Project Scorpio

[Skyblade]

So, kind of surprised that we haven't had a thread even mentioning this yet.

Since Microsoft gave Digital Foundry access to the hardware, we know a lot more about the system now.

Do you guys have any thoughts on the system or its capabilities?

Personally, while I think the level of tech is impressive, I'm not sure how large the market is for a $500+ system that runs no new games, and targets a resolution that has negligible market share in the West.

I'm also somewhat worried about what this will do to developers. The current push for high resolution graphics, and the associated art costs attached to them, have already pushed 80% of the AAA developers to bankruptcy, and I think that this trend is going to continue if the quest for "graphics above all else continues". This push is not only bankrupting studios, it's also limiting developers, as they're having to make "safer" games that fall in line with the biggest demographics in order to ensure sales, or else the games fail. So we have less diversity in the AAA market.

Lastly, of course, there's the idea that this system is putting itself in competition with PCs. Microsoft's "Play Anywhere" system, ensuring that you can play most games on any Windows 10 system, means that a large price point like that could put it directly in competition with gaming PCs. As long as you're spending that much anyway, why not go further? Especially since the standard idea of "buy a console, it'll be good for 6-8 years" is losing traction with the new approach of "mid-generation" console upgrades.

But then, my opinion is hardly the only one, and quite likely has some bias to it. So, what do you guys feel about the system? Are you excited for the new powerhouse? Do you think it's worth the potential vast cost associated with it? Do you think developers will be able to use those specs to their fullest?

[FinalxxSin]

Gaming hardware means little if the games aren't present to support it. Regardless if the console is a true next gen or not matters little. The console selling exclusives not mainly be tied to shooter based titles this go around is something else that will have an impact. Things like this are the reasons why weaker consoles have been able to win a console gen in the past due to the games support.

[Scruffington]

I think it's great that Microsoft has stepped up and made a powerful console, but I really dislike the idea of having to buy a new system every 3-4 years.

That said...I don't think I'll ever buy an Xbox again. Their platforms have too few exclusives, rely too heavily on multiplatforms, and their flagship franchises (Halo and Gears) are very stale.

[Vyk]

Going bankrupt over bleeding edge graphics seems incredibly near sighted. I've always opposed that endeavor. That's also the only thing that still justifies a $60 game price. And frequently they're losing money at that price. But the market has spoken and we don't want to pay $80 a game. They need to chill and focus on making good games rather than just pretty games