Windows Central Interview with Xbox GM
Jez: I did want to ask you about compatibility. Given the PS4 'Neo' leak from recently, one of the concerns I've read is that developers will have to make separate visual tiers to accommodate the different Xbox devices. Do you have a firm plan in place for how developmental compatibility will work across Scorpio and Xbox One?
Dave: I don't ever want to be in a situation where I feel like the games I'm spending money on today and controllers that I'm using are not going to work on those devices of tomorrow. I don't want to have to choose. So being able to eliminate those boundaries and be able to make that promise to people that "it's just going to work" – your games today, there going to be there. So that allows you to decide when you change your machine overall. The Xbox One S is a cool machine in 2016, HD gaming, 4K video, the industrial design – it's awesome – 40% smaller, integrated power supply...
Regarding developers, there's a delicate balance here. We heard loud and clear feedback from our developers that if you're going to offer true 4K gaming and high-fidelity VR, you need that six teraflops of graphic power – otherwise you're making compromises. So, it was essential for us that we get there as quickly as possible, hitting that bar for them and maintaining that challenge of ensuring all content would still work across the ecosystem overall. We can't leave anyone behind with this transition. It's not to the spirit of playing without boundaries.
So, will developers write to some of the unique specs of certain devices? Absolutely. But I can tell you right now, a lot of developers that are in the PC ecosystem working on true 4K are already doing what needs to be done to unlock those capabilities on Scorpio. That was kind of the "ah ha" moment for us as well.
Jez: Going back to Scorpio for a moment. If I'm using Nintendo DS as an example: new DS editions cannibalize the sales of older ones, and as more people upgrade, you end up in this place where you get games that are exclusive to the latest DS and aren't compatible with the older devices. Is that a concern with Scorpio and the Xbox One device family? Will there be games that are exclusive to Scorpio?
Dave: Our statement around this is that your games are going to work across our family. That's our belief, and that's our 'playing without boundaries' message overall. Will there be a range that developers will take advantage of in Scorpio? Absolutely, but again, that's going to be a developer choice. But, on our devices, all of your games are going to work. Period.
Jez: So you're saying that a developer couldn't choose to make a game that was exclusively 4K resolution, Xbox Scorpio-only?
Dave: We made that promise today: those games will work across the whole line-up. They have to work across the whole line-up.
Jez: Staying on the topic of Scorpio. You've announced it very early, which seems risky. We've all seen the PS4.5 'Neo' leaks, which Sony announced last week won't appear at their E3 conference. Now that you've put all of your cards on the table, is there a concern that Sony will come back with an even more powerful PlayStation?
Dave: I mean, we're convicted in this playing without boundaries journey that we're on. If we're convicted, it means we've got to be open with our development partners so that they have enough time to deliver true 4K and high-fidelity VR experiences in 2017. We have to do that. Everybody at team Xbox is committed to this idea of choice. I really like it as a gamer overall. You're putting it my hands to decide when I want to change the hardware I'm playing on. The services are going to work; Clubs, Looking For Group, Arena, Xbox Play Anywhere, all of those things are going to work.
There's some more in the link.
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