June 11th 2017, Microsoft, Will The Scorpio Sting its rivals into meltdown?

That’s right folks, Sunday 11th June is Microsoft’s Hollywood moment—the fight to return to the top of the gaming market ensues, and in this article, we look at all things Microsoft E3 2017.

For the past 12 months, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the Scorpio hype train to make its dramatic arrival, and gamers across the globe are craving some exclusives that they can attest to. Will Microsoft deliver and blow us all away? In all truth, I’m a little concerned Microsoft could end up coming out of E3 most unfavorably. What with the Nintendo Switch hype, and the showcasing of Mario Odyssey and perhaps a few other leading titles, Sony having a strong hand in the software market, Microsoft needs to steal the show with the Scorpio.

Rumours/Confirmations

With Sony arguably having a much stronger line-up of software to showcase at this year’s presentation—including many triple-A exclusives ranging from Bloodborne 2 to The Last of Us 2 and Death Stranding—Microsoft needs to announce some heavy hitters themselves to help shift consoles and also garner more interest in the Scorpio launch. (A KH III exclusive announcement should do the job :D)

For me personally, I’d love to see Microsoft re-launch the Splinter Cell brand exclusively. It’s been a number of years since Sam Fisher graced our gaming screens, and a Microsoft exclusive would be huge news while also being a great coup. Mr. Fisher, I’m calling third echelon—you will return, damn it! I also strongly believe production on Scalebound should resume; Microsoft got it horribly wrong when cancelling this project, and what better way to get fans back on side than a shock announcement that Drew and his awesome pet dragon are set to hit the big time after all.

Amidst all this excitement and anticipation in the gaming world, it’s clear that Microsoft is not only focused on redefining entertainment but also on empowering professionals. As you catch up on the latest E3 buzz, why not boost your own productivity? Many tech enthusiasts are choosing to buy Office 2021 Professional Plus to ensure their workstations are as cutting-edge as their gaming rigs, bridging the gap between leisure and productivity with one smart investment.

Sadly for Halo fans, Halo 6 won’t be at E3 according to 343 studios. Unless there are a few shock announcements, then Microsoft are looking rather thin on exclusives, outside of Crackdown 3, Forza 7, State of Decay 2, and Rare’s pirate adventure sea of thieves, (well shiver me timbers). Many more Microsoft exclusives are coming from the niche indie dev market, including critically acclaimed games like Phantom Dust and Voodoo Vince.

It seems to me that Microsoft’s strategy for success greatly hinges on how well received Project Scorpio goes down. I’m pretty sure Microsoft will pitch Scorpio as “the ultimate console for gaming”, with point of pricing, official console name and design, a release date, and finally, an emphasis on spec’s and multi-platforming gaming all to be showcased. Whether gamers feel this way come it’s unveiling will be another article, for another day. Expect numerous titles to be showcased on the Scorpio including Forza 7, Shadow of War, and quite possibly EA’s offering of FIFA 18.

                          Will Forza Motorsport 7 raise the bar for Microsoft’s new console, when shown in it’s true 4k form?

How powerful is Project Scorpio?

Some of you may be thinking/asking, Microsoft has stated it’s the most powerful console on the market.

The headline feature of the new console is its GPU, which will pack a massive six teraflops of graphical performance. Scorpio’s GPU has 40 compute units (compared to the original Xbox’s 12) running at a clock speed of 1172MHz (up from 853MHz), which is a big jump over both the original Xbox and the PS4 Pro. In particular, its GPU is 4.6 times more powerful than the original Xbox One. The rest of the console’s hardware has also been improved. Its AMD CPU has seen its speed increase from 1.75GHz to 2.3GHz while retaining the same number of cores (a 30% increase in horsepower), and its memory has been boosted by 60% over the original Xbox One. Microsoft also promises the console will be able to render visuals at 60Hz, which means silky smooth gameplay that’s synced to your TV’s refresh rate.

Offering full VR support and a strong launch line up consisting of Forza Motorsport 7, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Call of Duty, FIFA, Madden, Battlefront 2, and Middle Earth: Shadow of War. This is a decent opening lineup, for the console’s 4K abilities.

We here at Game Hype can’t wait for E3, can you? Which developer will come out on top? Perhaps there’s a game you’re so hyped about, you just can’t contain all that zest/passion. Well, I wanna hear from you, drop me your thoughts in the comments below.