Xbox Scorpio release date update, price news, PS4 Pro and Nintendo Switch games boost
THE LATEST Xbox Scorpio release date news, hardware reveals, as well as more on rival support for a big title that may giver gamers pause for thought when considering a PS4 Pro or Nintendo Switch.
UPDATE ONE: Microsoft have released a new interview about the Xbox Scorpio devkit, ahead of its big E3 2017 reveal.
The Xbox Briefing will focus heavily on the new upgraded console, with news expected on the final release date, price and design.
Before that, Microsoft have posted new interviews from the team who have put together the devkit, revealing its goals and ambitions.
Xbox's Kevin Gamble had this to say on why an Xbox Scorpio devkit was created in the first place: "When we kicked off Project Scorpio, we went on the road and talked to our third-party partners and talked to them about what they wanted.
"We want to get the tools out of the way of the developer and really enable them to make the game they want to create, in the vision they want to create it in.
"We want to make sure our tools are out of the way.
"The devkit is the substantiation of the feedback we got from our third-party development partners and first-party development partners."
Before adding: "Many of them like to come in at a higher spec then the retail kits would be, so it's important to provide some additional head room for the developer so they can come in higher and tune lower, as they get closer to shipping their game."
The Xbox Scorpio has been confirmed as the most powerful console yet that will hit the market in 2017.
It benefits from an upgraded list of hardware specs that put out in front of its rivals, the PS4 Pro and Nintendo Switch.
And this latest games news may have fans pondering just what new console to buy this holiday season.
A new report surfaced this week that claims the Xbox Scorpio will run the best console version of Star Wars Battlefront 2.
Earlier reports from 2017 had featured the anticipated sequel as one of a number of titles that would benefit from 4K support.
However, no actual specs were shared… Until now.
Star Wars Battlefront will run at native 4K and 60 FPS on Xbox Scorpio. That's according to Journalists at Windows Central, who have been the source of other correct information on the new console before its release.
The report goes as far as to state that Star Wars Battlefront 2 will run better than most PCs, which probably means that it will also offer a higher standard than the PS4 Pro.
Based on this new information, it appears that the Xbox Scorpio could be one of the best platforms to play the new shooter, beating the likes of the Nintendo Switch, who appear to being skipped by a lot of top releases this year.
Microsoft have also been backed to not set the Xbox Scorpio price for over the $500 mark.
The same report that listed the news of the Battlefront 2 specs also confirmed that such a high price was out the question.
The tech giant are set to confirm the final details surrounding the console during E3 2017, which will also include the final design reveal.
However, It’s also been suggested that the Xbox Scorpio could launch with a higher price in the UK.
Garry Williams of Sold Out Sales and Marketing has speculated that the console could cost as much as £499 if Microsoft uses Brexit as an excuse to go higher in the UK.
Spanish retailer XtraLife (via DesiXBL) recently advertised the upcoming Xbox Scorpio console with a €399 price tag. That's roughly £335 in the UK, although it's more likely to cost £399 if the advert is accurate.
The price of the Xbox Scorpio is seen as a major potential stumbling block for the new console and there have been conflicting reports about how much it may cost.
Microsoft previously described it as a premium console and said that it would cost more than the Xbox One S.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer also said that it would meet the demands of the higher-end consumer and would therefore have a higher price point.
First look at the brand new Xbox: Project Scorpio
We already know that Microsoft's upgraded gaming machine will boast native 4K support for select titles, with the released specs sheet also confirming that there has been a clear hardware upgrade which will benefit all existing titles.
The console has a CPU that is 30% faster than that of the original Xbox One, while the GPU is 4.6 times more powerful than its predecessor.
Interestingly, the 8GB of memory - which is up from the 5GB found in the original Xbox One - allows the console to process art assets, making it easier to run 4K resolution visuals at higher speeds.
And Microsoft decided to give fans a closer look at one major part of the Xbox Scorpio hardware today, with engineering lead Mike Ybarra posting a picture of himself holding the Scorpio’s chip.
It follows the news that Microsoft are planning a truly global launch for their new console. The Xbox Scorpio release date in Holiday 2017 doesn't just apply to the UK, US and Europe.
Ahead of Microsoft's E3 2017 conference in Los Angeles, the company announced its plans for other regions. Most notably, the Xbox One successor will be released in China by the end of the year.
This is in stark contrast to the Xbox One, which didn't launch in China until 2014 due to a ban on the sale of foreign consoles. It's an encouraging development for fans in other regions, because it shows that development is going well for Project Scorpio.