How Much Will Xbox Scorpio Cost? It's a "Premium Product," Microsoft Says

Microsoft isn't talking specifics about the Xbox Scorpio's price just yet. But in a new interview, Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg said Microsoft sees the system as a "premium product."

This would suggest the device would be on the more expensive side, which is to be expected, given it's being referred to as the "most powerful console ever made."

"Well, we think about it as a premium product," Greenberg told DualShockers. "From that standpoint, it is going to be a very high-end product."

The executive went on to say that it's not uncommon for PC gamers to spend "thousands of dollars" on a 4K-compatible gaming rig. He said he's excited about figuring out how to bring 4K gaming "at scale to a really big audience in the console space." This would suggest the Scorpio price would be sub-$1000.

Greenberg added that Microsoft is "not talking at all about more more details about that" right now, instead electing to save those details for later.

The Xbox One launched at $500, though the price fell down to $400 (the same price as the PlayStation 4 at launch) after Microsoft removed Kinect from the bundle.

What Greenberg could say about Scorpio is that Microsoft wants people to know it's a completely new console with a "whole new set of capabilities," including virtual reality support. At the same time, however, the system will work with the games and controllers you already own--which is something of a new idea in the console space. In past generations, like from Xbox 360 to Xbox One, controllers and games for the older system were not compatible with the new one (though Xbox One backwards compatibility has solved some of that). It's worth noting, too, that Sony's PlayStation Neo will also be backwards compatible.

Greenberg went on to echo what he and other Microsoft executives have been saying about Scorpio since its announcement at E3: the idea traditional console generation may be over. In the DualShockers interview, Greenberg referred to this as "gaming beyond console generations."

"If you put the gamer at the center of everything we do, the content that they own should be able to come with them from device to device," he said. "That's why we're bringing our games to Xbox Play Anywhere and across PC, with will also be able to come with them from console to console. That's really part of that vision and we're really excited to be able to innovate and to do that over the next year."

Scorpio may be the final console in what is known as a traditional console generation, but Microsoft is already thinking about what's coming next after this system comes out.

Also in the DualShockers interview, Greenberg said he is "confident" that Microsoft will be able to deliver "true 4K gaming" with Scorpio. He said the system's six teraflops of GPU performance is a "massive amount of power." Microsoft has yet to show any games running on Scorpio.

Scorpio launches in holiday 2017. As for Sony's PlayStation Neo, the company is expected to formally announce this system during an event in New York City next month.