The rivalry between PS4 Pro and Xbox Project Scorpio is palpable. After Sony formally unveiled the PS4 Neo as the PS4 Pro and Microsoft's Project Scorpio announcement at E3, we realized these two consoles are not on par.

While most gamers are aware that Scorpio holds the better edge as it is expected to be superior between the two, it should be noted that both console's agenda is to bring the exact same content to the table (barring exclusives). One has managed to reach the market a year ahead of the other at a price point that's actually reasonable, while the other appears to be building up to be something unfathomably huge and potentially expensive.

Without further ado, let us proceed to find out which machine will be the best at delivering the much desired crispy 4K images. 

Specs

Here is where the main differences between the two consoles emerge. Both are pitched as powerful machines, but one will be significantly more high-end than the other.

The PS4 Pro has an eight-core, x86-64 AMD "Jaguar" CPU, and a 4.2 TFLOP GPU. As a point of comparison, the standard PS4 has 1.84 teraflops. While little is currently known about the Xbox Scorpio, we do know that its GPU will have a staggering 6 TFLOPs. In a nutshell, more teraflops means more computational power. While the PS4 Pro has the potential to reach an impressive figure, Scorpio mops the floor with it. Bottom line - the Xbox Scorpio is set to be considerably more powerful than the PS4 Pro.

Outside of this, Microsoft hasn't released any real details about the Xbox Scorpio's hardware. It is not known what sort of RAM allocation it will have, whereas we know that the PS4 Pro is working with an improved GDDR5 218GB/sec memory. With the Scorpio console still under development, it is subjective to changes. 

4K Functionality

Both the PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio feature the ability to play games and view content in glorious 4K. Little is known about Scorpio's 4K effectiveness, but going from Microsoft's early spec targets it should be able to crank out native 4K games with ease, putting its 6 TFLOPs of computing power to full use.

Sony, on the other hand, has been rather savvy with its 4K functionality. Games will play at 4K if you want them to, scaling down to 1080p if you want enhanced visuals and increased performance over straight-up resolution bumps. However, the PS4 Pro is not strictly a 4K console in the manner you'd expect.

Currently, all 4K games content on the PS4 Pro is actually a brilliant upscaled version of a native 1080p output. Sony's proprietary upscaling tech means that each 2x2 pixel is bumped up to a 4x4 grid with enhancements to produce a smooth 2160p/4K resolution. This produces an image that only has a slight softness compared to the pin-sharp precision of native 4K and is, by all means,  overwhelmingly impressive for playing games in.

Sure, it's disappointing that Sony's PS4 Pro can't pump out native 4K games, but it is a sign that it's aiming to please the current market that aren't readily adopting 4K TVs yet. It's also going to be a darn sight cheaper than Scorpio could feasibly be, so it's a nice middle-ground for many consumers and gamers who really can't tell the difference.

Games 

As far as both Sony and Microsoft have said, there will be no exclusive games on the PS4 Pro or Xbox Scorpio. From now onwards, exclusives will come to the PlayStation platform or Xbox platform, rather than a specific console. This decision is because both companies want to ensure they don't alienate their fans by making them buy a whole new console to keep up with the latest games. It's also a play to publishers who don't want to develop multiple titles across platforms.

Release Date

One of the biggest differences between the two consoles is that the PS4 Pro is imminent, and the Scorpio is not. When Sony lifted the lid on the PS4 Pro, it gave it a clear release date of 10 November 2016. As for the Scorpio, Microsoft has said that it currently plans to make the console available in the holiday season of 2017. 

Tamim Bin Zakir aka Shwag_Lord(PSN ID) is an enraged individual who seldom thinks of being generous to others. Feel free to devour his tranquility at niloy.tbz@gmail.com