The next generation of gaming is rapidly approaching, and thanks to some new information supplied by Xbox themselves, everyone can now get a glimpse of what the future will hold. The full technical specifications of the Xbox Series X console have been unveiled, along with screenshots of tech demos of Minecraft and Gears of War 5 both utilizing the new graphical power of the console, details about backwards compatibility, and more.

Kicking things off, here are the full specs of the system:

CPU 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.6 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU
GPU 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU
Die Size 360.45 mm2
Process 7nm Enhanced
Memory 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320b bus
Memory Bandwidth 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s
Internal Storage 1 TB Custom NVME SSD
I/O Throughput 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed, with custom hardware decompression block)
Expandable Storage 1 TB Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly)
External Storage USB 3.2 External HDD Support
Optical Drive 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive
Performance Target 4K @ 60 FPS, Up to 120 FPS

The beefy Series X plans to aim for games with 4K graphics, and a framerate of 60fps, thanks to its 8 core AMD Zen 2 processor, coupled with a custom RDNA 2 GPU. Digital Foundry got to see the system in action early, even tearing down the console to its components, and going in-depth with some of the new features of the Series X. The nearly 30-minute video can be seen here.

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We also have confirmation that Gears of War 5, which originally launched on the Xbox One, will be an "optimized" launch title for the Series X, with the next-gen version free to those who already own the game on the Xbox One. Where the game used to run at 30fps on console, it now can reach 60fps in cutscenes, after a few weeks of slight work on the port. Minecraft also was shown running on the system, with hardware-accelerated Raytracing giving the game a brand new look, with high-quality lighting effects.

To close out the segment on the power of Xbox Series X, The Coalition’s Technical Director, Mike Rayner, came up to show us how his team is planning to optimize Gears 5 for Xbox Series X. The team showcased a technical demo of Gears 5, powered by Unreal Engine, for Xbox Series X using the full PC Ultra Spec settings, which included higher resolution textures and higher resolution volumetric fog, as well as a 50% higher particle count than the PC Ultra Specs allowed. They also showed off the opening cutscene, which now runs at 60 FPS in 4K (it was 30 FPS on Xbox One X), meaning the transition from real-time cutscenes to gameplay is incredibly smooth.

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Another feature discussed was the console's SSD. It'll be using something called Xbox Velocity Architecture, which will allow for "game-changing" load times, and the previously touted "quick resume", which lets players jump right back into their games instantly, even after you've updated, turned the system off and on again, or even unplugged it.

There’s also the new Quick Resume technology that we outlined in our last blog post. With current gen consoles, you can resume the last game you played. However, since most players play (on average) three to four games a month, the team wanted to give them the option to switch between them easily and quickly. With Quick Resume, you can resume multiple games with the press of a button, instantly jumping back into the action, right where you left off, for multiple titles at the same time.

Since game states will be stored directly in the system’s SSD, they’ll even persist after you turn off the console, unplug it entirely, or even take a system update. One of the testers on the team unplugged his console for a week, then took an update, and was still able to continue right where he left off without so much as a loading screen.

While it took a few years for the Xbox One to become backwards compatible with the Xbox 360, that won't be the case with the next-generation. The Series X plans to have games from the original XBox, to the 360, and the One all available to play, and even perhaps improved on the new hardware. Cross-generational multiplayer will also be a feature, as well as being able to bring save files of your backwards compatible games forward to the Series X.

Players will see the benefits of the improved hardware of Xbox Series X for backwards compatible games, including improved boot and load times, more stable frame rates, higher resolutions and improved image quality. The Compatibility team is also continuing to create entirely new techniques and innovation that we can use to further enhance the existing catalog of games when running on Xbox Series X.

The Xbox team is so committed to the concept of compatibility and cross generation play, that not only do your games move forward with you, but so do your Xbox One accessories, your game saves, and progression. In fact, your entire gaming legacy moves forward with you to the next generation.

Lastly, we got to see some new images that show off the controller and its textured bumpers, new d-pad, and the share button. The d-pad is a slight hybrid between the 360's and the One's, with a "dish" style that attempts to take the best from both controllers. The controller will also have low wireless latency, "shaving off precious miliseconds at every step of gameplay". Previously, a handful of limited controllers for the Xbox One offered textured triggers, and so will this gamepad, hopefully making the triggers easier to grip, with its raised bumps along the top.

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With each generation of controllers, from Xbox to Xbox 360 to Xbox One to Xbox One S, the Xbox hardware team has led and innovated input for gaming. They’ve set new bars with Elite and Adaptive Controllers in performance, features, quality, and accessibility. When considering the next generation of gaming, they wanted to build on this legacy. At its core, Xbox Series X is all about speed, compatibility across generations, and the power to create deeper experiences. The team wanted to develop a controller that helps fully realize these promises, keeping in mind that even improvements that may seem small initially can make a big impact. At the same time, given the love fans have for the current controller, they wanted to ensure they didn’t change things just for the sake of change; building on the Xbox One controller in smart, evolutionary ways while ensuring the muscle memory players have built up over the years remains intact.

With those principles in mind, the Xbox design team developed a next-generation controller to deliver what fans wanted most: improved ergonomics for a wider range of people, better cross-device connectivity, easier sharing, and reduced latency. We had a chance to sit down recently with Ryan Whitaker, Senior Designer at Xbox, to talk about the team’s philosophy in designing the new Xbox Wireless Controller that will be included with Xbox Series X this holiday.

Xbox Wire: Did you make design choices with the new Wireless Controller to be more inclusive of all players?

Ryan Whitaker: Yes. Being more inclusive is part of the design process from the very beginning. That’s true for everything we make at Xbox. Whether we’re redesigning our standard controller or inventing a completely new one, like the Adaptive Controller, we ask ourselves and gamers, “How can we make gaming a better experience for everyone?” By listening to gamers and observing how people of all backgrounds and abilities play, we continue to learn more and find areas we can improve.

Xbox Wire: What sort of specific design changes did you make to reach that goal?

Ryan Whitaker: One key area we’re improving is fitting a wider range of hand sizes, especially smaller hands. By accommodating hands similar to those of an average 8-year-old, we found we could improve accessibility and comfort for hundreds of millions more people without negatively affecting the experience for those with larger hands. We did that by rounding the bumpers, slightly reducing and rounding parts around the triggers, and carefully sculpting the grips.

Xbox Wire: Why did you decide to change the design of the D-pad?

Ryan Whitaker: The new D-pad is about boosting performance and accessibility for all the ways people play. (And it’s one of my favorite parts of the new design.) When looking at the wide range of game genres and personal playstyles today, the D-pad is used in a lot of different ways. That’s why our Elite controllers have swappable D-pads. For some games, having crisp cardinal directions (up, down, left, right) with well-defined edges is what gamers need, and the cross is great for that. Some gamers need to hit accurate diagonals or perform sweep actions, which is where the facetted dish is designed to excel. And, of course, based on personal playstyles, some people just prefer one over the other.
Building on what we learned from Elite and watching how people use the D-pad, we designed a hybrid to deliver the best of both. It feels great. The slightly deeper dish gives your thumb a nice little “home” to sit in. The angles are finely tuned to give you a good amount of leverage with minimal movement. Gamers will notice a performance boost right out of the box.

Xbox Wire: How important was compatibility and connectivity in your design?

Ryan Whitaker: Both are critical to gaming experiences right now. Gamers want to play games on all of their devices. That includes the ability to play classic games and the latest AAA titles on a phone through xCloud. The new controller needs to work equally well on Xbox One and pairing and moving between all these devices needs to be easy.

This level of compatibility and connectivity has become the norm for devices and accessories. Increasingly, the controller will be the common touch point to your Xbox games across devices. It’s the one consistent piece of hardware in all these interconnected experiences. So we designed it to work that way.

Xbox Wire: What steps did you take to ensure compatibility and improved connectivity?

Ryan Whitaker: Designing for compatibility and connectivity has a wide range of implications. Some improvements are completely invisible and work in the background. Others help define the shape of the controller.

First, we’re supporting cross-compatibility between Xbox Series X and Xbox One consoles and controllers. They all work together with the same great Xbox Wireless Radio. Gamers can also play on more devices including PC, Android, and iOS. We’re implementing Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) so that pairing to these devices is much easier. The new controller also remembers multiple devices so switching between them is more seamless. And a USB-C port allows gamers to play and charge with a modern cable that’s more readily available.

Another area in which gamers are always looking for connectivity improvements is reducing latency. We’re introducing a system-wide set of improvements we call Dynamic Latency Input (DLI), which includes specific technology in the console and the HDMI connection to your TV. And it all starts with the controller. Essentially, information is sent more frequently from the controller and matched with exact frames of your game on-screen. The result: we shave off precious milliseconds at every step of gameplay, and actions are even more instantaneous.
All of these improvements work in the background and are fairly invisible. We also wanted to maintain back-compatibility with accessories people already have in their collection. Since those are physical connections, that defines the shape of the lower half of the controller as well as the location of the audio and accessory ports. Ultimately, that means you can plug in your Chatpad or headset on day one, and it still just works.

Xbox Wire: Why did you decide to add a Share button?

Ryan Whitaker: Gaming is an important way people connect with each other. It’s often how friends hang out and stay in touch. Capturing and sharing epic or meme-worthy moments are part of that experience and should be as quick and unobtrusive as possible. Adding a Share button is the best way to make capturing and sharing instantaneous. It’s easy to just grab a screenshot or record a video without needing on-screen menus. Then you can easily access and share content with your favorite social platforms or directly with friends.

Xbox Wire: The controller has some new textures and finishes. Can you tell us a bit more about this?

Ryan Whitaker: We added a tactile dot pattern on the triggers and bumpers, which provides grip to improve feel and performance during gameplay. That’s something we’ve had on special edition controllers and fans love it. Now it’s the new standard. A similar, yet more subtle pattern is on the grips. The D-pad, bumpers, and triggers now have a matte finish to maintain a smooth consistent feel, whether your hands are wet or dry.

Thanks to Ryan for taking the time to speak with us about the new Xbox Wireless Controller. For more on Xbox Series X, check out our features taking a closer look at the tech powering the Xbox Series X, our primer on latency and what the team is doing to improve it, and our glossary of next-gen terms.

The Xbox Series X is still slated for a Holiday 2020 launch.


Source

 

[DarkKaine]

Sony: "Why go first, when your competitors can look up your specifications and come up with something better?"
This is what they said when developing the ps4.

Call it a clever business strategy, I call it shady af lol. If both would play this game we'd be waiting forever.

If they want to bury Sony they just have to do one simple thing: make it able to run windows without any restrictions. You'd have a very accessible gaming pc with best of both worlds.

Not that I'm buying either of these consoles as I just don't see the need for them anymore, but I always find it interesting to see how this all plays out.

 

[64bitmodels]

I'm of two minds about it: ideally, exclusives shouldn't exist. Gamers would benefit by only needing to invest in hardware once, and developers/publishers would benefit through bulk up-front profits with pre-orders and launch sales. OTOH, exclusives are what defined every retro console and their individual character, so I can understand not wanting to let that concept go. The issue there is that, where MS and Sony are concerned, this gen and next gen are basically indistinguishable from gaming PCs in terms of hardware.

Ultimately I am mostly in favor of exclusives ending, but realistically it's not going to happen as long as people keep supporting the practice with their wallets.

Killing exclusives would be killing consoles. honestly i'm just fine with that, because i'd rather have 1 unified platform where you can play every game rather than 3 where you can play a few. Call me a gaming socialist, but that's what i believe. Ever since 2012, consoles have been underpowered PCs that only get love because of ther heavily streamlined and dumbed down interface, their gimmicks and their few killer apps. give me one good reason as to why you'd buy a console, that doesn't have anything to do with exclusives or portability. oh yeah, there is none.

 

[duwen]

At its core, Xbox Series X is all about speed, compatibility across generations, and the power to create deeper experiences.

I really hope they're looking at true backwards compatibility and not just carrying forwards the xbones back-compat program. The lack of compelling xbone exclusives and it's extremely selective range of backwards compatible titles was a major factor in me jumping back to the PS brand this gen... although I still boot up my X360 fairly regularly to play many of the titles that haven't resurfaced this generation (predominantly all the delisted titles I downloaded; Scott Pilgrim, MvsC Origins, Outrun Online, etc - as well as some of the more niche disk based titles and 'region-free' Japanese import shmups I bought).
Honestly, I'm not in either camp for next gen yet, but whichever system has the better implementation of backwards compatibility is more likely to get me onboard... although Microsoft will find it tough to compete with the quarter of a century's worth of Sony titles I own - maybe they'll make it play Dreamcast and Saturn disks!

 

[Xzi]

Killing exclusives would be killing consoles.

Not necessarily, a lot of people are going to prefer the simplicity of a console OS no matter what. Up-front cost of the hardware is always going to be a consideration too, and Switch/Switch Lite would gain a huge boost from having PS4 games available, with the reverse also being true. Hell, XB1 was the only system without any exclusives this gen, and it still sold about 50 million units. PC and XBSX definitely stand to gain the most from a hypothetical end to exclusives, but I think Sony would still beat out MS next gen and a surprising amount of people would still choose Nintendo for their primary gaming platform regardless.

 

[Deleted User]

If I were Microsoft, I'd release it early. Take advantage of the influx of video game buying and get a headstart on Sony. If people already have Xbox Series Xes, then their friends will want one too and be less likely to wait for a PS5.

 

[duwen]

If I were Microsoft, I'd release it early. Take advantage of the influx of video game buying and get a headstart on Sony. If people already have Xbox Series Xes, then their friends will want one too and be less likely to wait for a PS5.

Yeah, coz releasing a system that had no games for it worked so well for them this gen.
oh sorry, I forgot about the uprezzed Minecraft and GoW5 - real system sellers.

 

[DANTENDO]

Releasing a new console November time perfect timing as Christmas lists are being made and of course mor people shop

 

[Deleted User]

Releasing a new console November time perfect timing as Christmas lists are being made and of course mor people shop

Except peope are unlikely to buy 2 consoles in a year and they're buying consoles now

 

[IncredulousP]

Computer. It's a computer.

 

[boomario]

If they want to bury Sony they just have to do one simple thing: make it able to run windows without any restrictions. You'd have a very accessible gaming pc with best of both worlds.

That would be the extra that xbox lacks, i mean, the windows 10 core and x86 architecture is already there, and with Series X you have now the power to run PC games at acceptable speed and graphics so it's just a matter of adapting the system to allow that and the console would be much more interesting to everyone.

 

[pedro702]

Killing exclusives would be killing consoles. honestly i'm just fine with that, because i'd rather have 1 unified platform where you can play every game rather than 3 where you can play a few. Call me a gaming socialist, but that's what i believe. Ever since 2012, consoles have been underpowered PCs that only get love because of ther heavily streamlined and dumbed down interface, their gimmicks and their few killer apps. give me one good reason as to why you'd buy a console, that doesn't have anything to do with exclusives or portability. oh yeah, there is none.

i buy becuase i want my games in physical format tbh, i dont bother with pc and digital only stuff, same on consoles, only physical games is the way to go for me.

 

[tabzer]

Of course - they do bend the knee. I'd say most times it's out of necessity though, not by choice. If they had the option to play all of their games on one platform, they would. This doesn't affect me as a collector, I'll buy both this and the PS5 either way, but I'm not representative of the average buyer - to the average customer this practice is anti-consumer. We shouldn't give "exclusives" any special treatment just because they're artificially tied to a platform, or vice versa. Either they're good on their own merits or they're not. To give an example, I would play Halo: Combat Evolved on a toaster if I had to because it's an amazing game, but if I had to choose a console to play it on, I would choose the best one available, the One X, or I'd play it on PC, because those two provide an objectively better experience when compared to the OG or the 360. I consider the software and the hardware to be mutually exclusive, and any exclusivity of the software is a purely arbitrary annoyance, not an advantage. Naturally hardware developers need talking points to sell their consoles and exclusives do help in this regard, but that doesn't make it right - they're selling you a time share on the merits of one specific holiday.

I'm not sure what you are saying. I'm really trying but even your example loses me. I mean, I don't disagree with the notion that it sucks to have to buy multiple consoles to play different games, when the machines themselves seem to be almost the same thing. But how does an operating system, or even firmware support the idea of this mutual exclusivity between soft/hardware? Are patents or brand identity valid concepts in your view, or are they artificial?

 

[Foxi4]

I'm not sure what you are saying. I'm really trying but even your example loses me. I mean, I don't disagree with the notion that it sucks to have to buy multiple consoles to play different games, when the machines themselves seem to be almost the same thing. But how does an operating system, or even firmware support the idea of this mutual exclusivity between soft/hardware? Are patents or brand identity valid concepts in your view, or are they artificial?

To me the branding is merely a badge on a piece of hardware that's either fit for purpose or it isn't. In an ideal scenario you'd be able to play any game you want on a platform of your choice, but that's obviously not going to happen - it's wishful thinking. My point was that we should judge hardware for what it is, and if it sells, you can bet developers will flock to it. It's the hardware sales that set the boundaries of the platform's target demo, you're not going to sell games for a platform that 5 people own when the competitor sold 50, based on the vague premise of exclusives that may or may not come. I'm quite happy to see that the Series X is shaping up to be a good piece of tech after some blunders from Microsoft, what I don't like is people slagging it off for "not having exclusives" when the thing's not even out yet. I'm far from a Microsoft fanboy, but I can tell what's well-designed when I see it, and ever since the Xbox One S I have to say that Microsoft is holding the torch in terms of robust and sensible design - Sony and Nintendo don't come even close and feel flimsy in comparison.

 

[duwen]

I'm far from a Microsoft fanboy, but I can tell what's well-designed when I see it, and ever since the Xbox One S I have to say that Microsoft is holding the torch in terms of robust and sensible design - Sony and Nintendo don't come even close and feel flimsy in comparison.

I share a lot of the same opinions... except when it comes to build quality dictating actual functionality.
I'm sat at work using my Mac Pro right now, which I'll fully admit is a robustly built bit of kit... but I'd much rather be working on the PC I have at home, built several years ago for literally 1% the cost of this Apple crap, because even at lower specs it performs better.

 

[Foxi4]

I share a lot of the same opinions... except when it comes to build quality dictating actual functionality.
I'm sat at work using my Mac Pro right now, which I'll fully admit is a robustly built bit of kit... but I'd much rather be working on the PC I have at home, built several years ago for literally 1% the cost of this Apple crap, because even at lower specs it performs better.

Oh, for sure - the spec and the OS need to go hand in hand with the build, but look at it this way - would you prefer an i7 Acer laptop that throttles 24/7 or an ASUS or MSI equivalent that, in addition to not feeling like it's made out of paper, consistently turbos? I'll happily pay a premium for a device that's sensibly designed and well-built, provided it meets my expectations in terms of functionality. I love PlayStation, it's my console of choice most of the time, but the PCB was designed by an idiot, particularly the first and second revision of the PS4. The Slims are significantly better, and so is the Pro, but the shells still feel flimsy and only look premium quality from a distance - the Xbox just feels better in terms of the materials used.

 

[Plasmaster09]

If only it had exclusives.

Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely loving the stuff Xbox is bringing to the table here, but if the PS5 comes even close, well...what's the point in getting an Xbox? The backwards compatibility is a huge draw for me, though, I suppose, given that the older games will perform better on the new system. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what Sony has to offer.

honestly I'm downright sick of this whole "console specs arms race" mentality
exclusives and new features are the reason I get a system- not because of how many teraflops or whatever the heck it has, but what new games and new fun ways of playing them there are.
welp better stick with nintendo then lol

 

[DANTENDO]

honestly I'm downright sick of this whole "console specs arms race" mentality
exclusives and new features are the reason I get a system- not because of how many teraflops or whatever the heck it has, but what new games and new fun ways of playing them there are.
welp better stick with nintendo then lol

Tel me what new ways zelda and Mario offer lol nintendo ain't even got proper vr - can't you see yr talking nonsense

 

[Plasmaster09]

Tel me what new ways zelda and Mario offer lol nintendo ain't even got proper vr - can't you see yr talking nonsense

nah, I'm not.
when I say new ways, I'm referring to the system as a whole.
just because zelda breath of the wild or mario odyssey don't bring some massive new thing to the table in terms of system mechanics doesn't mean they don't bring a massive new thing to the table gameplay wise
they're basically complete revitalizations of their series with open world gameplay
there's a lotta new shit

 

[tabzer]

To me the branding is merely a badge on a piece of hardware that's either fit for purpose or it isn't. In an ideal scenario you'd be able to play any game you want on a platform of your choice, but that's obviously not going to happen - it's wishful thinking

I honestly think we are making the transition as time continues on. I don't think it is wishful thinking. I think it is inevitable. However, I think it is important to recognize the roles that branding and patenting have played in history, and they are necessary steps from the birth of an idea to the transition into the capability-based performance. That realization is also closely linked to consumer demand.

My point was that we should judge hardware for what it is, and if it sells, you can bet developers will flock to it. It's the hardware sales that set the boundaries of the platform's target demo, you're not going to sell games for a platform that 5 people own when the competitor sold 50, based on the vague premise of exclusives that may or may not come. I'm quite happy to see that the Series X is shaping up to be a good piece of tech after some blunders from Microsoft, what I don't like is people slagging it off for "not having exclusives" when the thing's not even out yet.

That seems to be the paradigm that we are faced with at this moment. One thing to consider is that accessibility is a huge factor. Xbox simply doesn't exist in Japan in any meaningful way. Whether or not Xbox One had better hardware.

I'm far from a Microsoft fanboy, but I can tell what's well-designed when I see it, and ever since the Xbox One S I have to say that Microsoft is holding the torch in terms of robust and sensible design - Sony and Nintendo don't come even close and feel flimsy in comparison.

One point. The Switch outperforms the Xbox in terms of portability by infinity, as that isn't even a demographic that Microsoft is trying to appeal to. Another point; the hardware XBox and Playstation offers, per generation, are somewhat on par with each other. Xbox offered a slight boost in performance while Playstation offered a better quality build. The reputation Sony has for the longevity in support for their products is more stronger than the performance boost that the XBoxes have previously offered.

I'm going to go on a tangent. It's obvious that Microsoft has patience and a willingness to test, learn from, and maybe even adapt to the audience. While they were first in revealing the specs of their next gen hardware, we still don't know what Sony has for the table. It'd be unfair to compare the new Xbox to the older PS4. I don't understand what you are saying about an idiot designing the first/second generation PS4 as I've personally not had a bad user experience with it at all. So maybe I am just lacking in experience.

Now, consider this point. In this past we have had consoles which had (relatively) great potential for processing software. Jaguar, 3DO and others. They were major flops because the developers of the time still had a lot to learn about developing with the tools and the architecture for lesser demands. We learned, as an industry, that it doesn't make sense to release a console that is overly-spec'd when developers are too far from maximizing its potential. There is an equilibrium between hardware and software development that each generation tries to find, and encourage (test). Better hardware doesn't automatically mean it's the better platform.

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Tel me what new ways zelda and Mario offer lol nintendo ain't even got proper vr - can't you see yr talking nonsense

Can I play Zelda--Breath of the Wild on the bus... with an Xbox? Didn't think so!

 

[Foxi4]

I honestly think we are making the transition as time continues on. I don't think it is wishful thinking. I think it is inevitable. However, I think it is important to recognize the roles that branding and patenting have played in history, and they are necessary steps from the birth of an idea to the transition into the capability-based performance. That realization is also closely linked to consumer demand.



That seems to be the paradigm that we are faced with at this moment. One thing to consider is that accessibility is a huge factor. Xbox simply doesn't exist in Japan in any meaningful way. Whether or not Xbox One had better hardware.



One point. The Switch outperforms the Xbox in terms of portability by infinity, as that isn't even a demographic that Microsoft is trying to appeal to. Another point; the hardware XBox and Playstation offers, per generation, are somewhat on par with each other. Xbox offered a slight boost in performance while Playstation offered a better quality build. The reputation Sony has for the longevity in support for their products is more stronger than the performance boost that the XBoxes have previously offered.

I'm going to go on a tangent. It's obvious that Microsoft has patience and a willingness to test, learn from, and maybe even adapt to the audience. While they were first in revealing the specs of their next gen hardware, we still don't know what Sony has for the table. It'd be unfair to compare the new Xbox to the older PS4. I don't understand what you are saying about an idiot designing the first/second generation PS4 as I've personally not had a bad user experience with it at all. So maybe I am just lacking in experience.

Now, consider this point. In this past we have had consoles which had (relatively) great potential for processing software. Jaguar, 3DO and others. They were major flops because the developers of the time still had a lot to learn about developing with the tools and the architecture for lesser demands. We learned, as an industry, that it doesn't make sense to release a console that is overly-spec'd when developers are too far from maximizing its potential. There is an equilibrium between hardware and software development that each generation tries to find, and encourage (test). Better hardware doesn't automatically mean it's the better platform.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


Can I play Zelda--Breath of the Wild on the bus... with an Xbox? Didn't think so!

All very good points, particularly their terrible marketing in Japan, which is weird considering the fact that the MSX was huge there. On the subject of portability, I think Microsoft is really banking on the xCloud service here, game streaming certainly has its advantages in the mobile space. With this kind of horsepower I don't imagine Nintendo being able to catch up in terms of raw brawn, so the bottleneck is, and always will be, connection speed and stability. With that said, I sure do fancy a portable Xbox, but I don't think an XSurface is on the horizon, sadly.