The PS4 Neo and Xbox One Scorpio are now happening, against all odds- the idea, which just months ago seemed to be far too alien and outlandish to most people, is going to be brought to the mainstream market by both leading console makers.
Of course, doing something like this, which is largely unprecedented, does not come without consequences. And the consequences in this case are a potential fragmentation of the base that the PS4 and Xbox One have created- for the customers, yes, but for the developers too, who now have two additional SKUs to work with.
This is the reason that a lot of them have been outspoken against the concept- but there are some who actually seem to be all on board with what might be the future of console gaming hardware. One of theseis Pawel Ksiazek, a designer on Shadow Warrior 2. Speaking to Gamasutra, he said, “I think programmers and maybe artists will have some more work to do, because they will have to upscale the graphics and make it look better. But for the games, it will be better,” he said, referring to the added tech benefitting performance for most games.
I agree with him- and more than that, in terms of the big picture, I think the Neo and Scorpio are inevitable. I truly think they are the future of console gaming- and I am excited to see members of the development community embrace this bold new paradigm.
