Gaming console choices have become more complex over the last few years. The original dominance of the “PC Master Race” has faded in favor of console gaming. This has become extremely evident when one tries to find a PC gaming title in a local store: the shelves are filled with Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo products but rarely does one find the PC gaming section. With this transition, comes new and interesting possibilities.
I’ve been dabbling with console gaming for a while now, in particular the Xbox variety. Sure, I don’t have a prolific account with thousands of points to my gamertag but I know the relative strengths (and weaknesses) of the console environment. I began console gaming with the venerable Xbox 360, which was (gratefully) followed by the Xbox One. The Xbox One marked my real departure from PC gaming because consoles had finally caught up with the gorgeous gaming environments of the PC, at least for a moment. Don’t get me wrong, the PC continued to grind forward and left the Xbox One behind in short order but for a while, I was committed to the Xbox and learned it captures certain gaming styles perfectly.
While playing on the Xbox One, I became a massive fan of the EA Sports FIFA series, I focused on the various driving sims like the various Microsoft Forza titles, and finally became (moderately) competent in a first-person shooter named, Destiny. A moment of silence for Destiny, one of the best gaming titles I’ve ever played. However, the console gaming environment suffers from one serious problem, it does not upgrade — thus every few years, one must buy a replacement. Sure enough, time has dulled the wow-factor of the Xbox One and Microsoft has decided to release the next iteration of their console: the Xbox One X, named Project Scorpio for those keeping score at home.
Upon hearing the news, I actively sought out the official Microsoft pre-order notification list to ensure I’d get a chance to get my hands on the console in minute one of release. The Xbox One X appears to be a ground-breaking achievement in the console wars and easily trumps the Sony PS4 hardware specs. With plenty of storage, memory, with speed to burn while being 4K and VR-ready, developers have been flocking to the platform in order to create titles worthy of the hardware. Truth be told, I’m not much for being an early-adopter because I’ve been bitten in the past; however, Microsoft treated me very well when my Day One Edition Xbox One died four months after purchase so I have confidence in their positive customer service record.
I’ve been waiting for the pre-order email to hit and recently noticed an uptick in chatter suggesting the Xbox One X would be released shortly. Sure enough, last Sunday evening around 9:00 PM, my email blew up with the official pre-order notification. I dropped what I was doing and locked down what could be the most desirable and difficult to locate console during the holidays this year. Does that desirability and scarcity suggest I may resell my console? Unlikely, not really my thing. Instead, come November 4, 2017, I think this will be a nice addition to my entertainment world. Good thing I jumped quickly because the pre-order was exhausted after a few hours and I’ve also come to learn this order was for the limited edition Xbox One X: Project Scorpio. Good for me. Looking forward to November.