Xbox One Scorpio Needs 4K TV to Meet Full Potential, Xbox Head Says

Microsoft announced Project Scorpio, a more powerful Xbox One, at its E3 press conference. It supports 4K gaming, and Xbox head Phil Spencer said in an interview with Eurogamer that the console's full benefits can only be seen on a 4K TV.

"[If you own a 1080p TV] then you should buy [an Xbox One S], because Scorpio is not going to do anything for you," Spencer said. "Scorpio is designed as a 4K console, and if you don't have a 4K TV, the benefit we've designed for, you're not going to see."

Spencer added that you can buy the Scorpio, though you would need to "buy a 4K TV to take advantage of the increased performance." Spencer also talked about how the most powerful console isn't always the one that "wins," noting the Wii's strong sales last generation.

"Price is critically important," Spencer noted. "Wii was a good price and it had a great experience." He didn't announce any pricing plans for the upcoming Scorpio, other than it will be "a premium price over" the Xbox One S, which starts at $300 and supports HDR and 4K video.

Spencer also reminds us that all Xbox One games will run on both the original Xbox One and Scorpio and reiterates that Scorpio is for the "4K gamer."

"Scorpio is for the person who's got a 4K television, who's really focused on 4K gaming," he said. "It's going to be a premium price over what we're selling this one for, and both of them will exist in the market at the same time. Scorpio is for your 4K gamer. And that's what we designed it for."

Project Scorpio was announced with a holiday 2017 release window. Although several developers, such as Bethesda's Todd Howard and EA's Patrick Soderlund, featured in a video talking about the console, the actual box was not shown.

PlayStation executive Andrew House recently responded to the Scorpio announcement, saying he was "surprised by the step of announcing something over a year ahead of time."

You can check out what else was announced at Microsoft's E3 press conference here or see some of the stories from the presser through the links below.

• Horde Mode 3.0 Confirmed For Gears Of War 4
• Scalebound Will Feature Co-op Play And Giant Bosses
• Xbox One, PC Exclusive Recore Gets Confirmed Release Date
• Dead Rising 4 Confirmed, Release Window Announced
• Witcher 3's Card Game Gwent Getting Standalone Release for Xbox One and PC

To keep up with all of the news and impressions from the event, head on over to GameSpot's E3 hub.