Microsoft: Xbox One X Is Untouchable In 4K Console Gaming, PS4 Pro Not A Competitor

xbox one family
When Microsoft announced the new Xbox One X on Sunday, the first thing to spring to mind of gamers was how will the console compare to the Sony PlayStation 4 Pro. The PS4 Pro, which hit the market late last year, became the first available “4K” gaming console and helped to solidify Sony’s lead in the current generation console race.

However, Xbox Chief Phil Spencer doesn’t see the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro as competitors. In fact, Spencer throws more than a little shade on the PS4 Pro, saying that it isn’t a true 4K gaming console and that it should be compared instead to the Xbox One S:

I look at Pro as more of a competitor to S than I do to Xbox One X. This is a true 4K console. If you just look at the specs of what this box is, it's in a different league than any other console that's out there. When I think about techniques to somehow manufacture a 4K screen like what some other consoles try to do, this is different than that.

Spencer also used this argument to justify the $100 price premium over the PS4 Pro ($499 versus $399). He pointed out that the Xbox One is simply more powerful across the board, and is a much more capable machine for delivering a 4K gaming experience. This in essence puts the Xbox One X in a class of one.

PlayStation 4 Pro

From a purely specs point of view, it is hard to argue with Spencer’s rationale. On the processor front:

  • Xbox One X: 8-core x86 processor @ 2.3GHz
  • PS4 Pro: 8-core x86 processor @ 2.1GHz

On the GPU side of things, the Xbox One X also has a clear advantage:

  • Xbox One X: 40 compute units @ 1.172GHz, 12GB GDDR5, 326GB/sec bandwidth, 6 TFLOPS compute power
  • PS4 Pro: 36 GCN compute units @ 911MHz, 8GB GDDR5, 218GB/sec bandwidth, 4.3 TFLOPS compute power
xbox one x
But hardware prowess is only part of the occasion; Microsoft also has to deliver with games. Sony has arguably done a better job of securing platform exclusives, but Spencer feels that its hardware advantage and performance will make for compelling 4K games to entice enthusiasts:

There's not a tonne of work developers are having to do to get to 4K, and then they can spend the extra headroom they have and time to perfect the game they want to build. That's why we're able to say, over 30 games will have 4K updates for Xbox One X when we launch it. That's going to be fantastic. Third-party support's been great.

Now that we have seen what both Sony and Microsoft have to offer with regards to “4K” gaming, do you think that Microsoft has made a compelling enough case for flocking to the Xbox One X?