 We're here at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington headquarters getting an inside look at the Xbox One X, the company's latest game console. Microsoft invited us here mainly to offer an inside look at how they designed the most powerful piece of console hardware ever made. But at a higher level, the company is also eager to answer a more important question. Why? They want to help explain why they made a 4K game console just four years after the launch of the original Xbox One, and at a time when not everyone has a 4K TV. First, let's start with the actual components that push that power bump, namely the Scorpio engine. That integrated chip sports a custom 8-core AMD Jaguar processor aided by 12GB of GDDR5 RAM, making the system capable of 6 teraflops of computing power. What does all that mean? Well, just that this is a more capable piece of hardware. It will make games load faster and look better, even on standard 1080p TVs. If the developer wants it to, the Xbox One X will also run games in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, thanks to a range of rendering techniques. That makes it far more powerful than anything we've had on the market before, but it still raises a big question. Will that fact alone help sell consumers on the new pricey piece of hardware? Is 4K gaming enough? Microsoft thinks so, and they're out to prove that more power in such a slim, accessible consumer product will push console gaming forward and help it compete better with the PC. The Xbox group went through a number of different prototype concepts, but kept coming back to the familiar design of the Xbox One S. With some pivotal changes. The Xbox One X has almost twice the thermal output of the One S. And because its power supply is located internally, that means way more heat that needs to be controlled, moved, and exhausted. Microsoft solved the problem using what's called a vapor chamber heat sink, more commonly used to cool high-end servers and graphics cards. To make sure they could still get all that air out of the box, Microsoft had to miniaturize the venting pattern used on the Xbox One S. They ended up creating a super thin sheet of metal with the right amount of tiny perforations to let heat escape through the sides. And for color, Microsoft says it wanted to differentiate the Xbox One X from last year's less powerful One S. So it created a custom matte black finish it calls Infinite Black. This all results in a super impressive device packing power you would not be able to achieve with a similarly priced PC. That's the core of the pitch Microsoft is making, but there's going to be a lot of issues to contend with that the phrase the most powerful console ever made won't be able to solve. Microsoft is still playing a massive game of catch-up with Sony, whose PlayStation 4 has been outselling the Xbox almost 2-to-1 for years. Sony also has its own souped up console, the PS4 Pro. It may not be as powerful as the Xbox One X, but it's up in the air whether consumers will care, or even be able to tell the difference. There are other hurdles, too. If you don't have a 4K TV, you probably don't want a One X, unless you're planning on buying one of those in the near future. Also, if you already have a really good PC, you might not want a One X either, because all of Microsoft's exclusive games are made available for Windows 10 as well. Lastly, Microsoft and Sony have both taken a big leap here, hoping that 4K is a good enough selling point to totally shake up how often consumers upgrade their console hardware. But we all know there's going to be another Xbox, and the inevitable PS5 coming down the line. Some consumers might just hold out for those. This all creates a predicament where it's not totally clear who the Xbox One X is really for. Microsoft is banking on there being an enthusiast console consumer out there who wants the best of the best and is willing to pay for it, even if they already have a PC, or even if they don't have a 4K TV just yet. But it's unclear how big that market is right now. Microsoft has one big advantage here. Unlike Sony, the company has invested heavily in backwards compatibility, meaning its newer hardware can play old software. That could be the secret to how these faster console upgrade cycles make sense in the future. This idea, which is definitely appealing, makes the console seem less like a PC you upgrade part by part and more like a smartphone. Whether 4K is the right benchmark that can make that happen, or if the Xbox One X will help Microsoft catch up to Sony, still largely depends on whether there are good games to play that take advantage of all that new horsepower. Microsoft says it has more than 130 titles and counting that will do so, starting November 7th, when the console ships for $499. And one thing is totally certain. The most powerful game console ever made is only going to be as good as the games it can play. With that, Microsoft still has a lot of work to do, both with third-party developers and internally. For now, it's asking customers to buy into its vision and to come along for the uncertain ride, one that just might pay off in a really big way.
 We're here at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington headquarters getting an inside look at the Xbox One X,
 the company's latest game console.
 Microsoft invited us here mainly to offer an inside look at how they designed the most powerful piece of console hardware ever made.
 But at a higher level, the company is also eager to answer a more important question.
 Why?
 They want to help explain why they made a 4K game console just four years after the launch of the original Xbox One,
 and at a time when not everyone has a 4K TV.
 First, let's start with the actual components that push that power bump, namely the Scorpio engine.
 That integrated chip sports a custom 8-core AMD Jaguar processor aided by 12GB of GDDR5 RAM,
 making the system capable of 6 teraflops of computing power.
 What does all that mean?
 Well, just that this is a more capable piece of hardware.
 It will make games load faster and look better, even on standard 1080p TVs.
 If the developer wants it to, the Xbox One X will also run games in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second,
 thanks to a range of rendering techniques.
 That makes it far more powerful than anything we've had on the market before,
 but it still raises a big question.
 Will that fact alone help sell consumers on the new pricey piece of hardware?
 Is 4K gaming enough?
 Microsoft thinks so, and they're out to prove that more power in such a slim, accessible consumer product
 will push console gaming forward and help it compete better with the PC.
 The Xbox group went through a number of different prototype concepts,
 but kept coming back to the familiar design of the Xbox One S.
 With some pivotal changes.
 The Xbox One X has almost twice the thermal output of the One S.
 And because its power supply is located internally,
 that means way more heat that needs to be controlled, moved, and exhausted.
 Microsoft solved the problem using what's called a vapor chamber heat sink,
 more commonly used to cool high-end servers and graphics cards.
 To make sure they could still get all that air out of the box,
 Microsoft had to miniaturize the venting pattern used on the Xbox One S.
 They ended up creating a super thin sheet of metal with the right amount of tiny perforations
 to let heat escape through the sides.
 And for color, Microsoft says it wanted to differentiate the Xbox One X from last year's less powerful One S.
 So it created a custom matte black finish it calls Infinite Black.
 This all results in a super impressive device packing power you would not be able to achieve with a similarly priced PC.
 That's the core of the pitch Microsoft is making,
 but there's going to be a lot of issues to contend with
 that the phrase the most powerful console ever made won't be able to solve.
 Microsoft is still playing a massive game of catch-up with Sony,
 whose PlayStation 4 has been outselling the Xbox almost 2-to-1 for years.
 Sony also has its own souped up console, the PS4 Pro.
 It may not be as powerful as the Xbox One X,
 but it's up in the air whether consumers will care, or even be able to tell the difference.
 There are other hurdles, too.
 If you don't have a 4K TV, you probably don't want a One X,
 unless you're planning on buying one of those in the near future.
 Also, if you already have a really good PC, you might not want a One X either,
 because all of Microsoft's exclusive games are made available for Windows 10 as well.
 Lastly, Microsoft and Sony have both taken a big leap here,
 hoping that 4K is a good enough selling point to totally shake up
 how often consumers upgrade their console hardware.
 But we all know there's going to be another Xbox,
 and the inevitable PS5 coming down the line.
 Some consumers might just hold out for those.
 This all creates a predicament where it's not totally clear
 who the Xbox One X is really for.
 Microsoft is banking on there being an enthusiast console consumer out there
 who wants the best of the best and is willing to pay for it,
 even if they already have a PC, or even if they don't have a 4K TV just yet.
 But it's unclear how big that market is right now.
 Microsoft has one big advantage here.
 Unlike Sony, the company has invested heavily in backwards compatibility,
 meaning its newer hardware can play old software.
 That could be the secret to how these faster console upgrade cycles make sense in the future.
 This idea, which is definitely appealing,
 makes the console seem less like a PC you upgrade part by part and more like a smartphone.
 Whether 4K is the right benchmark that can make that happen,
 or if the Xbox One X will help Microsoft catch up to Sony,
 still largely depends on whether there are good games to play
 that take advantage of all that new horsepower.
 Microsoft says it has more than 130 titles and counting that will do so,
 starting November 7th, when the console ships for $499.
 And one thing is totally certain.
 The most powerful game console ever made is only going to be as good
 as the games it can play.
 With that, Microsoft still has a lot of work to do,
 both with third-party developers and internally.
 For now, it's asking customers to buy into its vision and to come along for the uncertain ride,
 one that just might pay off in a really big way.