Project Scorpio to be sold at “console price point”

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has stated that Project Scorpio will not be priced similar to high-end PCs, but at a price point appropriate for a console.

In a lengthy interview with AusGamers, Spencer discusses the fine balance Microsoft wishes to strike between each component in it new console. He hopes that this carefully distributed power will provide optimum performance, but also keep the console’s cost low.

“When you talk to me about Scorpio, the term I use about the architecture isn’t the six teraflops which is obviously what we’ve announced, it’s balance,” says Spencer. “Really what it is, is you want a platform that is balanced between memory bandwidth, GPU power, you know, your ability to move memory and [an] amount of memory around in many ways is more inhibiting to the performance of your game than absolute teraflops on any one of the individual pieces, and when we designed Scorpio we really thought about this balanced rig that could come together at a price-point.”

Like, I want Scorpio to be at a console price-point,” he continues. “I’m not trying to go and compete with a high-end rig. And because we’re building one spec, we’re able to look at the balance between all the components and make sure that it’s something we really hit that matters to consumers and gamers.”

Microsoft has confirmed that Scorpio will be able to deliver true-4K gaming and will also be VR ready. The console isn’t due for release until late next year, and other than details of its raw power, very little is known about Microsoft’s other plans for its new flagship.

Sony released its own mid-generation upgrade console, the PlayStation 4 Pro, for £350. Scorpio will be significantly more powerful, but could be forced to match Sony’s price point in order to compete.