Suffice it to say, there are a boatload of differing opinions regarding the rumored (but everyone pretty much already knows they exist) upgraded PS4.5 and Xbox One consoles. While many have voiced their displeasure, some game developers seem to be fully behind the idea of having new consoles.
King of Wushu Developer, Chao Cai of Snail Games says they see no downside for the market in having two different versions of the same console. He says:
"The improvement of hardware will always help fulfill game’s development ideals, enrich the players’ gaming experience, as well as improve some special effects in the game. What’s more, enhanced hardware will enable us as developers to apply more new technologies in games. Based on what we’ve heard about these new consoles so far, the community wouldn’t be split by the release of these new consoles since games will be required to run on first generation consoles as well. At least from where we’re standing, I can’t see any downsides for the market."
Chao Cai, despite popular belief, has a point. Added console power will allow developers to do more with their games, and we will likely see fewer instances of the dreaded "downgraded" label a lot of games seem to get from when they are unveiled to the press to the time of their release. Sure, you could make the case that the PS4 and the Xbox One should have had these "upgraded features" to begin with, but at the same time they would have cost a lot more than they did at launch.
Take-Two Interactive shares a similar mindset. During the company's quarterly financial conference call, CEO Strauss Zelnick says the rumored consoles are seen by the company as an opportunity.
“In general these are all opportunities depending how things pencil out, a successful new console gives us another opportunity to release titles whomever it comes from.”
In the end, rumors surrounding the upgraded consoles are just that, rumors. While it's more than likely that they will release in the near future, there is a legitimate case to be made that they aren't the worst thing that could possibly happen to gamers.
After all, smart phones, laptops and PCs all go through incremental upgrades. It's not necessarily a requirement that people buy each new version when it comes out, but rather the perceptual and social pressure that someone else has something better than the thing you've got.
Sources: [DualShockers, WCCFTech]
