With the Xbox Scorpio, Microsoft is apparently responding to the fact that the PS4 is the most powerful system this generation, routinely capable of achieving higher resolutions on mot games natively than the Xbox One can. And so, the Xbox Scorpio has been created- the most powerful console ever, and capable of achieving 4K resolutions natively, at least if Microsoft’s statements about the system so far are to be believed.
And according to Michael Goodman, an analyst at Strategy Analytics, that last point in particular will be something that Microsoft drums up as it readies to market the Scorpio. “Can you really tell the difference between playing games in upscaled versus native 4K?” Goodman said to We Write Things. “Again, it’s one of those aspects that’s really going to be a marketing tool. Microsoft will be able to say, ‘yeah, we’re doing native 4K,’ just like Sony can now say that they have the most powerful system. However, when push comes to shove, it is hard to tell the difference between native and upscaled 4K.”
He also mentioned how Sony might approach marketing the PS4, what with it no longer being the most powerful system on the market. “Interestingly enough, for the first time, Sony is on the other end of that conversation” he said. “They’ll need to take a page out of Microsoft’s playbook- how do you market a less powerful console?”
I honestly expect that Sony will not have much problems marketing the PS4 even after the Scorpio is out. The massive install base it has gives it inertia and momentum, not to mention the massive library, especially of exclusive games, that the PS4 already has over the Xbox One. Scorpio should be able to do fine for itself- but I legitimately don’t see ti being much of a threat for Sony at all.
