"Okay, since there's a lot of confusion here regarding PS4, PS4K, Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox Scorpio, etc., I thought it'd make sense to think about this a little and to write down how I think this will all play out and what the real strategy behind all of that is:
I think what Microsoft is doing is making us 'gamers' all a little uncomfortable. Change always makes us uncomfortable and Microsoft is probably going to change how console cycles have worked so far. And if you really think about this, I think they're actually doing something very, very clever and good for the console market.
Up until the last generation, the unwritten rule was that a Console Manufacturer (let's skip Nintendo for this, since Nintendo is always doing their own thing) is making their consoles as a high-end machine that launches for the highest price that the market would accept. Then over the course of a few years, the prices gradually drop and usually 5 years after one console-generation started, a new one begins. The console-market has worked like that for the last 20 or so years.
Now, I think what we're seeing now is a different approach altogether:
1) Instead of every console generation starting their software library at 0, everything will be backwards compatible now since our consoles are literally just x86 PCs.
2) Instead of going for a 'one console fits all' approach, there'll be more choice: You'll be able to get a low-end, mid-end or high-end box. All games and peripherals will be compatible between one another, but these SKUs will all differ in terms of visual quality and / or features (one supports VR, the other one doesn't, etc.). If you think about this, this could DRASTICALLY increase the console market, since the mass-market doesn't buy a console at 499. They don't buy a console at 399. Nor at 299. The mass-marketed usually bites when a console is down to 199-249 or less. Allowing people to make that choice for themselves is a GOOD THING and will probably draw a lot more people to consoles than ever before.
Once a platform becomes too old, software-support will slowly trickle out. At some point, games won't run on your Xbox One anymore (I'm talking 2021 or something like that, far out in time). The new lower-end machine will then be your Scorpio and the new high-end machine is whatever gets announced after that.
To be honest, while this puts more strain on developers (since we'd now have every console having multiple specs), it could also allow a LOT more people to get a console and the games early on and for a cheaper price, even if they take a bit of a hit on the visual side if they bought the cheaper model. Out of this, we could see a drastic increase in software and hardware sales and I'm sure everyone would be cool with that. Hardcore Gamers could always still buy the highest-spec machine, whereas less-hardcore gamers that don't really care about playing their games in whatever the next insane resolution standard is can buy a mid-range machine for less money and still get to play the same exact games.
I think this is what it'll boil down to. Give players choice and by doing so, allow more people to play.
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