It's time they started offering more graphics customization so if anyone is not satisfied with the available modes, they can create one of their own with whatever compromises they want to get the best mix of performance and quality. It would kinda defeat the purpose of having a console that you can just jump into games with without wasting time but then the developers are no longer doing a good job.
This whole problem started when they introduced the Pro and X consoles.
I strongly disagree here. X360 ruined consoles for me. There were many reason why, but one of them was crap performance and also constant lies about visual quality capabilities. It was okay, when games ran at 720p60, but then some stupid developers decided that it's okay to change the target to 720p30, then some games like GTA 4 only ran at sub 720p res and around 20 fps average and the absolute bottom was almost 480p at around 20 fps. Some games behaved even worse, TDU 1 literally halted for 1-2 seconds when HDD couldn't keep up and that happened mostly when driving fast on highways. It was unpredictable and if you were taking a corner, it was an anyone's guess where you car will end up once console finally unchokes. Even in better cases, 30 fps even if consistent is simply too low for anything I would ever call enjoyable. For me 45 fps is the minimum. And it was game after game ruined by shit fps, zero performance, terrible controls, which were even worse with low fps. So many games were literally not fun at all, meanwhile on PC even if you had no money, you at least could tune them to suit your most important needs. If it was my will, I would do what Sega did with Dreamcast and basically make 60 fps mandatory, but that wouldn't fly today. So performance mode is the next best thing and it's far better than being stuck with crappy performance. Considering all that, those cheap "lite" versions of full consoles were just silly as they have to drastically reduce visual quality to pre 2010 levels to pump out all those frames and I heard that some games don't even have performance mode option. So those weak models can't truly handle games adequately well, which makes them pointless. I understand that they are meant for budget buyers, but 720p30 is beyond low. Another pointless thing is that consoles were advertising 4k gaming. Well they can handle some games at that resolution, but it's pushing them too far and the longer console lives the bigger sacrifices will have to be made for 4k. Sony and MS have serious problem with setting adequate goals for what they can realistically make, so current performance mode is just merely a solution to stupid developers and stupidly high expectations that can't be met and nothing more. It's not like performance mode is really silly and tries to achieve 144 fps or even 240 fps. Full console versions are also a necessity to achieve reasonable quality and performance goals, "lite" versions are nothing more than profiting from those who have no idea what fps or resolution even is.