The highly anticipated Project Scorpio is just a few months away. The hype around the world’s most powerful console has been building up since Microsoft announced it at the E3 event last year. Last month, the Redmond-based company showed the Scorpio development kit to build up consumer excitement. We don’t know what the final version of Project Scorpio would look like or what it would be called upon release, but accessories maker LucidSound has given gamers one more reason to look forward to the Scorpio launch.
LucidSound LS35X will also work with PCs and Xbox One consoles
On Monday, LucidSound announced the first officially licensed wireless headset for the Scorpio. Coming out this holiday season, the LucidSound LS35X will pair up with Scorpio just like a wireless Xbox One controller, eliminating the need for cables. Though LucidSound has designed it specifically for Project Scorpio, the wireless headset will also work with Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One consoles. To use it with a computer, you’ll need an Xbox Wireless Adapter.
A WORLD FIRST! Introducing LS35X, the first headset to connect direct to Xbox One, Project Scorpio and Windows 10! https://t.co/67DRAWPcYj
— LucidSound (@LucidSoundAudio) May 8, 2017
LucidSound CEO Chris Von Huben said the Xbox gamers will be “blown away by the feature set and quality.” The company said each ear-cup has a precision 50mm neodymium driver. The LS35X will also be compatible with Windows Sonic for headphones surround sound technology that creates a 3D surround sound effect when playing on Xbox One or Windows 10.
Microsoft has officially licensed the LS35X wireless headset. But it doesn’t mean the software giant won’t bring its own wireless headsets. Project Scorpio is a major hardware upgrade, so the company will likely introduce its own range of new accessories with the console.
Project Scorpio unveiling only a month away
The Scorpio specifications were revealed by Eurogamer last month, but they don’t offer the full picture. Microsoft is all set to show off the console at its E3 media event on June 11, when the company may reveal its official name and pricing. We are likely to see more accessory announcements for the console in the run up to E3.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer has indicated that the Project Scorpio development was progressing without any issues. Responding to a fan’s query, Spencer said the “schedule looks very good.” That’s no surprise considering he had said last October that the Scorpio development was “a little ahead of plan.” The world’s most powerful console is expected to hit the store shelves ahead of this holiday season.
The Redmond-based software company showed the Project Scorpio development kit last month. It included a small LCD screen with frame rate counter. Further leaks revealed that the LCD panel also shows the read and write speeds. It’s not clear whether the consumer version will include the FPS counter. Gaming consoles are traditionally refined before their official launch.
It’s not yet clear why Microsoft would want to include the FPS counter in the console. The company is well aware that such a move would open up developers to constant scrutiny, and if the frame rates drop below 60, users may start trolling Microsoft online. On the other hand, people spending roughly $500 may love to see that the console runs at 60fps all the time. It could be Microsoft’s way to show people that they are getting what they paid for.
Scorpio has the specs, but need more exclusive titles
The upcoming console will feature a custom eight-core processor with 2.3GHz clock speed, six teraflops of graphics processing power, 12GB GDDR RAM, and 326GB/s of memory bandwidth. It will also offer 1TB storage, true 4K resolution, and support for 4K HDR videos. It will be able to run the existing Xbox One games smoothly, Phil Spencer has confirmed. Though Microsoft hasn’t revealed it, the rumor mill claims the Scorpio would also offer virtual reality support.
Responding to a fan on Twitter, Phil Spencer confirmed that people will be able to install games onto Project Scorpio from their external hard drives. It means you can plug a USB hard drive into Project Scorpio and install the games of your choice. The Xbox One already lets users share games, but Spencer’s comments would certainly excite people looking to buy the Scorpio.
Experts believe that Microsoft’s next-gen console may face tough competition from Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro despite being the world’s most powerful console. That’s because the PS4 has a much bigger library of exclusive games than Xbox. For now, the Redmond company is hoping the backward compatibility with older Xbox titles will help it attract buyers, but Phil Spencer realizes the importance of first-party titles for the console.
For years, PlayStation has been leading the market from the front. Project Scorpio with its beefier specs gives Microsoft a chance to catch up with or beat the PlayStation line. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella predicts that Scorpio would help the Xbox One sales finally surpass the PS4 unit sales this year, at least in the United States.
