Analyst talks about the Neo

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Everyone in the gaming industry knows what to expect when a new console generation comes along. There is a certain process and flow to things, and usually, there aren't many surprises. That was true of the PS4 and Xbox One's original launch, but won't be for PS4 Neo and Project Scorpio.
This is a brand-new time for the video game industry and gamers are anxiously awaiting the future. Sony will be the first to unveil their next console, codenamed Neo, and it will happen tomorrow afternoon.
There are many unknowns about how this new generation will flow, and what gamers can expect. Unknowns include things like price, release date, compatibility, trade-ins and much more. Michael Goodman, who is the director of digital media strategies at Strategy Analytics, talked to We Write Things about some of these issues.
"Things like trade-ins are going to be much more important. How do you balance new software versus libraries which are going to continue to be supported? From a forecast perspective, one thing I ask is how does this change attach rates on video game consoles? The whole point is you have this new library that you can play on your new console, so what does it do to attach rates and how are people going to buy? There have been these peaks and valleys, but it's been trackable. Year one, here's your plus or minus, here are your attach rates year two, year three, etc.
"Now you're fundamentally changing the equation because I don't necessarily have to go out and buy new hardware or software as quickly. I don't need to build up that library because the whole premise of this is that you continue to play your old software while you more slowly accumulate new software. We're really grappling with the impact on software sales. Is it going to be a good thing or a bad thing?" Goodman said.
Consumer behavior will be extremely fascinating, given the current demand in the console market and the factor of uncertainty. Gamers don't know if there will be another new PS4 three years from now, which begs a number of questions. Will gamers meet each new upgrade ready to buy every three years?
So will PS4 Neo mean the start of new console upgrades every three or four years? Sony may address this during the PlayStation Meeting tomorrow, however, Goodman believes they don't necessarily need to talk too in-depth about it.
"I don't think they're ready to address that or commit to it at this point. I perspective is they're are going to want to see how this generation adoption curve is to say is this actually working. Or are we getting hammered because people aren't upgrading the way we thought they would? They won't be ready to go on record from day one of the announcement and say 'oh well we are going to have our next one come out three years from now.'
"Internally, I believe they've had those conversations. They have talked about wanting to shorten the hardware life-cycle. I'm sure those conversations internally, but I would be surprised if they are ready, particularly at the launch, to be talking about that next-generation already. They're going to want to see some sales data come back before they actually make that commitment," Goodman said.

Source: Analyst: PS4 Neo Attach Rate and If Sony Will Address Neo's Successor