A Second Less Expensive Next Gen Xbox?
Tifa Sings Minaj?
The rumour has it that Microsoft will be releasing two different Xbox gaming consoles this generation, the one we have seen at least a bit of details about, called Anaconda and a second lower spec’d one called Lockhart. Lockhart will be aimed at those who are happy gaming at 1080p or 1440p and as such should be a bit less expensive than the flagship model.
Game developers are not going to be very interested in publishing multiple versions of their games to be able to run on both models of Xboxen and to solve that problem there will be separate modes you can choose from. According to the leak the Dante devkit will allow designers to test their game’s performance on hardware which includes 7.5GB of usable RAM, a CPU with a lower clock speed, and a GPU which offers about 4 teraflops. That GPU performance is significantly lower than it’s big brother which offers 12 teraflops and will obviously be using a different GPU, likely also from AMD.
The cut in performance should be accompanied with a cut in price and may appeal to those who like to occasionally fire up a console to game on, but not often enough to want to pay the price associated with the flagship model. Check out more about the leak over at The Verge.
Microsoft has been planning a second, cheaper and less power next-gen Xbox console. Codenamed Lockhart, it's designed to take most of the key next-gen improvements found in the Xbox Series X and provide them at a lower price point for gaming at 1080p or 1440p.
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This would be a surprising move. PC’s having different specs and setting adjustments are just part of the ecosystem. BUT for a console it’s suposed to be simpler. Game Devs (good ones at least) make specific decisions on game elements with the specific system in mind to create a perfect pop-in and go experience. The example that comes to mind, if a bit dated, was the transition from 360 to one and some VERY good games were ported to both gens. Thinking specifically of Far Cry 4, where the 360 version was missing most of the environmental decorations, locked at 30fps and shadows and water quality reduced, BUT it was exactly the same game play, same experience and smooth and stable.
IF devs are forced to develop for 2 different power levels at launch, the only way would be to have a team dedicated to shaving resources to create a great experience for those, possibly the majority, that have the cheaper version, OR the far more likely scenario of creating with the lesser system in mind and adding bells and whistles to try to justify the cost of having the flagship. Even having one that’s all about 4k and one about 1080p/1440p asks the question will the image be stretched/shrunk, or pixel doubling or change viewing area or what?
On PC we all know the game, get the best rig you can afford because that’s what they are designing for, then make your own decisions of sacrifices. People who buy consoles want it done for them.