In a perfect world, consoles would be upgradeable and new games could come out with better graphics and higher resolution support, and you'd just upgrade your Xbox or PlayStation console - but no, the world we live in today isn't like that.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has now come out saying that you won't be upgrading your Xbox any time soon, including Microsoft's next-gen Project Scorpio console. On Twitter, Spencer said that upgradeable components for consoles were "a stretch". He said: "The idea that users will open up a console and change compute components inside seems like a stretch to me".
Spencer continued: "Am I going to break open my console and start upgrading individual pieces of my console? That's not our plan. There is something special about what happens with a console. You buy an appliance-like device; you plug it into your TV; it works when you plug it in. It's not like I'm going to ship a screwdriver set with every console that comes out".
We've broken down everything you need to know about Project Scorpio here.
Project Scorpio confirmed specs:
- 6 TFLOPs of performance
- 320GB per second memory bandwith
- 8 CPU Cores
Project Scorpio Hardware Predictions:
- CPU: 8-core Zen CPU
- GPU: Based on a highly-customized form of AMD's new 14nm Polaris and/or Vega architectures to hit native 4K gaming
- RAM: 12GB of GDDR5 unified system memory clocked at 320GB/s
So what will Project Scorpio be called, and how much will it cost? I have some predictions:
I think Project Scorpio will be called "Xbox Ultra" and depending on what hardware it uses, I think it could cost as much as $599.
If Xbox Ultra uses Ryzen CPU and Vega GPU hardware, it'll cost around $599. If it uses Ryzen CPU and Polaris GPU hardware, a $499 price tag is much more likely.
But we strongly think the new 4K Xbox won't cost $399, and here's why.
Project Scorpio--or as we think it's called, Xbox Ultra--will release Holiday 2017. Microsoft is set to unveil the system as soon as next week, with a full showcase at E3 2017.