What defines a next-generation console? Is it the fact that it offers better visuals or additional functionality? Or is it about using new techniques when it comes to developing games? I think a true next-generation machine must incorporate all of these aspects. I also believe this is why many, including certain developers, consider Project Scorpio to be a next-generation machine.
Power
Despite the disagreements when it comes to the chip or memory, even the Eurogamer leaks established that the console features 6 TFLOPS of power. This means that Project Scorpio is 4.5 times more powerful than the Xbox One and 1.4 times more powerful than the PlayStation 4 Pro. In plainer terms, Project Scorpio is as powerful as a PlayStation 4 Pro and a standard PlayStation 4 combined. You have to remember, the jump between the Xbox 360 and Xbox One wasn’t as significant as people hoped for. The expectation was that all games would run at 1080p and words like 4K were also thrown around. Despite all that, we ended up with games that ran at 720p on Xbox One. With Project Scorpio we’re seeing a substantial leap in the console market and getting a concrete promise of native 4K for first-party games. If developers choose to invest the time, they can produce unbelievably detailed titles we have never seen before in the gaming industry.
Virtual Reality
Aaron Greenberg and other Xbox executives confirmed on numerous occasions that virtual reality experiences will be exclusive to Project Scorpio. Virtual reality is a major new functionality and gives gamers a reason to invest in a new console who might have been on the fence about buying a device solely for better visuals. It also guarantees a high-quality virtual reality experience due to 6 TFLOPS of power. Developers can tune their virtual reality games for Project Scorpio from the get-go to produce amazing results. Unlike the PlayStation 4 Pro, virtual reality games don’t have to be optimized to run on a standard PlayStation 4.
Development
The Universal Windows Program offers developers a new way to make games. According to Windows Central, by using Project Helix, Project Scorpio will power game development for both Xbox and Windows 10. Microsoft is streamlining the process by which developers create games, with development kits that allow them to mimic the environments of the original Xbox One, Project Scorpio, and all type of hardware. Basically this means that developers can have one game which scales between different systems. While Xbox One will still get a great version, going to Project Scorpio will be like switching a game from medium to ultra settings.
Phil Spencer said that developers already have the assets and engines because they target higher-specification machines when they’re developing on Windows. Project Scorpio games will use Windows builds tuned for Project Scorpio but they’ll be inside the Universal Program environment. It won’t be an Xbox One game changed around for Project Scorpio, it will be the advanced Windows build tuned specifically for the upcoming console. This is a major advantage Project Scorpio has over the PlayStation 4 Pro because they aren’t patching existing PlayStation 4 games for newer hardware.
When I started writing this, I said that a next-generation machine is one that provides better visuals through substantial improvements in power, exclusivity functionality which isn’t available on previous models, and new ways for developers to code for the device. Project Scorpio does all three by allowing programmers to tune their Windows builds for the console. That is why I think it’s not wrong for it to be classified as a next-generation machine.
Asher is a games journalist, former News Writer (Gaming) at Windows Central. They contributed 1110 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: wrote over 1,100 ICXM pieces on Xbox news, hardware reviews, and platform commentary before joining Future plc’s Windows Central in 2017.