More powerful PS4 and Xbox One consoles praised by Epic Games boss

Joining executives from Take-Two, EA, and Ubisoft, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has now spoken up to praise the new, more powerful PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles on the way.

Talking to Eurogamer, Sweeney said he is "absolutely thrilled" with the prospect of the new consoles and what they might mean for the future of the video game industry.

"It gives you the best of both worlds," he said. "The upgrade cycle of the PC which ensures that people always have access to the latest and greatest hardware and games don't go out of date over a seven year cycle, together with the fact there's a box you can go and buy -- or two boxes -- and you're guaranteed that everything can work. And I think the configurations for developers are very reasonable."

Sony's Neo and Microsoft's Project Scorpio will be forward-compatible, capable of playing games you already own. This is one of the most attractive elements of the new hardware, in Sweeney's eyes.

"The console industry will grow and sustain its user base much better if it doesn't have to reset its user base to zero every seven years," he said. "The idea of throwing everything out and doing everything from scratch every seven years is completely crazy. And everything Epic's done with our new game development approach, involving these online games we're going to maintain over time, it's about building games where we don't have to reset our user base to zero when we want to add new features."

Neo, which is only a code name, is rumored to launch this year. Sony announced the system in the days before E3, but it didn't talk about or show off the console at the event. Another report said this system, along with a slimmed-down PS4, could be announced in September.

As for Microsoft's Scorpio, this system will go on sale in holiday 2017. Microsoft is calling it the "most powerful console ever made."

Both systems are going to support 4K, and Sweeney said "there's value to 4K," and mentioned that the prices for 4K TV sets are coming down. Microsoft has said you will need a 4K TV to make the most of Scorpio (though supporting 4K is not required for developers).

Sweeney added that he expects every new game for Neo and Scorpio to offer about 3X or better graphics quality than existing PS4 and Xbox One games. "Whether they do it through higher resolution or prettier pixels is a decision for each game, and different games will exploit it in different ways," he explained.

The full interview is chock-full of more quotes and insight. Go read it here.

What do you make of what we know so far about Neo and Scorpio? Let us know in the comments below.