The future of console gaming once again feels precarious, with gamers growing increasingly concerned about cost vs specifications.
Xbox, much like PlayStation, is under heavy scrutiny from its fandom.
With the rising cost of new hardware consistently knocking gamers for six, worries are mounting as fans try to find justification for high costs coupled with minimal improvements.
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The latest trigger for this seemingly endless debate comes after Eurogamer published an article discussing the “console price challenges to come”.
In that feature, Xbox’s 6nm processor featured heavily, leading to several Xbox players arguing it out over the acceptability of increased costs for enhancements the average gamer can’t notice.
According to former Sony CEO, Shawn Layden, we’re experiencing a plateau.
“It has plateaued. We're at the stage of hardware development that I call 'only dogs can hear the difference',” Layden said.
Not everyone is willing to come to terms with this uncomfortable truth though.
“Higher specs should guarantee higher framerate,” argued Wild_Chemistry3884, “You can absolutely see the difference between 30/60/120fps. It’s ridiculous that we are getting 30fps games in 2024.”
Not everyone is in agreement with this user’s gripes.
That said, many do agree that individuals like Layden have encouraged gamers to raise their expectations far too high.
Redditor Alejandro_404 posted, “Shawn fails to mention in this that he was at the forefront of the games that have trained the audience and the market to always expect bigger and more beautiful games instead of focusing on gameplay and mechanics.”
It’s an issue that many say has dogged the industry “for years”.
Sadly, it’s not going to be a problem that gets resolved any time soon, even despite us steadily recognising that the payoff between cost and performance is minimal.
Will the new Xbox surprise us? Perhaps. Though we won’t hold our breath while we wait to find out.
Topics: Xbox, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Microsoft, Tech