Xbox Scorpio Officially ‘Xbox One X’, $499 Price Targets Enthusiast Gamers

Xbox Head Phil Spencer has repeatedly used the word “premium” to describe Microsoft’s next Xbox console, code-named Project Scorpio. That phrase came into play significantly Sunday during Microsoft’s E3 2017 media briefing where the Xbox One X was unveiled along with a launch date and definite premium price.

Spencer announced the Xbox One X will launch Tuesday, November 7 at a price of $499.99. This puts to rest speculation that the “most powerful console ever made” could be released as low as $399.99 or $449.99. Others speculated the price could even be higher than the $500 price point.

Can Xbox One X be competitive?

The real question is who is Microsoft targeting the Xbox One X towards and can it plus a bevy of console exclusive game announcements help make Xbox competitive against a dominant PlayStation 4 and PS4 Pro.

“I think it will sell to its current target audience, which is mostly entrenched Xbox fans, but with a smattering of enthusiast console gamers that are happy to invest in all platforms, especially one with the most powerful graphics,” IHS Head of Games Research Piers Harding-Rolls told Inquisitr when we posed the question to the analyst. “Those target groups represent a sub segment of the overall Xbox One audience. We’re estimating around 10% of Xbox One sales in the final three months of the year will be Xbox One X consoles.”

Forza Motorsport 7 on the Xbox One X.
[Image by Turn 10 Studios]

IHS forecasts 500,000 total Xbox One X consoles will be sold during the fourth quarter of 2017. By comparison, the PS4 Pro made up 20 percent of the total PlayStation 4 sales since it launched last November, according to Sony’s most recent financial reports.

“While a lot of the noise was around Xbox One X, Microsoft’s strong roster of exclusive titles gives it a better chance to be competitive with Sony,” Harding-Rolls explained. “Even so, Sony’s PS4 sales momentum in markets outside of USA and UK makes it a significant challenge for MS to claw back market share.”

The Xbox One X power factor

Cross-compatibility between Xbox consoles is a major driving factor for Microsoft, which is why Kareem Choudhry made sure to announce that all Xbox One accessories will be compatible with the new console. This is in addition to all Xbox One and all backward compatible games being playable on the 4k hardware.

The console itself is the smallest Xbox console produced by Microsoft yet. Even smaller than the already impressively small Xbox One S. Part of the reason for that is the liquid-cooled vapor chamber cooling solution, which will keep the Xbox One X from over-heating without using a ridiculously large fan and do so quietly.

Screenshot of Gears of War 4 running on Xbox One X.
[Image by The Coalition]

Microsoft is also using the “Xbox One X enhanced” branding to denote which games will support 4K resolutions. Existing first-party games like Gears of War 4, Killer Instinct, Halo Wars 2, and Minecraft will all receive 4K updates later this year along with over 30 titles from third-party developers. This includes Final Fantasy XV.

There are also plenty of new titles releasing this year that will support 4K. Forza Motorsport 7 was the first to be shown at the Xbox E3 2017 media briefing followed by Metro: Exodus, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, State of Decay 2, Dragon Ball Fiter Z, Code Vein, Sea of Thieves Super Lucky’s Tales, Crackdown 3, Middle-Earth Shadow of War, Ashen, Ori and the Will of the Wisp, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, and BioWare’s share world shooter, Anthem.

What do you think of the Xbox One X release date and $499.99? Is it too steep for you or will you jump in for the 4K gaming? Sound off in the comments below.

[Featured Image by Xbox]