Microsoft surprised Sony and gamers when they revealed the Xbox Scorpio, the self-proclaimed most powerful console ever made. Microsoft, at E3, rightfully claimed that the console which will launch in 2017, will be the choice hardcore console gamers will make when choosing their next upgrade. But what about Sony? Will Sony be able to pull a fast one and come out on top?
Simple answer, yet so disappointing to many fans, is no. Earlier this year rumors started to spread that Sony was working on a new upgraded PlayStation 4, dubbed the PlayStation Neo. The rumors were quickly proven true with documents circulating of its hardware capability and how Sony would handle its launch, and how developers will have to optimize for it. Earlier this week, Eurogamer announced that according to their sources, the device would launch this year. But then you have to beg the question, why isn’t Sony shouting this from the rooftops like they always do?
Well, when the rumors started circulating about a new ten Tflops Xbox Scorpio being developed, many found themselves quite startled by this news. It was later lowered to seven Tflops, and then Microsoft confirmed that it would be in excess of six Tflops when launched. Sony, who have benefited from the overzealous fixation on console performance this generation, couldn’t be seen dead with a device that is by all metrics 1.5 times less powerful than their nearest competitor. So, since then Sony have quietly acknowledged its existence.
By all intents and purposes, the Neo was in development for quite some time, and developers already have development kits in hand. It’s universally accepted that the Neo is already in production, which means Sony will have to give gamers a truly spectacular reason to go out and buy the Neo, other than the one title they’re launching this year, and not to mention the mediocre nausea-inducing experience on PlayStation VR. Most likely, the PlayStation Neo will be a damp squib sales-wise, as Sony might be expecting, and thus the tepid launch hype around it.
Sony will also have another issue on their hands. As it stands, Sony cannot release another console revision next year, when the Xbox Scorpio launches because that will literally muddy the waters even further for the developers of Sony games, not to mention the amount of work it would take to optimize for all these iterations. Microsoft already confirmed that, once Scorpio is launched, there might not be another iteration for a few years, or until some new game-changing hardware is released like 8K technology. If Sony updated the Neo just twelve months afterward, their loyal fan base might riot, and developers will be forced to dump titles on the PlayStation, optimizing for the most popular model. This won’t sit well with gamers who already have to deal with increasingly dodgy frame rates and excessive delays on PlayStation proven by Digital Foundry and other sources.
So for the time being, unless Microsoft truly screws up, gamers on the Xbox platform, be it Windows 10 or the Xbox One console, will always be on the forefront of console and PC performance. Sony will be relegated to the back seat, with Nintendo reportedly working on ensuring that their system comes in at Neo performance or higher. If it’s true, nobody would have any reason to purchase the next PlayStation, and Sony will have lost the battle and the war right out of the gate.
So it’s safe to assume that Sony will eventually catch up to Microsoft in the console space after Scorpio launches, but then Microsoft will offer their gamers and potential clients some new hardware that might slow console sales of the Sony platform even more. Does this mean that Sony will eventually lose in the console space, and the division will fall by the wayside much like their other hardware efforts have done? Probably not but given their financial troubles it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Sony has always had an exceptionally strong user base in countries outside of the United States and the United Kingdom, and it will remain that way until Microsoft truly embraces clients outside of their comfort zone. Sony might even be pushed into going multiplatform with their exclusive games, as sales of these games have historically been quite low, with some exceptions.
It will be interesting to see how Sony navigates this new hostile environment, one which they themselves are responsible for. One thing is for certain, Microsoft truly came out swinging for the fences. Sony should remember that you reap what you sow next time.
Dreyer was a regular ICXM contributor between 2016–2017, publishing 139 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @dreyer_smit.