Microsoft’s Xbox platform chief Mike Ybarra answered a lot of questions today and we now have a fair idea of how the Xbox One measures up against the more powerful Xbox Scorpio console.
The console cycle is undergoing massive change this year. Usually, Sony and Microsoft takes about six to seven years to roll out a new machine. However, the underpowered PS4 and Xbox One ensured that they were never going to make it that long. It forced Sony to go with a PS4 Pro which brought them at least two years. The newly launched console is mildly powerful when compared to the original Playstation 4.
The same cannot be said about the Xbox One and the Xbox Scorpio models. Microsoft has already launched the Xbox One S which is slimmer, a bit more powerful and can play 4K videos besides upscaling some game content. The Scorpio however is going to play most titles in 4K resolution and might have a price tag close to $600 or even more.
When the announcement was made during the E3 2016 event, most assumed that Scorpio is a brand new generation of consoles which it is but a new update from Ybarra adds some details. The Xbox One S and the original model is not going to be faded off the market anytime soon. Instead, all games will run on both consoles and the Scorpio will have no exclusives, confirmed Microsoft.
In other words, it looks like the company is trying hard to ensure that players don’t leave their ecosystem. The company is releasing a new console in three years and now another 4K powered model in less than a year, probably holiday 2017. Convincing people to buy new models as soon as they are launched is tough which is why the company is going to let players be on their platform of choice, be it 1080p or 4K, it doesn’t matter!
Are consoles becoming PCs? We really can’t help but ask the question because soon there will be a Playstation 5. Both companies will have three different consoles with varying hardware specifications and run games on varied visual quality. In theory, computers do it for a long time and some developers besides gamers slam them for having so many variants that are hard to cope up with.
In a year’s time, we will see how developers create a game for the PS4, PS4 Pro, Xbox One and the Scorpio all at the same time and make titles run seamlessly as they should.