This is not next gen. Its current and a half gen!
Its not uncommon before to release the same console that has a different design. Nintendo had both the toaster and the top loader. Sega had 3 different Genesis and even had a handheld version. It is used to boost sale or extend the console life for those gamers who were late in the party (like this blog’s epic lateness). Even with newer consoles, this was a trend. Xbox was forced to change due to the 3 rings of that (something I’ll write soon) and Ps3 needed to trim its fat. In short, it was not surprising to change physical designs. It was a norm in the video game industry.
Then came November 2016. Sony released the PS4 Pro. It was a more robust version of the original PS4. Doubling its performance and making games compatible to 4K resolution. A year later, Microsoft released the Xbox One X. Same duty, different company.
They are not next gen consoles. They are upgrades for the current consoles. Its an attempt to cash in to the new 4k TVs released and to be honest, it is more of a marketing ploy for gamers to upgrade. Who would not more power and more resolution to their games? They want to compete with PC gamers who were enjoying such performance with their machines. These machines, especially the Xbox, were close to the PC ports with half the price of what you need to pay for a PC upgrade. (RTX can cost an arm, a leg, a kidney and 3 gallons of blood.)
The million dollar question is this: Is it worth it to upgrade if you have the vanilla console? The answer: Yes and No.
YES: I had a PS4 Slim a year ago. It was good. Never was concerned of the performance or resolution of games. I was about to buy a Ps4 Pro but when it was launched, there was no support for poor gamers who only has a Full HD TV. Then came the 5.5 firmware update (sorry for being technical). Super sampling was added. To put it simply, it will boost the performance of your game in exchange for resolution. Framerate are more stable and even unlocked. I played God of War 4 in unlocked 30 FPS and it was fantastic! Other games were stable and looks good even on 1080p. So if you have the money to burn, go and upgrade. I can’t imagine myself going back to vanilla PS4.
NO: The damn cost to replace it. Thats it. Money you need to spend. No other reason to say no.
How about the future? According to reports, the 9th gen consoles are coming this 2020. Both company are incorporating backward compatibility (although Xbox won that war. More on that soon). These enhanced machine will make gamers think of the future. Are they going to do it again? Probably not. But you can never tell. So its safe to say not to buy them yet, and wait for a couple of years on what will be their stand again for enhanced consoles.
Wishful thinking: I hope that new games will be released will be “enhanced console only” compatible. That way, those who bought them can still play newer games without buying the latest consoles. I know its not possible, but here’s hoping they can work on it.
PS: As for the Nintendo Switch, enhanced versions will be coming according to news. My Switch is up for sale if that will be the case 🙂
Credits: https://www.pocket-lint.com/games/news/nintendo/146899-nintendo-switch-2-release-date-specs-games
Late Game Bloomer 
