Sony has unveiled the PlayStation 4 Slim and the more powerful PlayStation 4 Pro at a recently concluded event. However, it seems that Microsoft is not worried about announcements made by its rival in the video game industry.

While the PlayStation 4 Slim is simply a sleeker version of the original console for $299, the $399 PlayStation 4 Pro will come with a doubled GPU and boosted clock rate for higher frames-per-second. The PlayStation 4 Pro will support 4K and HDR resolutions, and will provide improved performance for the PlayStation VR platform.

In a phone interview with Polygon, Xbox senior director of product management and planning Albert Penello expressed no worries about the new PlayStation consoles.

"I feel pretty good about the decisions we've made," Penello said, referring to both Project Scorpio and the Xbox One S. Project Scorpio, dubbed "the most powerful console ever," was announced by Microsoft last June, while the Xbox One S is the well-reviewed redesigned model of the Xbox One launched last month with 4K and HDR support.

Penello pointed out the fact that the Xbox One S is a more feature-complete console even compared to the PlayStation 4 Pro, with Sony's more powerful console also missing a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray drive. Penello said that such a drive would be in the Xbox Scorpio, but a spokesperson for Microsoft later clarified that the company is looking to deliver it.

Penello also said in the interview that Microsoft knows the importance of delivering a gaming experience that will showcase the power gap between the Xbox Scorpio and the PlayStation 4 Pro at a price that will make sense to customers. Underlying this statement is Penello's confidence that the Xbox Scorpio will be an obvious advantage over the PlayStation 4 Pro in terms of performance.

The PlayStation 4 Pro's GPU was reported be capable of 4.2 teraflops of computing power, which is 43 percent less compared to the 6 teraflops that the Xbox Scorpio can power out.

"The performance delta will be obvious," Penello reiterated, though the specific details regarding the Xbox Scorpio remain unclear.

However, one thing that Microsoft should be worried about is the fact that while the Xbox Scorpio is poised to be released in the holiday season of next year, Sony is launching the PlayStation 4 Pro on Sept. 15. This represents a similar situation to the launches of the predecessors of the consoles, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

The PlayStation 3 was a more powerful console compared to the Xbox 360, but Microsoft's console dominated the industry during that generation due to being launched earlier than Sony's product. The Xbox Scorpio is expected to feature better specifications compared to the PlayStation 4 Pro, but with Sony launching the console a full year earlier, the same trend could happen, but in reverse for the companies.

Penello did say that he was not concerned about the PlayStation 4 Pro's one-year head start though, adding that the Sony console will provide developers with a road map to 4K gaming. Microsoft and the Xbox Scorpio will likely benefit from that.

ⓒ 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Join the Discussion