Microsoft butchered its E3 Project Scorpio messaging

Who is the Xbox Scorpio going to be for? Microsoft had a really tough time answering this seemingly easy question at E3.

[UltimateMaster]

They announced it the same time they announced the Xbox One S.
They literally killed off all potential sales of that Xbox One S by announcing the Scorpio.
Then they wonder why they are struggling...
Does Apple tell you the features of the IPhone 8 at the same time as the iPhone 7? No, because people will wait and buy the 8 over the 7.
BTW, yes, I do have a business degree.
The Xbox One S does 4k video and upscale games to 4k, something Microsoft promised when they originally launched the Xbox One, they had 3 years they could have added those features in but they didn't.

[darthv72]

You may have a degree in business but this is more about common sense. There are two target demographics. And like previous generations where you have a entry level system and a high end... they can both coexist.

Like when people were still buying ps2 slims for their kids while others buying the ps3 for themselves. And both did well for themselves.

Now unlike that example, the games for xb1 work across the board. New comers can get the xb1 for cheap and when they want to upgrade to scorpio they can. When they are ready.

And those features that could have been added... ps4 could have had them as well. Neo is getting them and people will buy it for them as well. Sony will have an entry level ps4 and a high end one so same game different players and its likely going to turn out okay just like for MS and xbox.

[remixx116]

^this

[TheLEGENDofTydo]

The only reason anyone will buy a S instead of waiting for Scorpio is if their system broke or they don't own a regular Xbox 1 (which will be few sales for this reason). There is literally, figuratively, and imaginatively no other reason to buy one

[nix]

The reason both consoles didn't have those 4K n new Bluray disc format is because it was not out two years back.

As for people buying Scorpio, I've seen 10 ppl here get hyper over it. I've seen 100 ppl get excited on Quantum Break and see how that turned out.

Those people who buy 2 consoles do exist but they're in minority.

[onanie]

anyone with commonsense would ignore an xbone/slim if they already have a gaming PC.
anyone with commonsense would have the reasonable choice of upgrading their PC rather than buying an xbone/slim (if they really wanted to play ms exclusives) and have the added benefit of being able to play all other non MS games in higher fidelity.
anyone with commonsense would also have the reasonable choice of waiting to see the value proposition of the scorpio (when the price is finally revealed) compared to similar PCs, before deciding to buy it (or not).

[81BX]

Phew! This guy has a business degree and despite all the people on here saying theyre going to buy the xbox one S, he knows you really aren't.

[Sm00thNinja]

Says who i preordered mine immediately

[GamingIVfun]

Most of the people buying an Xbox One S own Xbox One already and are Xbox/ Microsoft diehards. Won't increase the number of games sold, just selling hardware that makes very little money if any.

[maybelovehate]

It was kind of odd that it was announced at all. Not sure what they gain by announcing it now.

[BossBattle]

Killed off potential sales huh?...but the preorders say otherwise.

[Rude-ro]

They said the same thing about the original Xbox one release and you still can buy a day one. Do not believe the pr spins.

[PistolsAtDawn]

So people ONLY buy the most recent and most expensive phones? Or are you saying that people will line up around the block for the most powerful new console? Or that maybe phones and consoles aren't the same thing?

[souldestroyer14]

It's called transparency. Microsoft wants to sell the xbox one s but at the same time they don't want to piss people off that buy the s and "alienate" them by holding off on announcing the scorpio and releasing it shortly after they launch the slim model xbox one. They are giving people options and gave the people all the info they need to know about scorpio(6tflops, vague release date and full forward and backwards compatibility ). It's actually good business Mr business major

[souldestroyer14]

They have games coming they just don't announce them 5-10 years before they are released. Why promote games that are hardly past concept when they have exclusives coming out this holiday season and early 2017. It's not a contest it's a business.

[DarkHeroZX]

Honestly the announcement of every Xbox game going to PC is what killed the Xbox for me.

[Xavy]

See that and the Xbots hates you for telling how it is, they want you to love MS no matter what =D loool

[maybelovehate]

Why does it matter? Games are games. Play them where you prefer.

[DarkHeroZX]

Pistol I'm gonna have to disagree with you. See when MS' press conference first started i was highly interested in the Slim up until Scalebound was also confirmed for the PC. That basically killed it for me. Then the Scorpio was announced towards the end and it really confused the heck out of me. I don't even get MS' strategy anymore and I feel as though October's NPD sales won't change at all for MS. So what your pre-ordering the console? I am no longer interested. This amd the Scorpio will only appeal to the diehards within the Xbox community looking ro upgrade. However they have now given PC and PS gamers absolutely no reason to switch over. See Neo's market is still going to be vaild simply because Sony has legitimate exclusives. But MS litterally told PC gamers to buy and PS4 along with their PC and forget the rest. PS4 gamers or gamers who dont want to support MS as much as they can can build a PC, get a cheap windows 10 key, and they are set. See even if I hated Sony and PlayStation but really wanted to play their exclusives I know I have to give in and buy the PS4 or its never gonna happen. But for MS it ain't gonna happen.

And before you say "Oh but MS gets paid either way," Yeah they do but on consoles there is soo much more potential revenue. For every 3rd party game sold on Xbox or Xbox Love store MS makes money on top of exclusive. They make money for every controller, collector's edition, Xbox live gold sales, etc. that they lose out on making wayyy more revenue then just the exclusive game sale on Windows 10. And honestly with all games getting a free PC code I'll just see if I can get that from my friend lol. But MS dropped the ball on this. And while everyone is focused on Neo being inferior to scropio and the Neo potentially struggling, people need to stop and realize that MS is the one who may ultimately suffer. Because at the end of the day a high end PS4 that plays PS4 games with better performance and visuals is still going to attract that enthusiast market. But smart enthusiast looking at Xbox may just build or upgrade a PC.

[PistolsAtDawn]

The did NOT literally kill all Slim sales, I pre-ordered mine the same day. On Amazon the 2tb...not even the 500gb $299 version...is THE top selling console right now....so the $399....NOT the $299 version of the Slim is selling more than any other console on Amazon. Not to mention, even if someone does NOT want to go all in for the Scorpio for gaming...the Slim is still the best AND cheapest 4k Blu-Ray Player with HDR on the market...so even for people that have absolutely NO interest in gaming, but want a 4k Blu-Ray player they can grab the Slim. On top of that, Scorpio comes out in a year, so yes, I will get the Slim so I can play upscaled HDR games until then.

Downplay attempt failed. Do they let you return your business degree via email too?

[n4rc]

No.. but they give you the specs of the 7 and 7s..

Damn damn thing..

[super_bruno]

"BTW, yes, I do have a business degree. " -UltimateMaster

Oh boy....

[antikbaka]

there is 2DS and New 3DS XL ...somehow ppl can buy wgat they prefer and it's ok

[sho0ok]

This is not like IPhone 7 & 8, it is more like 7 and 7 plus. One is for the casuals with standard specs, the other for the geeks with better specs.

Nothing confusing In This matter, unless your too dumb to understand, no offense.

[Lennoxb63]

Phil Spencer said at the beginning that the Scorpio will provide uncompromised 4k and VR for gamers. If you like those things you'll like the Scorpio. Stop acting stupid, you know exactly what MS' message is.

[Xavy]

Phil says alot of things and forgets that he said some other things and backtracks on things etc etc. Dont believe everything some corporate dude tells you.

[Sunny_D]

Remember how he said he wasn't a fan of upgradable consoles and then people started trashing Sony when the NEO rumors surfaced only to shut up when they realized MS is doing the same thing as Sony. Hell, with all the games going to PC, they are pretty much leaving the console business.

[Manic2014]

@Sunny_D

I think you mean he stated he's not a fan of mid generation upgrades, instead of taking half a step he wants to take full step, which I believe Scorpio is.

[souldestroyer14]

Like maniac said. He wasn't a fan of the one.5 idea and scorpio is no 1.5 it's 4x as powerful.

[Trekster_Gamer]

Agreed!

[Deltaguy]

he lies all the time

[slate91]

Change the record.

[Kiwi66]

You can't when its the same DJ playing the same tune over & over again just to be a pain

[Software_Lover]

...................

The same people that write these blogs are the same people that said PS3 is doomed are the same people that said Microsoft will leave the console business. IDIOTS.

[Dabigkahuna76]

How many articles they gonna create like this is anyone asking Sony or Nintendo what's they reasoning for releasing new consoles while they already have consoles out

[Fin_The_Human]

I just said the same thing.

Its a shame that Scorpio is talk of the town because other great things that were announced at E3 are being over shadowed by some many Scorpio MS articles.

I mean the hot page always has one or two Scorpio articles....its enough to drive a man crazy!!!!!!!

[Kiwi66]

Well these articles do keep getting submitted by those who have made it their new mission to find every article out there about it , more negative than positive , but eventually they'll move onto something else

[kickerz]

I don't reckon. As an Xbox guy I found the announcement an awesome surprise. It's was just a tease but gives us something to look forward to next year. Also I can save up for a 4k tv this year and get the scorpio for Christmas.win win.

[n4rc]

I'm thinking the same.. tho I'm torn Between new GPU or Scorpio..

Either way I'd need a new display.. lol

[theRedDragon]

After about a dozen of the same articles already, we pretty much came to the conclusion how this comment section is going to end.

People with common sense will say - Xbox One S is for budget gamers, Scorpio is for gamers that want higher specs and graphics fidelity, VR support and up to 4k native games. All games will be supported between the two, many options for gamers.

People that already knew but play stupid will say - Xbox message is so confusing because we want it to fail because the Scorpio will be more powerful than the system I'll be supporting.

[Xavy]

Oh i think you missed all the NEO hate that lasted for over a month. Did you cry about that to or did you ride the hate train with your buds, we both know that you loved it ;)

Now grow some balls.

[theRedDragon]

I suggest you check out my YouTube channel and see my viewpoint of PS Neo. I think you'll find it interesting. Please subscribe and say no to drug as that will only confuse you, kid. ;)

[starchild]

That's such a twisted view of what actually happened. After the Neo leaks there were plenty of articles that were positive about it, there were also plenty that expressed concerned over the whole concept of mid-gen consoles. And people that felt that way included both Sony fans and Xbox fans.

Now it seems most people have got it through their system and accepted that both Sony and Microsoft will be releasing mid-gen upgraded consoles.

What you and certain other people are doing in these articles is quite different.

[jb227]

They still haven't fully clarified as to whether or not all games will play across all platforms.

First you had Shannon Studstill saying that they are "leaving it up to devs" as to whether or not there would be exclusive games. Then you had Spencer backtracking that statement & saying that all XBO games will play on Scorpio & also saying there will be "No Scorpio exclusives". Issue w/ that statement is that doesn't discount the possibility for games not appearing on the XBO or XBO S. If a game is only available on Scorpio & PC but not XBO, it still technically isn't a Scorpio exclusive. So no definitive proof on that front yet really.

I think you are right, there are a fair few on here that will hate anything MS does, but there are also people w/ valid & legitimate comments & concern that look to the history of the brand and see that there are instances in which messaging was deliberately obscured from MS to insinuate something that may not pan out.

To blindly take everything MS has said for gospel kinda ignores that history entirely. People have questions not because they haven't been answered, but because they have been answered in conflicting ways & they use suspicious wording. No one really knows how this entire situation will pan out because we are so far from launch of Scorpio, and we are also not much closer to properly functioning launches for 'Play Anywhere' cross plat MS games after the first two big ones, Gears & QB, ran pretty poorly on one platform or another.

It's not on gamers to be informed by MS' marketing lingo, its on MS to prove the legitimacy of those statements.

[theRedDragon]

Damage control at its finest. I see the Scorpio is scaring you guys that much that essays of repeated damage control are needed. Keep up the good work JB.

[jb227]

ok, not sure what 'damage' I'm controlling, but sure. This is a comments section meant to create discussion, trying to shut people down & just regurgitating a company's PR line can't really qualify as 'discourse'.

I mean your deflection game is down pat obviously, when you can't disprove something, just call someone a fanboy. Quality tactics.

So I take that to mean that MS has never mislead a single consumer & their hands are completely clean. I also take that to mean that all of those gamers were wrong & QB and Gears worked swimmingly at launch. I also take that to mean that when Scorpio is confirmed to feature games unavailable on the vanilla XBO you will be nowhere to be found. Think about it logically, the Scorpio is 4x more powerful than the XBO...there is a huge gap between MS' PC & Scorpio power and Xbox One's power, if you honestly think that won't create any kind of issues on games then more power to you. If you don't see any of these issues as pertinent in regards to a cross platform push then good luck w/ it.

We are still 18 months from launch so a lot can change between now & then. I personally think that XBO will be boxed out of certain titles if not at launch then at some point not far down the line. Gonna be hard to push a box based off of its high powered hardware when it is constrained to much weaker specs. This is why cross gen titles have never looked as good as full next gen titles. Doesn't do much good for MS to have "The Most Powerful Console Ever Created" if the games only look as good or marginally better than its closest competitor. Hence the need for exclusives between Scorpio & PC.

[jcole97]

I've never seen so much damage control. They didn't butcher shit. They gave consumers the option. Now if they would have announced the scorpio next year after people bought the slim, then we would have 20 articles a day saying "Microsoft tricks the consumer ". Overload, you are a corporate tool and not even getting paid to do it.

[DARK_WOLF]

They literally couldnt have said it any clearer.

Anyone confused is either thick or wearing salt covered glasses.

[BossBattle]

Butchered?....hilarious flaimbait article. You should read and get a good laugh.

[PistolsAtDawn]

I love how whenever someone says MS's message is confusing and/or they killed off .... by doing .... they conveniently get all their "facts" wrong. Please stop with the wave of downplay already...if you don't want one...don't get one, but please stop acting like you know what's "best" for gamers when the simplest things confuse you and you have all your facts wrong.

@Ultimate, if you have a business degree and think giving customers options in different price ranges for different interest levels, while breaking down barriers on where and how you can use your products (and even being able to buy a game once, but own it on multiple devices) is a bad idea... I seriously question your degree and wherever you got it from.

[opinionated]

Trump university

[Kiwi66]

Acme school of business

[opinionated]

You're right. They should have dumbed it down so that even the idiots of the general populace could connect the dots. There is no excuse for the gaming media and blogosphere. I can't tell if it's blind or willingful ignorance. Coordinated stupidity seems more likely but that's so disappointing. For once, it would be a less pathetic state of affairs if there was malicious intent.

[DillyDilly]

Sony & Nintendo also butchered their next consoles reveal if your saying Microsoft butchered theirs

[ElementX]

I like the transparency. Sure it got leaked and they came out and told what they were working on. Now if you don't have xbox you can buy the S or you have the knowledge that a more powerful system is coming next year. It's better than keeping quiet and people buy the S and a month later the Scorpio is announced

[n4rc]

No.. you dense people just can't grasp a very simple concept that already exists for reference..

Or you play stupid for clicks.. which is my bet

[Xavy]

You can see here that the announcement off Project Bone didnt go so well alot of peeps are confused thanks to Mr Phil and his bad leadership.

[n4rc]

That's not what you are seeing.

You are seeing people with an agenda playing stupid.

[theRedDragon]

News flash. He is one of those people.

[souldestroyer14]

He may not be "playing".

[starchild]

You literally have to be brain-dead if you are confused by this stuff. I think it's just willful fanboy ignorance, though.

[Father Murder X]

Another anti-Microsoft article.

[CabbitXP]

Anyone who wasn't interested in an XBO might be now with the smaller one. Hey, gotta play Gears 4 somehow. State of Decay 2 or what not. Point being, a smaller system may attract new comers, make more Sony owners cross-console owners etc. And size does matter. Remember the original Xbox? Japan shunned the monster size. Small Box may attract some overseas markets too. Those who already have an XBO may opt to wait for the Scorpio (or Neo). In that regard, MS still makes money off the software sold. And of course, there will be those that buy one to resell at a higher price. Either way, the system was sold. MS really don't lose.

I pre-ordered Slim (then again, my D1XB1 drive has been flaky with discs so it's about time to replace it). This doesn't seem to be a bad idea, selling a bridge system. EVERY console struggles with plentiful so-called "A-list" titles their first year. Devs are getting their hands wet, learning the tricks of the hardware, the faults, the groove of the hardware. Sure, a few gems show up, but they really start showing up after that first learning curve year. An 'improved' XBO helps bridge that gap by providing the 4K look to newer games, nostalgic game enhancements and the 'Yay! It's new!' feeling However, I don't really see the smaller XBO being anything more than that, a way to tide gamers over until the Scorpio. With the rumor the NEO will be released this year, MS will require an extremely strong launch lineup for the Scorpio. Maybe they'll be a TRUE Halo sequel in that bunch with 4-player, split-screen, offline play.

[Trekster_Gamer]

Didn't butcher it for me!

Can't wait to hear more!

Going to be a beast!

[ClickbaitAF]

I'm getting tired of all these Scorpio articles being posted. Can we move on and wait till it releases?

[JackBNimble]

Nope... you still have 18 months of this to go.

Good luck

[WilliamSheridan]

Another article trying to downplay Scorpio. This news site, I'm pretty sure, is a Sony driven propaganda site. I'm quite sick of it actually. It's almost time for N4G to admit ties to Sony. I've had 3 accounts banned because I used to defend Microsoft. Nonsense....

[Babadook7]

It'll pull through. No chance it gets outsold 3:1 like what is happening now. Why would anyone want to jump to PC? Being a year late isn't THAT bad. Right guys?

[coreyweb]

Basically.....he can't really say how devs will use the extra power....that's up to the devs. HOWEVER.....the games have to work across xbox one, one s, and scorpio. That's what they've made clear. Everything else will just come down to what the devs/publishers decided to do. Spencer can predict that.

So will games be significantly better on Scorpio than one or one s? Yes.....but the devs will determine exactly what is better.

[JasonKCK]

only to a select few.