2016 finally saw the release and the official announcement of the next gaming consoles from Sony and Microsoft respectively. Both devices boast of greater features and a more holistic future for gamers and game enthusiasts. But while the two upgrade on their predecessors significantly, its manufacturers still consider it within the same generation.
As Trusted Reviews notes, Sony and Microsoft have taken rather different approaches in their newest consoles. While Sony has made significant effort to note that the PlayStation 4 Pro is not the beginning of a new generation, but is instead just an upgraded version of the beloved PlayStation 4, Microsoft has gone on the record to ready differentiate. The Xbox Scorpio in contrast has been described as the beginning of the end of console life cycles.
The PS4 Pro has 8GB of RAM, with an additional 1TB that is set aside for background processes. The device will also have 4.2 TFLOPS and will come with 4K video and virtual reality compatibility. Sony's most powerful console is arguably more efficient and effective in delivering a noteworthy VR experience to its users.
Meanwhile, the to-be-released Xbox Scorpio is estimated to also have 6GB of RAM but will have 320GB of bandwidth as opposed to Sony's 218GB. Furthermore, the Microsoft console is expected to come with as much as 6 TFLOPS, which is also significantly better than the PlayStation 4 Pro's.
Sony made just a slight improvement between consoles in terms of processors. The PS4 Pro is powered by an 8 core, 2.13GHz clock speed processor, which is slightly but significantly better than the standard PS4's 1.6. On the other hand, the Xbox Scorpio is also expected to have an 8 core processor, but the clock speed is unknown since the device is not expected to actually be released until Winter 2017.
To be completely honest, both Sony and Microsoft are right - both the PlayStation 4 Pro and the upcoming Xbox Scorpio make slight improvements to their predecessors. What is odd, however, is that these predecessors have been in the market for over three years. One would think that the new game consoles would improve so much more.
As Games Radar notes, this is the only testament to the upcoming trends. Sony has already promised that every succeeding game, no matter how many years from now it is released, will still be compatible with both the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 4 Pro. The publication argues that 2017 will only continue to see these refreshments on various tech products, especially in the gaming world.
An interesting comparison that the publication points out, in particular, is that game consoles will soon adopt a cellphone-like system. That is, that there will be several consoles existing at the same time, as opposed to the standard one generation at a time type of playing. And because of this, gaming will no longer be tied down to the power and specs of a console. Instead, a device's ecosystem will make the difference.
Both Sony and Microsoft - and therefore the PS4 Pro and the Xbox Scorpio - have their online systems, where players can log in, purchase a game or an extension package and play. Just the same, both companies offer upgrades that are downloadable via the Internet. How the companies polish these online experiences might soon be the only deciding factor for gamers.
