Home Gaming When are the new slim consoles coming?

When are the new slim consoles coming?

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Xberx

Sony’s PlayStation 3 didn’t really start doing as well as it should have until the company released a smaller, cheaper model of the hardware. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 found its way in to more homes once they’d done a cheaper – and more reliable – hardware refresh. Many gamers are waiting for the same to happen with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 before they jump in to the new generations. When might that happen? Very possibly soon, says the Doritos pope himself, Geoff Keighly.

Speaking in the Xbox-centric latest Inner Circle podcast, good old Geoff Keighly (who was rather unfairly embroiled in that whole Doritosgate nonsense) spoke about what he believed might be happening with regards to new iterations of the existing consoles. He says it may be happening soon – but says that this time, Hardware manufacturers may actually upgrade their consoles to keep up.

“What I do think is that the idea of the same console platform staying as a locked target for five, six, seven years is not gonna happen, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see Xbox and PlayStation start to iterate on the hardware a lot quicker,” said Keighly in the podcast (Transcribed by Dualshockers)

I would Imagine, I don’t know, but I would imagine that the Xbox One is gonna do a refresh of the box at some point soon, much like they did last generation. You know, that’s a big piece of hardware for what’s inside of it.

The slim versions will come probably for both platforms in the next couple of years, but what will be interesting is, will they keep the hardware the same, or will Microsoft say hey, we actually wanna improve the graphics chip.”

While you might think that this is unheard of, it’s essentially exactly what Nintendo’s done with tits New 3ds; it’s an iterative upgrade of existing hardware, with a few new balls and whistles.

“That’s something that happens all the time in the PC space or in the mobile space. […] Traditionally consoles have always kept things the same, but I wonder now in the space with so many mobile phones iterating as quickly as they are, would Microsoft say “hey, we’re actually gonna improve the graphics, we’re gonna add more memory to the system.””

Of course, releasing an upgraded console early in the life cycle would do more than raise the ire of those who’ve thrown down a wad of cash

“The challenge is do you alienate the old consumers that brought the system and can’t upgrade… On Xbox 360 they brought up the system and a year later they decided to add an HDMI port to it. Everyone that didn’t have an HDMI Xbox was really upset at the time.

The way an executive at Microsoft described it to me was like “we see this console serve like cars. Every year there’s gonna be a new model of this Ford or this BMW that will come out, and they have some new features. We may start to upgrade like that.” They didn’t end up doing that in the Xbox 360 era, but I do wonder, and this is not specific to Xbox, I think it’s for every console manufacturer, at what point do you start to kinda improve the hardware, because I do think it’s gonna be hard for these systems to stay static for five plus years in this environment.”

Do you think Sony or Microsoft might release updated versions of their hardware with a little more processing power, or do you think it’d alienate the tens of millions of gamers who’ve already bought in?

Header Source: Retonova

Last Updated: April 13, 2015

144 Comments

  1. Uberutang

    April 13, 2015 at 09:39

    Well it will be up to AMD to create smaller APU’s first. They are still on 28nm or 32 nm I believe? Intel is now releasing 14 nm chips…

    Reply

  2. Werner Morris

    April 13, 2015 at 09:41

    I for one would be PISSED. I didn’t pay R6000 for a PS4 so they can release one that’s better, faster and stronger in 2016 for R4000.

    Reply

    • Uberutang

      April 13, 2015 at 09:44

      Performance would be same for a SKU refresh. Just be smaller, use less power etc.

      Reply

      • zeemonkeyman

        April 13, 2015 at 10:42

        Most likely but he is saying that if what this guy said came true

        Reply

    • Darren Peach

      April 14, 2015 at 02:54

      Nah, I woulg give em a pass just to see.

      Reply

  3. Kikmi

    April 13, 2015 at 09:42

    New slim versions, yeah, they’ll definitely go that route, whether or not they’re going to do performance upgrades? I don’t know man, IMO thats a silly move, folk won’t be pleased if they have to drop 7k every 2/3 years, I can promise you that, nevermind the host of compatibility issues that will arise. Maybe a splash more ram or an increased storage capacity (please oh dear god make it 4tb not just fucking 1tb.). Only other logical update I guess they could try do is getting the consoles to output 4k, but since there’s not really a single GPU out right now that can handle 4k60fps across the board so I don’t know the probability of that scenario

    Reply

    • zeemonkeyman

      April 13, 2015 at 10:43

      Even SLI 980’s struggle to do that..

      Reply

      • Kikmi

        April 13, 2015 at 14:37

        I’ve heard such horror stories too. I think a reliable 4k experience will only be readily available maybe Q3/4 2016

        Reply

    • CypherGate

      April 14, 2015 at 09:06

      Suspicious typo error?

      Reply

  4. Captain JJ the flash noob

    April 13, 2015 at 09:43

    They can’t even figure out how to put the power brick inside the Xbone, so I’m not sure making the console smaller is within their capabilities at this stage.

    Reply

    • Kikmi

      April 13, 2015 at 09:43

      <3

      Reply

      • Gr8_Balls_o_KFM_Fire

        April 13, 2015 at 11:42

        Is that a heart or a penis?

        Reply

        • Kikmi

          April 13, 2015 at 14:36

          What ever is in your wildest dreams man. You be you.

          Reply

    • Vogiir

      April 13, 2015 at 09:48

      Lol made my day

      Reply

    • zeemonkeyman

      April 13, 2015 at 10:45

      I think they made it that size to keep it cool to be honest. My xbox One never breaks a sweat and is quiet as hell with its nice big fan. My PS4 on the other hand is like a banshee screaming while been sodomized even when playing not so demanding games.

      Reply

    • AfricanTimeZA

      April 13, 2015 at 11:02

      they cant figure out how to power their controllers without batteries , very 80’s…

      Reply

  5. Her Highness the Hipster

    April 13, 2015 at 09:45

    i’d be upset. before people even finish paying off consoles through FNB, there’s already a better one? why would anyone ever be an early adopter??

    Reply

    • Captain JJ the flash noob

      April 13, 2015 at 09:48

      They probably know people will buy on release and many other will re-buy just to get the nicer newer one. Cash grabs, cash grabs everywhere.

      Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      April 13, 2015 at 09:50

      And then they can remaster Xbone v1.0 games for Xbone v1.1! PROFIT!

      Reply

      • Lord Chaos

        April 13, 2015 at 09:51

        No… Just… no…

        Reply

      • Greylingad

        April 13, 2015 at 09:54

        Haha!! The man speaks the truth!!

        Reply

      • Captain JJ the flash noob

        April 13, 2015 at 09:55

        The Last of Us remastered REMASTERED version

        Reply

        • Lord Chaos

          April 13, 2015 at 09:55

          So the current one?

          Reply

        • Greylingad

          April 13, 2015 at 09:57

          Or Halo the master chief collection edition remastered for the latest in the Xbox range, remastered for the Remastered Xbox range? Remastered?

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the flash noob

            April 13, 2015 at 09:57

            That hurts my brain.

          • HairyEwok

            April 13, 2015 at 10:08

            They’ll have to start using Japanese Lingo to name their stuff…… HAAALLOOOO MASTER CHIEF HD XXL XBOXONE 60FPS 4K UBER STEREOSCOPIC ZERO BUG collection…..

          • Greylingad

            April 13, 2015 at 10:11

            That last bit is IMPOSSIBLE!!

          • Lord Chaos

            April 13, 2015 at 10:12

            Zero bug means it’ll have null pointers.

      • DrKiller

        April 13, 2015 at 11:18

        That’d be funny in SA… Just when you finished downloading the previous 40GB patch, the new 40GB patch comes out 🙂

        Reply

  6. Blood Emperor Trevor

    April 13, 2015 at 09:46

    Buy a new one every two years, just like your phone!

    Reply

    • Greylingad

      April 13, 2015 at 09:47

      Or PC *runs*

      Reply

      • Uberutang

        April 13, 2015 at 09:48

        Looks at my 4 year old PC and shakes my head.

        Reply

        • Greylingad

          April 13, 2015 at 09:50

          Hehe, true, I upgraded end last year, after about 6 or 7 years on a Core 2 Quad with a graphics card upgrade every 2 to 3 years…which in itself was about the price of a console every time…

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the flash noob

            April 13, 2015 at 09:51

            Oh wow. I do a graphics upgrade also around 2 to 3 years at a time, but mine’s usually no more than 2,2k. At the very most.

          • BacchusZA

            April 13, 2015 at 09:51

            The cost is one thing that’s kept me from getting a console.

            And then I go and buy a GTX 970 a month or two back, for R6k…..

          • Uberutang

            April 13, 2015 at 09:51

            The price of one console, the performance of 2.5.

          • BacchusZA

            April 13, 2015 at 09:52

            Heh true, I guess

          • Greylingad

            April 13, 2015 at 09:52

            hehe, closer to 3.5…

          • Greylingad

            April 13, 2015 at 09:52

            Aah, brothers in arms I say.. also got a nicely sleek little 970, and good lord is it a powerhouse…at R6k…

          • Uberutang

            April 13, 2015 at 09:52

            Overpaid. Mine was R4600, actually only R600 since I sold my 670’s.
            Baie lekker gpu tho

          • Greylingad

            April 13, 2015 at 09:54

            Motherf… where did you get it that cheaply?! also my previous card was a 580, so…

          • Uberutang

            April 13, 2015 at 09:54

            First wave of releases from takealot. before dear mr zuma raped the rand.

          • Greylingad

            April 13, 2015 at 09:55

            Aah, ok, yes… he’s quite good at raping apparently…

          • Captain JJ the flash noob

            April 13, 2015 at 09:55

            He sure does have stamina, since he’s still going at it.

          • Lord Chaos

            April 13, 2015 at 09:56

            Excuse me while I go wrap all my notes in rubbers.

          • BacchusZA

            April 13, 2015 at 09:56

            Seconded, which truck did that fall off the back of?

            Cause, ya see, I’m kinda thinking I’d like a shiny new i7 to go along with that 970, but the upgrade kit I’m looking at is another 6k…….

          • Greylingad

            April 13, 2015 at 09:58

            I got the whole bundle man… I7 upgrade kit with the 970, I will never look back! and yes, a painstakingly R12600 later…

          • Lord Chaos

            April 13, 2015 at 09:58

            Ouch…

          • Greylingad

            April 13, 2015 at 10:01

            Yep… at least now there is no stuttering when playing CoD AW, or at least the last time I played, the whole 3 minutes of it…

          • Lord Chaos

            April 13, 2015 at 10:03

            Bought my entire rig for around that price 4 years ago from Frontosa excluding screens and HDD and she’s still idling on most games

          • Greylingad

            April 13, 2015 at 10:05

            That’s exactly it! Any rig that you buy now, will last you at least another 4 years, barr the fact that you might have to upgrade graphics cards, but everything else, it’ll just brush off like a misguided mosquito…

          • Lord Chaos

            April 13, 2015 at 10:07

            Looking at requirements and taking into account DX12, it’s possible I might need to get 2 new cards and be set for another 5.

          • Uberutang

            April 13, 2015 at 09:59

            If you have an i5 that is 3.3 ghz or better then an i7 wont make any noticeable change.

            i still rock an i5 2500k (at 4.2 ghz)

          • BacchusZA

            April 13, 2015 at 10:02

            I’ve got an “old” i5 3570k that I’ve never managed to overclock, so it’s still running stock at 3.4GHz.

            I certainly don’t *need* to upgrade. But I wants to, soooooo much. For reasons.

          • Uberutang

            April 13, 2015 at 10:03

            LOL. You wont even see the difference and with DX12 coming that will make CPUs more efficient I think my i5 is going to go another 4 years at least before I need to even consider updating it.

            PUSH THE OC BUTTON!

          • BacchusZA

            April 13, 2015 at 10:23

            I’ve tried a few times, but it’s given me the finger & blue-screened each time without fail.

            And that’s using the manufacturer supplied OC tools, and not messing with voltages & shit in the BIOS.

            I have an idea that what I might end up doing is dropping a grand or two on a decent cooling solution at some point, & when I get that installed – I’m a ham-fisted fool, so I won’t be doing it myself :p – I’ll tell the shop to overclock the system at the same time.

          • HairyEwok

            April 13, 2015 at 10:03

            For me the sandy bridge is still the best intel gave out for gaming out of all the series they’ve given out. Still one proper CPU even if it’s 4 years old.

          • Uberutang

            April 13, 2015 at 10:04

            Yeah I have the i5, my wife has the i7 (2600) (she does cad work so HT is helpful) and for Pure gaming that 2500k is just bliss.

          • Dutch Matrix

            April 13, 2015 at 10:03

            You forgot: DOA 5 requires an I7…

          • Uberutang

            April 13, 2015 at 10:05

            ‘requires’. I sometimes cringe at what publishers/devs put out as minimum.

          • Dutch Matrix

            April 13, 2015 at 10:06

            I honestly cannot believe that a console game, released on Xbox 360 requires that type of hardware.

          • geel slang

            April 13, 2015 at 11:00

            Got mine on Saturday. whohoo!

          • Darren Peach

            April 14, 2015 at 02:52

            You never suffered FX did you ?

    • Lord Chaos

      April 13, 2015 at 09:47

      Makes PC look so much better. 😛

      Reply

    • Darren Peach

      April 14, 2015 at 02:51

      Picture says it all. How did they pull that one over us ( A new cell every couple of years ) ?

      Reply

  7. Ryanza

    April 13, 2015 at 09:47

    5 year cycle, I fucking hope, so slim consoles next year E3. But Sony has sold shit loads of PS4’s. If Sony does a slim PS4 at E3 this year and it being cheaper, Sony will just destroy Microsoft. I don’t think Sony needs a new slim console this year. The PS4 momentum is not going to slow down anytime soon. Xbox one is going to slow down at a point because of the initial internet requirement. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the reason why Xbox One sales are shitty compared to PS4.

    Don’t Support DRM.

    Reply

  8. Uberutang

    April 13, 2015 at 09:47

    What they should do is allow you to ‘crossfire’ your consoles.

    So if you have the cash you can ‘stack’ 2xPS4 and get QHD and 60fps instead of 1080/30 etc etc.
    Stack 4xPS4 and you get 4k. Etc etc.

    Should be very very easy for devs to allow for that kind of scaling if the hardware remains the same for a few years. End users can then decide to add-on as they want it.

    Reply

    • BacchusZA

      April 13, 2015 at 09:49

      Didn’t some guy build a massively powerful supercomputer really “cheaply” by stringing a bunch of PS3 consoles together?

      I have a vaaaaaague recollection of that……

      Reply

      • Uberutang

        April 13, 2015 at 09:51

        The US army did that yeah. The PS3 was sold at a loss by SONY, so it was a fantastic buy for people that wanted ‘cheap’ grid computing. The PS3 CPU is hugely powerful (even today). Far more than both the Xbone and PS4 cpu’s combined. Its GPU and memory was a bit dated at the end.

        Reply

        • Geoffrey Tim

          April 13, 2015 at 09:55

          Truth. The Cell is a more capable CPU than is in the PS4 right now.

          Reply

          • Brady miaau

            April 13, 2015 at 10:09

            But, from everything I have read, more difficult to develop more, to get the most out of it.
            Also something in my exp, when something is more powerful than its peers, it is also typically more difficult to use, to get the power out

          • Geoffrey Tim

            April 13, 2015 at 10:09

            Also indeed true. Only a handful of game devs have managed to make the Cell shine.

          • Brady miaau

            April 13, 2015 at 10:39

            Yeah, years ago I worked on these Micro CPU’s, they were the bees knees. But it took so long to learn, ultimately not worth it. Years ahead of their time, just too big a learning curve to be production ready. Line also sort of died out.

      • Brady miaau

        April 13, 2015 at 10:08

  9. Johann

    April 13, 2015 at 09:49

    Hmmm, so if they want to release “upgraded” consoles what will this mean for the game developers? Will they still make the games so that it can run from the older versions of the consoles or will we start seeing requirements on our console games?

    Assassin’s Creed: Whatever
    Requirements: PS4 slim edition (not compatable with normal PS4)

    Reply

    • Lord Chaos

      April 13, 2015 at 09:50

      Or Console games will start coming out with an options menu for settings.

      Reply

    • Uberutang

      April 13, 2015 at 09:54

      No, SKU updates are the ‘same’ hardware spec, just smaller. Exactly the same as PS3 skus or the Xbox 360 skus. The internals did not change spec, they just became smaller and less power hungry and less power is less heat so you can build the system smaller.

      Reply

  10. Captain JJ the flash noob

    April 13, 2015 at 09:52

    On the bright side, maybe you’ll get a hard drive size that’s up to 2014/2015 standards and not 2010.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      April 13, 2015 at 10:09

      750 GB?

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the flash noob

        April 13, 2015 at 10:11

        lol

        Reply

  11. Admiral Chief asked for this

    April 13, 2015 at 09:54

    Not very slim of them, quite dom, huehuehue

    Reply

  12. Uberutang

    April 13, 2015 at 09:55

    To be fair, most people get a R9000 smart phone every 2 years…

    Reply

    • Captain JJ the flash noob

      April 13, 2015 at 09:56

      I am definitely not most people then.

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        April 13, 2015 at 09:58

        No, you’re not.

        Reply

        • BacchusZA

          April 13, 2015 at 09:58

          Thank G_d……

          😛

          Reply

        • Captain JJ the flash noob

          April 13, 2015 at 10:01

          This is not a compliment. I know you.

          Reply

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            April 13, 2015 at 10:06

            😀

      • Admiral Chief asked for this

        April 13, 2015 at 10:00

        Most men don’t wear eyeliner

        Reply

        • Captain JJ the flash noob

          April 13, 2015 at 10:00

          Oi!

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief asked for this

            April 13, 2015 at 10:01

            WHERE IS MY DAMN INVITE YOU TWIT

          • Captain JJ the flash noob

            April 13, 2015 at 10:02

            Take an upvote.

          • Brady miaau

            April 13, 2015 at 10:11

            Why are up-voting the Admiral? Also, is he a landlocked Admiral?

          • Captain JJ the flash noob

            April 13, 2015 at 10:13

            He feels hurt that he didn’t get an invite to my wedding.

          • Brady miaau

            April 13, 2015 at 10:15

            Hurt hurt, or just “hurt”?

          • Captain JJ the flash noob

            April 13, 2015 at 10:17

            Haha. I barely invited any family of mine, and imagine having someone from Snortoria there. ;P

          • Brady miaau

            April 13, 2015 at 10:21

            Yeah, you said like 13 people coming or something.

          • Captain JJ the flash noob

            April 13, 2015 at 10:22

            Yes. Good memory. 🙂

          • Brady miaau

            April 13, 2015 at 10:39

            Yeah, now if I can use my power for good and not evil, we may get somewhere

          • Admiral Chief asked for this

            April 13, 2015 at 10:42

            It would have been, legen………………….dary

          • Lord Chaos

            April 13, 2015 at 10:29

            Brilliant song

          • Brady miaau

            April 13, 2015 at 11:04

            indeed. In almost any version.

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            April 13, 2015 at 10:31

            I love that version. He puts so much feeling into it.

          • Skyblue

            April 13, 2015 at 21:05

            Best version of that song ever and I am/was a NIN fan.

      • Hammersteyn

        April 13, 2015 at 10:09

        We’re all part of the same compost heap

        Reply

        • Captain JJ the flash noob

          April 13, 2015 at 10:10

          We’re all singing, all dancing crap of the world

          Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      April 13, 2015 at 10:08

      Which is silly

      Reply

      • Uberutang

        April 13, 2015 at 10:10

        Very, but they still do it.

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          April 13, 2015 at 10:12

          I’d love to see them still do it looking at the Samsung Galaxy S6

          Reply

    • Brady miaau

      April 13, 2015 at 10:11

      Not my most people. Some of my work mates, yes, but not all. I, for example, buy phones cash. Will not pay R9000 for a phone, thanks.

      AND that phone is paid for in monthly instalments The only way I like deals from cell providers is where you pay the same per month with the phone (like my wife on her Lumia 920 deal more than two years ago) as without the phone,because of a special offer. Then, it makes sense..

      Reply

      • Uberutang

        April 13, 2015 at 10:13

        You know you can pay of anything in instalments right?

        Reply

        • Brady miaau

          April 13, 2015 at 10:15

          Yes, pretty much. But the phone deals hide the costing sometimes (I see more and more the adverts are showing the cost of phone now), which makes it seems as if you do not,

          And I do not understand your point. Can you please elaborate?

          Reply

          • Pariah

            April 13, 2015 at 10:16

            There was an article on My Broadband that showed that it’s cheaper to stick to prepaid unless you sms a lot. Which nobody does any more. The cost of contracts include sms’ – and it’s almost a redundant service with everyone using whatsapp and other forms of communication.

          • Brady miaau

            April 13, 2015 at 10:20

            Yeah, I got 1000 SMS’s a month. but I get 800mb data, which is useful. I would like more of a mix n match system, to be honest.

          • Captain JJ the flash noob

            April 13, 2015 at 10:21

            I got myself a cheap contract because I’m not very fussy about phones, it just needs to do the basic things. But it’s a topup contract, so I load that thing up with Data like a madman and it works out really cheap.

          • Uberutang

            April 13, 2015 at 10:17

            People budget for x pm for a phone contract. they can if they wanted do the same for their ‘gaming’ contract. that could include hardware etc, same as phones.

  13. Jonah Cash

    April 13, 2015 at 10:02

    I wouldn’t mind too much if they have a deal on me swopping out my old console for the new one at less than half the price of the new one… Then I would definitely look into it!! But at the moment for me the biggest problem is games, where are the games??? This gen feels low on big budget games for me…

    Reply

  14. Jonah Cash

    April 13, 2015 at 10:04

    But from the game devs side, how the hell do you optimize the game then? For each iteration of console there has to be different settings? I don’t think they will be happy if this is to happen…

    Reply

  15. BacchusZA

    April 13, 2015 at 10:07

    I always said that *if* I get either of the current gen consoles it’d be after the mid-life upgrade versions came out.

    But it’s a big if. Both my 360 & PS3 sit on my tv stand, gathering dust, because all I ever play is SWTOR, Elite Dangerous, & a few flight sims.

    Reply

  16. Melasco

    April 13, 2015 at 10:11

    What a load of BS. They wont update the performance… They’ll just make it smaller and hopefully cheaper. End of story.

    The whole idea behind a console is to have a fixed platform for many years. If I wanted a gaming PC that I can tweak and upgrade I’d go buy one… but I don’t, I like the convenience of buying a console once that I can use for many years.

    I’m so blessed that I don’t burn energy and time thinking about what the games look like on other platforms because I trust the developers to deliver the best game for my platform…. Leave the damn PS4 alone, it’s working just fine, 99% of people is 100% happy with it.

    If you turn my console into a PC I’ll rather quit gaming and spend my money on something else.

    Reply

    • Brady miaau

      April 13, 2015 at 10:17

      yes. Production cost brought down will drive the slim, not extra stuff or more performance, that drives costs up

      Reply

  17. Hammersteyn

    April 13, 2015 at 10:12

    People seem upset that a cheaper version of their PS4 or XBOX One may land soon. I see it as a opportunity to own both.

    Reply

  18. Goal9

    April 13, 2015 at 10:16

    This is why you never adopt a console early; not only is it over-priced and lacking games – you’ll see a slim version just a year or two down the line.

    More on point; if they do release a new slim line version I wouldn’t be surprised if they did slightly revamp the hardware so that games would run a bit bitter; either better framerates or higher res. I think the idea is that any new games that come out can take advantage of this never hardware but still run (if not maybe a tad worse) on the older models.

    Reply

  19. kevin mole

    April 13, 2015 at 10:19

    I don’t think the ps4 needs changing with the way it is selling ,why change something that is not broke it is selling in bucket loads.

    Reply

  20. Ryanza

    April 13, 2015 at 10:21

    A gaming contract just like cellphone contract. Call rates are cheaper. So games should be cheaper for it to work.

    What ever it takes to play The Witcher 3 at at max uber ultra settings. Then I wouldn’t need to renew the gaming contract after 2 years. I do get to keep the system after 2 years right.

    https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8747/16917078308_70273dee3b_o.gif

    Reply

  21. Goal9

    April 13, 2015 at 10:23

    Another thing. Is it too far fetched to build a console which can be separated in two pieces; with one part being the graphics chip, RAM, etc which can be replaced with newer hardware piece?

    Console owners can then choose to have their system upgraded at a lower cost instead of buying the full console with the new hardware?
    I guess the question then becomes what do you do with the old hardware block? Maybe SONY/MS can have some kind of upgrade program where you send in the old hardware block to receive the new one?

    Granted everybody makes products these days with a limited lifespan and making products last longer instead of buying new ones is rather counter productive business wise.
    STILL with a 6-10 year life span; these consoles could do with some upgrade options.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ the flash noob

      April 13, 2015 at 10:24

      They would never give console gamers the option of upgrading, except if the hardware can ONLY be bought from SONY or MICROSOFT. There’s too much money to be made with newer, slightly better consoles.

      Reply

  22. Ryanza

    April 13, 2015 at 10:29

    Let’s turn consoles into PC’s and PC’s into consoles. If you buy a PC game you not buying a PC you buying a Steam game. PC gaming is no more. It’s now Steam gaming, Origin gaming, Uplay gaming, Social Club gaming, Error 37 gaming, with more to come.

    If you take the static, uniformity, away from consoles, development time and costs increase. More bugs and more time needed to test everything single set that’s possible. And the best possible setups won’t make the most money per game.

    All I know is that The Witcher 3 is coming to retail with no drm.

    Reply

  23. schitsophrenic-toothbrush

    April 13, 2015 at 10:30

    I’d be lank bleak, but would sony consider doing it now? I mean surely the PS4 consoles are still selling like hotcakes. Why make a slim version now and lose out on dosh. I rate only in the next 2 years or so will we see a slim jim.

    Reply

  24. zeemonkeyman

    April 13, 2015 at 10:39

    I’ll be fucking pissed if they make the hardware better!! I don’t know how they can do that to people who have already forked out for their consoles?! I’m sure there could be a lawsuit in there somewhere lol

    Reply

  25. Greylingad

    April 13, 2015 at 10:39

    The outrage in the comments section for this article is still quite amazing, usually, speculation is just that, yes, slimmer versions of consoles might be coming, but newer hardware, very unlikely, as this would cause a new hardware requirement for different sets of games, which in turn, renders everything console, useless…. The answer to the question then? Relax. if you have a console, good for you, if you are planning to buy one, then just wait a little bit longer and you should fins it slightly cheaper and a little bit sleeker…. Otherwise, just rant…

    Reply

  26. DrKiller

    April 13, 2015 at 11:15

    This is probably the worst thing they can think of doing…

    “we see this console serve like cars. Every year there’s gonna be a
    new model of this Ford or this BMW that will come out, and they have
    some new features”

    YES, BUT the PREVIOUS model still drives fine! If you update the basic hardware of consoles, the previous versions won’t be able to play certain games!

    Reply

  27. Gr8_Balls_o_KFM_Fire

    April 13, 2015 at 11:39

    Doing that will immediately eliminate a console’s “install base” which is so important in terms of sales.

    If a game releases next year for upgraded consoles only then the dev and publisher would automatically lose out on the 40 odd million potential sales they already have.

    Also to upgrade your phone or modular components of your PC regularly is relatively cheap compared to buying a new R7000 console every few years. Nobody’s gonna do that.

    So I highly doubt they would shoot themselves in the foot like that.

    Reply

  28. Kensei Seraph

    April 13, 2015 at 12:51

    *20 years have passed and the newest Microsoft console is being announced*
    Microsoft Rep:
    “Come get your new Xbox Tomato!”
    “Now specially designed to allow for easy component upgrades.”
    “Just pop open the case, unscrew that old graphics component and slide in the new, more powerful graphics component!”

    Journalist:
    “How does this differ from a PC?”

    Complete the answer and stand a chance to win awesome prizes.

    Terms and conditions apply.
    If you do not know the terms and conditions then you are not eligible to win.
    If you do know the terms and conditions then you are not eligible to win.

    Reply

  29. MakeItLegal

    April 13, 2015 at 13:14

    would change the entire business proposition , because all of a sudden instead of 5 years good console gaming , now u looking at 2 or 3 years…my penny

    Reply

  30. Sean

    April 13, 2015 at 14:05

    Seems unrealistic to me that static hardware can continue to scale for 5 to 7 years at the price-point it is being offered.

    Reply

  31. Scorpion V SubZero

    April 13, 2015 at 15:03

  32. Zander Boshoff

    April 13, 2015 at 20:31

    I was extremely upset about the new 3ds. I went and sold my 3ds because i don’t know what the hell they are trying to do

    Reply

  33. Jarrett Lennon Kaufman

    April 14, 2015 at 00:56

    Interesting that the two typos in this article are “tits” and “balls…”

    Reply

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