Microsoft in 2017
Last year I finally blew the dust of the Xbox One and realised I’ve been missing out all this time. Caught up in the stupid rhetoric of ‘console wars’ in my youth, I never gave the Xbox system the time of day. Although the console exclusive line-up didn’t have a great 2016 with Quantum Break and ReCore releasing to mediocre reviews and sales, the release of the Xbox One S and an official announcement of the Scorpio has given Microsoft a real swagger coming into the New Year. The Xbox One has recovered from its awkward start and developed a sense of confidence that I can’t help but be swept up in. With a strong end of the year seeing monthly Xbox sales surpass that of the PlayStation 4, Microsoft will look to build upon their momentum culminating in the release of the behemoth that is the Xbox Scorpio at the end of the year.
Hardware
To me, the Xbox consoles of the past looked hideous. The original Xbox looks like an ammo crate from a D-grade space shooter, and the Xbox One was the lovechild of a cheese grater and VCR player. The Xbox One S however, damn baby you looking fine. Microsoft nailed the weird mid-gen console release — which seems to be all the rage — when compared to Sony’s PS4 Pro. Not only did the radical makeover trim the bulky system down 40% and give it a gorgeous new look, it added HDR and 4K Blu-Ray support — the latter not being offered by its competitor. Perhaps the brand new look is helping the public forget the Xbox One’s difficult first few years? Whatever it is, this new system is selling like hotcakes, but it does have the disadvantage of being the middle child. The One S will be the ‘new’ console for only a year or so before something bigger and better comes along.
The Xbox One S is just an entrée. The main course is coming, and I hope you’re hungry. 2017 will be the year of the Scorpio, and if it’s everything Microsoft is promising, we are about to see a quantum leap in home console gaming. I haven’t the faintest idea what a ‘teraflop’ is but having 6 of them sounds like a good time. Microsoft is describing the Scorpio as ‘a beast’ — I told you they were getting confident. While it’s unclear if there will be Scorpio exclusive titles, I don’t imagine it happening any time soon. With such an influx of new Xbox owners purchasing the One S, they’ll want to avoid alienating the player base. Rumour has it that it will run true 4K at 60fps, but I’m taking that with a grain of salt sprinkled by Salt Bae himself. Expect full specifications to be announced at E3 this year. I’m clearly excited about this new machine in a way I have never been excited about a Microsoft release, but of course, I have concerns.
Having a console with this power will come with a hefty price tag and following the release of the One S, are people willing to buy two consoles in such short sequence? Where exactly does the Scorpio fit into the timeline? Is it the next generation of Xbox or does this spell the end of traditional generational console updates altogether for Microsoft? It’s looking more and more likely that Microsoft is going to start treating Xbox releases in the same way Apple handles iPhone releases — a series of hardware updates rather than 5+ year console cycles. This makes me nervous. If that means forking up vast sums of money regularly to have the latest console, screw that! Both Microsoft and Sony have tried the mid-cycle update to mixed success, but neither the One S nor PS4 Pro set the world on fire. How do you handle a player base spread across so many iterations of a console? Maybe this is the only way they can move forward after realising they fucked up the traditional numerical way of naming new systems. You can’t have a ‘Xbox Two’ be the fourth generation of a console, can you?
The additional power of the Scorpio comes with the promise of both augmented and virtual reality. Announced a few years back with an amazing Minecraft preview, the Microsoft Hololens is still considered witchcraft in some cultures. While I don’t see the main application of augmented reality in gaming, it would be amazing to see it utilised in the Scorpio’s user interface. Imagine a voice controlled Cortana helping you navigate the Live Arcade! Now imagine having to mortgage your house and selling your kidney to afford it. Ok, maybe augmented reality is a way off. Virtual reality, on the other hand, has already started its association with Xbox. As of last December, Oculus Rift owners can stream Xbox One games straight to their headset via Microsoft 10. Of course, this has fuelled rumours that Microsoft will team up with Oculus to offer a Scorpio/Oculus bundle. Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer has put a dampener on this talks however by saying VR will only come to Xbox when it feels more than ‘demos and experiments.’
Software
I am going to play more Xbox games this year. I am going to make a point of it. Looking at the line-up, I’m choosing a great year to do it too. The release of the Scorpio will give developers a tonne more power to play with will push the current technology to its limits.
Top my head; you know what game I’m looking forward to? Scalebound! The epic tale of a boy and his dragon set in a rich fantasy worl….
What’s that?
Cancelled?
…fuck….well, moving on then.
Halo is a series high on my shame list. People swear on this series, but I have never given it its proper due. If any game has a chance of making me a believer, though, it’s Halo Wars 2. Nothing gets me going like a good real-time strategy game. The game pits the Spartans up against the brute, Atriox and his band of loyal followers and allows you to construct familiar vehicles like the Warthog to engage in high-speed RTS goodness. Atriox may sound like the name of a shitty metalcore band, but he’s no match for my well-organised resource collecting!
Sea Of Thieves looks magical. A massive handcrafted world that lets you and some of ye fellow mateys sail upon the seven seas, pillaging and a’plunderin? Yarghh! You and your crew will sail island to island on the search of gold in what Rare is calling a ‘Shared World Adventure Game’ — I refuse to call it S.W.A.G. I find this concept fascinating. Online co-op games always descend into selfish runs for points and loot for me, but judging from the trailers, teamwork is what keeps you afloat. While one person mans the steering wheel (is it called a steering wheel on a ship?) another will need to raise the sails or mend damage from an enemy cannonball. As long as this game is deeper than just collecting treasures and has a decent, swashbuckling story, this is looking like a winner. Perhaps Sea Of Thieves will be the game to fill the booty-sized hole in my heart Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag left years ago.
When I talk to friends who consider themselves Xbox aficionados and ask what games they’re looking forward to there is one title that keeps popping up: Crackdown 3. After further research into the game, holy shit, I can see why! A massive sandbox set in a futuristic, stylised city that has you take down a criminal empire in any way you want sounds great, but the real juicy bits are in the multiplayer. Crackdown 3 will take advantage of Microsoft’s Azure cloud services to boost the computing power needed to run 100% destructible environments. Using the cloud functionality, Crackdown 3 can benefit from computing powers the equivalent of 20 Xbox Ones. Running around with your mates in 100% destructible environments running in 4k on an Xbox Scorpio? Sign me up!
2017 will be a year of discovery for me when it comes to Microsoft’s roster. I’ve fallen way behind, but I won’t let games like State Of Decay 2, Phantom Dust 2 and Gigantic sneak past me. The list of upcoming titles may not be as impressive as Sony’s first party games, but with the introduction of Scorpio, things look very interesting. I look forward to seeing what Microsoft brings to the table in 2017 as they take the next step in the life of the Xbox and hey, we may finally get Cuphead!
