What’s old is new again?

If you grew up surrounded by video games, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: your childhood is never going to end. Once thought of as a fad, a waste of time, and an easy way to get yelled at for not doing your homework, video game consoles are evolving to become the centrepiece of home entertainment systems that children and parents can enjoy. They can do more than just play video games; internet connectivity and BluRay playback are now standard. When consoles do perform their original function, they do with an ever-improving ability to render graphics. Over the next few years, manufacturers will make 4K resolution the norm, and game makers will rise to meet them.

The world of video game development is a competitive one, and companies such as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are constantly striving to stay visible. Case in point: the latter two companies in that list have new releases out this year. In June, Microsoft announced an update of its XBOX One, named the XBOX One X, for release this coming November. While not officially a brand new console, you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise as the One X boasts an expanded graphics processing unit (GPU) and native 4K support.

Sony, meanwhile, is taking the idea of staying visible more literally. On the heels of Microsoft’s announcement, Sony announced that it would be re-releasing its PlayStation 4 console in gold and silver colours. Though the re-release comes with no technological updates of note, the PlayStation 4 Pro was released in November 2016, which is also capable of 4K graphics rendering.

It would seem that Microsoft have scored a major coup over Sony in the console wars, were it not for the fact that Microsoft had released a strikingly similar console in 2016: the XBOX One S, which already had some 4K support. Although One X now features the best GPU (6.0 teraflops compared to the PS4 Pro’s 4.2), it would seem like Microsoft is now competing against itself. Other analysts have also noted this confusing development. It begs the question: do console updates actually help the overall sales of hardware?