My issue is that they have spent such a great deal on advertising promoting the xbox one x to be this big game changer. "The worlds most powerful console", but there's not software to really show off the system outside of a few titles mostly third party. I agree that xbox one x was a pre-planned device. But R&D money for this thing was expensive hence it's price tag and hence them not even making money on each xbox one x sold. It's actually sold at a loss. I feel you don't put that much effort in launching a new iteration of your console treat it like it's the second coming, then ditch it for a new gen. We'll see, but if they do launch in 2019 I believe alot of press will scratch their heads and make articles saying that xbox one x was all for nothing.
Oh I definitely agree that they've put a ton of stock into the One X prior to launch. To be fair, it is a pretty big deal for them to finally have hardware that usurps their competition this gen. Microsoft may not have the lead in software or units sold, but they'll now be able to end this generation with the most powerful hardware.
As for sales, did they actually confirm that each One X is sold at a loss? I remember an interview where they talked along those lines, but I remembered it being more general talk about how they "usually" take a loss on hardware. If they did, that's an interesting wrinkle! But haven't the Xbox One S models been sold at a loss for quite some time too?
As for press, I feel like I've seen quite a few outlets that are already scratching their heads about the existence of the One X. Reviews are very positive, but they're grading it based on how it delivers on marketing promises. I won't pretend that I'm not wearing a tinfoil hat right now, but I feel like 2019 is a very real possibility for the new hardware.
Given the time and budgets to make Triple AAA games, I just don't think Microsoft or Sony are in any hurry to reset the generation and start from scratch. You already have mid gen consoles for 4k-ish resolution and HDR for people who want better graphics and frame rates.
That's a fair point, but the mid-gen refreshes don't do anything about the lowest common denominator for hardware. I also don't feel like the standard "reset" is going to apply for next gen, as the current generation is all about services both in and outside of games. Neither Sony nor Microsoft should want the kind of reset we traditionally see with new hardware for PS5/Xbox "Next".