Its
creators claim it is one of the most powerful gaming consoles on Earth.
Now the newly launched Xbox One X from Microsoft is after a new
accolade – to beat its rival Sony to dominate Christmas wishlists and
the hearts of video game players.Microsoft’s console, a substantial upgrade of the original Xbox One released in 2013, arrives almost exactly one year after Sony delivered a similar performance boost with its PlayStation 4 Pro.
Things didn’t used to be this way. Although format wars between gaming platforms have always raged – Commodore versus Spectrum, Sega versus Nintendo, Microsoft versus Sony – the hardware available in each generation would be something immutable. A new games machine would give developers a set platform to create and optimise software on, sometimes for up to a decade, while players would benefit from having a reliable device they knew they wouldn’t have to upgrade, as is common in PC gaming.
Microsoft and Sony’s move to mid-generation upgrades marks a shift away from that model, and changes how the market around them works. Merely reformatting consoles is nothing new – the practice can be traced back at least as far as Sega’s Master System II in 1990, which refashioned the angular original. Yet the trend now sees consoles within the same “family” getting revamped releases with improved specs, allowing manufacturers to cater to their most dedicated and demanding users.
The Xbox One X is Microsoft’s pitch to that exacting demographic, delivering the most significant console upgrade ever. It spikes performance by more than four times the base model’s computing power, and allows true 4K (a higher screen resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels) gaming thanks to a speedier processor, improved graphics output, and more and faster memory. It also packs in support for 4K Blu-ray, then crams it all into the smallest physical shell any Xbox has ever seen. It’s an impressive achievement.
Comments
Post a Comment