If the rumors are true, this week a major gaming outlet is poised to release new information on Microsoft’s upcoming powerhouse console, Scorpio. True to form, Forza Motorsports 7 will be used to flex the new console’s power giving the world some idea of what the Scorpio is capable of. We all know the numbers, the Scorpio will be ditching the Xbox One’s ESRAM and adding a whopping 12GB of GDDR5 and the console will have a reported 6TF of computing power. These upgrades will allow the Scorpio to run games in higher framerates, higher resolution with more graphical fidelity. One of the major concerns in some circles is the potential non-presence of games of the new console.
Similar to Sony’s policy with the PS4 Pro, the Scorpio will not be releasing its own games instead opting to give Xbox One developers the option of taking advantage of the power of the Scorpio. As it stands today 59 Playstation 4 games are taking advantage of the Playstation 4 Pro with more on the way. A consoles value is only as good as the games that it can play and both the PS4 and the Xbox One respectively offer plenty of games to play. Let’s take a look at the numbers from a game release standpoint.
According to Wikipedia, since its debut, the Xbox One has had 1,119 games that have been released and or on the way. Out of that number 120 of those are exclusive titles to the Xbox One console. Respectively the PS4 has had 1550 games release on its platform and 389 of those games can only be played on PS4. To dive even deeper into those numbers, out of the Xbox One catalog, 980 of its games are multiplatform with 784 PS4 games are exclusive. This information was gathered from a dynamic list that is bound to have changed since writing this article but clear trends can be pulled:
• Playstation 4 offers more games and exclusive titles.
• The majority of games released on either console are shared.
Microsoft has their work cut out for them and as of late Xbox has made a push to gather more third party support from Japanese developers for Xbox One and Scorpio in order to diversify their game library. Sony has the clear edge in that category and that trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.
Fans looking to invest in the Scorpio will need to take a hard look at what the console will be able to do and what games will be supporting its new features. With that said there is plenty to be excited about, being the strongest console on the market it will showcase visuals never before seen on consoles. The majority of games that are released on console are shared and the Scorpio will be able to render the best versions of those games due to its graphical capability.
Games are the lifeblood of a console’s value and playability and Microsoft will need to work hard to not only ensure the Xbox One continues to receive quality first and third party games, but also to ensure it justifies Scorpio’s worth by having it receive regular support from developers. It will be a big week for the industry and an exciting one for gamers looking forward to seeing just what the Scorpio has to offer.
UE GameWire was a community contributor to ICXM, writing 3 articles in 2017 covering opinion pieces, and Xbox news. ICXM operated as an independent Xbox and Windows gaming outlet through the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative, drawing from a rotating bench of editorial volunteers.