Xbox One's Marketing Chief has hailed the PS4 Pro console.
Xbox One X
Sony's new console is an upgraded version of its predecessor, which has been designed for 4K resolution gameplay, but Albert Penello, Microsoft's Head of Marketing, explained that his firm harboured a different ambition with its new Xbox One X device.
He said: "They had a different idea in mind for what they wanted to build, so in retrospect it may seem like we were reacting to what they were doing.
"But people in the business know that this has been in the works for years, and we have to lock the specs years in advance."
Despite the two companies having different ambitions for their consoles, Penello admitted that he's impressed by Sony's latest device, which has been compared to Microsoft's latest effort.
Speaking to MCV, Penello explained: "I give them a lot of credit for what they did there.
"But for me, the most interesting observation is that we both arrived at a similar idea even if the execution is slightly different. This business tends to diverge and converge in interesting ways, and obviously we don't know what they're doing.
"We don't have insight into what their plans are, so when they announced the Pro, I was a surprised as anybody else was."