Phil Spencer Teases Progress on Project Scorpio
By Boston Blake 21 January 2017
Xbox boss Phil Spencer teases Project Scorpio progress on Twitter, saying he’s ‘really happy’ with what the teams have been able to do with the console so far.
For the bulk of the last few years, Microsoft has struggled to keep up with Sony when it comes to console sales. Xbox One has reportedly sold an impressive 26 million units, but that pails in comparison to PlayStation 4’s more than 50 million units sold, with Sony expecting sales to reach 60 million by April.
This year, however, Microsoft is poised to bridge the gap thanks to its upcoming powerhouse console, Project Scorpio, which is set to release during the holidays. And according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, Project Scorpio is coming along nicely.
Spencer recently responded to Xbox fans on Twitter, providing a brief update about the system’s progress. When asked if Microsoft would give gamers a sneak peak at the console, Spencer responded: “Really wish I could, design team is doing their ‘thing’ again, really happy with what they’ve been able to do.”
@xxSMALL17xx @aarongreenberg Really wish I could, design team is doing their "thing" again, really happy with what they've been able to do.— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2017
While that’s not a lot of detail for gamers to digest, it’s part of a steady stream of teaser updates from Spencer. Earlier this month, Spencer commented on Twitter that Xbox’s “1st party teams are getting engines up and tuned, great progress across studios, platform and hw.”
This coincides with what others have said about Projects Scorpio, including Halo’s director Frank O’Connor. When asked about Project Scorpio’s specs recently, O’Connor couldn’t provide specific details, but recalled that the console is “beefier” than he expected.
Based on these comments, it seems things are moving along well for Project Scorpio. The device will easily be the most powerful console on the market, and could easily give Xbox a much needed boost in the current console war. With the release of PS4 Pro and PSVR, Sony has a strong position in the market. However, thanks to the lack of a 4K Blu-Ray player and its lower specs, PS4 Pro may struggle to compete with Project Scorpio.
That said, there’s still a lot of unknowns about Projects Scorpio that may affect its success. For instance, while Spencer has revealed that Project Scorpio will be available at “console pricing”, gamers don’t have any firm details about the cost of the device.
Unfortunately for games, these little teasers from Spencer and others at Xbox may be the only updates they receive until E3. Spencer recently shared that he was unsure if Project Scorpio would make an appearance before E3 2017.
What do you think about Spencer’s updates about Project Scorpio?
Project Scorpio is set to release holiday 2017.
