Microsoft Is Putting The Pressure On Sony And The PS4

The console war fell into a pretty predictable pattern over the past two years or so. Sony had won with the PS4, and was sitting pretty with accelerating sales and an increasingly dominant platform. Microsoft was doing just fine with the Xbox One, but it had lost some of the market share it had gained with the Xbox 360 and inevitably looked weak next to Sony. Nintendo was having a bad time.

[Rookie_Monster]

Well played Phil and team xbox, well played. MS will have the cheapest console available with the XB1 Slim and the most powerful console in Scorpio. Those 2 combinations will work wonder for MS.

Sony's back is up against the wall. Release PlayStation Neo this year and get left in the dust by Scorpio's power next year, or delay it and let Xbox One S be THE 4K Blu Ray player this Xmas and also the cheapest console to play 99% of the same games.

[Rimeskeem]

people are forgetting that Xbox will have literally no exclusives. If you have a Windows 10 PC you have no reason to buy an Xbox one, or to own one. You can have the most powerful console but it really doesn't matter. Once people realize, oh look all the games are coming to my 8 teraflop PC, no need for his console, that's when Scorpio will fail.

[Budrazor]

What did you pay for the PC and what do you think the Scorpio is gonna cost? The Scorpio is not gonna be as much as you think. MS has to sell the console. I think they learned from the price launch of the X1.

[n4rc]

They are platform exclusive.. and if you want to build a comparable win10 pc, go for it..

But a win10 Os doesn't mean your pc is playing these games.

But I don't know why I bother, you guys are just in full out damage control mode.

[freshslicepizza]

@Rimeskeem
"people are forgetting that Xbox will have literally no exclusives. If you have a Windows 10 PC you have no reason to buy an Xbox one, or to own one. You can have the most powerful console but it really doesn't matter. Once people realize, oh look all the games are coming to my 8 teraflop PC, no need for his console, that's when Scorpio will fail."

basically what you are saying then is ps4 neo will fail big time. why? well because sony wants to keep people from going to the pc and ps4 neo will give them the performance they get on the pc. so where else are you going to play those xbox games?

the problem with your accusation that xbox will have no exclusives means ps4 owners will then only use the ps4 for its exclusives. that means sony will now turn into nintendo, so how is that a good outcome when you have less third party support because console gamers are now going to transition to pc gaming?

you simply cannot state the best of both worlds by implying ps4 and pc combo is the best when you don't factor in the ripple effects this would cause. here is the reality, only a small portion of ps4 owners will actually get into windows 10 gaming. this is all just hot air mainly to attack microsoft's strategy. i am going to call your bluff, so how about you guys prove me wrong when call of duty and battlefield come out later this year and software sales come in for the ps4.

[bleedsoe9mm]

phil's like thanks for playing our games , people that try to turn a pro gamer pro consumer strategy into a negative are hilarious

[sammarshall102]

You severely overestimate the amount of people with "8 teraflop PC's"

Most will still prefer to get the Scorpio's convenience over building a PC

[indysurfn]

Sorry Moldybread Microsoft is putting there exclusives one PC but Sony is NOT. That is why Microsoft will have no exclusives. And microsoft says out of there own mouth that they will continue to do that.

[Shineon]

You mean any windows 10 pc can run xbox games I had no idea? Console gamers will be rushing to the nearest electronics store to buy PC's and become a part of the master race!!! Yeah right playedoutstation fanboyz are all of a sudden like PC lol.

[marquisray]

Do you understand the outcome of this . You have to buy a xbox game to play on your pc so you are given more money to microsoft in return makes more games so if you say why would i need a xbox basically you are playing there game so its just like a xbox instead of upgrading your graphic card everytime something new comes out and spending more money which is not cheaper then a xbox pc gamers lol

[freshslicepizza]

@indysurfn
"Sorry Moldybread Microsoft is putting there exclusives one PC but Sony is NOT. That is why Microsoft will have no exclusives. And microsoft says out of there own mouth that they will continue to do that."

as they should. just like how sony also thought it was in their best interest to keep things within the playstation family. they too had crossover ip's from ps3, vita, and ps4. the thing you guys keep ignoring is these games still wont be on the playstation brand. to play games like forza horizon 3 you need to play it on a windows device, so to suggest they don't have exclusives is just your way of saying i dont want to play it on xbox but i will havwe to play them on windows 10 then. great! that's cool. i love the attention you guys are giving to the pc platform. that's where i want you guys to go because i think that's the best platform out there. but sony doesn't like that. this is why they said ps4 neo is designed to try and keep you guys off the pc. that is because sony makes most of their software sales from multiplat games and if you guys are going to the pc now the ps4 will turn into a system only for exclusives and one only has to look at nintendo to see what happens when people only buy a system for exclusives.

[danny818]

I primarily game on console but will use xbox play anywhere. Dont speak for everyone

[Genuine-User]

"Sony's back is up against the wall."

smh - yet another confirmation of your bias.

"Release PlayStation Neo this year and get left in the dust by Scorpio's power next year,"

Do I buy a Neo (with actual exclusives) this year or do I wait till the end of next year to buy a system that I can potentially build tomorrow. I personally prefer consoles over PC but even I'm leaning towards a gaming PC with the RX 480 coming out next week.

"MS will have the cheapest console available with the XB1 Slim"

About that:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mi...

The closest I could find was a 1TB PS4:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/So...

[MachuchalBrotha316]

Xbox One S is indeed the cheapest 4k/gaming console. The 500gb model will be $299. So you didnt do your research, only got what fit your arguement. Why didnt you click on models....they list all 3 Xbox One S models with prices. The more expensive 2tb model is coming out first end of August with cheaper models following after. Yeah but you didnt see that right? I also use Amazon...

[MachuchalBrotha316]

And I like how you fanboys are trying sooo hard to push console gamers into building pc over Scorpio, why shouldnt they do the same for PSNeo. Serious tho, all the Scorpio articles are filled with Fanboys screaming why not build a PC then. Scorpio is just a PC...blah blah Humbug. .

Oh let me guess oh but Scorpio doesnt have exclusive, oh but it does. It has Xbox exclusives!

[P_Bomb]

I already have new hardware barely a couple years old. I'm at the stage where a return on my investment is what matters. Ie games. Not two more pieces of hardware.

If I was stuck playing 900p games with few exclusives that interest me, then perhaps I'd be excited too, but I'm quite busy.

"99% of the same games" is an exaggeration too. What would that 99% even be? COD, BF, Madden, 4K Minecraft lol? No thx. I'd rather play TLG with my back against the 1080p wall.

[Dark_Knightmare2]

Microsoft has had the cheapest console on the market for over a year now and it hasn't worked for them so I don't get what you're trying to say in regards to that. Power doesn't sell consoles if it did ps1,ps2 and the wii wouldn't have sold the most their respective gens so that isn't going to change all of a sudden where power is the deciding factor in the console realm. I own both systems and all Microsoft has done is made me feel redundant by having no exclusives anymore while Sony has showed the future with awesome exclusives and a pretty good vr so please explain how sonys back is against the wall.

[King_Lothric]

Well played? You don't have a way to confirm that until later to see if that worked out.

[kenwonobi]

There is no games on Xbox. Neo is a good enough jump in power. Those new consoles are just luxury items. It's not actually like a new release everyone needs. It won't effect the two main consoles. PS4 will still sell more than the regular Xbox console by a lot. Xbox One sales might go down actually. More people will probably buy the Scorpio instead since it's the big graphics jump the fans have wanted. Neo on the other hand? I think It'll sell well too and it'll be a luxury item but many PS4 players stick to the main console as well. The PS4 main console afterall is still more powerful than Xbox One model.

[Sunny_D]

Sony isn't really going to be left in the dust when the PS4 is outselling the Xbox 2:1. Lmao, what delusion. This is also made by the fact that there will be no exclusives to take advantage of the Scorpio's power in the first place. PS2 already showcased that power wasn't needed and that's why it won by a HUGE margin. Sony has been delivering games and that's what matters.

[SCW1982]

Can't take you serious anymore.

[Sharky231]

I thought they Microsoft said that the 4K was for streaming. That means it won't have a 4K blu-ray player. I could be wrong but sure someone can find the article.

Update: I was wrong

[agame914]

Every single time you open your mouth your wrong

[jb227]

Well considering 4k adoption is still pretty low, last statistics put it in less than 5% of American homes & even less in all other countries, I'm not so sure a 4k bd player is the dire pressing issue you are making it out to be. Even beyond that, I'd assume Sony would be good considering they make money off of every BD drive being sold in that box. Sony would be just fine w/o a cheap 4k BD player this holiday season, and that is assuming Sony itself doesn't already have a dedicated one, and I'm not so sure of that.

As far as being "the cheapest console to play 99% of the same games" (not sure where you pulled that statistic out but I'd love to see a source other than: Thin Air), that 1% is pretty vital when it will include games like Uncharted 4, GT, No Man's Sky, Horizon, TLG, Until Dawn, Infamous, Bloodborne, etc...even more vital by next year when it's the only place to play an Infamous Spider-Man title, the brand new GoW whose trailer was the most viewed on YouTube from all of E3, and potentially others like Detroit & Days Gone.

Sony ain't the one w/ their back against the wall. That has been MS since the start of the generation, and this one announcement doesn't change that. In fact, the reason this announcement was made so early was because of MS' own back against the wall. There is no other way to explain the fact that it was revealed 18 months out before hardware is even finalized, devs are unaware & don't have dev kits, it was revealed w/o form factor, w/o price, w/o release date, w/o concrete specs, and most importantly sans any kind of actual gameplay.

I guarantee the vanilla PS4 will still outsell the XBO S this year regardless of whether the Neo drops for the holidays or not so I'm not sure what world you are in if you really believe MS are in domination mode based off of the idea of hardware that doesn't exist & games no one has seen. You people are jumping the gun in an extreme manner here, seems like some of you are just so thirsty to feel that your preferred platform is "winning" that you are willing to run w/ any shred of news you find while ignoring any shred of evidence not in that platform's favor.

[Kiwi66]

If 4k is low then what is the point of a 4k console at the moment if theres not really a market for it

[freshslicepizza]

@jb227
"Well considering 4k adoption is still pretty low, last statistics put it in less than 5% of American homes & even less in all other countries, I'm not so sure a 4k bd player is the dire pressing issue you are making it out to be. Even beyond that, I'd assume Sony would be good considering they make money off of every BD drive being sold in that box. Sony would be just fine w/o a cheap 4k BD player this holiday season, and that is assuming Sony itself doesn't already have a dedicated one, and I'm not so sure of that."

what exactly are you sure of then? both microsoft and sony are in this business, they look forward and see what is coming. 4k is at places like ces shows, it's the next phaze. hdr and 4k will be heavily promoted and netflix is right now behind it too.

"As far as being "the cheapest console to play 99% of the same games" (not sure where you pulled that statistic out but I'd love to see a source other than: Thin Air), that 1% is pretty vital when it will include games like Uncharted 4, GT, No Man's Sky, Horizon, TLG, Until Dawn, Infamous, Bloodborne, etc...even more vital by next year when it's the only place to play an Infamous Spider-Man title, the brand new GoW whose trailer was the most viewed on YouTube from all of E3, and potentially others like Detroit & Days Gone."

vital? sales indicate they are not vital. they help yes, but again most sales are driven by multiplat titles. nintendo has more well known exclusives and the wii u is lucky to even sell 12 million units. the ps4 offers a great overall package at a very good price but to say exclusives are the driving force is misleading.

"Sony ain't the one w/ their back against the wall. That has been MS since the start of the generation, and this one announcement doesn't change that. In fact, the reason this announcement was made so early was because of MS' own back against the wall. There is no other way to explain the fact that it was revealed 18 months out before hardware is even finalized, devs are unaware & don't have dev kits, it was revealed w/o form factor, w/o price, w/o release date, w/o concrete specs, and most importantly sans any kind of actual gameplay."

so then why are you all over it? on one hand you act like you are not concerned but your actions speak otherwise. you have doen nothing but try and discredit any advantage it may have all while being as psessimistic about the product as one can be.

"I guarantee the vanilla PS4 will still outsell the XBO S this year regardless of whether the Neo drops for the holidays or not so I'm not sure what world you are in if you really believe MS are in domination mode based off of the idea of hardware that doesn't exist & games no one has seen. You people are jumping the gun in an extreme manner here, seems like some of you are just so thirsty to feel that your preferred platform is "winning" that you are willing to run w/ any shred of news you find while ignoring any shred of evidence not in that platform's favor."

cool, then continue to choose your side and do everyone else a favor and ignore the other side until they give you a product that interests you because all you are doing is coming across as a brand warrior who is not open minded and refuses to even acknowledge that microsoft is indeed putting the pressure on sony. why? well because nobody else is and that pressure is obvious because we can see you guys constantly scrambling on the forums trying to stall and positive feedback or any momentum microsoft may gain.

[indysurfn]

OR! Maybe Sony can release PS4 NEO to compete with Xbox one S....And then release PS4 (Scorpio like) and Still tie or make it even a little better. Something obvious that they may consider if you ask me. That would put Microsoft behind in all three (original......S...and Scorpios').

[Kayant]

Guess like MS you haven't heard about EU/Rest of the World. it's Ok.

[IamTylerDurden1]

What if the leak claiming Neo will be 5.5 teraflops is true? And Neo is supposedly launching this year. Scorpio would be toast if true.

[MachuchalBrotha316]

How is Sonys back against the wall when they are leading the gen.

[DragonDDark]

No.. Not really.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Not really. MS still has much to prove to the masses. Their reveal back in 2013 is still not totally forgotten. Pus Sony sales compared to X1 doesn't compared. Sony still in a great position. MS making some good moves yes but MS needs to make many more. Gotta be realistic.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Funny thing though...
How can you apply pressure to the PS4 when you're using a platform that doesn't have any exclusives?

[sammarshall102]

They are exclusive to the Microsoft brand though

@DragonDDark Pricing, playing with your friends on Xbox live who most likely don't have gaming rigs

The console experience is better for me and others. I'd never get into PC gaming

[DragonDDark]

Who cares about the "Microsoft brand". We are talking about the "Xbox only" brand.

Why buy an Xbox if you have a windows 10 pc?

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Microsoft is considering releasing more games on Steam too...

http://www.windowscentral.c...

So the term "Microsoft Exclusive" will be redundant as well.

[BG11579]

At this point Scorpio is not even a console, it's a brand, just like any PC out there that runs X10. And when we compare this machine to other of the same, if they go for the vainglorious Apple policy, it will be underpowered and overpriced...

[freshslicepizza]

so you can play games like forza, quantum break and sunset overdrive on your ps4? news to me. sony also wants the ps4 neo to keep people away from pc gaming, so please explain?

[DarkHeroZX]

Bar SSO I can play all those games on PC. All MS did was vaildate one thing. Get a PS4 and a PC. Forget the rest.

[sammarshall102]

I'm confused by Sony fans they try to tear down the quality of Xbox games but will apparently play them on PC

[CaptainObvious878]

You're being deliberately stupid, moldy... again.

Stop it.

[BG11579]

@Sam No, people are just saying that those that want to play once MS Xbox exclusives have now a better, much cheaper choice to do so...

[Lennoxb63]

Just because I have a car part that is compatible to a Ferrari, doesn't mean I can afford one. So I'll stick it in my Honda.

Same logic with PC vs console gaming. Most don't have the money or technical knowledge to game on PC. So as far as the majority of gamers are concerned, they pretty much are exclusive to the Xbox console.

@agame914

Well let me know when you're able to convince someone with no knowledge of computers past web browsing to start shopping for PC parts they never knew existed.

[agame914]

But there's no "pretty much" because THERES absolutely ZERO exclusives for Xbox there for PC as well and that's why the console is going to flop just like Xbox One

[rainslacker]

There is no technical knowledge to be able to game on current PC's other than how to turn it on and download a game. It's only slightly more work than a console nowadays.

The perception still exists that it's confusing, and has a technical barrier of entry, and at times, there is some technical research needed to make things work, but many gamers are adept at working things out, and surprisingly, Steam and other publishers are making the process much more streamlined.

PC isn't as cheap on the cost of entry,due to needing more to get started, which is typically where most people stay away from it, with the perception of the difficulty of starting a game being the 2nd reason they don't game on PC, with the 3rd(or possibly 1st) being that they just prefer consoles for whatever reason.

[Ashlen]

Get back to me when Sony isn't selling two to three times as many consoles per month worldwide.

[n4rc]

Cool.. probably be in August when the s launches

[Sunny_D]

This guy lol...

[n4rc]

Lol.. was a joke but is probably accurate nonetheless

[SatanicEyeJesus]

Pressure upon Sony? Where these people imagine this things?

MS is so far behind in sales that is not even a competition anymore. Even with the new "version" of the consoles, it will keep lagging behind, they should start to worry about not being overtaken by Nintendo's NX.

[rainslacker]

Wouldn't worry about it. When their hopes are shattered after the S releases, they can spend the following 15 odd months saying how the Scorpio will change everything. In fact, they are disregarding the S right now in favor of promoting the Scorpio, because without Sony revealing their console, it's really the only thing that they can cling to with some chance that they may be right. Will probably be wrong on the sales side though, as power isn't MS problem in terms of hardware sales. Unfortunately, given the release schedule of their 1st party games, I can't imagine them having much new compelling content come Scorpio's release date. About all I can think would be ready in time would be another Halo, Forza, and another KI:Season.

[jessionpc]

This gen couldn't come up with enough good games to keep people interested so they had to focus on a mid generation hardware upgrade to hide the fact that this is the worst generation yet.

Oh, btw that was a fact.

Sigh... I can only beat Bloodborne and Disgaea 5 so many times... God knows I and nobody else on the planet will ever play Uncharted 4 again.

[agame914]

Lololol Then you do you feel about the recycled fracises year after year after year after year then on Xbox huh?

[blackblades]

Bs, sony put pressure on ms which why they coming with a power machine much earlier then usual just like both did to nintendo which why they also has a new console on the way.

[King_Lothric]

I wouldn't call it "pressure" as PlayStation right now is dominating the whole console market by a big gap. I think Sony is in its best position to analyze its strategy while still having the Co sole market crown. Pressure, is what Microsoft has and that is why they are betting all on "power".

[Errorist76]

Not sure it's Microsoft putting up pressure if NEO will release first. If anything X1 will slow down even more.

[kenwonobi]

No not really. It's barely a mosquito bite of info regarding the outcome of this already decided generation. Scorpio itself could sell pretty well but Xbox as a whole won't gain much if any ground on PS4. The main ps4 console which is still stronger than the main Xbox console are still the focal point of the main sales. They are the cheaper casual alternative. Whether the Neo and Scorpio sale well won't really effect the main sales numbers of those consoles. It'll still be more people buying the regular PS4 in larger numbers. Now whether Scorpio eats into its own Xbox One sales? That's another story. Maybe people buy more Scorpio consoles and less regular Xbox consoles in the future.

[myopt]

not at all lol

[n4rc]

Amazing how everyone screams exclusives yet sales totals say it doesn't matter.. Sony had all those same exclusives last gen and lost 50% of their market share.

You guys are just full of it.. it's hilarious

[agame914]

%50??? Lololol PS4 over 45million Xbox One to abysmal to even acknowledge

[n4rc]

Uhh.. yeah.. 150m to 80m.. I said last gen

[Kemo_Spear]

LMAO @ "Sony had all those same exclusives last gen and lost 50% of their market share."
Source please.

[n4rc]

Common knowledge and public fact.

Edit since the reply button is gone.. thanks slacker.. "Sony did lose their marketshare of the generation"

Was afraid you missed that in your attempt to intentionally misinterpt what I wrote..

[Kemo_Spear]

So, you have no source, your just guessing.
Here is some food for thought: The 360had a full year head start which in fact did cut into Sony's market share. But there is no proof that it was 50%. Also, the epic fail rate of the 360 at over 50% according to IGN (look it up). More busted consoles resulted in more replacement consoles sold, which padded the sales numbers. Finally, at the end of last gen, Sony managed to get back the market share that they lost and was neck and neck with MS in sales (don't forget those padded MS sales numbers from the replacement consoles). A lot of people started getting fed up with MS and their limited exclusives and total lack of exclusives at the end of that gen, while Sony was still turning out amazing exclusives for the PS3.
What I am trying to say is, go home, your drunk.

[Stogz]

No, Sony lost market share because they released a console a year later at a $600 price point, those are the only reasons. As we have seen this gen, releasing at the same time with similar price points does not work out well for MS.

[Redemption-64]

Can you please tell us which system sold 150 million last gen and please provide us with proof, granted you know what proof or evidence means

[rainslacker]

In the time same frame of the PS2 generation, they only sold about 10-15 million less PS3's than they did PS2's. The 150 million was also made up of the 6-7 years the PS2 continued to sell after the PS3 released. PS2 sales actually kept pace with 360 sales for quite a few years. Funny that huh, considering PS3 sales actually outpaced 360 sales.

Once again though, you misuse the word marketshare. The market increased, and while Sony did lose their marketshare of the generation, mostly due to Wii, they weren't down 50% of their hardware sales year over year. Care to go get actual year over year data and add in PS2 sales data into marketshare numbers to derive your conclusion? Think you'll find Sony wasn't losing out at all. I did it once, don't care to do it again, but found they managed to actually sell more consoles overall than they did in any year the PS2 was it's only supported console. Significantly more than MS sold 360 in any given year.

Another funny thing, if you keep Wii in the picture, MS actually had only a slight increase in marketshare that they did with the OGXbox. 25% or so for the actual length of the generation vs roughtly 17% of the generation before IIRC. Not quite the grand jump your implying is it?

You are so misinformed on actual concepts of business and consumerism that it's kind of hilarious.

So, not really common knowledge, nor is it a public fact because your whole premise is based on the misuse of the term market share....or at the very least, you derive your result using improper data that determines market share.

Care to revise your argument, or will you just dig in to say how your right, or provide some sort of evidence of year over year data to support your argument and discredit mine?

I really haven't heard the market share argument in a while. It's sad to know that after a couple years, people still choose to remain ignorant of what the term means, and how to determine actual market share. It really is just a simple percentage calculation. it doesn't require a masters degree in business to figure out. Nice job looking like someone who prefers to remain uneducated though. Also nice that you assume the PS3 isn't still selling, and will forever be at 80 million consoles sold. I wouldn't doubt it's reaching the 90+ million mark by now.

[ShadowKnight]

If you say so. I guess they're putting the pressure on Nintendo too lol

[showtimefolks]

Until we hear from its all rumors. Their Europe president just stated don't believe the rumors and that once final specs are released than talk

Another rumor has it ps4 neo will be 5.5 TF instead of the 4.1 rumored before

I think there is a lot of unknown right now

[TheColbertinator]

So people will stop buying PS4s until the X1S and Scorpio come out?

Uncharted,God of War and Bloodborne will stop selling on account of upgraded consoles with the same games previously known this E3?

People do realize that consoles sell like crazy during the fall,right? Usually around then Sony has sold an additional 2 million units and Microsoft is unable to stop or even slow it down.

Microsoft has nowhere to go to fight Sony head on. So MS will instead carve a new market Sony can never enter.I just hope they don't do anything similar to Games for Windows Live. PC gamers rejected that like poison,W10 is much more progressive in my opinion.

[rainslacker]

I think MS is really just expanding their market to promote their own game studios, as well as promote Windows 10 and it's affiliated store. I think the console market isn't as important as the sole place to take over anymore, but I do believe that MS knows that it needs it's presence in the console market.

I also don't believe MS is trying to take over the console market anymore. I think they just want to have that presence, but going forward, the console itself...as a brand...will not get the same kind of focus it has up until about a year ago. I honestly don't know how they could have made that any more clear given their E3 conference, but some people choose to ignore it, and just want it to be the Windows brand now, and not the Xbox console brand. What's funny though, is that they ignore the fact that the Windows brand itself, doesn't really have a big console following, so it's basically just MS starting over in the console market, piggybacking Windows on the Xbox brand to integrate the two, likely to make the Windows brand the dominate focus going forward.

They may go at the console market again if they manage to see some extra hope rise from the fall of some other companies mistakes, but to me, I think Sony is in a dominate position to not really feel much pressure right now. MS was certainly putting a lot more pressure on Sony last gen, and the difference between then and now is quite palpable in terms of obviousness, that extrapolating that the pressure is now on Sony because of Scorpio seems ridiculous. Scorpio, by all accounts, seems like a reactionary measure to Sony's success....and if MS is the one reacting, why would Sony feel the pressure? I doubt Sony is ignoring Scorpio, but they aren't really reacting to it as far as I can tell. Neo may change that going forward however.

I think Nintendo itself may put more pressure on Sony, and may be why Sony is releasing Neo to compete with that, over the Scorpio itself...because Scorpio, IMO, doesn't really fit into this generation that well....particularly if you look at the development side of things. Nintendo, if it gains that 3rd party support, and has a compelling product that attracts the wider gaming audience, could pose quite a threat to Sony's dominance in much the same way the Wii stole a lot of marketshare from the PS3. Most of that will hinge on 3rd party support, which given the rumored specs, and rumored paradigms surrounding the NX are kind of up in the air since 3rd party seems to be hesitant to support Nintendo, and Nintendo can be rather dogmatic in their 3rd party relations.

Time will tell though, but I doubt Scorpio puts much pressure on Sony. Sony seems to have the upper hand right now, and a Scorpio announcement 18 months early isn't going to change that, and nothing so far indicates that it will have an effect when it actually releases outside of some Xbox fan boy rhetoric and articles making hyperbolic statements using the most extreme grasps at logic.

[ziggurcat]

it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the confirmed scorpio specs caused sony to go back, and make some adjustments to the neo. i would expect, once sony officially announces neo on stage with confirmed specs, that it'll be closer to scorpio (if not equal) than we are being led to believe.

[gamerswin24]

Lol fan service for real. Love the dedication though.....

More like Sony has put the pressure since the beginning causing Microsoft to change drm policy, remove kinect (after thy lied and said it wasnt possible lol) and change the whole Xbox one approach to mimic Sonys approach.

Fast forward....

Sony slaying in sales, Neo was rumored and microsoft once again "forced" to react under extreme pressure from investors. Reacting by mentioning a system that hasnt been produced yet, not solidified and nothing tangible and almost two years away lol (talk about being under pressure).

Reality is Sony isnt playing the reactionary part nor are under pressure, it is Microsoft. Just like during Christmas they give u the kitchen sink, 100 rebate and sell xbox for like 200 and still dont top Sony. Sony can just relax with all their powerful studios and best ips and keep killing in sales. Remember ps3 was hundreds more than xbox 360, had inferior multiplats for years and yet and still when it released it still outsold the cheaper 360 almost every single month world wide. Scorpio will be more powerful because it will come out later but plz stop the nonsense tht Sony is under pressure or itll outsell Sony, it just wont :)

[Kiwi66]

How do you know what ms investors think as wasn't the rumor of an upgraded xb leaked first as pretty sure articles for it began showing up here before the neo

[gamerswin24]

Im a neogaf head trust me i know scorpio was rumored first lol whats your point???? Scorpio was still announced and was a reaction to ps4 killing them in sales.

What microsft investors think is common knowledge as publicly for several years they have been wanting to cut xbox out as it has been hurting their profit margins. We have articles on this yearly. My investor statement was an all around general one.

[Steptoe]

MS have made the first move. A very early move. Sony again for next gen.

[cRy4wAr]

Wow lmfao at this article, Microsoft playing the power game. While Sony pass that concentrating on games, lol.

[Xb1ps4]

It's funny how every one is a pc gamer now... Lol

And only play exclusives matter I guess 3rd party games are no good anymore, even in 4K...

[Nodoze]

um no. Sony has the software. Software > hardware all day long.

[Valkron1]

I am biased on games because I own a videogame store. Fanboy wars are cute and all, but I think we are all getting a great deal! My kids and I enjoy multiple PS4s, XB1s, high end AMD and Intel/Nvidia rigs, Oculus and Vive. Competition is Awesome!!!!!! I love all my systems! PSVue runs all day since I cut cable, XB1 portable drive storage makes transporting game libraries easy, Steam has great sale prices, Win10 will soon let me play Halo 6 on PC, I have a "holodeck" for Vive and a PC pod for Oculus. For a few hundred anyone can enjoy most of these, a few thousand you can have it all! It's retarded that people think they can change gender moment by moment yet must swear allegence to a game platform. :/

[rainslacker]

While I don't disagree with anything you say, given that you own a video game store, how do you see the sales of all these new systems actually playing out with the consumer?

Personal anecdotal evidence is plentiful in the forums, but what the discussion really is here is how will all this play out on the consumer side?

Do you see all these new hardware varients being a flash in the pan? Do you see them being sold side by side with one another? Do you feel the general consumer will adopt this new console paradigm? Do you think Sony is now going to be on the defensive due to Scorpio? So on and so forth.

I can fan boy it up all day long in the forums, but in the end, I too just prefer to play the games, and don't worry so much about the power so long as the system I'm playing on delivers the games. I still play retro games, and even today can easily play my PS3 with no problems with new titles being released on it. I find the PS4 plenty powerful for the games that are being released. But to keep things on topic, it's more about how MS is putting the pressure on Sony, when no evidence suggest that Sony feels any pressure right now...or at least isn't reacting to any pressure.

If you own a store, you likely have gaming customers. You probably see a lot of this fan boy stuff first hand in person. Are those customers coming in gushing about power, or are they coming in talking about the games? Is Scorpio with it's 6TF really going to put a dent in the perception of Sony's games library? Does MS offer a compelling library that keeps gamers interested like PS seems to do? Do Xbox gamers buy a diverse selection of games or do they mostly stick to certain types of games?

Fan boy wars are silly most of the time, but whatever is said here often has some belief in perception among the general masses who purchase games. Given that you are a business man, how is that perception going to change with Scorpio, and how will it affect your business going forward? I'm sure you don't run your business based on your own anecdotal life, but rather, the wants and needs of your customers....so what is it your customers are looking for, and how is what Scorpio is delivering going to change anything that puts any pressure on Sony?

[Elda]

No pressure for Sony,MS needs to be pressured into making some games.

[robotgargoyle]

Not everyone owns or will buy a decent gaming pc. Consoles are convenient. MS will still make sales on both (console and pc versions) and might broaden their fanbase as a result. Hardware will probably take a hit, but doubt it'll send them into an Xbox death spiral that some speculate/ wish. And if you purchase their "exclusives" on the PC while having just a gaming PC and PS4, you are still helping your "competition". Hopefully you'll get to enjoy some titles you missed out on. In the end, we all win. ;)

[GoldenArcanine]

Microsoft announcing 2 new consoles this early in the generation just reeks of desperation and speaks volumes about what a worthless, pathetic, unwanted failure the Xbox ONE has truly been ever since it launched.

And yet they don't seem smart enough to realise that the reason the Xbox has been such an outdated, weak failure of a machine is because it has no games worth playing. So instead of releasing actual games all Microsoft can do is try and delude their desperate, starving fanbase even more with rumours and FUD about a console still a year away from release.

And, no doubt, when it finally launches, the Xbox Scorpio will be a pathetic, worthless, unwanted failure at retail. Just like the other Xbox consoles currently rotting in the bargain bin at the bottom of the sales charts.

[nub_cakes101]

...What pressure?

[BlakHavoc]

Honestly all this talk is just speculation until these consoles come out, who knows what kind of reception Scorpio will get from the public. Imo the OneS will sell ok but its profit will be stumped by the announcement of Scorpio and the NEOs apparent Fall 2016 release, simply there'll be no need to buy an S. Recent rumors suggest Neos leaked specs are innacutate too and that the actual console might be sitting on 5.5 teraflops(still weaker). Not that much of a difference considering the PS4 and its success are still fresh in ppls minds, considering the colossal gap between the ps4 and X1 I think MS would need an obvious reason to suggest ppl choose a Scorpio over a Neo. .5 flop advantage won't be enough imo, but as I mentioned this is all speculation. Also I haven't even taken into account the buzz Sony generated with its e3 showing. Games, games, games...

[ASBO-5]

Yeah.......no, not really.

[martinlovegoodie]

when marketing the game Fable. They told us.
"The game is so realistic. "
Every Action has a permanent consequence in the world.
"Cut a blade of grass and it stays down!"
I was so excited.
Terns out, you could not cut any grass but this glowing green bushes in Key locations that were blocking a chest.
There were only about 5 Bushes in the whole game.
I waited for 5 months of anticipation, to cut some fucking grass in Fable 1 and it never happened. Do you have any idea what that does to a person?
I didn't cut any grass.
I was so upset and I will never forget that. Microsoft lies bout their games consoles and all products.

[BG11579]

Pressure? I don't get it... PS4 Neo is news even before any of the new Xboxs was announced... The PS4/has a grea image and is selling more than any other console.
On the other hand, MS announced two consoles in one E3. Their actual console is selling less. The Lumia phone's are dead. Their consoles don't have any exclusive any more. And Games for windows is still light years away from being like steam in pricing and diversity...
Pressure? There is pressure, but on the other side...

[deadwiseman85]

Pressure on Sony is good! It makeseems them work harder for the gamers, it keep them on there toes.

[IamTylerDurden1]

No they aren't. If leaks are true then Neo will be 5.5 teraflops and release a full year before Scorpio. So, how exactly is Microsoft putting the pressure on? By releasing a nearly identical console a year later?

[dms5223]

Lol, since Scorpio announcement this website has had a lot of people running around with their hair on fire

[mochachino]

At this point, the only slim xb1/ps4 worth buying would have to be in the form of a tablet or smartphone.

[andrewsquall]

Yep. Sony weren't really sure before but now they are guaranteed to be releasing something newer in 2018.