Sunday during Microsoft’s press event they revealed their newest console Xbox One X, formerly “Project Scorpio.
The Xbox One X will be the newest console launched by Microsoft on November 7th. The price of the system will be $499.99, which is the exact price of the Xbox One when it launched in 2013. The Xbox One X will be able to play games in 4K resolution and designed to be the most powerful home console. One exciting element of the X is that it will be backward compatible with original Xbox games, which includes a re-release of Crimson Skies, that will be able to be played on X.
Xbox will expand the Xbox One backward compatibility library of nearly 400 popular Xbox 360 games to include original Xbox classics, starting with fan favorite “Crimson Skies.” Xbox also revealed that “Gears of War 4,” “Forza Horizon 3,” “Minecraft,” “Resident Evil 7,” “Final Fantasy 15,” “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands,” “Rocket League” and dozens of other popular Xbox One games will receive free updates to take full advantage of the power of Xbox One X. A host of these titles will be enhanced to run in true 4K, and many will be available at Xbox One X launch.- Phil Spencer
The Xbox One X will also encourage game developers and indie developers to create games for each type of player.
“Xbox empowers game developers large and small to create different types of games for every type of player.Not only do we have the biggest cross-platform blockbusters on our platform, we’ve also scoured the world to bring our fans unique content from creative artists that capture the imagination.”- Phil Spencer
One interesting thing to note, Resident Evil VII, Final Fantasy XV, and Rocket League, will include and update to better perform on the X.
The price point is a little concerning as it is the exact same of the one and it’s sales were sluggish at first. Xbox has a dedicated fan base that will pick up the console on day one, but it remains to be seen if your average Joe is bought into the X. In the past, when consoles have launched at a higher price point, they seem to fall off. The same thing happened when the PS3 was announced and it had a $599.99 price tag and it was a while before its sales increased.
Microsoft is finally hitting it home with their backward compatibility, something Sony fans have been begging for since the ability was taken away from PS3 consoles. Microsoft may still be able to pass up Sony, but it remains to be seen, the price tag may just kill the console out of the gate, but there is hope that Microsoft may know how to play the deck and the fans to create a successful launch in November.
