The PS4 Pro & Xbox Project Scorpio Promise Power, But It's All About the Games
Oct. 1, 2016The PS4 Pro & Xbox Project Scorpio Promise Power, But It’s All About the Games
Just when we all thought we had a handle on the current gen gaming landscape, both Sony and Microsoft announced new iterations of the PS4 and Xbox One and confused us with choice all over again. The motives behind the new PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio are many, with notions of beating the competition and keeping up with the outpacing PC landscape being kicked around. Regardless of the decisions that went into their design, both consoles are entries into the realm of 4K resolution, the next frontier in high definition visual experiences. Now that they’re on the horizon, what do we make of them and how will they impact our gaming choices? Bear in mind this article is focused squarely on folks who are committed to the console experience. How these new consoles compare and contrast to PC’s is a matter for a different day.
Both new consoles will play every existing current gen game and will provide upscaling capabilities for these existing games and the capability to run the new 4K native games. There has been some discussion over whether the PS4 Pro can truly support full 4K, but for the purposes of this article we will refer to both consoles as a native 4K experience. For those folks not on 4K TV’s the new consoles can provide improved framerates, visual detail and other fidelity improvements.
The consoles are going to sit side by side with their older siblings but won’t replace them. One thing gamers on the original PS4 and Xbox One do not have to worry about is obsolescence. There are no plans for exclusive content for either of the new high powered consoles, which is an important note. There is the possibility of developers and publishers charging for an upgrade to the 4K version although the console manufacturers have told players to not anticipate this. Overall the introduction of these new consoles is a way to cater to a tech forward portion of the gaming community but isn’t a method of leaving anyone behind. Anyone worried about the cell phone cycles of new updates that render the hardware obsolete can probably rest easy.
These are nice touches of course but the thoughts on the minds of all people interested in the new hardware are what games are going to be developed in native 4K. Upscaling is impressive tech in its own regard but it doesn’t compare to a native experience.
Sony’s PS4 Pro is coming out this November and as a result we have a much more specific list of existing titles that are receiving an upgrade to support 4K as well as new titles being developed in the higher resolution.
With this in mind, outside of the power differential where the Scorpio has an advantage, it’s not so much a choice of which console to choose but whether to upgrade or stand pat. Most console players are firmly entrenched in either of the ecosystems and a hardware upgrade like this isn’t quite enough to cause mass exodus in one direction or another. For most, the consideration of whether to upgrade, provided they have the TV to make it worthwhile, is going to be how robust the game library is. Based on the aforementioned games, we can safely assume that’s every AAA title. What is a little more murky is whether smaller studios will have the resources to be able to develop a single game at 2 different specs, and whether they feel that is a worthwhile investment. It puts them in a tricky space, and there is already banter from both sides of the fence, with some developers saying it’s a difficult process, and the consoles saying it can be done without too many added production costs.
All of this means that gamers thinking about upgrading should be thinking about the games they play and the experiences they want out of them. This is a unique situation where every hardcore gamer is not necessarily going to be the target for a piece of new console tech, at least not right from the start, especially if those games they play most are not big budget AAA titles. Any players looking for a richer cinematic experience with blockbuster titles are likely to be satisfied with the upgrade, but those focused on niche genres or indie games may want to press pause and see how this all unfolds. Hardware obsolescence may not be a concern here, but one of taste certainly is.
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Emergence
Editor at Fextralife. I look for the substantial in gaming and I try to connect video games to the emotions and stories they elicit. I love all things culture and history and have an odd fondness for the planet Jupiter. I think my dogs are pretty awesome too.
If indie developers are complaining about that on the PS4 they shouldn’t develop for PC, lol. Even relatively old games (indie and otherwise) can be rendered at native 4k. (The Witcher 2 and Metro Last Light, for example.) At this point I can put PS2 discs in my PC and run those at native 4k. It’s a waste of time because nothing in the games looks good enough to really benefit, but I can.
I’m far from an expert, but tbh it shouldn’t be a big deal to have 2 or 3 settings so the game will run well at whatever resolution. Not when just about every PC game has to do a solid dozen and work with hundreds of different hardware setups.
Completely agree. If you want to see the easy high-res vs greater fidelity in action looks at the Dark Souls 2 remaster on PS4 vs DS3 or Bloodborne. Same hardware, DS2 runs at 1080p60, DS3 and Bloodborne run at 1080p30. The higher resolution and fremerate certainly help the PS4 DS look better than the PS3 version, but it’s just not in the same league as the latter 2.
Now with PS4 Pro we get the chance to get the high response and improved animation of 1080p60. That’s 2x the GPU of 1080p30. However PS4 Pro has 2.3x the GPU. Use the remaining 0.3x on better AA or other visual effects and the results should be beautiful. If I had a 4K TV I would still likely play in 1080p mode (though with HDR enabled).
I said AAA because those are the only titles that will likely have the resources to develop in native 4K consistently. I’m anticipating few AA and indie titles to be available. Studios are already dissatisfied with taking on the extra costs of developing for 4K, which were the final points made in the article, that those interested in 4K should make sure that the games they want to play will be developed in it. Because according to those lists, it’s looking like it’s going to be a AAA party. That’s why I said I’d only buy it if I was looking for a new console, not upgrading, on the off chance I actually play a AAA title I can at least see it in 4K, and just take advantage of the console’s upscaling properties otherwise.
AAA games are the worst candidates for native 4k. They have so much going on in them that they have to seriously compromise the visual quality to maintain 4k/30 compared to 1080p/60. IMO (and I have a 4k/30 capable PC and a 4kTV) the extra sharpness of native 4k is completely wasted when what it’s shapening is the low res textures and lighting necessary for the underpowered system to reach 4k. This is true of my PC, which has a more than 40% power advantage over the PS4 Pro, I see no reason it would be any different on an even weaker system.
I would (and do) take 1080p/60 or 1440p/60 (or even 1440p/30) with all the bells and whistles over native 4k at with the settings compromised any day, even when dealing with more traditional upscaling.
It’s indies that are the best suited to display in native 4k. They tend to be low enough stress in general that the 4k res won’t involve compromising visual quality in other areas, and it will do wonders for their particle effects (seriously 4k particle effects are amazing) without tanking performance or having the upscaling ruin it.
I believe it’s because many Xbox One exclusives are no longer…exclusive. Exclusives are the pride of fanboys, and losing them, especially to the PC master race, is a loss to them because people not on their console can enjoy “their” games. Either that, or some people are just anti-consumer(themselves).
Good for me though. There are quite a few Xbox exclusives that I was interested in, and now I don’t need an Xbox to get them.
True, but when justice itself is corrupt….justice becomes guilty and yet again innocent people suffer. Gotta love the irony. fml.
Because when bad stuff happens to guilty people it’s considered justice, so it’s only innocent people who can suffer.
I’m likely to get a PS4 Pro near launch but never pick up a Scorpio to replace my broken XBone. Microsoft likely won’t care since, like Sony, they don’t really make money from their consoles (the XBone ‘S’ is selling so cheap in places it probably loses money) they make them from the games and since Microsoft is selling their games on PC, any game I would have bought on XBone I’ll just buy on PC.
I don’t know why some people complained about the “buy 1 get the other free” deal Microsoft is doing with PC and XBone. Granted their store sucks but overall it’s very pro-consumer choice and I’m quite happy about it. I doubt Sony will do anything similar though, since Microsoft’s move was a way of expanding their market in the face of terrible XBone market share, and the PS4 certainly doesn’t have that problem.
PS4 pro in general seems like a step back compared to the current version. And it seems like it would be more of a side grade rather than a new gen. Xbox scorpio i’m not sure on. I likely won’t be getting it on release if it drops holiday next year. Money is too tight right now.
If I was looking to buy a console new I would go for one of the new ones to enjoy the upscaling and native 4K of any AAA titles I was planning to buy. Upgrading from an existing PS4 however, just doesn’t seem like a good choice if the games that take advantage of native 4K are going to be only AAA titles.
If I need another PS4, I’ll probably just get the basic model for exclusives, and buy a gaming pc for all the great stuff there.
@tarshana: The way I look at it is when my current PS4 dies (which, at some point, it will) I’ll have the option to buy the cheaper Slim model or upgrade to the Pro for no more than I originally paid. Seems ok to me!
I’m going to get the ps4 pro purely because the damn cops still got my ps4 and other stuff…..ugh….Why do innocent people always have to suffer
Darn. It was… 8 years ? between PS3 and 4.. I was hoping to wait about that long for anotherI will not be upgrading. Too much monetary loss if I were to upgrade so soon.
Soon consoles will be like the iPhones we’ll get a new Scorpio Pro Galaxy S2 each year, up until the point Sony and Microsoft realise that the only reason gamers buy consoles if for the convenience of not having to upgrade.
I heard Ratchet and Clank will also be getting an update for the PS4 Pro. As for upgrading, I’m just going to go back to PC. I already set up a steam account and am playing some of the free low end games while deciding on a good pre-built rig(cause my current PC is by no means fit for gaming and is not made to be upgraded). So far between a 850$ model (marked down to 760$), and a 1000$ model (marked down to 950$). Mostly just trying to decide whether I want better hardware now or later and if it’s worth getting now experience wise. I’ll keep my PS4 and PS3 for the exclusives, but other than that, I think consoles are going to the dogs.
On a side note, my steam profile is the same as my PS ID.
