PS4.5; well that’s a biggie. Who would have thought that after a 2013 release, we would get to see a new PS so quickly. Sony might as well call it PS5 due to the huge hardware changes that are being implemented on the rumored console. Microsoft’s Xbox division, the direct competitor to Sony’s PlayStation, is also trying to build up the idea of an upgrade-able Xbox. So basically, in both consoles, all you are doing is upgrading your hardware, and performance is the very root reason for this.
Now when the PS4 and the Xbox One were released in 2013, many people were hyped up about them, the reason being the previous gen, i.e., PS3 and Xbox 360 had both seen great games, and the next gen promised even more of the same. They were both powerful consoles at that time and had drowned practically all other gaming systems/consoles. But as we have seen with the current gen, the case is quite the opposite. Both consoles are suffering from sub par performance, the Xbox even more so and not all games are running at 1080p, some are even going as low as 720p, the latest example being Quantum Break, exclusive to the Xbox One. The consoles had promised a generation of 1080p gaming but if you navigate through the internet, you’ll come to know that a considerable number of other titles are playing on resolutions lesser than 1080p.
These days, PCs are pushing 4K with quite modest setups and extreme PCs have been reported to run 12K resolution as well (Do not hate for stating this, but 16K has also been reached). We know that 12K is impractical right now, but it does indicate where technology is heading. In the last few years, technology has grown exponentially, PCs have gone much further ahead of the consoles in terms of not just raw power but also many other aspects of gaming and the idea of a static configuration these days is unthinkable. This is one of the biggest reasons, both the console giants are shifting to upgrade-able solutions.
BUT IS IT REALLY A GOOD IDEA?
To answer this question, let’s just ask ‘Why do I buy a console?’. There are thousands of answers like- I prefer a controller over a Keyboard&Mouse setup or I like to play on my TV (Big screen) etc, but the biggest reason is that the consoles last from anywhere between 4-8 years, without any hassle. You don’t have t worry about a game not being able to run on the system, you don’t need to worry about the performance and optimization (And no jealous feelings among the same crowd).
But once they make it upgrade-able or bring out a better performance version, the status-quo will change. Different consoles (technically belonging to the same generation) will require different optimizations. The console community will get divided into something the PC community may/may not call richer peasants and/or poorer peasants. It will become similar to the PC community in some twisted manner. Some games might become exclusive to the upgraded versions of the consoles due to the games being more intensive, maybe VR will be supported better by the more powerful console etc. It will all become a bigger mess than it already is.
This argument though (in my opinion) boils down to two simple aspects of gaming- Performance V Longevity, both of which are equally important. As time passes, console generations will become smaller: PS2 lasted approximately 10 years, PS3 lasted about 7 and the PS4 already needs an upgrade in it’s third year. It is difficult to imagine a scenario where consoles exist in the future, but then again, it’s a personal opinion and I may very well be proved wrong.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. What you think is the future of console gaming? Also tell us what you think are the near future pros and cons of console gaming. Over and out.