Xbox executive discusses Project Scorpio developer concerns

Shawn Knight

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Microsoft at E3 2016 confirmed the existence of a second, more powerful version of the Xbox One. Project Scorpio, as it’s currently being called, will co-exist alongside both the original Xbox One and the new slim model, the Xbox One S.

Even before becoming official, discussion arose regarding the potential hassle of developers having to support two different spec’d consoles. Those concerns only became more vocal after Microsoft confirmed the console was indeed in the pipeline.

Dave McCarthy, Xbox head of operations, recently addressed the matter in an interview with GameSpot.

McCarthy said that listening to developer feedback on the Xbox One influenced their approach on the Xbox One S and has also influenced their approach to Project Scorpio overall. That said, McCarthy said they really do intent it to be a seamless experience going across the ecosystem of devices – including Windows 10 – as much as possible.

The executive also suggested that Scorpio-only games may be a possibility, saying developers will always want to write to specific capabilities and devices. Giving devs some choice in what they choose to leverage as they do that, he said, is key to Microsoft’s whole philosophy moving forward. Devs have responded well to it as they've shared the plans with them, he concluded.

PlayStation President Andrew House addressed the same issue earlier this month with Neo, the next version of Sony’s PlayStation 4. House said there won’t be any exclusive titles for the Neo and that adding support for Neo will require some “small but manageable” extra work from developers.

Lead image courtesy Bloomberg / Getty Images

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Gotta give Microsoft props for determination. Windows 10 is floundering on the PC so their going to release a PC disguised as a game console that only runs Windows 10. The problem is..everyone who wants an XB1 has already bought one, and people don't upgrade consoles the way they do phones (heck, even the mobile upgrade cycle is slowing with consumers). If the first XB1 had been the "PC in console clothing" then they would have had a chance. Sadly, Microsoft is actually counting XB1s as Windows 10 PCs to boost their adoption numbers.
 
What a slippery slope this all is. If scorpio is to have exclusives, then it is a new console generation no matter what box and bow they wrap it with. Really though, this slippery slope started when they cut short last-gen consoles and moved to this current gen prematurely. One has to wonder though, if a console is to have a PC life cycle... then what are we buying a console for? Consoles are for long term support. If we buy into a console, we do so with the expectation that we will have the better part of 8 years of support.
 
It's exactly how I expected it to be. There is no real "forward" compatibility because of how huge the difference in specs is. There will be scorpio exclusives (besides the VR stuff).
This will be an interesting 2 years. Let's see who was right, Sony with forced forward compatibility on a cheaper console that launches 1 year early, or MS with a more powerful and expensive console that will have exclusive games.

In the long run it doesn't really matter. People now expect Sony/MS to launch a new console every 3-4 years.
 
It's exactly how I expected it to be. There is no real "forward" compatibility because of how huge the difference in specs is. There will be scorpio exclusives (besides the VR stuff).
This will be an interesting 2 years. Let's see who was right, Sony with forced forward compatibility on a cheaper console that launches 1 year early, or MS with a more powerful and expensive console that will have exclusive games.

In the long run it doesn't really matter. People now expect Sony/MS to launch a new console every 3-4 years.

what? I literally can't make any sense of this. The "huge " spec change means no forward compatibility? Cheaper Sony system with a yr's head start? You have heard of this ps4 neo? 3-4 yr console lifespan doesn't matter? People expect this? They haven't even been released yet. Most people haven't heard about these coming systems, and the sure haven't been adopted.
 
what? I literally can't make any sense of this. The "huge " spec change means no forward compatibility? Cheaper Sony system with a yr's head start? You have heard of this ps4 neo? 3-4 yr console lifespan doesn't matter? People expect this? They haven't even been released yet. Most people haven't heard about these coming systems, and the sure haven't been adopted.
if you don't have anything constructive to say then please don't mock other people. and yes, most gamers have heard of the new consoles.
why you so confused by all this?
 
I've already read the Xbox One S will indeed run previous games better, if they have dynamic resolution scaling implemented. There's more horsepower under the hood to run that 4k option, and that same horsepower will stop slow-downs and downscaling of 1080p during intense firefights in games. Scorpio just bumps it up another notch.
 
I've already read the Xbox One S will indeed run previous games better, if they have dynamic resolution scaling implemented. There's more horsepower under the hood to run that 4k option, and that same horsepower will stop slow-downs and downscaling of 1080p during intense firefights in games. Scorpio just bumps it up another notch.
That's a misunderstanding, the consoles have the same power but they added something extra for devs that want to run HDR.
Games won't get any other graphical boost outside of the HDR capabilities (which is a nice touch).

"For games that want to take advantage of HDR, we gave developers access to a small amount of additional processing power."

As for 4K, they didn't add anything new besides the HDMI2.0a and the 4K Blu-ray drive. The original Xbox one was technically capable to run 4K at 30Hz, but it wasn't ideal.
 
That's a misunderstanding, the consoles have the same power but they added something extra for devs that want to run HDR.
Games won't get any other graphical boost outside of the HDR capabilities (which is a nice touch).

"For games that want to take advantage of HDR, we gave developers access to a small amount of additional processing power."

As for 4K, they didn't add anything new besides the HDMI2.0a and the 4K Blu-ray drive. The original Xbox one was technically capable to run 4K at 30Hz, but it wasn't ideal.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/6/13/11927732/xbox-one-s-performance-gears-4

GoW4 developers seem to know something different...
 
we'll have to wait and see direct comparisons when it launches. there are conflicting statements made by multiple sources.

on a side note, from what I've seen at E3, the devs of the new Gears really need that extra power to convince people to buy the game. :D

What misunderstanding is there?
Let's see, current console won't touch 4k, rebooted console is aimed at 4k.
Now if you tell me that doesn't mean it should be more powerful I call BS.
What your definition of powerful is should be stated.
As a matter of fact one of the cheeses' at M$ said blah blah blah MOST POWERFUL CONSOLE EVER.
How can that be that it won't be at least able to push more 1's and 0' through to your TV?
I believe there is no misunderstanding only misconceptions.
 
we'll have to wait and see direct comparisons when it launches. there are conflicting statements made by multiple sources.

on a side note, from what I've seen at E3, the devs of the new Gears really need that extra power to convince people to buy the game. :D

What misunderstanding is there?
Let's see, current console won't touch 4k, rebooted console is aimed at 4k.
Now if you tell me that doesn't mean it should be more powerful I call BS.
What your definition of powerful is should be stated.
As a matter of fact one of the cheeses' at M$ said blah blah blah MOST POWERFUL CONSOLE EVER.
How can that be that it won't be at least able to push more 1's and 0' through to your TV?
I believe there is no misunderstanding only misconceptions.
they are talking about xbox one S, not scorpio.
 
What a slippery slope this all is. If scorpio is to have exclusives, then it is a new console generation no matter what box and bow they wrap it with. Really though, this slippery slope started when they cut short last-gen consoles and moved to this current gen prematurely. One has to wonder though, if a console is to have a PC life cycle... then what are we buying a console for? Consoles are for long term support. If we buy into a console, we do so with the expectation that we will have the better part of 8 years of support.

How did they cut short one of the longest running console generations? Xbox 360 was released in 2005 over a decade ago.. 'cut short' that is laughable.
 
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