Project Scorpio – Should You Upgrade?

Microsoft recently announced an upgrade to the Xbox One in the way of Project Scorpio. Unfortunately, there’s some confusion about Project Scorpio and what it actually is when related to the Xbox One. We’re here to not only clarify what Project Scorpio is, but also give you a few tips to determine if you should upgrade from the Xbox One to Project Scorpio, or even pick up the new console if you opted out of an Xbox One purchase.

Project Scorpio and Xbox One

First things first, Project Scorpio is not the successor to the Xbox One. A lot of people who weren’t in the know before Microsoft’s E3 2016 press conference were confused that Project Scorpio was the next full-fledged new console from Microsoft. Both Sony (PlayStation Neo) and Microsoft are doing is creating a high-end variant of their existing consoles.

While developers can make games exclusively for the Scorpio, the main goal is to have the Xbox One be the affordable mass market console, while Scorpio takes the place as the high performance option for those willing to spend a few extra dollars. All Xbox One games will play on Scorpio, and Microsoft is pushing for all Scorpio games to work on the Xbox One, but that part is up to developers.

For at least a year or two after Scorpio hits (in late 2017), you won’t many Scorpio-exclusive titles, if any at all. It’s not meant to replace the Xbox One, just give developers more power to play with so you’ll see a lot of games playing at 1080p and 60fps compared to an Xbox One version of the same game that may only play at 900p or 30fps.

Xbox One Owners

If you already own an Xbox One and you’re satisfied with your purchase, you don’t need to worry about picking up a Scorpio. The two consoles are expected to play the same games and use the same peripherals. The only significant benefit you’ll gain from picking up a Scorpio if you already own an Xbox One is that some games will be playable in a higher resolution ranging from 1080p to 4K depending on the title.

There are a few minor benefits such as additional hard drive space (depending on which Xbox One you presently own), but you can add storage space to any Xbox One. The bottom line here is pretty simple. If you’re pleased with how your games look on Xbox One there’s really no need to pick up the Scorpio. If you don’t have a 4K monitor or TV the games will still look better on Scorpio, but the difference won’t be as significant.

New Buyers

If you don’t already have an Xbox One, Scorpio should probably be on your wishlist. You need to look at your reasoning for not owning an Xbox One yet. If you don’t care about any of the exclusive titles available on the Xbox One, that likely won’t change when Scorpio becomes available. If you simply can’t justify the price when you already own a PlayStation 4 or gaming PC, Scorpio won’t help that concern either. However, by the time Scorpio is available there’s a pretty good chance the Xbox One will be lower in price than it is now.

There are quite a few people who don’t own an Xbox One because the games generally offer a higher resolution on the PS4. If that’s your main reason for not owning an Xbox One, you may want to take a serious look at Scorpio. While we don’t have final specs on the PlayStation Neo, Microsoft is claiming that the Scorpio will be the most powerful home console when it’s released. If that holds true, games will either look better on the Scorpio compared to the Neo, or nearly identical. Either way, it’s not a bad idea to have a PS4 for Sony exclusives and a Scorpio for better looking games and Xbox exclusives.

We still have quite a wait for Project Scorpio as it’s currently set to release sometime during the 2017 holiday season. Stay tuned to Prima Games as we offer more information on Project Scorpio as it becomes available.