In an interview with British paper, The Guardian, Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Andrew House has suggested the recently unveiled PS4 Pro isn’t a response to Microsoft’s own mid-cycle upgrade, Project Scorpio.
According to House, the $400 machine began life long before the name Scorpio had even been whispered. “I would suggest that ‘reactive’ isn’t our approach this time around,” he explained.
In fact, he says that Scorpio, or even the Xbox One S — which, unlike the now standard slim PS4, also offers 4K video capabilities — isn’t even the PS4’s biggest competitor. That honor belongs to the PC.
“I saw some data that really influenced me,” he continues. “It suggested that there’s a dip mid-console lifecycle where the players who want the very best graphical experience will start to migrate to PC, because that’s obviously where it’s to be had.”
“We wanted to keep those people within our eco-system by giving them the very best and very highest [performance quality].”
That’s where the PS4 Pro steps in, and it’s why Sony has opted to prioritize graphical improvements and performance over other features such as a 4K UHD disc drive.
To hear what else House had to say, head on over to The Guardian.