Microsoft has responded to Sony’s recent reveal of the PS4 Slim and Pro models, and it’s exactly as you would have expected – the console wars begin anew.
The company behind Xbox has parallels to both the Slim and Pro PlayStations in the form of the already released Xbox One S and the upcoming Xbox Scorpio respectively.
Both Xbox models were revealed at E3 2016, but now Sony has finally showed its hand (after literally dozens of leaks) Microsoft has responded, highlighting all the differences between the consoles.
Predictably, Microsoft’s key plan of attack is the emphasizes the lack of a 4K Blu-ray player in either PlayStation model – something both Xbox One consoles can do.
Microsoft said in a statement after Sony’s event:
At Xbox, our goal is to put gamers at the centre of everything we do. The new hardware available now and next year was designed with that in mind to give gamers a choice in how they play. Starting at £249, Xbox One S is the only console available today with built-in 4K Blu-ray – a value price compared to 4K Blu-ray players. It also offers 4K video streaming plus HDR for video and gaming.
It should quickly be pointed out that Sony does have an update planned that will make all PS4 consoles HDR capable.
Microsoft’s next point was that Project Scorpio (billed as ‘the most powerful console ever’) will out-muscle the PS4 Pro, boasting a 6TFLOPS to the Pro’s 4.2TFLOPS.
They continued:
All Xbox One games and accessories will be compatible with Project Scorpio, including over 100 exclusives like Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, ReCore, Dead Rising 4 and more,” Microsoft continued, “with the biggest games lineup ever coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 this year.
With the Xbox One S already out, the PS4 Slim out September 15, the Pro out November 10, and the Scorpio out later in 2017, there’s a crazy amount of choice – which are you going for?
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.