Phil Spencer recently discussed Microsoft's up and coming Project Scorpio and what customers should expect from the console in terms of performance and pricing. After previously stating in an interview that the new system wouldn't be too expensive, it seems the Xbox Chief has somewhat changed his mind, pointing out that the Scorpio will be aimed at high-end customers.
Phil Spencer had previously mentioned that the price of the Scorpio would not be that far away from the pricing of the recent Xbox One S saying: "We thought about the price performance of what we wanted to hit with the Scorpio, relative to what we were going to be able to do with the S. So that we would have a good price continuum, so people wouldn't look at these two things as so disconnected because of the price delta."
He went on to tell people not to worry about the cost of Project Scorpio as it would not be priced over what you would expect from a premium console. The highest price entry so far for a regular console is the PlayStation 3, which launched at $599, so judging from Spencer's previous comments, this should be the ceiling for Xbox Scorpio.
However, in a recent interview Spencer suggested that the Scorpio would be more expensive than the Xbox One S, but added that it would be packing all the latest technology that high-end customers could desire. Although not much is known about Microsoft's new machine at the moment Spencer suggests it will be the most powerful games console created so far, comfortably beating out the recently released PS4 Pro in terms of what is under the hood.
"You know, for us, when we think about the product lineup that we have, obviously our most affordable console will be the S console," Spencer said, "and we make sure that we're building that console and putting the features into that console to make it as enjoyable and desirable to as many people as possible at the price. Scorpio will be a premium console, it will cost more than the S, obviously- that's how we're building it."
Although Spencer did not confirm a price for the Scorpio this does suggest a higher price than was previously hinted at, but also that what they are planning for the Scorpio, in terms of hardware, is quite ambitious. Spencer went on to say: "We haven't announced price points for the Scorpio yet, but I want to make sure that the investments that we are putting into the Scorpio meets the demands of the higher end customer, and that will mean a higher price."
So it seems the Scorpio could be quite costly, but this may also hint that Microsoft's new console will be packing some high-end features, such as a 4K Blu-Ray player possibly, although this is something Xbox have yet to confirm.
The Xbox One Scorpio is due to launch next Holiday season. Will you be saving up for it?