This morning during their E3 keynote, Microsoft confirmed the name for their next version of the Xbox console. The Xbox One X will be easily the most powerful (and expensive) console ever made and deliver something consoles never have before, 4K gaming.
Unlike the Xbox One X, or the Xbox One S, the white is gone, in favour of a stealthy black like the original Xbox. Its also the smallest Xbox ever made which is kind of remarkable given the power inside. It resembles much more of a DVR than a gaming console, a sign of maturity in gaming design and an understanding it’ll likely be on display in your living room.
What was affectionately known as ‘Project Scorpio’ during development, the new name is a good one, one I’m completely on-board with. It is an Xbox One at heart, but enhanced performance capabilities will see game (many announced at E3) will run at 4K 60 frames per second and feature HDR.
From the footage we’ve seen, games running on the Xbox One X look absolutely spectacular. If you’ve invested in a 4K TV or Monitor, then you’ll want to take advantage of that with a Xbox One X.
The Xbox One X console will features 6 teraflops of graphical power, (up from 4.2 of the PS4 Pro). While the architecture of the Xbox has never been more PC-like, Microsoft is using a custom GPU engine running at 1172MHz. For those playing at home, your Xbox One has 853MHz, or PS4 Pro has 911MHz, so its a significant upgrade. There’s also 12 GB GDDR5 Memory, 9 of which will be addressable by developers.
Given we’re only half way through 2017, the wait till Novemeber will be a long one. If you’re wondering what to buy for your favourite gamer this year, your Christmas list just got easy.
Microsoft have confirmed they’ve got free updates coming for more than 30 existing titles to add 4K support.
The Verge have 5 minutes of gameplay from Forza 7 running in 4K, so if you’ve got a decent internet connection, do yourself a favour, set the quality to max and check out that detail.
It’s not just rain, it’s thunder, lightning that gives the terrible weather a feeling of realism that’s never been there before. Over the years we’ve seen iterations on weather models, but this looks to be a fundamental generation leap forward. Sure it’ll be incredibly difficult to race, but the challenge is what we love.
Still not convinced? Here’s the official trailer for Forza Motorsport 7. Its available on October 3, 2017 for Xbox One and Windows 10, and coming November 7, 2017 for Xbox One X.
The Xbox One X is coming to all Xbox One markets starting Nov. 7, Xbox One X will retail for US$499, 449 pounds, 499 euros, CA$599 and most importantly AU$649. For a similarly capable PC, you’d typically expect to pay in excess of $1,000 so, that’s definitely reasonable for what you’re getting.
