We learned two things for sure throughout the course of Microsoft’s E3 conference: all of the best exclusives from here on out are going to be shared between the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, and Project Scorpio is going to be an absolute beast. Of course, that latter bit of information didn’t get around to us until the very end of the show, but the former point was emphasized the whole day long. I booted up the livestream of Microsoft’s conference thinking that it would be focusing mainly on Xbox One players and everything they could look forward to, but everything I saw seemed to directed to – and seemed most advantageous for – the PC gamer.
Thinking back, I’m not sure I can remember anything exciting announced that meant exclusively for Xbox One gamers. No one seemed to bat an eye when the whole thing was over and done with, but I was left wondering if this was the beginning of the end for Xbox as a dominant hardware contender. That may be a little dramatic, and Xbox Ones have been selling at a fantastic rate – just not as well as the PS4. For those who put their chips on Microsoft this generation the fight song for now seems to be, “Windows 10 Hooray, Scorpio Holiday!”
Is Microsoft cannibalizing new hardware sales by offering us better options? Right off the bat I wasn’t getting that vibe. Things kicked off with a wonderful promotional video for the Xbox One S, and by the time it was done rolling I was thinking, “That’s my ticket to play all the best Xbox One games until next-gen.” That box is pretty sexy, slim and sleek indeed, and the fact that Microsoft integrated the power supply solves one of the biggest aesthetic issues owners have with the original model. The new controller looks fantastic, and who doesn’t want to put their own spin on things with some custom colors? It’s even capable of outputting 4K video? That should at least help it stay competitive with Sony’s NEO. I’m almost sold, Microsoft, close the deal and make me want to buy this thing.
Only Microsoft didn’t close the deal. After that opening video I wasn’t given a single additional reason to buy the Xbox One S. Every trailer for every incredible-looking game began with the words “Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive.” This is fantastic news for PC owners, especially in the wake of Nvidia and AMD releasing a powerful, affordable new wave of GPUs. If I want to play a beautiful game like Uncharted 4 , I have to buy a PS4. If I want to play Gears of War 4 , which looks fantastic, I don’t have to buy an Xbox One (or One S) anymore; instead I finally have the perfect excuse to upgrade my PC and carry on.
And then there’s Scorpio: the 6 teraflop monster. This is the next-gen leap for console gaming, and it’s right down the road. True 4K gaming and high-fidelity VR – that’s what Phil Spencer and a handful of our favorite devs are telling us this box is going to do for us. It was designed with developers in mind; it was designed with us in mind. It’s going to be the most powerful console in the world when it comes out next holiday season, so why the hell would I dish out $300 on a sexy new console that will be obsolete in a year? I won’t be missing out on any games – they made a big to-do about reassuring us that all the entire library of Xbox One content (including all of the peripherals) will work on Scorpio, so why not wait?
It seems to me that the best options moving forward for anyone who wants to play Xbox games is to invest in a more future-proof PC that can play the same games anyway, or to wait until next holiday for Scorpio. To whom does the Xbox One S appeal? Only to the budget-driven gamer content to linger in the settling dust of this current generation of games while the rest of the industry presses onward. I’m not sure Microsoft made its pitch clear. Not to me, anyway, and that’s why I’ll be waiting.