at least we already saw this in the PS2 era where they still selling like hotcakes even when the PS3 is released

@Ryall
Yea that makes sense. It's better for them. Still, the purpose of it from consumer point of view isnt clear. Messaging it as a 1080p machine doesnt work IMO. Thats the main reason why the PS4 will end production at some point. 4k TV is becoming the standard and you keep a console for many years.

@get2sammyb
So you think SeX will have a DE model like the PS5? The only way they can match the price.
Edit
That would be a lot of different boxes.

MS has already lost again they just don't know it yet.

@rjejr MS is King in killing off older generations really fast so its nothing new.

Such a smart article, I hope Sony listens to these wise words because in the past the last gen PlayStation production always stopped month if not weeks after the new console came around....wait...what? They supported it for many, many, many years every single generation...? That is smart!

@Paranoimia
The debate about 60fps / 30 fps on next gen is ridiculous.. Its hypocritical because when people ask for third person or first pers view choice (for instance CP77) they get slammed.
So the point is the devs do what they want and if they think pushing graphics is best so be it.
It's cool to ask but I personally feel it would be even more consumer friendly to have choice in the perspective 3rd or 1st pers and even makes more sense.
Imagine Sony saying to ND 'its 60fps ...move it. That's what fans/gamers want!!!' haha

@hoffa007 "The potent power of the Xbox Series S has leaked online and, "if true" " You are taking a rumor and saying it's true.

@get2sammyb I think so too, but I get the feeling Microsoft will end up pricing the console before Sony. I do honestly believe that the PS5 won't be as expensive as people are expecting. There won't be any '$599 USD' that some people are worried about I don't think, but its possible Sony is luring Microsoft into a false sense of security by hinting at a high price, only for them to come out and surprise everyone and price it a bit lower than what a lot of people think

@SuperNintendoMii also my thinking. I think we’re going to be happy with the price points.

Personally feel this is wrong, sony should drive user base to ps5. Whole point of ps5 is the new games you can't make work on a ps4. That's why we are all sitting around thinking, there's no reason to buy a next box at launch as there's nothing that an xbox s can't play.

I’m quite shocked people will be happy with 30 FPS, if the majority of games are 30 FPS and most are 60 FPS on series X I will be jumping ship to Microsoft and il subscribe to ps now on pc from time to time

More power equals more cost, The SSD in PS5 being cutting edge may make the PS5 more expensive to make than the Xbox series X with it more Tflop CPU.

I will buy a PS5 or just go back to my PC! I want a PS5 because of it's games period. Xbox has failed to show it can match PlayStation games or even come close this whole generation. Don't get me wrong I am able and willing to buy both but not until Microsoft gets to that level.

PS4 Super Slim time?

@jgrangervikings1 canned to quickly? 4.5 years it was around till 360, they didn't discontinue it till 2008. pretty much the same as Playstation, first one was around for 5 yrs, ps2 to ps 3 was 6 years.
Hell the 360 was around eight years till the Xbox one came out.
Your reasoning is abit flawed

@Doc_sanchez though if this happens I imagine it'll be a locked 30fps on PS5 and a somewhere-fluctuating-between-40-and-50-fps on the XSeX

@AdamNovice exactly! There's literally zero incentive to get a Xbox Series X when 1st party games will still come out on the Xbox One for the first year or two! Sony is smart by having PS5 exclusives thus making the consumer want to buy the PS5!

@jgrangervikings1 so almost 8 years is not enough?

@Tacktful i think FPS is more important than resolution but that’s just me, I don’t think I
Could justify paying 400
To 500
On a console that’s still
Performing at 30 FPS, the graphics aren’t much better than this gen by the looks of things so essentially shelling out on a console that’s doing native 4K instead of checkerboard, I love Sony exclusives so world be a shame to miss out, only other option is wait for the ps5 pro

@Futureshark you really think kids care about graphics?

@rjejr
You obviously didn't read the article properly. It does mention the pro (albeit briefly).

@Futureshark
Little Timmy is an idiot, he swapped his Casio keyboard for Mr Potato Head. Also last weekend he pooped his pants at a friend's Birthday party.

He won't be getting anything for Christmas.

@Doc_sanchez
The PS5's SSD is a major advantage over Xbox. I am more interested in what that offers to gaming design rather than the current style of games with higher frame rates and resolutions.

I wasn't going to buy another console until I found out that Sony was doing something very different with the SSD. They have it integrated with the CPU to improve graphics as well as load times.

Microsoft aren't doing anything that interests me, just more power.

@JapaneseSonic if Lockheart is more powerful than the X why would they scrap it if they can offer it at a cheap price point. New, more powerful hardware at a cheap pricepoint that won't interfere with game development for the series x... seems like a great decision to me

@Angeljuice you honestly believe that the SSD will make a big difference to the games that Sony put out compared to Series X. Fanboyism at its finest.

What if it is discontinued this year, but replaced with Lockhart at the same price?

"Microsoft is not stupid" Ok if you say so So for Microsoft supporting last-gen owners then. What a JOKE they are.

No this isn't true

@AdamNovice I'd guess it's more about the games run on XB1 so may as well release it on XB1 as well as Series X meanwhile the traditional approach of games early on in a console generation is have it be exclusive to the new console even if it would run on the old console.

No way is this true. It's even stupid as a rumor.

Edit: don't you have a rumor category specific to rumors? If Microsoft is saying no, which you indicate in your own article that's news. Rumors are not news.

@get2sammyb For PC you have to have a decent rig to get constant 120fps and I'm talking Nvidia 2070 super GPUs with all the bells and whistles in games. If XBSX can do that and look seriously good then I'm be shocked for a £500 console

Microsoft stopped supporting the xbox about 8 years ago. Makes sense they would discontinue it. So much for consumer friendly and supporting it for another 2 years. Who on earth would trust them with their money for their next one

Years ago, consoles would sell long after their successor had been released. I believe 30 million of the 100 million Playstations were sold after the PS2 launch, and it was even more extreme with the PS2, selling 50 million of its 150 million total after the PS3 came out.

The last gen dried up almost instantly after the release of the PS4 and XB1 however, and I see the same again. I think MS have got it right with the Lockheart approach.

@Futureshark little Timmy has a switch already so wouldn't know or care about the resolution difference.

@Flaming_Kaiser Yeah, that kinda slipped my mind, like everything does these days, but I do recall the 360 seeming to disappear when 1 launched. Or maybe it was Xbox that disappeared when 360 launched? Either way you are correct, this really shouldn't surprise anybody. And Lockhart will take care of the low end. And my $5 monthly Gamepass subscription on PC takes care of me.

@Angeljuice You obviously didn't read the comments properly, sammy says he added Pro in his reply to me in comment #7. 😉

"Added a sentence for PS4 Pro."

@rjejr Not sure how to read a comments section properly (a lot is fluff and nonsense and gets skipped). I apologise for not noticing.

@Alec1992 Well it's all about bandwidth and the PS5 SSD has more direct access than any other system.
It lightens the load for the CPU. It is unique in the way it is utilised.

It's the only system that's trying something new other than upgrade the CPU, GPU and memory.

For a console to be interesting, it has to do something differently to other consoles or PC"s.

@Angeljuice Apology accepted.

I'll grant you this, there probably isn't 1 right way to read a comments section properly, but there is a wrong way to inform someone that they may have missed something in the article.

Instead of saying - emphasis mine
"You obviously didn't read the article properly."

try saying -
"You may have missed it, it's in there once near the middle."

Or something less insulting like that.

@rjejr
Now you are being preachy and irritating. When someone apologises on the internet, just accept it and move on (it doesn't happen often).
I'm not the sort of fluffy person that accepts lectures from softies on how to be nice.

@Angeljuice Apparently not.

I think Sony would keep the pro if they discontinue anything. Definitely a price drop needed on both PS4 models at least. I'm waiting for MS to call Lockhart XSeries S so that all that "optimized for XSX" stuff doesn't apply to it and it's basically X1.5

@SuperNintendoMii I believe that, sure, but they still make some ***** decisions