The PS4 Pro and the Xbox One Scorpio are intriguing prospects, because they are mid generation harxware refreshes that actually add to the original consoles’ capabilities. But how Sony and Microsoft have gone about this process is a stark study in contrasts- where Sony decided to stick to the original PS4 design, and update it moderately, Microsoft have gone ahead with a radical rethink of the Xbox One design and come up with the Scorpio.
Given the Scorpio’s power advantage over the PS4 Pro as a result of these differing approaches, should Sony have followed the Microsoft playbook in this regard, too? Sony has gone for a moderate upgrade with the PS4 Pro and instead resorting to methods such as 4K checkerboard rendering. So should Sony have gone ahead and released a more powerful mid-gen refresh just like the Scorpio? That is what we decided to ask Jean-François Fiset, Community Manager of Parabole, developer of Kona, when he sat down with us for an exclusive interview.
“The way I see it is that even though the PS4 Pro is less powerful than the Scorpio, Sony still has a huge advantage,” he said. “They released their upgraded version of the PS4 approximately a year before the Scorpio. It means that they had a lot of time to earn more clients who in the end, just want to play a game on a console that answer their immediate needs.”
The year long head start the PS4 Pro has is hardly deniable- but of course, adoption of the PS4 Pro has been a bit on the slower side, especially since Sony themselves have de-emphasized it in marketing, leaving it to the more informed core gamers to scope it out themselves. Will this headstart actually matter against the Scorpio? Ultimately, is the more radically overhauled Scorpio even competing with the PS4 Pro? That is all something that remains to be seen.
Stay tuned for our complete with the developers of Kona later this week. In the meantime, check out the game’s announcement trailer below.
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