Is Microsoft dropping clues about the Xbox Scorpio release date and price? The company has released a number of teaser videos leading into its upcoming E3 2017 press conference, and they contain a number of clues being ferreted out by the gaming community.
The “Feel True Power” teaser videos posted to the official Xbox Twitter and Facebook accounts don’t reveal much of anything at first glance beyond attempting to build hype for the Xbox Scorpio. However, some fans have already analyzed the short clips frame by frame to pull out various easter eggs left behind by the Xbox team.
In fact, one teaser takes a direct shot at the PlayStation 4 Pro. The video with the red-haired woman turning on her Xbox controller cuts to a scene of a Ferris wheel spinning at a fair. The canopy to the left has the phrase “6 > 4” written on top of it. This appears to be a reference to the 6 teraflops of power in the Xbox Scorpio versus the 4 teraflops in the PS4 Pro.
Amazingly, some viewers could spot a code on the side of the stage in a scene of a crowd at an announcement or concert in a different teaser video. The code cryptically reads, “X10S101-317.”
This code can be broken out to read “X10S” “101317.” It’s not clear what the “X10S” refers to beyond Xbox Scorpio and possibly Windows 10, but the latter block points to an October 13, 2017, date. This appears to indicate the release date for Xbox Scorpio, which would be a Friday. A typical release day for new console hardware.
Xbox Scorpio release date hidden in the teaser?? #XboxE3 X10S101-317 = X10S 10/13/17 = Xbox 10 13th October 2017?? #Xbox #Microsoft pic.twitter.com/BUx84vMxmx
— Ingame (@XboxIngame) June 7, 2017
An alternate theory brought up by Red Dragon on YouTube is the 317 corresponds to the number of days in the year. This matches up with November 13 but seems less likely because that falls on a Monday.
Other members of the gaming community put “X10S101-317” into a Google search and came up with what may be the Xbox Scorpio’s launch price. The search brought up an image of an old Radio Magazine cover with the headline “Build this robot for under $400.”
Unfortunately, the Google search for the code has been ruined by the time of this article and now points to articles and YouTube videos about the hidden messages in the Xbox teaser videos.
https://twitter.com/dreyer_smit/status/872441274300866560
Meanwhile, Xbox Marketing Lead Albert Penello responded to all the posts about hidden message on Twitter by simply saying, “You guys have very sharp eyes.”
If Microsoft is truly sending fans out on a hunt via cryptic messages, then the Xbox Scorpio will release October 13, 2017, for a price of $399.99. This would be an ideal starting price for the “premium” console and likely force Sony to drop the price of the PS4 Pro.
The Xbox E3 media briefing will take place Sunday, June 11 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, as previously covered . Those interested in watching the event live will have multiple live-streaming options available to them, starting with Microsoft’s own Mixer channel broadcasting in 4K resolution. There will also be YouTube, Twitch, the Xbox consoles themselves, and the Fusion cable channel.
On the games front, expect a slate of announcements that fall outside of the usual Halo and Gears of War franchises. Recent entries of those two franchises might receive 4K upgrades, but the majority of the attention is going to on upcoming releases like Rare’s Sea of Thieves , Undead Labs’ State of Decay 2 , Turn 10 Studios’ Forza Motorsport 7 , and possibly Cloudgine’s Crackdown 3 . There should also be a bevy of third-party AAA games on display in 4K, starting with Monolith’s Midde-earth: Shadow of War .
[Featured Image by Microsoft]