Project Scorpio Reveal Gently Tells You That Your Current Xbox One Is Worthless

Now, I don't know if you've ever used the term "teraflops" in your everyday life, but it sure seems to come up a few times in the announcement video confirming Project Scorpio, a recently rumoured follow-up to the Xbox One. The term "4K resolution" also comes up a-plenty, as does "for the fans," or something like it. Project Scorpio, as it's described, should make the Xbox a fiercer competitor, a system that can process sharper graphics, bigger, more ambitious games and handle massive VR worlds, such as Fallout. Assuming you won't be burnt out by the Xbox family by the time of Scorpio's release. Confusingly, this was the second new Xbox model Microsoft announced during its E3 keynote, while simultaneously promoting that most of their games can be played on a Windows computer.

"This console is 100% for you guys," says one testimony in the video. "[Project Scorpio] doesn't mean we are leaving the original Xbox One behind, every single thing we've done for the Xbox One will continue to work," promises another.

The Xbox One, the current Xbox, is in a tough corner. With nowhere near the same sales or influence as its predecessor, the long-living Xbox 360, some of its exclusives have struggled to support their own weight. Even the anticipated Rise of the Tomb Raider had sluggish sales before broadening to other platforms. As 2016 went on, more Xbox exclusives announced plans to consolidate onto Windows as well, and fans who were angered when Quantum Break became cross-platform will have to get used to it becoming the norm. E3 confirmed this will be the case for the upcoming Gears of War 4, Scalebound, Dead Rising 4 and more. Microsoft is calling this initiative "Play Anywhere," which may sound like spin to Xbox One's early adopters.

Project Scorpio doesn't appear to be an entirely new console as much as booster chair. A similar PlayStation "4.5" had been recently confirmed, the PlayStation Neo, and early details also indicate it is being made with virtual reality and 4K in mind, though at this moment in time many console consumers haven't moved towards the home entertainment systems or peripherals to take advantage of those features. It's fine to plan for the future, but it seems like Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot to announce Scorpio so soon after announcing the Xbox One S, a slimmer, more energy efficient Xbox One that will also have 4K capabilities, though less impressive in terms of processing power than the Scorpio.

In short, you could buy an Xbox One, or not bother until the Xbox One S, or not bother with either until Scorpio, or not bother with any and just play these games on Windows. The mentality seems to treat console hardware in a similar fashion as personal computers, tech that can be given smaller upgrades instead of entirely new platforms. The last major company to experiment with that concept was Sega, who released the Sega CD, Sega 32X and Sega Saturn in quick succession, and it didn't seem to do them a whole lot of good.