E3 2017: 8 Ups & 7 Downs From Microsoft's Conference
Project Scorpio invites a mixed response.
This year's Microsoft E3 conference was without question one of their most anticipated of the last few years, as it was confirmed long ago that they would unveil their Project Scorpio console at the show...and that they certainly did.
It's fair to say that this year's show has received a fairly mixed response from gamers, mostly expressing indifference at Microsoft's presentation of the world's most powerful games console.
That said, they did still show off a ton of enticing new games, and while you might not be left rushing to pre-order the next Xbox console, at least Microsoft appears to be keenly focusing on ambitious and impressive new games right now.
Still, with Microsoft's show being received so tepidly so far, will this give Sony an easy path to "win" E3 once again even if they can't pull off The Year of Dreams 3.0? Soon enough, all the answers will be revealed...
Downs...
7. It Failed To Sell The Xbox One X
The hype for Microsoft's Project Scorpio finally hit a brick wall with the reveal of the Xbox One X, which will launch on November 7th. Though it touts 4K support and incredible system specs including 12GB of GDDR5 memory, a liquid-cooled interior and the smallest form factor of any Xbox yet...Microsoft still failed to make a strong argument that the console is really worth buying.
For starters, there was a pronounced lack of visually jaw-dropping games that really indicated a significant leap from the current Xbox One, and more to the point, everything shown at the conference can be played on existing hardware, which only makes that brutal $499 price tag that much less appealing.
Microsoft were clearly pulled in two directions here, to make a new platform that could create richer gameplay experiences, yet without alienating their existing player-base. The price in particular could damn the console right out of the gate, but as ever, time will tell...