Official Thread XBOX Hardware

My Current Console Is....


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Pretty good editorial/summary:

https://dispatches.cheatcc.com/3788

Are the Xbox Rumors Our Next Step? - Cheat Code Central

It’s no secret that console makers are trying to push the platform into a new evolutionary stage. From Nintendo blurring the lines between on TV and handheld play, to Microsoft and Sony creating modular half-steps this generation, it’s obvious the traditional state of things has been disrupted. Meanwhile, several companies are working on making game streaming, something that has struggled to take, more of a viable option. If rumors about Microsoft’s plans for the next generation Xbox are even remotely true, we could be seeing a combination of modular consoles and streaming, and that might just be the right decision to make.

Let’s start with a brief summary of the rumor. Boiling it down to the basics, the rumor is that Microsoft will be dropping two different Xbox consoles. One will be the usual box with all the guts and power inside, with the hardcore consumer in mind. This will be the big boy, the 4K box, the one that will set people back a few hundred bucks. You don’t really need a rumor to know this is happening. The other half of the equation is a streaming box. This is a console unit that will have very little on the inside in terms of horsepower, that will be entirely based on a streaming platform still under development. This will effectively, again according to the rumor, cut the cost of the box down to under $200.

If this works, and Sony doesn’t do something similar, Microsoft could easily sneak right by and land into a pile of success. The fact is, while high-speed internet is still an ongoing process, game streaming is starting to work. People that do have high-speed internet can use services like the (still in beta) Nvidia GeForce NOW platform to play games with very little input latency, and super high visual settings. Similar rumors are swirling around Google, and EA has its own streaming platform as well. With companies of that size dumping resources in, it’s only natural that the technology will continue to close the gap that scares people away now.

If the next Xbox launches two options, with the streaming box being much cheaper, that opens the door for early adopters to jump in and try it out without too much to worry about. If the box is only in the neighborhood of $150, people who can already access and afford high-speed connections needed to sustain game streaming won’t have to think too hard about trying it out. If the cost to buy in is low, that must mean the cost of manufacture is low, and Microsoft likely won’t lose nearly as much (if any) on the streaming boxes as it will the traditional consoles. With the power of Microsoft branding behind it, this could be the move that pushes streaming out of the niche of third-party services, and right into the mainstream proving grounds.

If it works, and works in tandem with services like Xbox Game Pass, we could end up with a platform that not only puts Microsoft in a better position to curate and develop its own ecosystem, but also put consumers in a spot that saves a ton of overhead costs on console gaming. If you’re paying less than two hundred bucks to get in, then only another ten a month to gain access to first party games on day one and supplemental content from third parties, that’s going to be the most affordable console gaming has ever been, for those that have the internet access. From there, it will be all about pushing high-speed internet into more homes, and while things like the death of net neutrality are a concern, I can see a world in which Microsoft helps push that along somehow. It could also be a world in which the major competitors in the gaming space become Microsoft and Google, instead of Microsoft and Sony. That’s pushing it though, as Sony has plenty of brand power of its own, and even if it’s just pushing out the usual powerhouse box, as long as the economy stays where it is (or grows), there’s not going to be many issues with selling hardware.

What do you all think? Could the dual option platform be a real thing that’s coming from Xbox? Could Sony be planning something similar with the streaming tech it already has? Will Google come in and make things even more complicated? Does Nintendo care at all? There are a lot of questions to be answered as we head towards the next generations, which are only made more mysterious by the things that have already happened this generation. I’m certainly curious to see how it all plays out, and if streaming works, you can bet I’ll hop on the cheaper box.
 



So, kinda info we’ve heard before...

Internal battery, USB-C, 3 levels of hair triggers locks.

Meh, always preferred to use standard aa batteries, never liked how I had to use my ps4 controllers with a cable instead of just switch batteries when they die.
Usb c would be good if I liked the rechargeable battery thing...
 
Didn't get in.:ycry:

Me neither, but I got this email:

Hello!
We're upset about having to deliver this message, but our Closed Preview is now completely full. (sad)
We've tried to make room for as many Survivors as we could, but there's just too many.
Don't worry though! You'll get your chance to play DayZ soon! Gamescom is just around the corner, and you can look forward to more DayZ news there!


I read somewhere about it going into game preview at some point too.
 
Me neither, but I got this email:

Hello!
We're upset about having to deliver this message, but our Closed Preview is now completely full. (sad)
We've tried to make room for as many Survivors as we could, but there's just too many.
Don't worry though! You'll get your chance to play DayZ soon! Gamescom is just around the corner, and you can look forward to more DayZ news there!


I read somewhere about it going into game preview at some point too.
Got that email also.
 
Now available to pre - order:

xbox-one-x-nba-19-bundle.jpg
 
I look up "Xbox" news every day on Google. I love the top result today. Good ol' internet

W2NTozw.jpg
 
Ps5 and Xbox Scarlett Will Likely Focus On Online Connectivity And Innovative Options, Says Dev

NASCAR Heat 3 developer talks about next gen consoles.

Xbox-One-PS4.jpg


As the next generation of home consoles draws closer, speculation surrounding what sorts of improvements they’ll bring about continues to grow as well. And while the next Xbox and PlayStation are probably still at least a couple of years away, the talk surrounding them has been getting progressively more frequent.

Recently, we sat down with Monster Games’ Sean Wilson, who’s the executive producer on the upcoming NASCAR Heat 3, and, as we often do, we asked him about the next generation of consoles, and what his expectations are from the PS5 and the Xbox Scarlett (or whatever Microsoft will eventually end up calling it). Wilson’s answer was a pretty interesting one, though the thing he seems to expect from the next generation most of all seems to be a renewed focus on online connectivity, and what he calls “innovative options”.

“My assumption is we’ll just have more power to do bigger and better games,” Wilson said while speaking with GamingBolt. “With that in mind, we’re not only trying to make NASCAR Heatbetter on current platforms now, but we’re also preparing our game code and assets to transition to be ready for more power. Beyond that, I’m sure a primary focus of future consoles will be online connectivity. I’m hopeful we’ll get even more new and innovative options when it comes to competing with other gamers.”

That seems like a pretty safe bet. Better online connectivity is something that almost seems like a pre-requisite at this point, and if reports on Microsoft’s increased focus on options for cloud gaming for the next Xbox are anything to go by, it’s definitely going to be a reality, not just a theory. As far as having more power and “innovative options” go, that too seems like something we’ll all be expecting. For instance, the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey director also just wants to see “more of everything” in next-gen consoles.


https://gamingbolt.com/ps5-and-xbox-...tions-says-dev
 
Have enough bandwidth to go all out streaming, most here have that option (government made promise that whole country would have fiber and making good on that right now). If games will be downgraded because of this (ie ps now), I'll rather hold off and go with stronger local hardware.
 
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Game Pass members spent 20% more time playing games and played 40% more titles, Microsoft said.

The result, Microsoft found, was that Game Pass members spent 20% more time playing games than they did before signing up. And not just with Game Pass games, but with other games on the Xbox One as well. The company also saw a 40% increase in how many games a subscriber plays, and again, that wasn’t just for Game Pass titles, but all titles on the system. They also found that franchises with multiple entries would see a significant increase in the purchase of other games if one of the titles hit Game Pass.

https://variety.com/2018/gaming/features/xbox-game-pass-interview-1202914890/
 
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