A reader believes they have worked out Sony and Microsoft's plans for the next generation, predicting multiple devices including portables based on current tech and no exclusives.
Writing in a Reader's Feature for GameCentral, the reader, identified as Cranston, says that while everyone else is obsessed with GTA 6, they are more interested in what Sony and Microsoft are planning. They note that the biggest clue came this week when Microsoft admitted that Project Helix is more than just one console.
Why Microsoft would make a new console
The reader finds it hard to understand why Microsoft would make a new console at all, given the last two have sold so little, but says they have gone on about it so much it would sink any last bit of respect anyone had for Xbox if they cancelled it now. They add that if Microsoft were a normal company they absolutely would, but they are so rich nothing really matters to them.
The reader is not too interested in Xbox themselves, but is interested that their plan for the next gen seems to be very similar to Sony, with both planning multiple devices, one of which is a portable. They admit nothing is confirmed, but say Sony and Microsoft have both dropped enough hints about a portable that there doesn't seem to be any reason to doubt they're making one.
Portables based on current gen tech
The reader questions why they would make a portable, noting that while the Switch 1 and 2 are popular, a portable or hybrid console more powerful than the PlayStation 5 would be ridiculously expensive. They conclude the portables can't be next gen and must be based on current gen tech or earlier.
They reference Sony's tech that downscales graphics in a game in order to 'save power,' which they say is blatantly for some sort of handheld that's going to be a bit less powerful than a PlayStation 5 but can still play its games.
No next gen, just repackaged hardware
The reader says both Sony and Microsoft are planning a hyper expensive next gen console, going for a grand or more, but guesses it won't have any exclusives. Instead, everything will work on a PlayStation 5, meaning the current console, the portable, and the PlayStation 6 will all play the same games.
Microsoft implied even more devices than two, but the reader is not sure what that could mean, other than something halfway between the two, inspired by the Xbox Series S. The end result, they say, is that there isn't really going to be a next gen at all, just what we've already got repackaged into portable form and what will basically be a Super PS5 Pro.
The reader says it's an acknowledgement that there doesn't need to be a next gen, but Sony and Microsoft need to sell hardware, so they've got to come up with some reason for you to part with your money. They don't see it working though, predicting only a small minority will want the most powerful console or a portable version of the PlayStation 5, not many normal people, given what they're going to have to cost thanks to the component crisis.
Need for cheaper consoles
The reader says what we need right now is for consoles to get cheaper and making games to get cheaper, but even this half-generation move forward is still just going to end up with higher price tags and less ordinary people owning consoles. The only hope, as they see it, is to have a console that is cheaper than the PlayStation 5, which might be part of the plan, but it's the only thing they haven't hinted at yet.
They conclude that if their only plan is to sell even more expensive consoles then that's not going to work for a second, and they can't believe they don't realise that.
