Perhaps they removed 'high fidelity VR' because they plan on marketing it differently? (ie Mixed Reality) or who knows if their solution is ready or not to launch simulatneously with the console. They could be waiting for  wireless , could developing a Hololens hybrid, held up by games development etc...could be many reasons.

We'll find out when they unveil Scorpio if they even have a VR/AR product ready to launch aside it. If such product is not ready, that could be why they could be toning down the VR marketing leading up to the reveal.

What is not out of the question is whether the hardware could deliver a high quality experience in that medium.

I imagine they'll just partner with Oculus, I swear I remember them showing a demonstration of VR Forza on an original XBO with oculus a while back.

Edit: It was streaming XBO games to Oculus through Windows 10 xD.

http://news.xbox.com/2015/06/11/xbox-xbox-and-oculus-partner-to-change-the-face-of-virtual-reality/

Still I imagine that partnership would continue, I can't see Microsoft releasing their own VR Hardware.

Isn't it just either A) Microsofts 4th gen Console OR B) an upgrade to a existing 3rd generation xbox

Damn... That's worth more then Minecraft.

But also the partnership in 2015 was before Facebooks Acquisition of Oculus, which could have also muddied the waters between an Oculus and Microsof partnership somehow.

So really it is up in the air, I guess Microsoft COULD create their own VR hardware, however I think they'd be much better off partnering with an existing Windows 10 compatible unit.

This nonsense again.

Well, you can call it whatever you want to call it.... and so can microsoft.

But the scorpio is a console of whatever generation it plays games for.

If it has its own library of exclusive games that you cannot play unless you own a scorpio, then its a 9th generation console. If it shares its entire library with the XB1 then its nothing but an upgrade. I don't know why this concept is suddenly so hard to understand.

I can understand MS twisting the narrative, that at least serves them because they need it to seem more relevant than it actually is. What I don't understand is consumers doing the same.

The NS is a next gen console because after zelda, and those remasters, there isn't a single game it will share with the wiiU, if you can say the same about the scorpio, then yes, its a 9th gen console. If you can't, then I wonder.... why do you need it to be?

I believe an 'Oculus Powered' headset would be ideal, as in a collaboration for a custom Xbox/Win 10 branded headset, but lets not forget Oculus is a closed wall ecosystem and its headset would probably be improved from a cost and ergo standpoint by the time Scorpio launches.

I don't think compatibility with  $600 Gen 1 VR headset is thev right call, in other words. Xbox will want a more livingroom friendly VR solution, and based on Phil talking about the 'tethered experience " in regards to the current state of VR, i have an inclination to believe they would aim at a more streamlined or completely wireless solution.

To make the mark they want to, the need to deliver he most powerful box as well as the most attractive VR solution. Could the hardware team be hard at work to iterate the right product for the console gamer? We'll know soon enough what direction they go and the pricepoint their choice targets.

To be honest I could see it being 9th gen, and if it isn't what will be!? If 6TF native 4k gaming doesn't justify as 9th gen what ever will?

I'm just not sure a Wireless Solution for VR is really viable just yet. I mean motion sickness with VR is already an issue, introduce even the slightest amount of latency and that issue is going to be even more prevalent. It's certainly possible, but is it possible without increasing already existing discomforts?

The ability to use a variety of existing VR headsets would be good, but I expect there'll be one particular unit they'll partner with and I expect it'll be Oculus. They'll definitely have the most powerful box, I'm just unsure if there's a viable balance between price, features and specs that can be much more attractive then PSVR. Though on the console side of things the VR experiences could be more graphically impressive.

An exclusive library of games, like every generation previous.

Meh, if it's running just upclocked Jaguar CPU's then I wouldn't consider it a next gen console.

Edit. Say if it has Vega GPU and a Ryzen CPU, on top of the rumored 12GB's of GDDR5 RAM; then I could agree Xbox Scorpio is a next gen console. Of course since we don't actually know what the specs are (Outside of 320GB/s, and 6TF), we can't really say with certainty.