Microsoft Exec Unsure About Xbox One Scorpio-Only Games “Up to the Game Development Community”

Today, during the YouTube Live broadcast hosted by Geoff Keighley, Microsoft Head of First Party Studios Publishing Shannon Loftis gave more color on the upcoming Xbox One Scorpio.

[-Foxtrot]

How can it take advantage of the new tech if there is no exclusive games for it

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

By making current and upgraded console version's separated

[Godmars290]

Remasters you mean.

You honestly expect anyone not a hardcore Xbox fan to buy a new system just for remasters?

[Imalwaysright]

Not remasters but better versions of the same game like we saw with Rise of Tomb Raider on X1 and the 360 and probably with the upcoming Persona 5 that will be released on the PS3 and PS4. Also, if the Scorpio has a reasonable price and with 4k Tvs becoming more affordable, I can definetely see more than just hardcore fans buying it and the same is true for the Neo.

[lelo2play]

People can bitch all they want, but in the end of the day, like it or not, the Xbox Scorpio is a new generation of consoles. Basically it's a new more powerful console that has BC... it will play X1 games and it will probably have a few exclusive games to take advantage of the hardware.

Same thing can be said about PS4 Neo (and probably Nintendo NX).

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Neither of these consoles will reinvent the wheel pr something. They are meant for 4K and VR

They are obliged to keep the promise and make both get the same games. They can't just abandon the current consoles' owners.

But I think this will get worse later on as Neo/Scorpio owners will accuse the base models of holding it back

[JEECE]

I think Fox is implying that the games on it can't truly take advantage of the beefed up specs if they are only upgraded versions of the Xbox One games. Sure, they might have 4k resolution and/or run at a better frame rate, but if the game is built on the Xbox One, the Scorpio version isn't going to have better AI or different gameplay systems that couldn't be achieved on the original Xbox One. And since by the time Scorpio releases at the end of 2017, probably about 30 million people will have Xbox ones (assuming a boost from the much improved slim design and Gears 4), it won't make any sense to release exclusive games on Scorpio.

I think the best bet would be to make it clear that this is a new generation, and just call it Xbox 2. These half steps (from both Sony and MS) are going to make everything really messy and ruin a lot of what is good and simple about playing console games.

[Nitrowolf2]

this is pretty much a start of a new console generation, despite them saying otherwise about how eveyr game is playable on both consoles. With the amount of power it has, there's no way it won't have exclusive games.

@Below

Yes, the same goes for Neo.

The bright side is though, least the games we bought wont go to waste

[BossBattle]

I could say the same with Neo.

[senorfartcushion]

Sigh, of course they will make exclusive games.

It is the Xbox Two, essentially.

[rightway]

You know when a new console launches it has launch games. MS likely has Scorpio games for e32017.

80 per cent of games are third party. The argument PC has all xbox games is meaningless if Scorpio in the end is more powerful. Gamers will pick up the best performing console for Fifa and Battlefield

[Kleptic]

what?

Scorpio is a console/win 10 PC hybrid of some sort...we don't have all the details on exactly what it is, yet. But you can sort of derive it's purpose...

windows is absorbing PC and Xbox gaming from both directions...Scorpio is going to be a windows 10 device that plays any 'xbox' game moving forward...windows 10 PC's already play 'xbox' games, too. Scorpio won't be a full windows 10 PC, though, it'll be a forked version closed off from access to the rest of 'pc gaming'...meaning it'll have services like Steam, battlenet, origin, etc. locked out and gaming content will be piped to it through a merged win 10 and xbox store...

Xbox is becoming a platform involving more than a single device...Windows 10 and DX12 are the toolset for xbox on multiple devices...so saying 'exclusive' content for this 'new' console is misleading...scorpio will have exclusive games, but shared with all xbox devices (win 10 PC's, namely)...The xbox one itself will likely be phased out of this sooner rather than later, though...as scorpio is a direct answer to it's rather blatant hardware shortcomings...

That's what i'm getting from all this, anyway...

[jb227]

This is the issue...MS leaves it "up to the game development community" instead of leaving it up to the gamers...

Seems like concrete proof that Xbox gamers will be forced to upgrade sooner than later. So much for the 'forward compatible' idea...

So in the same day that MS announces their "upgrade" they also stealthily confirm the potential for "Scorpio only games"...if that's not plain evidence that this is an aborted generation for MS, I don't know what could be.

[freshslicepizza]

how can the gtx 1080 take advantage of pc gaming? we all know foxtrot wants to downplay anything related to xbox.

[ONESHOTV2]

third party remember that not all third party games are created equal some games are linear with nothing to render but cut scenes and you have more open games that render graphics like they do in a cut scene. what i'm saying is that you will get the full experience us pc gamers get maxed settings with 60 frames or more. and old gen game like crysis still can not be maxed out on consoles what does that say

[TheCommentator]

The exclusive games will be VR titles. All other games will scale to the platform, since they will just be 4K versions of XB1 titles.

[Erik7357]

Maybe make the games run at native 4k? Makes a big difference in how good it looks.

[Nyxus]

So then it's basically a successor to the Xbox One. Or a semi-successor at least. I'm actually kind of glad to hear that.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

It's the successor. It's over 6x more powerful.

[BossBattle]

If you feel that way, then I feel that about the Neo.

[Gol3m]

Hate to be that guy but it's actually under 5 x as powerful as the One which is 1.23 tf

[Fin_The_Human]

Good one Boss...don't think he has a response for that.

[FlyingFoxy]

It's a mid gen refresh.. Of course GPU' s 'should' start becoming much more powerful now because of 4k.

[iTechHeads]

No, its a premium Xbox One that developers may or may not make exclusives for. (Third parties won't because it doesn't make financial sense)

If there are exclusives for it, they would come from Microsoft and their partners. So Halo 6, Forza 6...etc.

[Nyxus]

Well, if it gets it's own library of games on top of being significantly more powerful I pretty much consider it a successor.

[donthate]

Dynamic resolution is what the Xbox Scorpio will take advantage of. Most (if not all) games have their assets made in 4K now anyhow.

Of course, the VR games will be exclusive to Scorpio so it does have that benefit of unshackling the past.

[BossBattle]

How do you feel about the Neo being a successor to the PS4?

[Nyxus]

From what I understand the Neo supports 4K video and HDR so it's more like the Xbox One S than the Scorpio.

[Sevir]

The Neo is currently rumored at 4.14 tflops of performance. That's rumored to be a little over 2 times the performance of the current PS4... it can very much do 4K gaming and HDR, however, given that MS has come out and done this, Sony does have the option to delay the New to make something more competitive for the house of PlayStation, they've been profiting off PS4 and it's success so finding new solutions to bump performance up and have a 5-6tflop performance console to launch next year is fine... it's worth noting that both MS and Sony are making sure the NX has ZERO competitive edge over their brand.

[BossBattle]

@Sevir the Neo is rumoured to release earlier than the Scorpio. So MS would just counter a move like that. But it's more important for the Neo to release sooner because of PSVR. From the early reviews I saw of the PSVR it was noted that it had a slight latency compared to the Vive and of course the Oculus. Right now the PSVR is pushing the PS4 to the max and the games still look basic. So Sony can't afford to delay just because of the Scorpio. Plus the fact that parts must be ordered in bulk for mass production takes considerable time.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

It's a weak and sorry excuse that will look even weaker and like a cash grab when Sony is forced to launch PS5.

[BossBattle]

The Neo is rumoured to have higher specs than the regular PS4 to improve the PSVR. There will be 2 versions to most games on both the Scorpio and Neo. So what you say about the Scorpio, you have to say about the other the Neo.

[Fist4achin]

That's kind of a pisser for the early adopters of the Xbox one...

[343_Guilty_Spark]

By the time it launches it will have been 4 years since the Xbox One launched.

4 years is a typical hardware gen.

I'm not pissed. I'm ready for more powerful hardware.

[Nyxus]

It's happened before, but 4 years is pretty short, especially for a console that was pretty expensive (500 at launch). Also, in the 'Tier 2' countries the Xbox One came out in 2014.

[sangoku_d]

4 years? for a failed xbox maybe. 4 years of directx 12 and cloud power promises not 1 triple a game

[SmielmaN]

4 years is not typical, it's a huge slap in the face to early adopters, if you want more power the Ps4 and PC say "hi"

[jts1891]

I wouldn't say it's typical. The average is around 5 to 6 years. The only console in recent memory that only lasted 4 years was the original Xbox. Plus, coming off the well above average lifepsan of last gen, this one feels extremely short.

[donthate]

Nyxus:

Four years is a little shorter than usual, but not out of the console cycle. That said, it will still be supported with new games long afterwards, especially if people keep buying it.

[MachuchalBrotha316]

Im an early adopter and Im not pissed I cant wait for the Scorpio.

[iTechHeads]

The console is very early in development. A lot will change by the time it launches in Holiday 2017.
They likely haven't set the 'ground rules' for game developers as to what they can and can't do with Scorpio in regards to Xbox One.

I can't help thinking Microsoft only announced the Scorpio in order to try and one-up Sony this E3. Microsoft would be in a very bad position if they fail to meet that 6TF target..

[343_Guilty_Spark]

They announced 6TF mostly because they know Sony can't counter. These new consoles are likely already in pre-production.

[MachuchalBrotha316]

Yeah, watch all the Neo specs magically change when they show it.

[Gol3m]

Of course they can counter. It would still be in planning as I never believed it was coming this year anyway

[spicelicka]

Yea I agree. They said the devs just got access to it now, no dev will be able to create a full next-gen game by next year. The point it to release the system, let people enjoy Xbox one games on it with upscaled graphics, and then have new Scorpio level games come in 2018 to match the common generation cycle.

[donthate]

I think it is more about adapting their engine for dynamic resolution so that when Scorpio drops, their game is ready immediately to take advantage of that power. Then of course, there is VR which Scorpio has no past to shackle it, so it will get full borne out experience and performance.

[Kleptic]

There seem to be a lot of people that are confused by this.

There currently is not a single xbox one exclusive game in development, right? Every single xbox one game is going to be released day and date with windows 10, or is already multiplatform and will be released for PC in the more traditional sense...

therefor...a more powerful console is meaningless as far as dev concerns, they're already buidling PC versions concurrently with xbo...All xbox devices are dx12, including windows 10 PC's...scaling a game between a monster PC and the hideously dated xbox one are the two extremes...the scorpio will simply slot in at a mostly high end PC spec with all that...it's a platform 'in the middle', so any engine being built for the xbox one and windows 10 PC will easily run on the scorpio with little extra effort.

but, like others are saying, it will NOT be a 'new generation' until the xbox one is dropped entirely and not part of the development. The xbox one has not sold the numbers to justify a different rendering engine only for it, but has also sold enough to justify having games released for it. So until the xbo is no more, the scorpio will be handled just like a current mid-high end PC...it runs everything better, but isn't being used to it's full potential.

[Manic2014]

The architecture of the GPU and CPU is probably complete now. AMD are probably getting ready to manufacture the chips by the start of next year.

[Kleptic]

seemingly. I'm interested to know what it is, as they indicate an soc, but that amount of power seems way more likely to be a discrete gpu...AMD's road maps suggest a ~4.5Tflop gpu in their newer line of APU's coming later this year, which lines up with rumors about the NEO's 280x-like gpu upgrade...

but 6.x...I'm kind of doubting it's even using an apu, that is 980Ti/Titanx'ish theoretical performance, and there has never been any hint that AMD has an apu with that kind of power even in development...and has there been confirmation that it's even AMD parts? I can't remember, the video shows a board, but I don't remember the labels on it other than an Xbox logo.

[Manic2014]

@Kleptic

At this stage of the designs for the components, everything is already fix, they probably can afford to add a minor component such as esram but I guess they would have to accept the hardware they have designed

AMD Have confirmed they're working on manufacturing GPU's for three different consoles, one which is supposedly releasing this year (I think it may be NEO). After the Scorpio AMD did tweet:

https://twitter.com/AMD/sta...

[sangoku_d]

well there it is next gen xbox.

[DopeTech]

Don't do it Microsoft.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Sony: Hey, AMD can you up our FLOPZ?
AMD: Sure let's just scrap the millions of chips we just fabricated for the PS4K.
Sony: Okay, how much will that cost?
AMD: 1 billion USD.
Sony: : T_T

[sangoku_d]

millions of chips sitting in a warehouse, sure

[BossBattle]

Hey that's a summary. You can't just order chips and have it ordered like a pizza.

[jts1891]

At this point, why even call it an 'Xbox One'? This is effectively the beginning of another generation of consoles if the Scorpio is actually as powerful as they claim. Though, to deliver that much power, the price is going to have to be pretty hefty, and they are going to run into the same problem that hit the PS3 and the Xbox One at launch. If it's too expensive, sales will be low.

[Bobafret]

I think some of the people commenting on this thread need to read a bit about how scalability works with DX12. I can't believe this question is even being asked. Plus it's an exec, not a developer. SMH.

[opinionated]

That's good. Stay out of it and leave the options open. Having every game compatible on the ps4 and neo is nice but it cuts off the option for focused game development. If a company wants to make a 4K game they should have the option. It's already an option on PC but they are bringing it to the console space.

[dangerousbrian0]

You know it will happen in the end & thats what Microsoft is hoping for quietly because they knew the xbox one was underpowered straight out of the gate & Microsoft can afford to do this they know people will buy Scorpio straight away they will probably stop production of the current model a few years down the line nd they are only saying it will co-exist with the current model so to not piss off all the current/early adopters and the ones that will buy the new xbox one s.

[Perjoss]

And there you have it

[MagicBeanz]

Wonder how long it will take before the PC elitists start telling everyone the upcoming consoles are under powered?

[Kiwi66]

A week ?

[Eldyraen]

6 teraflops compared to 9 with a gtx 1080.

Happy? Now you don't need to wait.

[MagicBeanz]

Wouldn't say happy, not surprised either.

[Eldyraen]

I had to look it up just to be a smart ass ;)

I was also looking up tidbits to see what Scopio could compare to. As of now the closest is probably a custom (and possibly better) 390x. They can probably get it to run better even without custom specs simply as they focus all attention on it (besides the other One or Ps4 versions of games) and not dozens of cards and other PC set up variations.

[MagicBeanz]

Well mission accomplished. No worries its nice to know I can just get a really good graphics card and play all the xbox games on PC if I wanted to.

[Sevir]

I'm OK with this Mid Gem Refresh, and future proofing., a 4-7tflop dedicated gaming console will stay pretty competitive with PC that are sitting at 4-6tflops GPUs in them.

Innovation in computing is ever rapidly progressing, I'm excited that MS and Sony has decided to make a generation of consoles cater to different price ranges, knowing that you'll get a quality experience at the level you paid for it

[marioJP87]

Ideally, PC will still have an advantage where they can tweak their graphic settings. I wish developers would add this in all of their games.

[marioJP87]

So how much video memory will the Scorpio have?

[343_Guilty_Spark]

8 GB GDDR5 320/GB vs 218/GB for Neo

[Manic2014]

Eurogamer's are speculating 12GB GDDR5 for Scorpio, since they're aiming for 320gb/s

[Godmars290]

Oops...