Staff writer Tech 01.06.2017 02:Jan AM EST

How 'Xbox Scorpio Competes Against 'Nintendo Switch' In 2017?

It's been quite a while since we had a really good console battle. There have been a lot of head-to-head competition between two rivaling consoles, but for this generation, the heated console rivalry would have to go to the current big two: Microsoft's Xbox, and Sony's Playstation.

New Breed of console war

On the other end, Nintendo has for a long time been sort of dancing around the background of these two big companies, making weird decisions about their own consoles and owning portables hands down. This year, however, that distinction will potentially disappear as Nintendo prepares to release their upcoming hybrid console, the Nintendo Switch

At the same time, Microsoft is pushing things in a different direction with the Xbox Scorpio, which is their upcoming premium console aimed at customers that already own 4K TVs and knows how to use it. It might not be a console war we have already seen before, but how the conflict between Microsoft's Scorpio and Nintendo's Switch plays out will tell us a lot about the future of console gaming.

The Xbox Scorpio

First up, the Xbox Scorpio. Microsoft has already called it the most powerful console ever made, and it's expected to arrive on the scene with quite a bit more power than the PlayStation 4 Pro, which forms a likely analogous competition.

The Nintendo Switch

And then there's the Nintendo Switch. The Switch will not be the most powerful console ever made, and more than likely won't even be as powerful as the current consoles that we have now. However, the Nintendo Switch is a hybrid that can be used as either a portable or a home console, as well as having Nintendo's storied first-party development.

This rivalry will be different

So there's a real question here about which one of these approaches and visions will resonate more with consumers. The difference between the Scorpio-Switch rivalry is that it won't be the fanboy-driven console war that has long been known to be the trend. It is going to be a battle between two contrasting visions of the future of console gaming.