820°

Ori and the Blind Forest Developer Describes Scorpio as 'next-gen' Machine

Thomas Mahler, Game Director, explains how the x86 architecture of current consoles enable future-proof games and describes the Scorpio as a 'next-gen' machine that 'isn't just a half-assed upgrade.'

Nyxus2648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

A 'full blown next generation' console? I'm confused, I thought this wasn't the successor to the Xbox One?

lxtrxi2648d ago

I thought the same but this developer is basically saying it's a 9th generation console then.

Overload2648d ago (Edited 2647d ago )

Project Scorpio isn't even out and it's already inherited the Xbox way, unclear mixed messaging. All in 1 day.

Edit:

IGN just posted this story.
http://ca.ign.com/articles/...

gangsta_red2648d ago

@Overload

"Project Scorpio isn't even out and it's already inherited the Xbox way, unclear mixed messaging. All in 1 day."

Maybe because like you said...it isn't even out yet. Just a lot of speculation, rumors and of course "doom" articles and "gloom" comments on forums posted everyday.

Overload2648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

@Red

The Xbox One wasn't out yet either when Adam Orth made the confusion start.

The guy just said it's a full blown next gen console. This isn't going to end well.

darthv722648d ago

the specs of it essentially makes it a 9th gen console. It may be held back by MS on purpose to avoid splitting the user base... for now at least.

No doubt that if the Pro was given the chance to flex its muscle we would see things not possible on a stock PS4 but sony's parity clause prohibits that from happening so all we get are higher res games and an increase in fps. Nothing more nothing less.

MS might actually go back on their parity clause knowing well that their user base being significantly smaller means less people to piss off by jumping right into dedicated 9th gen scorpio software. I expect them to do that which could force sony's hand in doing the same.

I mean lets face it, the 8th gen hasnt really lived up to the generations past. The whole idea of a mid gen refresh is basically these companies trying to take a mulligan and start over. I say lets stop kidding ourselves with the 8th gen. I fully ready for the 9th to begin and nintendo is kicking things off in March so you know Ms and Sony will have to follow suit.

gangsta_red2648d ago

@Overload

"The guy just said it's a full blown next gen console. This isn't going to end well."

How? A console that will play all 360 and X1 games plus future X1 games too?

If anything this should clear up the earlier rumors of the leaked spec doc that said the new Scorpio wasn't as powerful or different from the PS4Pro.

But instead we should be worried?

ziggurcat2648d ago

@darth:

What parity clause? Can you provide a link to such a thing?

kneon2648d ago

@gangsta_red

Well some people will be upset if they are jumping to a new gen already, that's why Microsoft have been saying it's not a new gen.

But what defines a new gen anyway? The PS4 Pro is over twice as powerful than the PS4, and 3 times the Xb1. The rumored specs of the Scorpio put it around 3-3.5 times as powerful as the PS4, but only about 50% more than the PS4 Pro.

If the Scorpio is just faster with no new features then they can reasonably claim it's not a new gen.

Overload2648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

@Red

"But instead we should be worried?"

Yes, pretty much nothing they have tried has worked out well this generation.

Digital Foundry suggests it's not as much as an upgrade as people expected and the other says it's a next gen console. Neither off those sound like a good end to this story.

If you think sneakily trying to introduce the Xbox 2 is going to go over well, you're mistaken, regardless of if it plays 360 games.

2648d ago
Lonnie182648d ago

Sony more than likely will wait till 2019-2020 before they make their next move which I believe is a good thing.

Outside_ofthe_Box2648d ago

Seems like we are gonna have to wait till E3 to see what's up.

If it's a full next gen console are people gonna be upset that MS started a new gen early?

It would also mean that MS lied about forward compatibility if what this developer said is true.

Omnislashver362648d ago

For MS sake it better not be a 9th gen console otherwise PS5 will trample over it. As an 8th gen console I wonder what their messaging will be though. "Use this console for two years before X2/PS5?"

PS4 Pro was smart for releasing last year in my opinion.

OB1Biker2648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

I think many parts of Scorpio are new gen. Even parts of PS4 Pro are new gen. But a new gen console is not just about the hardware. There's the software and more importantly the intent to be a new generation. And Ms clearly said many time they don't want new generations anymore.
Moreover the timing is not right for the start of a new gen with MEA, RDR2, SWBF2 and the many SW games incoming etc etc all new games are full into this generation. You don't start a new gen just with hardware
My 2 cents

bouzebbal2648d ago

I sense another debacle.. This is how they thank their loyal X1 for buying and supporting their broken console, by ceasing all support for the past many months

AngelicIceDiamond2648d ago

I'm sure to an indie developer its gonna seem next gen with extra resources. The developer is just giving his thoughts (just like every other developer does) don't take it as gospel.

Notellin2647d ago

In terms of power yes, but if it doesn't have exclusive games which it isn't supposed to most developers won't use the power efficiently.

"Scorpio isn't just a half-assed upgrade (which the PS4 Pro kinda is...), but a full blown next-gen machine that's just backwards-compatible to your current library."

Also this is his quote so the whole thing is taken out of context to rile every one up.

XStation4pio_Pro2647d ago (Edited 2647d ago )

You guys are taking this way too literally. They're just saying it's so spec'd up it's like it may as well be a next gen console. It is still an Xbox one and it will play Xbox One games. It will be able to play them with enhanced graphics just like the PS4 pro (but even more so) but what's different than the pro is they upgraded pretty much everything, not just the gpu like in the case of the pro. MS themselves have been very clear that Scorpio is an upgraded xb1.

@overload: you're trying entirely too hard to hate. Nobody knew what the switch or the Wii U or the PS4 pro were entirely until they were released. Remember how many stupid articles there were saying the PS4 pro was confusing? Turns out people just aren't bright. you taking a 2nd party developers comments in an article and turning it to a mixed message from MS/Xbox is just bs. Sorry. I have straw man argument fatigue.

xDealtwithIt2647d ago

Funny, the known suspects of n4g are *worried* about Scorpio being a next gen system.

I guess if I was concern trolling I would take the statment as literal and start to spread all my false concerns too.

TheCommentator2647d ago

Read between the lines.

He's saying that Sony didn't make the Pro contemporary to the current technology available while MS, according to him, has. Makes sense though. The reason is that Sony used old tech when they built PS4 and modified it with a small budget just to go fast with old engines.

MS OTOH, custom built almost everything on the XB1 so it could be full DX12 compatible (which was an anchor for the system to run properly), and Vega is the first Full DX12 card since the XB1 launched. The white paper article from the other day even mentions the tile-based rasterizer (only in AMD's XB1 and Vega GPUs) as being one of the main reasons Nvidia outperforms AMD all the time (Nvidia's had them for years). It's because MS built a new generation of machine architecture with the XB1 that they are going to be able to use the newest tech available for Scorpio while still maintaining SW compatibility.

Again, he is saying Scorpio is way more powerful than the Pro. It doesn't matter what you call it though, mid gen or next gen, because it will be the same product either way. MS said at the beginning that it's a marathon and not a sprint. Sony sprinted with both PS4 and Pro's development and it's paid off early, but even Sony admitted the PS4 is nearly tapped out. MS didn't sprint and look at how much more the XB1 does now than when it launched... "impossible" things like BC... and it's still improving every day.

jlove4life2647d ago

Hey switch is next gen machine just talk till we actually see it in action

+ Show (17) more repliesLast reply 2647d ago
Overload2648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

This feels like an Adam Orth moment with him letting his emotions do the talking.

2648d ago
Chris122648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

This sounds like another Overload moment, trying to cause confusion. MS made it VERY clear what the console is and what it does. It is no different to the PS4 Pro, except it offers more power, more compatibility and more facilities, such as a 4K player.

A dev said it's next gen, which could easily relate to the hardware, but you love trolling every Xbox article so it's no surprise you're here causing trouble. Interesting you said virtually nothing when Sony closed a whole studio.

SgtSlaughter2122647d ago (Edited 2647d ago )

Do you actually play any games or do you spend 100% of your time on N4G being a troll?

I'm not even an XBOX guy and I find you nothing short of insufferable.

Overload2647d ago

@above

If you have a question or a comment regarding my comment feel free to post that. Insulting people is not a good approach.

SgtSlaughter2122647d ago

LOL. Seriously, you are what is wrong with gaming. You are so creepy.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2647d ago
UCForce2648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

Ok, hold on a second..... what ?

Edit : I thought MS said Scorpio is mid gen.

StrangerX2648d ago

A while ago Phil said that they didnt want to make a half ass gen system and their next console was gonna have a big upgrade and very powerful, so its a mid gen because its tied in parity with what the Xbox one gets but powerful enough specs to be considered a new generation. If let to be developed only, it could show a leap in gen. Thats all! Just be happy that this makes it a little more future proof!

2648d ago Replies(1)
MecheSlays2648d ago

Hardware wise it's like a next gen console but it's gonna run the same exact os as the Xbox one and support all the same accessories

Youngindy212648d ago

Perhaps Microsoft feels as if Scorpio is what the Xbox One should have been and in that sense they don't consider it another generation.

RosweeSon2648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

I'm confussed I thought games consoles needed games.
They seem to, Heard of any?

starchild2648d ago

I'm confused...did developers cease making games for it?

2648d ago Replies(1)
Sparta072648d ago

I believe it is a next gen console.
Microsoft messed up big time with Xboxone. You'll see they will abandon the Xboxone like they did with the regular Xbox and the last few years of the 360.
The problem is they don't have GAMES!!!

2648d ago
Gwynbleidd2648d ago

He explains why: X86 architecture.
Basically MS can get a full blown next gen console out there without leaving the Xbox One crowd behind because all games are forward-/backward- compatible. You only choose which graphics quality setup you want to game with and what budget you would like to invest.

Overload2647d ago

Reading over this, it's actually pretty funny people's reasoning for it not being the Xbox 2 is Backwards Compatibility.

It is amazing what marketing can accomplish.

Condemnedman2647d ago

what is clear is it will be the most powerful console when it releases . I don't care if it's classed as next gen as long it still runs my current games.

why does it bother you anyway? what difference does it make?

Bigpappy2647d ago (Edited 2647d ago )

I agree it is a next level system. Just that they are not moving on in the traditional sense. Phil was trying to explain this before re revealed Scorpio. When a company moved to the next gen in the pass, the focus for the new system was separate from that of the old. That means that it would be designed so differently, that the games made for it would mostly not be made for the older version. M$ has decided to this time build a much more powerful system and keep same OS that would allow developers to just downgrade games to work on the older system (just like PC).
So X1 will get the same games until it become less feasible to downgrade games and that's when most have moved on to Scorpio

2647d ago Replies(1)
Ashlen2647d ago (Edited 2647d ago )

It's Microsoft if you say "i want a next gen console" they will tell you we're making a next gen console. If you say "I want it to be an upgraded Xbox" they will tell you it's an upgraded Xbox. They just say what people want to hear whether it's the truth doesn't matter. As long as they can trick people into buying it they will say what ever people want to hear.

kingdom182647d ago

He means it, I'm guessing, in the sense that the power jump is Next Gen. So while MS says they won't treat it as a Next Gen system, it will be one in the sense that it is powerful enough to be so.

2647d ago
JasonKCK2647d ago

This guy is a developer, not Phil Spencer or a spokesperson for MS.

Mithan2647d ago

Yes, so? You guys need to stop thinking in generations in terms of "I need all new games" and think more aline generations of iPad's, iPhones, Samsungs, etc, where the software is backwards compatible.

+ Show (15) more repliesLast reply 2647d ago
Burrito26a2648d ago

Could that be because MS is trying to start a new generation? Most likely.

Lennoxb632648d ago (Edited 2647d ago )

How is MS going to start a new generation every 3-4 years.

@Gamist2dot
The 360 wasn't backward compatible with the original Xbox. Plus, the 360 was about 8 times more powerful.

Burrito26a2648d ago

By going the Nintendo route and releasing a significantly different console whenever you please.

Gamist2dot02648d ago

The Xbox 360 launched 4 years after Xbox. :/

TheVigilanteCode2648d ago

The 360 WAS (and it still IS) backwards compatible with the original Xbox.

If Microsoft has done anything pro consumer in the game console space, it's backwards compatibility with all of their consoles going forward.

You should get your facts straight before posting them on the internet.

ILostMyMind2648d ago

@Gamist2dot0
And microsoft immediately abandons its previous platforms .. ever.

GamingIVfun2648d ago (Edited 2648d ago )

Xbox 360 had BC in the beginning but abandoned BC halfway through the console lifespan with about a third of Xbox games actually working well on Xbox 360. You can't play the first Xbox 's games on Xbox One.

I don't think the Xbox Scorpio is going to be next gen at all, it going to take every bit of extra horsepower the Xbox Scorpio has to produce 4k graphics natively and I doubt they will be able to do that with all current games as is. I think there will be little difference in how games look between the PS4 Pro and the Xbox Scorpio, the only real difference is PS4 doing 4k with a combination of extra graphics power and proprietary software tricks and Xbox One doing 4k with brute force system power (problem being it takes lot of power to do true 4k) either way, if you can't tell a real difference, which most will not, what difference does it really make.

We will see soon enough, if games don't look measurably better on Xbox One Scorpio over PS4 Pro than I doubt it going to make much difference. Games look really great and are running pretty well on PS4 pro and there are a lot of really good looking and interesting exclusives coming to PS4 in general.

Plus there are some pretty unique development tools coming to PS4 development software that may eliminate any advantage Scorpio could have.

BurnedCorn2648d ago

@lennoxb63 You are not correct kid. The xbox 360 can play OG games and has a library of xbox original games that can be played. Some of the OG you can play on your xbox 360 are Crimsom Skies and Panzer Dragoon Orta.

brich2332647d ago

360 has 279 games backwards compatible with original Xbox.

343_Guilty_Spark2647d ago

There are a select few backward compact Xbox games on 360

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 2647d ago
denawayne2648d ago

As I've stated before in other threads:

Scorpio is just the first in a trend of new console cycles. Each new console will play all previous consoles titles (from Xbox 360 on) as well as exclusives for the new console. This way, a new console can be released about every 5 years with the previous console before it supported for about 2 years. So, lets say in 20 years I can still play every Xbox title ever made (except OG Xbox titles) on whatever console is current. This is what the whole "Nobody left behind" comment means.

AGAIN - THERE WILL BE EXCLUSIVES FOR SCORPIO. MARK MY WORDS AND THIS PAGE

Scorpio will be $499

Allsystemgamer2647d ago

That is probably one of the worst business plans I've ever read.

That's how you go bankrupt.

InTheZoneAC2647d ago

the whole idea of scorpio was to never have scorpio exclusives, but enhanced versions.

I've always felt M$ would be the first to do this though if they chose to offer scorpio only games for a midgen upgrade..

PlayableGamez-2648d ago

Not necessarily a bad thing as long as MS is sticking with the universal model and won't drop support of the OG Xbox One and Slim.

ziggurcat2648d ago

Pretty sure MS will provide support for all of the current models long after the Scorpio hits the market. Like
Last gen, it's probably a ten year development cycle - which means 2023 will see the last bits of support for Xbox One/S. and by that time, the next console iteration will likely be either announced or on the market.

RosweeSon2648d ago

On their own there I'm happy with this gen so much so my PS4 is rammed and I'm grabbing a switch. Next Gen is next decade 2020/2021 more likely. PS4 just getting going and switch just arriving on a 4-6 year cycle max before they wanna go next gen. waaaay off yet, Game On.

Yohshida2648d ago

Nintendo will do that in March

ger23962647d ago

That would be unwise on their part. But not surprising, alienating their base has been their mantra this gen.

2647d ago
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2648d ago Replies(2)
christocolus2648d ago (Edited 2647d ago )

So I guess we will be seeing Moon Studios next project pretty soon. Also MS needs to announce a date for the reveal of this console asap.

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BigGamersSmallTalk2648d ago

Truer words never spoken! Although it's a more crass wording than Phil Spencer used when he said no "half measures". The wait for Scorpio was for the power.

Cohagen4202648d ago Show
DashArrivals2648d ago ShowReplies(1)
DigitalRaptor2647d ago (Edited 2647d ago )

Well, color me surprised. The biggest Xbox fanboy alive believes the words of an Xbox exclusive developer (that completely contradicts what Phil & co have been presenting Scorpio as, as well as what recent leaks serve to address). I thought you guys were through with being so embarrassingly gullible after all the lies and disappointment of this console and brand.

Half expecting you to say something like "oh yeah, Phil is downplaying for maximised impact" etc. etc.

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