If we are talking about gaming cpus, then Im sorry but I don't agree.
The following is my personal point of view.
Right now, if you are buying new, unless you are really, but really on a super tight budget, the minimum cpu core count I would buy is either 6 cores/6 threads, or 4 cores/8thread. Now, if budget allows it theres one option that for me is the new "best" budget right now, the Ryzen 5 1600 AF, bascally a "new" 12nm node slightly slower Ryzen 5 2600 version for only U$85.
Then again, kanewolf is right on that it all depends on your requirements, it depends on what you need the cpu for: basic office apps + web browsing; gaming; productivity tasks: or gaming + streaming?
For basic task (web browsing, office) , 4 cores are enough, and I believe there will be enough for many years to come.
For gaming, thats what I wrote on my second paragraph as the base choice, being the Ryzen 5 3600; Ryzen 7 3700 or the Core I7 9700K and the i9 9900K the best options from both sides for me as you go up, to et the best out of your GPU).
For Productivity you have lot of CPUs to pick from, but right now 3rd gen Ryzen and Threadripper have a the lead.
Finally for gaming + streaming, then I would go with something like a Ryzen 5 3600 as the minimum, and then R7 3700X, Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X or the Core i9 9900K.
Cheers
PD: yes the new consoles launching later this year will include an AMD cpu with 8 cores and 16 threads. And so developers are already writing code for those (you need games for launch day).