It looks like Microsoft is ensuring that the Scorpio is perceived as a major improvement over the existing Xbox One all around, without any existing games needing any patches, as has been the case on the PS4 Pro. According to a report on Windows Central, existing games that make use of dynamic scaling on Xbox One will achieve their target resolutions more frequently on Project Scorpio- in simple terms, this means that a game that uses dynamic resolutions should be able to hit, say, 1080p (if 1080p was a target resolution for it to begin with) more during gameplay on Scorpio, without any intervention needed on the developer’s part. Framerates will also automatically be more stable on Scorpio.
But that’s not all that the Scorpio will entail- apparently, the console comes with Shader Model 6 (SM6) and shader compiler improvements. SM6 is an API for creating shading, and should bump up efficiency across the board, saving developers time and system resources. It also sounds like this will be made available for standard Xbox One consoles too, in addition to Scorpio, naturally.
It also sounds like games that sport 4K assets will enjoy graphics enhancements on 1080p displays, which will come down to the console’s supersampling technology. All of this is to say that even with a standard 1080p monitor, the difference between Scorpio and existing Xbox One systems should be clear on just about any game.
That said, Windows Central’s report does note that to get the full impact of what the Scorpio is, you will need a 4K TV enabled with HDR. Unlike the PS4 Pro, the Scorpio will also come with a 4K Blu-ray player, with its image output achieved by HDMI 2.0a with Wide Color Gamut and HDR.
So all in all, it looks like Microsoft is really betting the house on this whole 4K resolution thing- let’s hope it works out for them. I’m hoping they will have some great games to go with their new console too.
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