With the console wars heating up, and both Sony and Nintendo releasing their PS4 Pro and Switch devices. It’s up to Microsoft, to mount a challenge this year with the highly anticipated Xbox Project Scorpio. On this matter Xbox Boss, Phil Spencer, recently held a Q& A session for Reddit and Twitter users and reiterated the importance of first-party games for the console.
Xbox Project Scorpio First Party Games
During that Q& A session Spencer was asked the relatively straightforward question:
“Would Xbox Project Scorpio have any launch games?”
The answer:
“Having our first-party games ready for Scorpio is critical,”
Spencer said in response and then followed up by reiterating Microsoft’s own games would be available to aid the early success of the console. While his answer to the question does seem to point towards first-party titles being ready, some think he’s purposefully vague.
Why?
Because it is not clear whether by first-party, he’s talking about new titles not before seen on an Xbox console. Or if he’s referring to titles that could be updated and ported across from the One, or One S. Titles, which could greatly benefit from the extra raw power provided by Xbox Project Scorpio. After all, we know that Scorpio will be backward compatible with all One and One S games playable on it. Also, it appears that all Xbox accessories will also work with Scorpio, that’s controllers, chargers and more.
Microsoft at E3 Convention
With Xbox Project Scorpio is due to arrive this coming holiday season, speculation has been circling about a reveal date. Unfortunately, on this matter, Spencer revealed nothing. Preferring to say, when pushed with the following question:
“Will Project Scorpio will be announced at E3 or earlier; Spencer said he “can’t announce this yet.”
However, there’s a consensus among industry insiders who have been following this story since Scorpio’s introduction last year. At that time Microsoft chose E3 2016, as the place to show the world and journalists a video. It set the ball rolling for what many believe will be an E3 2017 reveal of the device. But, with Spencer, preferring to remain tight-lipped, this is still guesswork, we will just have to wait and see.
It Could Be Expensive
Of all the questions being asked about the device, one of the most important is, how much will it cost? As with all the other questions, the answers given are vague, all we have to go on is, it will be a “Premium Console.” Usually, “Premium” means expensive, which may have been backed up last week. When a leak published on hd-report.com suggested it may be capable of streaming native 4K and gameplay recording straight out of the box.
If that turns out to be accurate, a stand-alone capture card capable of that costs around $300. Something of that nature and cost incorporated into Xbox Project Scorpio would likely push the consoles price skywards. However, it is thought, that Microsoft may absorb some of that cost to press the device forwards.
With all the speculation above, what we can say for sure, is it will cost more than the Xbox One S. It starts at $300, so maybe doubling that price to $600 is a realistic place to start.
Conclusion
OK, so what do we know for sure about Microsoft’s next console? Below, is what we think, we can be relatively certain about. However, and this is important, we wouldn’t bet our houses on it.
- First-Party games will be ready at launch
- It will be the most powerful console when launched
- Backward compatibility for games will be built in
- All Xbox Accessories, Controllers and the like will be compatible
- It will undoubtably be the most expensive console on the market
We would have liked to have placed an E3 2017 reveal on the above list, but, that is a rather shaky conjecture. Why? Because Microsoft could reveal it earlier or later than E3. Phil Spencer has recently spoken about how little time first-party games have received at previous events. Which could mean, this year is devoted to new titles only available for Xbox Project Scorpio, not the console itself.
Image/Screenshot source:YouTube
