Seriously guys, we don't need any mid-gen refresh consoles...according to Phil Spencer that is!

Taking from IGN during Phil's reiterates regarding mid-gens for Xbox Series:

"No, no. We're focused right now on the increased storage Xbox Series S," Spencer when asked if the team had any news about some sort of mid-generation refresh for Xbox Series X/S. "But no, like I said, we're kind of at the end of the beginning in my mind. So I think we need to let devs settle on this hardware and get the most out of it.

"But in terms of increased frame rate and increased resolution, I just look at what goes on on PC with high-end GPUs and high-end CPU, and it's not always just about pixel count or frame resolution. I think there's lighting techniques. There's a bunch of things that go into what makes a game look and feel great. And we have a ton of headroom as an industry there."

Link: IGN: Phil Spencer Reiterates There Is No Need for a Mid-Gen Refresh for Xbox Series X/S Right Now

In some ways, he's kinda right. These current-gen consoles are as powerful as they're ever gonna get. It's the developers that will need to push beyond their limits as moving forward. But of course, the main problem for MS is the Xbox Series has 2 SKUs. A Problem they created on themselves. PS5 doesn't have this problem thus giving Sony the advantage here. MS just made it complicated for developers and we're seeing the results now...looking at you BG3 & even for UE5.

lol screw that, give me the PS5 Pro already.

Make it 20 Tflop and give it DLSS 3.5

He's right.

Yeah, I've never needed one.

It is a pretty good way to fool idiots into buying pretty much the same hardware twice though.

Anything Phil says, goes

And if he tells me to buy a Xbox One X Pro in 5 years, I'll buy it.

I don't think 2 sku's is inherently a problem, the insistence on parity is, if the series s was sold as a cheaper alternative which may lack some features in certain next gen titles, that to me is fair enough, positioning series s as offering the same features but just with a reduction in frame rate and resolution is the issue from where I'm sat.

Games would still release buggy,unfinished and needing patches with a mid-gen upgrade.

We need a Better developers upgrade!

@davillain: Spencer is a dumbarse. He could simply say the S was a mistake and try to rectify it, but nope, just carries on like an ignorant a-hole.

By forcing parity he is hampering my gaming experience. Now I was never going to buy BG3, but because Phil insists on parity he is punishing X owners when more and more games are getting delayed on Xbox because of the S.

Its beyond a joke now, I think Phil needs to step down and let someone else run the ship, and not make terrible decisions like putting out a powerhouse console then chaining it to a potato console.

We don't. Just like I didn't even want the new Gen to start UNTIL 2023. I'm not Sony or Microsoft but I honestly think they both should have waited until this year to release their new consoles. I truly hope both companies stop with this mid gen refresh that are slightly more powerful that will never take advantage of it because of old hardware having to be thought of as well. The PS4 Pro was a mistake and so was whatever Microsoft one mid gen refresh was called( I honestly don't remember). Just run the normal console cycle 8 to 10 years and then release new systems. With how long dev time is now, you have to give these companies time to cook. Don't throw mid gen refresh hardware at them to develop on while also developing for older systems.

This might get some hate but something needs to be done about the Series S. As far as I'm aware,the S is Microsofts better seller(y'all some broke gamers in an expensive hobby) so they just can't completely get rid of it but it seriously is holding back games. Not just on Microsoft consoles but Sony also. It's really an anchor dragging everything from moving forward. Microsoft needs to eat a loss and offer some kind of insane trade in deal to get all S owners onto an X Series.

He's spot on.

:P

I agree with Phil. Developers have been given stronger tools by leaps and bounds and they're still making first and third person shooters ad nauseum... We don't need new consoles we need new ideas. Plenty of power to go around.

It's not do much that we don't need it, it's that Xbox already has two skus.

Series x is the refresh.

They will probably have to lower it's price once the PS5 pro comes out though.

I listened to that interview. IMO his statement was more directed at whether it would happen so and not whether it would happen at all.

MS need to can the series s and release a new entry level system with more ram. It was a huge mistake.

2 recent MS first party games aren't even running more than 30fps on the series X. I'd imagine this will get worse as this gen goes on. I'm all for a PS5 Pro if it can all but guarantee a stable 60+fps. This is something I thought PS5 would do but after playing FFXVI, I guess not.

Phil needs to take a look at Halo Infinite and decide if they're fully utilizing Xbox Series X or not 🤣

I don't think we need a refresh either.

The only reason we got them last year was because devs were complaining about the tablet-level Jaguar CPU that the consoles used.

This gen, consoles used much more PC-level parts (due to AMD mastering thr APU market) and devs are only beginning to take advantage of next-gen only (due to covid and shortages).

I think it would just be about increasing resolution, which isn't really needed in an industry that is innovating on reconstruction techniques.

Series S and X actually have AMDs machine learning hardware and rumors are that FSR3 frame gen will work on Xbox so I'd imagine that's what MS is relying on to relieve the pain devs have with Series S

I'm a Sony guy and agree w/ Phil. I won't hate Sony if they go the Pro route, it's just not for me.

A PS5 Pro isn't needed but if they put one out I'd buy it eventually.

i like new hardware and i would welcome a mid-gen refresh.. heck, i seemingly buy a new smartphone every year..

but, with all the supply constraints, and with devs already complaining about the two Xbox SKUs, i could see why they wouldn't want to release something else so soon..

having attempted graphics / resolution mode on just every ps5 game ive got and 99% are unplayable framerate wise i would say we do need a mid gen upgrade. we shouldn't, but we do. these games should come with performance mode and ps5 pro tease mode. call a spade a spade

I agree with him. Imho the PS4 Pro and X1X were a waste of time.

Developers are not even using the current toys they have to play with in the current consoles. Let them sort that out first and then maybe think about upgraded console hardware in the next 3-4 years.

Having to support 4 SKUs would be rough but, they could just release a Series X Pro or something like that.

Either way, I do think it's a mistake not to release a mid gen refresh in some form. The current consoles will without a doubt suffer later in the generation and, losing the power battle to PlayStation is not going to do them any favors. Enthusiasts, gaming pros etc all buy top end / premium products so there is a market.

I’m fine without a mid gen refresh myself.

I'm cool with it. Devs used to work on optimizations, which take 2 gens of games (about 3-4 years) to learn and perfect.

Yep. The problem with the current gen consoles is that their have been a lot of games lately were performance is not up to snuff like FF16, Jedi Survivor, Remnant 2 and etc. It feels like they aren't being properly used yet. Along with the prices of the current gen consoles still being quite high in some countries it makes the idea of another mid gen refresh not a great one. Their has to be a good reason for a mid gen upgrade at this point and I don't think better raytracing performance and slightly higher resolutions is a good one.

basically every UE5 game and that's the case with upcoming ones as well, sub 1080p native res on 60fps modes

Firstly, no generations should last more than 5 years. Since current gen began during the shitshow, i guess there's an excuse for them to last a bit longer, but i don't want to see anything approaching 8-10 years, its ridiculous. We wouldn't be talking about upgraded systems if every generation lasted 5 years.

Secondly, i am down for an upgrade, BUT IT MUST BE AN ACTUAL UPGRADE. The XboneX and the Pro were a fking joke of a upgrade. You can't just upgrade the gpu, and pretend like the rest doesn't matter. If the gpu gets a noticeable boost, the cpu must as well, and add more ram if you believe that it might be needed in the next few years.

If you can't do all of them at a reasonable price, then gtfo with your "Pro" systems cuz they ain't pro for shiet.

btw i think that Phil doesn't want to release a Pro version of their X because they sell such a small amount of the X's as is, that they don't want to invest into RnD😅Be certain that if they were doing as well as they were during the 7th gen, he'd be all over a Pro version of the X😆😆😆😆

I’d be pissed if they did. Because of covid and silicon shortages, this gen has taken long enough to get started. They need to stfu about mid-gen refreshes. First show us what current gen consoles can do, people paid enough for them. So far everything feels like enhanced last gen games.

Last gen it made sense. The base Xbox One and PS4 hardware sucked out of the gate. With its Jag CPU and GTX 750 standard of GPU. Of course it needed a mid gen upgrade. But as a developer mentioned, adding another SKU now wouldn’t be a good idea.

I suspect that things will get better on that front eventually even if UE5 continues to be resource hungry/intensive. Games that use UE5 might have to stick to 30fps this gen on current gen consoles at this point.

A HUGE majority of games coming out in 2023 are still on PS4 and XB1, so no, we don't need mid gen iterations. It would be fucking pointless.

This, don't even get me started on how the AI in games these days are even dumber than what we had in the 2000s and the physics being a drowngrade from what we had in 2008.

It's not needed, not this time. The only reason why PS4pro and Xbox One X were created was because 4K TV's started to become a thing. 1080P doesn't look great on a big 4K screen.

General consumers don't understand processor speeds, cores, GPU specs and Teraflops, they're not in the lexicon of the average consumer. Heck, most of them don't know the difference between 60fps and 30fps.

Nothing like spending $600 on a console every 3 years, like a mini-PC upgrade. Without the benefits of PC.

With Starfield being the first AAA new gen title it would be hilarious them trying to sell a mid gen refresh. Same applies to Sony too, this gen hasn't been exactly fertile in exclusively current gen games.

Doesn't Remnant 2 run at 720p on consoles 😆. Hardware power has been there for years now, what we need are api's like DX12 Ultimate to get better. DX12U hands too much control to developers who aren't skilled enough to utilize. DX11 is better in this regard as it automates a lot more which is why many games run much better in DX11 mode compared to DX12. FSR3 will come to consoles later this year or early next year and give them a performance boost. If performance and graphics are that important to you then why are you even gaming on consoles?

I agree with him.

Yeah go get a PS5 Pro so you can play in "8K" improperly just like the PS4 Pro did "4K" improperly.

Phil ain't wrong. We should make due with what we have, optimize better. Burden is on developers, for better or worse.

Its a lose lose situation if xbox develops a mid gen upgrade as xbox already saddled by the awfully engineered last gen Xbox Series S, they can't be asking devs to focus on the Pro version as well.

No need for mid gen. If console gamers want regular hardware updates look no further than PC gaming.

This is from Gamescom. I can’t get over how Phil positions his hand on wasd… This is gonna scare off the PC crowd. It’s not Jim Ryan pretending to hold a controller bad, but it’s still goofy.

@ghostofgolden: Now the way in which someone places their hands on a keyboard when playing a game is an issue now? It is like watching Fox News take on gaming.😂

Are they going to come out with any compelling games this generation?

Nah, this is far worse than Obama wearing a tan suit or Biden falling asleep in public. Phil Spencer is using his thumb on wasd to move the character… There are now exactly 1 people in the world that do that… It’s like he’s trying to turn the keyboard into a controller!

@ghostofgolden said:

This is from Gamescom. I can’t get over how Phil positions his hand on wasd… This is gonna scare off the PC crowd. It’s not Jim Ryan pretending to hold a controller bad, but it’s still goofy.

Ok that is certainly a ... unique way of playing. He has his thumb on shift which seems all kinds of uncomfortable.

But yeah it's not like ol' Philly boy has a lot of time to practice his wasd moves on PC. As he got all these cans of whoop ass to open all the time and he has to deliver more great gamers to players across the globe.

If you are in the mood for more Dark Souls clones and battle pass grind-a-thons

Yes, absolutely.

@R4gn4r0k: said.. "But yeah it's not like ol' Philly boy has a lot of time to practice his wasd moves on PC. As he got all these cans of whoop ass to open all the time and he has to deliver more great gamers to players across the globe."

----

Too funny!!

lol :P

@R4gn4r0k said:

@ghostofgolden said:

This is from Gamescom. I can’t get over how Phil positions his hand on wasd… This is gonna scare off the PC crowd. It’s not Jim Ryan pretending to hold a controller bad, but it’s still goofy.

Ok that is certainly a ... unique way of playing. He has his thumb on shift which seems all kinds of uncomfortable.

But yeah it's not like ol' Philly boy has a lot of time to practice his wasd moves on PC. As he got all these cans of whoop ass to open all the time and he has to deliver more great gamers to players across the globe.

Evolutionary chain goes: flaps->paws->fingers->opposable thumbs->reversible thumbs.

This shit probably feels as natural to Phil as breathing.

@sancho_panzer said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

@ghostofgolden said:

This is from Gamescom. I can’t get over how Phil positions his hand on wasd… This is gonna scare off the PC crowd. It’s not Jim Ryan pretending to hold a controller bad, but it’s still goofy.

Ok that is certainly a ... unique way of playing. He has his thumb on shift which seems all kinds of uncomfortable.

But yeah it's not like ol' Philly boy has a lot of time to practice his wasd moves on PC. As he got all these cans of whoop ass to open all the time and he has to deliver more great gamers to players across the globe.

Evolutionary chain goes: flaps->paws->fingers->opposable thumbs->reversible thumbs.

This shit probably feels as natural to Phil as breathing.

It's the next part of evolution, he found a way to pwn call of duty and halo kiddos online.

It all makes sense now, why Halo Infinite's player base dropped so hard.

Phil used his tactic to pwn everyone online and they dropped out.