Digital Foundry has released a new video, in which Richard Leadbetter discusses the possible upgrades of PS5 and Xbox Series X, which for convenience from now on we will call “PS5 Pro” and “Xbox Series Next“, and if, considering the current conditions of the market and advances in technology, are really necessary or even sensible to make. Legitimate doubts, given that, as we will see shortly, the negative points for mid-gen consoles are by no means negligible.
One of the doubts raised by Digital Foundry is that we are almost two years away from the launch of PS5 and Xbox Series X | S and the “true next-gen” is yet to arrive, as we are still in the midst of the cross-gen transition. In this case, Leadbetter does not only refer to the development of titles exclusively for current-gen consoles but also the use of advanced techniques, such as those seen in the Matrix demo created using the Unreal Engine 5.
The question posed by Digital Foundry it is legitimate: if the hardware of PS5 and Xbox Series X has yet to be squeezed what is the point of making a PS5 Pro or an Xbox Series Next in one or two years?
Another of the issues addressed by Leadbetter is what goal could be set for any mid-gen upgrades of Sony and Microsoft consoles. Leadbetter explains that PS4 Pro and Xbox One X were launched in response to the growing popularity of 4K screens, thus meeting the specific needs of a slice of the market.
The same conditions may not exist in this generation, as 8K TVs struggle to establish themselves, and who knows if they will ever succeed. In this sense, promising only higher performances may not be enough to penetrate the mass market. Furthermore, in his opinion, it also lacks the technologies necessary to perform a significant hardware leap.
Leadbetter also mentions the problem of production costs. In the Digital Foundry video, it is explained how these in past generations were drastically cut down over time. For example, in the case of the Xbox 360, production costs from launch to the end of life have been reduced by almost three quarters. But for PS5 and Xbox Series X things could be very different, as costs are not dropping at the same rate and therefore launching a more powerful model may prove impossible to sustain (or require an out-of-market selling price, we add). Plus, Leadbetter recalls, the success of the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series S proves that power isn’t everything.
The last point addressed by Leadbetter concerns the current world economic situation, with inflation on the rise while console prices remain fixed (unlike GPU prices), which means that Sony and Microsoft are making lower earnings for each. sold unit of PS5 and Xbox Series X and that situation could be even worse with hardware upgrades.
What do you think? Do you think PS5 Pro and Xbox Series Next will sooner or later arrive despite the potential issues listed by Digital Foundry? Let us know in the comments.