Lately, there's been a little stir created by Phil Spencer's many Trump-esque comments regarding Xbox (One) Scorpio. He stirred up hardware, he stirred up games, he even stirred up the console wars because he's totally willing to keep saying Nintendo and Sony make great games but doesn't really acknowledge the shortcomings of the Xbox brand which is his actual business to manage.

I mean this type of shit is usually why good PR avoids mentioning things too early or that would be too vague for the general public to simply swallow. Usually good PR doesn't spread unsubstantiable--

"Whilst marketers should be careful to ensure they hold evidence to prove any claims that are capable of objective substantiation, neither the ASA or CAP expects to see evidence to support subjective claims which are unlikely to be taken literally by consumers, either because they are clearly just an expression of the marketer’s opinion (in this case Phil Spencer's), or because they can be regarded as mere “puffery” (regarding the lack of details about games, hardware capabilities, commitment of support from other companies etc). In 2012, the ASA held that an offer of “unlimited free texts forever” was likely to be interpreted by consumers as containing an element of advertising puffery and that they were unlikely to infer that free texts would be available literally forever (EE ltd t/a T-Mobile, 24 October 2012)." - Google Search

Phil Spencer, even as the head of Xbox has been very clear he's not talking about Scorpio in terms of certain things. There are hardware numbers sure, but does that drive sales? Are people pre-ordering the device based solely on a few numbers? Would you pre-order a new car based on its 0-100mph statistic or its expected mileage? Or you know.. after test driving it?

After all he's been speaking to social media about the device since before there were even any devkits for game studios to test and refine their software available (which supposedly there's no Xbox Scorpio exclusives just the same as there are no such exclusives for Sony's PS4 Pro* much less actual commitment from other companies to support Xbox Scorpio, which will be another Xbox console. Not a new console generation as we've known them so far.

*Mind you this is ALSO because neither hardware manufacturer could have reasonably expected that they'd be able to sell enough units of either of their respective mid-generation refresh consoles to validate a true new console cycle (based on the still limited availability of affordable 4K screens and content.

Unlike with the HD era console refreshes (which was more a requirement to save a sinking ship on Microsoft's side since Xbox was dying a horrible death due to high cost, bad PR, and rampant piracy), stated Spencer recently to social media, the nascent 4K era isn't developed enough near enough to the end of the expected life cycles of Xbox One and PS4 to go gung-ho with a new expensive console.

Even so Microsoft is dropping the first shoe. Again. This is after they dropped Xbox One first and it has failed to lead the market the way PS4 has so resoundingly. Ignore that 3D and VR exist please. It is my opinion that not only is Xbox One lagging though.. but the expense of it and the lack of exclusive games from Microsoft and consistent bad PR Xbox One has suffered since its announcement, that the brand's reputation is not going to be solid enough to support Scorpio this holiday season even if Sony lets them have the entire season without soft announcing PS5.

Sony could just keep the momentum PS4 and PS4 Pro have going through CES 2018 without saying a damned thing about PS5 until they are ready to show games. Because they are making money. And they probably don't want to start a PR strategy for PS5 until they have something to show off.

Aside from the Surface line of products.. Microsoft just isn't known for good PR.

-- "puffery", "rumors and speculation" regarding big things like a new console being released.. an entire year early. Literally right after saying hey guys, look, we're going to be selling this revamped and not necessarily cheaper Xbox One, that we're calling the Xbox One S which offers next to nothing in terms of justification for you trading up.. please buy it. Oh and next year we're dropping a nuclear bomb that we're calling Xbox One Scorpio. So uh yeah.. please buy Xbox One S. And ignore that Nintendo has managed to launch a mobile gaming device that they somehow can't build enough of them to sell to customers all over the world. No sorry.. two.. since the New 2DS XL will also probably sell out. Please buy an Xbox One S we have so much supply just sitting on the shelves.

Because you know.. a half a decade after the VITA faceplant in North America and MS still can't or refuses to enter the mobile gaming market. EVEN after the somewhat successful Surface line of Windows devices shocked the world by not being shit. No Xbox Surface Mobile strategy to speak of. Also.. RIP Windows Phone. Unlike in the Xbox 360 days, they can't use the excuse that the technology doesn't exist anymore and that people wouldn't shit themselves to buy a Surface Mobile device to replace their cellphones because it offers 'free' Skype video calling. All they would need is support for data only provisioners. Hey.. hint hint.. try T-Mobile. They love being disruptive shit disturbers! also... they are trying to launch a 5G network soon. Maybe they would bite if they could offer console class gaming on a somewhat premium device? *shrugs*

Meanwhile..

The Trump-esque comments on Twitter from Spencer would continue with an oh but Xbox One and Xbox One S sales aren't what they could be because selling video game consoles is hard.. I mean in my last job, which was making video games, that was hard. But look.. Managing the whole platform, oh man this is hard! Nobody knew this would be such a hard job! I mean decisions that I make, they impact the livelihoods of so many talented game developers. Any decision I make could really affect their ability to sell a game on Xbox. Especially if they are stupid enough to make an Xbox Game.. but really especially if that exclusive game depends on Kinect which we don't think you have or care about so we didn't include a port on the Xbox One S for you to plug it in. Uh.. use it as a doorstop if you still have one.. I mean if it isn't already being used for that since day 1. I'm trying to make their lives easier by making sure they can only sell one copy of a game though because it'll work on Xbox AND Windows 10 powered PCs. Hopefully that makes people want to buy more games from us and not the better versions PC gamers are used to from those bastard Valve terrorists on their foreign Steam store.

Obviously some of that is assumed because he doesn't really talk much about Xbox (if taking into consideration what social media focuses on). Keeping to the old directives of MS PR regarding "rumors and speculation".

It has become apparent lately that this strategy is based on a really important yet odd tactic from Microsoft. They aren't expecting to sell any Xbox One S, or Xbox One Scorpio, or whatever the retail name will be exclusive games. And what exclusives does Microsoft make for their Windows Store........

??!

On paper that means all kinds of lost revenue. How are Microsoft's investors supporting all this Xbox spending and lost revenue potential when they are shooting 2 revenue sources dead (Windows 10 game sales from Microsoft Store, which are literally a joke when the games actually work, and Xbox One Scorpio exclusives and games 'remastered' to work in 4K for Xbox Scorpio). Even IF Microsoft's recent mantra has been Windows games running on Windows powered devices. People are probably so hard up for exclusives that they would probably buy Xbox Scorpio exclusives. That's what early adopters are trained to do.

It should work fine as a strategy for Sony because Sony only has PS4 games and then the PS4 pro. It is kind of expected that trading up means you are already committed to Ps4. Not 4K necessarily.

I was able to trade up because I sold my PlayStation 4 to my cousin through his parents as a Christmas gift to him. I mean I would maybe have gifted it to him directly for free but they were looking to buy one for him cheaper than retail, which they achieved through my selling it to them cheap, and I didn't really have enough money to cover both a new Ps4 Pro and Xbox One S (since I didn't need either of them).

The Xbox One S I just don't need as it has no practical benefits over the Xbox One and it doesn't support 4K streaming (neither does PS4 pro unfortunately but for whatever reason the Pro is required to stream games at 1080p, shakes fist at Sony). Since it is older though and my other cousin also asked about buying my Xbox One cheap, I was like if you're sure you want it. I feel bad about charging him for it.

Comparing them, the One S and PS4 Pro, using a cross-platform game like Destiny, there's no meaningful difference. Ps4 Pro is just a significantly better user experience.

Getting back to the point though... One S isn't enough of an upgrade to warrant any new games being made for it. Shit, the thing doesn't even support Kinect (not like anyone cares). It isn't expect to. It is basically a replacement for the aging Xbox One hardware. Does anyone care if it is cheaper for Microsoft to make Xbox One S? Nope.

Same story for PS4 Pro. The boost mode for whatever it is worth isn't a major selling point. The cheap price IS.

Where does that leave Scorpio?

Depending on the price it leaves it exactly in the same position as Ps4 Pro.. it's just a little more Pro to the Xbox One S's upgrade as a replacement for Xbox One. PS4 Slim isn't so much a replacement for an aging PS4 as a cost cutting measure for Sony. They were going to offer it anyway given their history of slim consoles.

Unless you're going to chase 4K you don't need Scorpio. Not for the price of trading up. Whatever that price is going to be it won't be 399 as social media is suspecting it will be.

Even at 399.. there's an open question. What about the games?

Should you be paying the same amount for Xbox One games as you would a hypothetical launch lineup of supposedly really well optimized games for Xbox One Scorpio.. it is a more powerful machine that will offer 4K and surround sound and VR capabilities that Xbox One doesn't.

Microsoft though says.. yeah same price for the games.

Why? When they could be making 4K early adopters (at least those stuck to just consoles) pay for the games they want to play in 4K all over again? uh.. "because". We might get a much better PR from like the PR people at Microsoft with that job title at E3.. still waiting.. There's something on my calendar for May 18th.. but It's so light and vague that I can't make out why I've been told to care about that date. No wait.. squints.. that's Destiny 2. Which will be on PC and a reset that mitigates all progress on consoles.. so totally irrelevant to the topic.

AND since it will be on PC being sold by Activision to PC gamers chances are no one will buy it from the Windows Store.. so perfect example?

Anyway..

Couldn't they charge you to play the same game on Xbox One, and Xbox Scorpio, and PC because they are different systems? Wouldn't consoles owners want to buy the Play Anywhere version of Destiny just in case it allows them to play it on Xbox? even if they really really wanted to?

Nope! I mean maybe.. but probably nope for people that may expect 3rd party companies say Activision's partner studios like Bungie to support 'Play Anywhere'.. They'd just keep giving MS the finger regarding support for their Windows Store and any meaningful support for releasing games on Xbox if they could help it.

The 'They are all Windows devices so one price, one game, and it runs on all Windows platforms' doesn't seem to matter.

I'm not going to say that's a desperate way to heal the battered reputation of the Xbox Brand or anything.. or encourage people to buy the (usually inferior) Microsoft version of PC games (DO NOT DO THIS), where they should instead be buying such cross-platform titles not as 'Play Anywhere' titles when available but from Valve's Steam for example.. people that actually work hard at making and selling games on a reputable and highly praised online store..

It almost feels like a 399 price point would be a nail in the coffin for the Xbox Brand. Microsoft saying PLEASE BUY THIS REALLY GREAT (probably expensive) VERSION OF XBOX SO YOU CAN PLAY THE OLD GAMES YOU ALREADY OWN IN 4K (maybe)! and for no other meaningful reason because it will (for now at least) NOT have any exclusive titles of its own to have you throwing money at a 4K screen you might not own yet and still wouldn't be able to justify.

I'd personally have no problem buying a cheap Scorpio to play the games I already own for Xbox One in 4K... IF I had a 4K TV, which I don't. And if I had Xbox exclusive games that would be worth playing. I don't.

I don't because I can't use Netflix which currently is the only reason I'd buy one right this second, I mean I have one picked out and everything, because of all the great features and the reasonable price. OK well maybe 700$ is much more than I can currently afford, it is really really reasonable. Because trying to get Netflix to work as intended on PC for viewing 4K TV shows.. doesn't really work unless you own a 4K TV. Or monitor. My fake 4K setup doesn't quite qualify to run Netflix 4K streams even though it plays Netflix shows perfectly fine in 4K. Too bad whatever I don't need Netflix to watch Netflix shows in 4K anyway. Certainly not buying Scorpio to do something my PC already can and which Xbox One S should too. But it also requires a 4K TV to make Netflix 4K work. :/ fuck that shit then.

I want to watch all these Netflix shows I have in 4K without the black-bar bezel gaps of my current fake 4K setup made up of 3x 24" 2K screens in portrait mode. I'm used to the gap but it would be amazing to have 1 screen 1 4K picture. That would allow the Xbox One S and PS4 Pro to both work in 4K instead of just streaming to the 3 panels in 1080p.

Oh and I mean I'm not really interested in Microsoft's own games (the few that there are of those). Halo isn't what it used to be, Forza I simply don't and haven't ever cared about compared to Project Gotham, and Gears isn't a system seller for me and never has been, and is also available on PC anyway. I'd LOVE to buy Crackdown 3 ignoring that it is eventually going to be on PC.. but yeah.. no. I'd love to buy several other Microsoft Game Studios exclusives but they don't exist. I can't buy them. Does Crackdown 3 even have a release date? 3 years after being announced... >.>

Already having a PS4 due to lack of those Xbox exclusives means no reason to buy the Xbox version of cross-platform games.. Even when they aren't obviously as 'Superior' to the Xbox version (like Ark Survival on PC is superior to the console version of the game), so instead like Destiny that is exactly the same game which only offers shitty platform exclusive gear that are irrelevant to the actual game itself) meaning reduced Xbox game sales at retail due to the console not competing at all with PS4 in its ONLY actual priority.. having exclusive games.. why doesn't it? and why doesn't Phil actually explain why Microsoft hasn't been funding game development like Sony does?

So even if you think sure Xbox One S and Xbox Scorpio both support Xbox One games.. does that matter to old supporters as a reason to spend a little converting to One S hardware? no. or a few hundred to upgrade to Xbox One Scorpio hardware? No.

For the most part nearly everyone I've heard from says 4K is irrelevant. They don't notice a difference. I'm done correcting them or even acknowledging those conversations when they come up.

Might be because there's no games that run at 40K at 60 frames per second, smoothly! on consoles.. So strictly speaking they have no idea what they are talking about. Sit them down in from of a gaming or Home Theater style PC running anything in 4K at 60 frames per second, or a 4K movie, or 4K Netflix in surround sound.. and they'd be sold without question in seconds. (unless they maybe just don't have the money for the setup which is why they are stuck with a console and a TV without surround sound and thus no meaningful frame of reference for what they are missing).

Microsoft chimes in to say yeah well that's the entire purpose of Scorpio. That's the mission statement. We want all Xbox One to support that butter smooth 4K experience (such as it is for consoles anyway since PC gamers would laugh at 60 frames per second even for 4K being such a great thing).

If Xbox One wasn't already trailing the market that would be fine. People not already enamored by 4K would simply keep on keeping on with Xbox One as it is. at 4 years old by the time Scorpio is ready... it will be old.

People buying an Xbox, either of the 3 versions, do have those 4 years of.. a handful of games of subjective value which are exclusive to the Xbox platform (less than 20 claims Wikipedia.. in 4 years). And approximately n0 exclusives to single out Scorpio as being 'the shit'. And I mean there's also all the compatible Xbox 360 games that work.. so-so.. those are totally a selling point for Scorpio at least according to Microsoft. Though I'm only assuming support for them is a given since Scorpio is just an Xbox One in a muscle shirt that missed leg day.