Xbox Scorpio VS PS4 Pro VS Xbox One S: Microsoft beats the competition

Home consoles have always been a rather slow sector of the high-tech market. Consoles, which focus on game productions rather than hardware, are not renewed every year like smartphones.

However, the pace has increased in recent months. After the PS4 Pro’s launch, it’s Microsoft’s turn to officially reveal the technical datasheet for its next console, the Xbox Scorpio, targeting native 4K for the end of the year.

The question everyone is asking now deserves an answer: Is Scorpio much more powerful than the PS4 Pro promising 4K? And is it worth replacing? Answer in this comparison.

Xbox Scorpio VS One S VS PS4 Pro: a radical change

Let’s say it up front: Xbox Scorpio takes out anyone with sheer strength. As an indication, it includes a 30% faster CPU and 4.6 times more raw graphics power than the One S. We can think that it represents a new generation console rather than a simple update on its own.

And exactly: the PS4 Pro wants to be an update of the console for gamers who want 4K without paying more. This is reflected in its technical sheet: simply “doubling” their capacity is far from reaching those of Scorpio.

To give you an idea, the Xbox One S develops a raw power of 1.4 teraflops. The PS4 Pro develops 4.2 teraflops at 1.84 teraflops, a nice increase from the original model. Xbox Scorpio flies over this whole beautiful world, reaching 6 teraflops. There’s absolutely no competition, at least in terms of theoretical raw horsepower.

Power at the service of 4K

All that power isn’t really going to serve the gameplay of the games. It is the graphics and definitions used by our games that will benefit from the change. The PS4 Pro has managed to reach Ultra HD resolution (known as 4K), but not without sacrifice.

While some games offer a native 4K signal, most actually run at a lower definition (1080p, 1440p, etc.) However, it does more than just upscaling: It optimizes game elements using checkerboard rendering techniques and smoothes them for 4K.

This result is very good at first glance, but Scorpio promises much more: native 4K, that is, games whose signal is not converted to be compatible with 4K, but directly displayed in 4K. The first test offered by Microsoft runs Forza’s game engine in native 4K at 40 and 60fps with no sacrifices.

Obviously, the situation is likely to be different depending on the game. But Microsoft has planned for this by also integrating a checkerboard rendering system. Both big and small budget games can therefore easily enjoy 4K.

That’s not all, because Microsoft also promises the same thing with the famous boost mode that launched the PS4 Pro: all Xbox One or 360 games will benefit from the console’s new features without modification.

Games with no framerate or definition blocked will run directly at maximum capacity, while others will be able to take full advantage of the console through patches. So the system is the same between PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio, but the latter remains much more powerful.

What about price and games?

Of course, a console is nothing without people to buy and games to play. Note that Scorpio is a phased update of the Xbox One, inspired by the smartphone market that is renewed every year.

Vision, also shared by PS4 Pro. And so it limited its strength: 400€, which reached a more easily digestible price. Regardless, their sales don’t look exceptional.

Xbox Scorpio will be released at the end of the year in this context, but we do not know the price. With a much more powerful GPU and a Blu-Ray UHD player integrated, we can expect a higher bill of €500/600.

Many speculate that the Xbox One S’s lack of success is due to the lack of exclusive games on the console, especially since Xbox One games have also been released on PC. In this context, the Xbox Scorpio isn’t necessarily made for you: its library will stay the same, but its price will increase.

So it looks like Scorpio will be in the same market as the PS4 Pro. It’s a niche market targeting the most graphically demanding console gamers at the moment. It’s a feature especially available to PC gamers who aren’t interested in getting an Xbox as they can already play their games.

That’s why it’s hard to determine how Microsoft will sell its next console, which will be officially unveiled at E3 2017. One thing is for sure: Regardless of its shape or appeal, it will remain the most powerful console on the market.