Sony may have opted to hold fire on unveiling its confirmed PS4 hardware refresh – said to be called the Neo – but at E3 2016, Microsoft came out swinging, announcing both the Xbox One S and its beefed up brethren Scorpio. The latter isn’t expected to arrive until late next year, but Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson firmly believes that both upgrades will prove “great additions” to the entire industry.
Speaking at a post-earnings conference call – as relayed by GameSpot – Wilson claimed that the oncoming systems will ultimately lend players more freedom, rather than being tethered to the same piece of hardware for an entire cycle.
“At a macro level, we’re excited about what Sony and Microsoft have announced. The reality for us is, again, in a networked world, liquidity of players is really, really important. What we’ve seen over the last decade or more with respect to PC gamers is that community has continued to grow. And it’s grown in a world where the hardware refresh cycle has been disconnected from the software refresh cycle. And what that’s meant is that, irrespective of what kind of device you have within kind of a 7-10 year timeframe, you’re able to play with a much, much bigger global community.”
Flexibility is the key reason behind Wilson’s endorsement, and the chief executive stated that EA is ready for the next era in console gaming.
“On balance, we think this is great for the industry. It will almost certainly extend the console cycle almost an infinite level if we get to the point where there’s just constant hardware upgrades and constant software upgrades. But we are able, through the scaling of our games, to keep the community always together.”
In Microsoft’s camp, the Xbox One S will make its bow on August 2, with Project Scorpio to follow in the latter stages of 2017. PlayStation 4.5, on the other hand, is yet to be formally unveiled by Sony.