Xbox Project Scorpio looks to be upping the ante in terms of what you should expect from a games console. Slated to be the most powerful console ever made, Microsoft is valuing power and performance over everything else and, when compared to a PS4 Pro, it shows.
It's been just over four years since this generation of consoles came into existence. Back in 2013 the PS4 was a beast and the Xbox One was a hulking black box lacking in truly alluring titles. Sony's machine has gone strength-to-strength, while Microsoft's Xbox One has floundered somewhat while slowly finding its feet among a loyal fanbase. With the launch of Xbox Project Scorpio, Microsoft is hoping its powerful console can usurp the reign of the PS4 and PS4 Pro and put Microsoft's Xbox division back on the map.
But what, exactly, are the differences between the PS4 Pro and Xbox Project Scorpio? Are they, essentially just the same machine with different housing? Why is it worth picking up one over the other, or perhaps you need to actually own both to be happy in life? We break each console down into its core competencies so you don't have to.
Xbox Project Scorpio vs PS4 Pro: Everything you need to know
Xbox Project Scorpio vs PS4 Pro: 4K games and content
Both the PS4 Pro and Xbox Project Scorpio support games and media content at 4K, 60fps resolutions with HDR. Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of it all, it was clear from the get-go that Microsoft's Project Scorpio would be able to run smooth gameplay at 4K thanks to its 6 teraflops of performance.
Sony's PS4 Pro, on the other hand, uses some clever trickery to create a near-4K image for many of the games that just can't run at 4K 60fps without needing as much power as Microsoft's console. Known as Checkerboarding, this cutting-edge upscaling technique allows for a 2x2 pixel to be extrapolated out into a 4x4 equivalent. This, effectively, bumps the resolution up from 1080p to 2160p without diluting the image too much. It may not be "true" 4K gaming on every title, but the difference is completely unnoticeable when sat at a comfortable distance for gaming. Even when sat up close, the difference is marginal and, unless you're an absolute TV pro, you can't tell the difference between checkerboarding and 4K.
On Xbox Project Scorpio, Microsoft has managed to ensure almost every game runs at 4K without breaking a sweat. Having shown Digital Foundry what the Scorpio can do, Forza Motorsport 6 developer Turn10 unveiled Scorpio's 4K performance by playing a build of Forza 6 with 4K textures turned on and with other graphics settings comparable to those on Xbox One. The result was a smooth racing experience that utilised just 67% of Xbox Project Scorpio's power. An optimised build, built natively for Scorpio, could easily squeeze even more optimisation out of Microsoft's chip – proving there's plenty of power here for 4K play.
Outside of games, both consoles support Netflix amd YouTube in 4K HDR, with Amazon Prime Video also on the way. Xbox Project Scorpio also supports 4K UHD Blu-rays, something the PS4 Pro is lacking.
Xbox Scorpio vs PS4 Pro: Release date and price
Sony's PS4 Pro launched back in November of last year at the princely sum of £349 – the same price the original PS4 launched at. Xbox Project Scorpio is slated to launch this holiday period, although no date has currently been given. From what Digital Foundry saw on their visit to Microsoft's HQ, Xbox Project Scorpio is actually running ahead of schedule, so by the time this years' holdiay season rolls around, Microsoft could have plenty of units ready for retail.
In regards to price, it's unclear exactly how much Microsoft is going to sell its new box for. Going by its sheer power, many are expecting it to come in at well over the £400 mark – possibly commercial suicide for a mainstream console. Microsoft has taken some cost-cutting measures, such as utilising an advanced version of the Xbox One AMD Jaguar chip instead of switching up to AMD's new Ryzen range, so that could help keep Scorpio's price point under control.
Xbox Project Scorpio vs PS4 Pro: Specs
Comparing the PS4 Pro's specs to that of the Xbox Project Scorpio is a little unfair – there's one clear winner here.
While both the PS4 Pro and Xbox Project Scorpio are pitched as high-end machines, Sony's PS4 Pro has far more reserved specs. Utilising an eight-core, x86 AMD "Jaguar" CPU clocked at 2.1GHz and a GPU capable of 4.2 TFLOPs, it's clear this is more powerful than the original PS4's 1.8 TFLOP GPU. Sony has also stuffed an extra slither of RAM to help with suspended applications and upped its transfer speed to 218GB/sec.
Conversely, the Xbox Project Scorpio is an absolute beast in the specs department with a custom eight-core GPU clocked at 2.3GHz and a GPU capable of outputting 6 TFLOPs of power. It also has 12GB of GDDR5 RAM – that's four more than the PS4 Pro – with transfer speeds of up to 326GB/s.
If you don't know what a teraFLOP is, nor why you should care how many a console has, you can watch this useful video from the Fronteir Scienctests Channel to help clear the technical mumbo-jumbo up for you. Put simply, however, more TFLOPs equals more power. More power equates to better performance and thus a slicker gameplay experience.
Here's a handy chart to show you the power divide between Xbox Project Scorpio, Xbox One and the PS4 Pro. While the numbers don't make the PS4 Pro look impressive, it's worth remembering that having a more powerful console doesn't necessarily make for a better one – it really boils down to games.
| Project Scorpio | Xbox One | PS4 Pro | |
| CPU | Eight custom x86 cores clocked at 2.3GHz | Eight custom Jaguar cores clocked at 1.75GHz | Eight Jaguar cores clocked at 2.1GHz |
| GPU | 40 customised compute units at 1172MHz | 12 GCN compute units at 853MHz (Xbox One S: 914MHz) | 36 improved GCN compute units at 911MHz |
| Memory | 12GB GDDR5 | 8GB DDR3/32MB ESRAM | 8GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 326GB/s | DDR3: 68GB/s, ESRAM at max 204GB/s (Xbox One S: 219GB/s) | 218GB/s |
| Hard Drive | 1TB 2.5-inch | 500GB/1TB/2TB 2.5-inch | 1TB 2.5-inch |
| Optical Drive | 4K UHD Blu-ray | Blu-ray (Xbox One S: 4K UHD) | Blu-ray |
Xbox Project Scorpio vs PS4 Pro: Games and VR
Both Sony and Microsoft said during the launch of their consoles that the PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio wouldn’t get exclusive games – there will be exclusive titles for the Xbox or PS4 platforms, but these will appear across the Xbox One S and Xbox Project Scorpio, and PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro.
These statements have since been clarified, with Microsoft claiming that Xbox One S and Scorpio will have the same games – except for VR titles – and so far we're yet to see a PS4 Pro-only game come to market.
"We said we're not going to have console-exclusive games for Project Scorpio. It's one ecosystem – whether you have an Xbox One S or Project Scorpio, we don't want anyone to be left behind,” head of Xbox marketing Aaron Greenberg told Engadget. “Now, with the power and capabilities we have, we'll be able to do high-fidelity VR. Now, that space, we don't think of that as console gaming, we think of that as high-fidelity VR, and so with the VR experiences those will be new things that you will get on Project Scorpio."
This makes sense, seeing that the Xbox Scorpio is being pitched as an ideal machine for VR – something the Xbox One S isn’t. Microsoft is likely to use Oculus Rift as its go-to VR headset for Scorpio, which could be beneficial if Microsoft then allow Oculus Rift titles to be sold directly on Scorpio thanks to its compatibility with Windows 10. Sony's PS4 Pro, on the other hand, uses the same PlayStation VR games as the PS4 Slim, offering up frame-rate improvements and supersampling for a sharper picture in VR.
Xbox Project Scorpio vs PS4 Pro: Verdict
Currently, it's hard to make a definitive decision between the PS4 Pro and Xbox Project Scorpio. It's clear that Microsoft's device is an absolute Hulk when it comes to power but without seeing any games running on it – nor any long-term catalogue plans beyond Microsoft's lukewarm exclusives – it's not a definitive winner.
Oculus Rift support could be a boon for Microsoft, but with nearly one million PlayStation VR users already out there, Sony has a major headstart on the competition in the console VR space.
So, as the launch of Xbox Project Scorpio looms near, there's really all to play for when it comes to the battle for the high-end gaming device. Both consoles also offer up meagre improvements for non-4K gamers, but until you're ready to buy into the 4K lifestyle, there's little reason to worry about snapping up either console just yet.