The XBox Thread - Page 203

On July 27 2015 21:05 Faruko wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
Holy shit...

On July 28 2015 11:53 Zooper31 wrote:
Oh ya def, a lot of really amazing games in that offer. Go for that one.

On July 28 2015 19:52 GumBa wrote:
Sounds like a great deal with all that.

Last week, Digital Foundry was invited to Microsoft's Redmond campus for an exclusive preview of the technology in the next Xbox, codenamed Project Scorpio. As specs reveals go, this one is unprecedented: it's a first in terms of early access to key system architects, and one of a kind in terms of timing. Scorpio is seemingly running ahead of schedule, to the point where we're likely six months away from release at least, and we've already seen impressive software running beautifully on production silicon.

There'll be all the specs you'll need in this piece, but the reason Microsoft flew us out to talk to those involved was straightforward: the numbers, as impressive as they are, don't fully represent what the final product aims to deliver. Nor can the number of compute units and teraflops represent the passion the Xbox team has injected into this project. Microsoft has a point to prove. It's not just about performance, it's about pushing the quality of console design to a new level - in all areas.

The headlines? Combining smart design with sheer horsepower, Project Scorpio hits the six-teraflop target set for it as E3 last year, thanks to a custom GPU that has been designed from the ground up for optimal performance on today's game engines - and that runs at an unprecedentedly high clock speed for a console. The GPU is paired with 12GB of fast GDDR5 memory and a custom eight-core CPU, and the whole thing is housed in a compact body with integrated power supply and, for a console, state-of-the-art cooling.

Performance is remarkable. We saw a Forza Motorsport demo running on the machine at native 4K and Xbox One equivalent settings, and it hit 60 frames per second with a substantial performance overhead - suggesting Scorpio will hit its native 4K target across a range of content, with power to spare to spend on other visual improvements. And while 4K is the target, Microsoft is paying attention to 1080p users, promising that all modes will be available to them.

In Redmond, the pitch comes thick and fast before the tech deep dive kicks off. The overall outline of Project Scorpio has evolved since Phil Spencer presented it at last year's E3, and in some key respects it sounds familiar to the PlayStation 4 Pro's proposition - a point not lost on Microsoft. 4K ultra HD visuals to suit the new generation of televisions are clearly the target, but Microsoft's solution means substantial spec upgrades over the Pro design in virtually all areas. That said, Sony's philosophy of 'smart' GPU design is also in effect here, executed in a very different manner, and backed up with a lot more horsepower.

"To me, [4K] means a very specific set of things. It's a lot more than delivering than those eight-million-plus pixels to the screen while playing games," says Kevin Gammill, Group Program Director of the Xbox Core platform. "It's about delivering those pixels with 4K assets, so they look great. It's about delivering those pixels with HDR and wide colour gamut fidelity. It's about delivering those pixels with no loss of frame-rate compared to the 1080p version of that title - that's super-important to us. Spatial audio adds to the immersive experience as well: to truly land that gameplay experience, it's not just about what you see, but what you hear."

Core to the new console is the Scorpio Engine, the new SoC (system on chip) developed once again in conjunction with AMD. In common with many aspects of the box, engineering the new processor was based on a revolutionary workflow - one that could only really be achieved on a mid-generation refresh design.

While Microsoft may have been founded as being a software company, there is no question about it that they are a hardware company too. With the Surface family, the Xbox, and peripherals, the company doesn’t shy away from building its own products and has established a sizeable fanbase who is interested in ‘what’s next’ for the company when it relates to these types of products.

This past week, I was tipped off that the next generation Xbox was codenamed Scarlett and in an effort to track down if this information was accurate, I was able to view content that highlighted several unannounced Microsoft products that are coming in the next two years.

Microsoft is planning for the next Xbox console release to arrive in 2020. But what is more interesting, is that Microsoft describes ‘Scarlett’ as a family of devices; meaning we may see multiple pieces of hardware released that year.

That date may seem relatively close considering that the Xbox One X launched last year but Microsoft is aggressively moving ahead with hardware in the console space to shake up the industry. But what we don’t know is if this is a brand new set of devices or simply a more ‘powerful’ Xbox One that is again, fully backward compatible with all the content available today.

Considering how much effort Microsoft has put into backward compatibility, I would expect the Scarlett devices to support current gen games but offer more advanced features and align possibly with Microsoft’s upcoming game-streaming services.

As with any leak this far out, timing and plans can change but I was able to verify the information I viewed as being authentic and fully believe that the company is on-track to release the new console in two years.

Microsoft is reportedly developing 4K webcams for Windows 10, and "at least one" will support Xbox One.

According to Thurrot.com (thanks, TechRadar), Microsoft is developing "several" models complete with integrated Windows Hello functionality - a first, if Microsoft is able to offer the feature in a separate peripheral - so you'll be able to sign into your Xbox One using facial recognition, just like Kinect. Reports suggest some may offer 4K resolution, too.

A webcam wouldn't necessarily act as a viable replacement to the now-defunct Kinect as it's unlikely to offer the depth perception needed, but it might enable players to use the many other apps and functions such as Skype and facial recognition that quietly went away when Microsoft stopped producing its motion-controlled device.

We can only take this as speculation at this point, and it's unclear right now if the cameras will be available as lone peripherals, or ship bundled in with other Microsoft hardware. It'll be interesting to find out if there's any great demand for a Xbox-compatible webcam, too, and what other Xbox-friendly uses Microsoft might have in mind for the webcam.

Microsoft is continuing its reptile-themed codenames for its Xbox consoles. The original Xbox One was codenamed Durango and the Xbox One X devkit used the Chuckwalla codename ahead of the arachnid-themed Project Scorpio. Now it appears the next-generation Xbox, expected to arrive in 2020, is codenamed Anaconda. Windows Central first reported new codenames for Xbox over the weekend, and it reveals Microsoft is preparing to ship two new consoles as part of its overall “Scarlett” next-generation Xbox plans.

Codename Anaconda will be the equivalent of the current Xbox One X, with improved hardware and processors / graphics from AMD. Anaconda may also include SSD storage to reduce game load times. Microsoft is also reportedly preparing a second console, codenamed Lockhart, that will act as the more affordable Xbox (think Xbox One S). Naturally, both of these consoles will fully support existing backward compatible Xbox and Xbox 360 games, and of course Xbox One titles.

While these are the two next-generation Xbox consoles, Microsoft could also be preparing a disc-less version of the Xbox One S for 2019. Thurrott first reported on this last month, but Windows Central now claims the software giant may announce this cheaper Xbox as early as next month, with plans to ship it in spring 2019. More interestingly, Microsoft is also reportedly considering a disc-to-digital program that will convert physical disc libraries into digital ones. Microsoft did originally plan this same feature for the launch of the Xbox One, but the company canceled it after the controversial always online requirements and disc sharing concerns.

Microsoft’s next consoles will also include a big focus on the company’s xCloud game streaming service. Microsoft is planning to open up public trials of the service next year, and it will make Xbox games available across PCs, phones, and consoles.

The next generation of consoles has been in the works for some time now, despite the lack of any official announcement yet. While it seems like Sony is going to wait a bit longer to reveal the PlayStation 5 after their decision to skip E3 2019 entirely, Microsoft is getting ready to make its big announcement. The timeframe isn’t entirely surprising, as the Xbox One X (then called Project Scorpio) was first announced at E3 2016 and then released in Fall 2017.

Earlier today, French website Jeuxvideo reported that Xbox Lockhart and Xbox Anaconda, the next-gen Microsoft consoles, will be revealed at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. As previously rumored, Lockhart will be the cheaper version of the console and it will have no disc tray to reduce costs. The Anaconda Xbox, on the other hand, will be the more powerful variant and it will come with a disc tray and much better specifications. Both consoles will feature a 1TB NVMe 1 + GB / s SSD hard drive.

On February 23 2019 01:38 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
The first E3 news/rumors of the year.



Source

From a technical standpoint, this will manifest as world-class visuals in 4K at 60FPS, with possibility of up to 120FPS, including support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and 8K capability. Powered by our custom-designed processor leveraging the latest Zen 2 and next generation RDNA architecture from our partners at AMD, Xbox Series X will deliver hardware accelerated ray tracing and a new level of performance never before seen in a console. Additionally, our patented Variable Rate Shading (VRS) technology will allow developers to get even more out of the Xbox Series X GPU and our next-generation SSD will virtually eliminate load times and bring players into their gaming worlds faster than ever before.

We are minimizing latency by leveraging technology such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and giving developers new functionality like Dynamic Latency Input (DLI) to make Xbox Series X the most responsive console ever. Xbox Series X is also designed for a future in the cloud, with unique capabilities built into the hardware and software to make it as easy as possible to bring great games to both console and elsewhere. Xbox Series X will deliver a level of fidelity and immersion unlike anything that’s been achieved in previous console generations.