PS4 Pro Is "Half-Assed," Project Scorpio "A Full-Blown Next-Gen Machine," Says Dev

Thomas Mahler, the CEO of Ori and the Blind Forest developer Moon Studios, has called PS4 Pro "a half-assed upgrade," at the same time as calling Project Scorpio "a full blown next-gen machine."

In a NeoGAF forum thread, the game director replied to a question from another user, comparing Sony's upgraded PS4 console to Microsoft's upcoming addition to the Xbox family.

"Scorpio is a next-gen machine with the added benefit that all your old games will still be compatible," he said.

"I guess since NeoGAF is confsued [sic], Microsoft will need to do a little work to make it clear to everyone that Scorpio isn't just a half-assed upgrade (which the PS4 Pro kinda is...), but a full blown next-gen machine that's just backwards-compatible to your current library." GameSpot has verified that the account posting the comments does indeed belong to Mahler.

This isn't the first time Mahler has spoken out about game platform holders. In 2016, he called all hardware manufacturers "insanely secretive ... to a stupid degree" regarding new consoles. "At least give me the goddamn specs, so we'd know what to build sh*t for," he went on to say at the time. It should be noted that Mahler's game, Ori and the Blind Forest, is exclusive to Xbox consoles and PC.

PS4 Pro released last year as a mid-generation upgrade to the PS4. It has brought improved resolution and frame rates to many games. In our PS4 Pro review, we called the console "the most powerful console you can buy today." We don't think it's worth the upgrade if you lack a 4K TV, however.

Project Scorpio, meanwhile, was announced at E3 2016. Microsoft has time and again referred to Scorpio as the "most powerful console ever made," and claimed that the performance advantage over the PS4 Pro will be noticeable.

The company has maintained Scorpio is "part of the Xbox One family," however. Just recently, some of the console's specs reportedly leaked, while Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said the machine's development is coming along great.