Xbox One X: What Microsoft’s 4K Project Scorpio Really Is
Microsoft has finally given Project Scorpio an official name: Xbox One X. After months of speculation surrounding the next generation of Microsoft’s gaming platform, we finally have official details thanks to Microsoft’s official reveal event at E3.
The Xbox One X supports 4K and HDR at 60FPS, also sporting Dolby Atmos and 4K UHD Blu-ray support. The tech specs include a 6 Teraflop 1.172 Ghz GPU, 12GB of RAM, and a liquid-cooled vapor chamber more typical of higher end PC gaming hardware. Despite the high-end hardware, the One X will have the slimmest profile of any Xbox yet.
To the excitement of current generation Xbox One owners, the One X is compatible with all Xbox One accessories, although it doesn’t feature a dedicated Kinect port, so if Microsoft plans to continue supporting Kinect there will need to be an alternate hookup or dongle. When it comes to games, the One X will be backwards compatible with select games from the original Xbox (starting with Crimson Skies), the Xbox 360, and Xbox One, and may also end up using “super sampling” to make sure modern games still look great on 1080p TVs.
The Xbox One X is currently set to see a worldwide release on November 7th for $499.
As the first console revealed for the next generation of high-end gaming hardware, the Xbox One X is obviously the most powerful console we’ve ever seen, although if rumors are true, that title could be short lived due to a potential 10 Teraflop Playstation 5 next year.
All the power in the world won’t benefit the One X without some good titles, though. Showing off the potential of the new console, as usual, is Forza Motorsport 7, featuring 4k 60fps gameplay and showing off gorgeous rain-slick roadways and dynamic weather conditions as seen the in-game footage from the launch trailer above. Several other 4k exclusives were announced as well, including Deep Rock Galactic, a first person shooter/resource gathering game featuring dwarves in space; the zombie-slaying sequel, State of Decay 2; and Battle Royale inspired game, The Darwin Project. Altogether, Microsoft says there will be a total of 22 “console launch exclusives.”
While many of the improvements seem iterative, the 4K boost will be well received by many gamers, and the fact that Microsoft appears to be putting in a concerted effort to keep all their platforms and games compatible may signal a paradigm shift from the way compatibility has been handled between generations in the past.
Is this enough to get you to upgrade from an Xbox One, replace your Playstation or Nintendo, or simply add the One X to your library? Let us hear about it in the commetns!
Source: Microsoft
