With about two months to go before the release of the Xbox One and PS4, there’s been a lot of buzz about the performance capabilities of both next-gen consoles. A new article over at Edge has sources apparently familiar with developing for both consoles saying that Sony’s upcoming hardware is more powerful. But the difference in power might not matter much, at least not at launch.
Speaking anonymously, developers interviewed by Edge talked about how the PS4’s component performance makes it faster than the Xbox One:
Our contacts have told us that memory reads on PS4 are 40-50 per cent quicker than Xbox One, and its ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) is around 50 per cent faster. One basic example we were given suggested that without optimisation for either console, a platform-agnostic development build can run at around 30FPS in 1920×1080 on PS4, but it’ll run at “20-something” FPS in 1600×900 on Xbox One. “Xbox One is weaker and it’s a pain to use its ESRAM,” concluded one developer.
Microsoft has been aggressively contesting claims like the above, as seen earlier this week. But the most intriguing thing about the Edge piece is the suggestion by said anonymous developers that a cross-platform game might be held back from looking or performing better on PS4 so as to not anger Microsoft:
One source even suggested that enforcing parity across consoles could become a political issue between platform holders, developers and publishers. They said that it could damage perceptions of a cross platform title, not to mention Xbox One, if the PS4 version shipped with an obviously superior resolution and framerate; better to “castrate” the PS4 version and release near-identical games to avoid ruffling any feathers.
That idea gets a pushback in the very next sentence though. It’s a good thing to remember that both consoles will still have last-minute tweaks to the various parts that make them work. (In fact, Microsoft’s already changed up the guts of the Xbox One at least twice already.) Of course, none of these performance claims will be verifiable until the PS4 and Xbox One actually come out. And, even then, launch-window games won’t necessarily be the best examples of what the new machines are capable of. The shiniest experiences for either console are probably still a ways off and will come only when developers have had more time to get familiar with the quirks of both.
[via Edge]
UPDATE: A Microsoft spokesperson has responded to Kotaku’s request for comment with the following statement:P
Ten years ago, you could argue that a console’s power was summed up in terms of a few of its specs, but Xbox One is designed as a powerful machine to deliver the best blockbuster games today and for the next decade.
Xbox One architecture is much more complex than what any single figure can convey. It was designed with balanced performance in mind, and we think the games we continue to show running on near-final hardware demonstrate that performance. In the end, we’ll let the consoles and their games speak for themselves.
Comments
35 responses to “Report: PS4 Is ‘50% Faster’ Than Xbox One [UPDATE]”
And PS3 was suppose to be 30% faster than Xbox 360 – no real world difference. Moving on.
Also anonymous “developer” says PS4 better – 1 in 10 dentists say chewing xtra is bad for you.
Have to agree. Raw stats are nice but its what they do with the hardware that counts in the end.
That being said the first party ps3 games blow me away in a way no first party 360 game has yet at least visually.
I have to agree with the first party comment. But another thing to remember is that this time both run x86, which is BIG for developers. This gen some multiplatform games were made with the PS3 in mind and were better on it, I think that alot of games will be made on PS4 first because of x86 and no esRam, making it closer to pc.
Something else to think about is that hardware is a lot more powerful now than it was 7 years ago. So double the performance now could very well end up being a lot more than it would have been 7 years ago.
Also, the PS4 having more RoP’s and GDDR5 will most likely mean it will have better anti-aliasing on top of any performance gains.
So I dont think we can shrug off the possibility that the PS4 may end up better. Only time will tell, I just dont think we can just ‘move on’ without considering the possible gains. I dont expect to see anything looking better on either console for the first while, but going on hardware specs and current preorder numbers, I think I know which one developers may likely end up leading on.
That’s mud and you know it!
Ryse by Crytek and Forza5 by turn10 look better than anything on the ps4 period… This hole garbage happened on the ps3 vs xbox360 it’s a pissing contest show me a ps3 game that has better frame rate (60fps constant) and graphical integrity than Forza4 and I’ll believe that ps4 is superior
Settle down and stop nerd-raging.
I heard that fortza may not be 1080p but rather 900p, thats just a rumor though. Regardless, you are comparing a developer who make very good looking games (Fortza) with a developer who makes ‘worse’ looking but fun ‘arcade’ style games (Motorstorm never looked the best IMHO). Also, Suckerpunch (see inFamous Second Son) are not known for making ‘amazing’ looking games, (yes they look good, but they are no naughty dog.) And look at Infamous Second Son, so far that game is impressing me the most out of all the next gen offerings we have seen.
We are seeing good looking games from both platforms, and unfortunately this time around Sony have the better hardware and, so far, the developer support that the xbox had this gen.
I am not throwing mud at one or the other, I will probably end up with both in the end, but I have to admit, the PS4 looks to have the upper hand SO FAR.
Forza runs at 1080p
http://www.unscripted360.com/2013/09/13/ryse-and-forza-motorsport-will-be-native-1080p-on-xbox-one/
I really don’t get his point. All I said was the power doesn’t matter, it’s the games that count in the end.
Plus, I challenge anyone to find a game on the 360 that matches the visual polish of The Last of Us, has the realistic sheen to it of Little Big Planet 2 (even all these years on) or even inFamous 2’s fantastic open world setting with its visual flair and polish.
Forza 4 was nice on the 360, very nice indeed, I love my 360 but there’s just something that’s not there with 360 games that is with the ps3 when it comes to the visuals of well made first party games. I don’t recall mentioning third party games, we all know they’re going to have their own issues being cross platform, but first party games? Visually? Again, have to give it to ps3.
That being said, I do completely admit, 360 has it hands down when it comes to multiplatform. When you hear somethings gone multi, you *never* truly want it on ps3 if you have both consoles…
True, there were very few games this gen that were better on PS3 (Although there are more and more now, late in the generation that are being led on PS3 and look better), and I feel that DVD certainly held back the amount of high rez art we saw this gen, look at PS3 games and you’ll see really great textures and normally better surround sound as well. All I’m saying is that, while there certainly is a reason to own either console, the PS4 has a lead interns of hardware, and it’s looking to be the lead platform for developers.
And all also, if DriveClub is being made by developers that dont normally make exceptionally ‘pretty’ games, what is going to happen from developers that do excel in eye candy. Cause theres nothing ‘bad’ about Drive Club, IMHO it has better environments (Bigger and more detailed) than Fortza 5 along with better lighting. At least from what I’ve seen of both.
3rd party games are limited by whatever happens to be the better selling system. The 360 had the momentum for most of this generation, so multiplatform games were 360 first, PS3 port later. If the PS4 happens to be the better selling one this time, we’ll get more multiplatform games that look better and look like ass on the relatively weaker Xbone.
Unless the reports are true and the devs are scaling back the mp games on ps4 to keep ms happy.
In the ps3 case i’d agree. It was due to weird architecture. This time around tho it’s MS with the ESRAM cache that has the problematic architecture, comparatively the PS4 is very straight forward.
Time will tell anyway – the first exclusive on the PS4 will really show how much difference there is (last of us/gods of war etc)
hey, you kinda stole my username 😛
PS3’s architecture was ludicrously complex compared to 360’s, which made it much harder to get at that extra power. PS4 and XB1 have very similar architecture, so if there is a performance difference it will probably be easier to take advantage of on PS4 than it was on PS3.
Multiple developers, and Edge have a good track record.
This argument held true during previous generations. I agree. But things might change. Let me explain.
The similar and familiar architecture the next gen consoles have aimed for generates less friction for a third party developer wanting to do something extra. Previously they would have to master the CELL on PS3 or the Vector units on PS2, now they just need to throw some extras they have already implemented for other projects or in other areas of CGI. Not a lot of reworking is necessary to bring them in.
In my opinion it is up to the first parties of Sony to really shed light on what makes this extra power an advantage. As the article suggests we might not see it at launch, but the easier architecture makes a difference again. If the system is considerably easier to program for, therefore the faster these benefits are going to be realized.
Something lots of people are forgetting is the fact that the PS3 was not only launched with the cell and the non-unified memory, but also a year later. Initial conditions are drastically different, that’s all I’m saying.
Well it is faster, because you don’t have change discs and better graphics take longer to load so if it can keep up with the Xbox 360 in that respect then well yeah
And 1 in 10 idiots say XB1 is more powerful than PS4.
Why do you MS fanboys keep looking back to the PS3 flaws for comfort. The PS3 had design issues that stopped it from delivering its power in real terms. Cell was too difficult to programme and their was a serious shortage of RAM. All that is cured with PS4. It’s easy to programme and has loads of fast unified GDDR5 RAM. All the extra power it has over the XB1 will go straight to the games this time without any hassle. The XB1 is the hard one to programme now with the awkward eSRAM and cloud processing. None of which will match the PS4 which has the power to stand on its own two feet.
By the way, the sources are anonymous because no programmer is willing to loose his job just to satisfy doubters like you who want a name. It’s a leak. Just be grateful someone is willing to blow the whistle and tell it how it is instead of having to listen to MS damage control lies.
From what I heard, Microsoft already had a policy for multiplatform games where the 360 needed to look at least as good as it does on the other consoles. Not sure if that’s graphics only or included other things like framerate as wel
Here’s the takeaway from Microsoft’s reply: They didn’t even touch on the charge that Microsoft is demanding devs gimp their PS4 titles.
Which leads me to believe it’s true.
Not sure they’d demand it, not sure they’d have much of a leg to stand on – they’ve already copped so much negative press that if word of this ever got out….
It’s much more likely publishers would just make games for the lowest common denominator as a form of cost cutting, much like they do for PC ports. So the PS4 might have better FPS or higher AA – that sort of thing.
What is more likely is that devs will make more scalable engines that translate from PC to PS4 to Xbone with only small differences in resolution, framerate, anti-aliasing etc. This will cut down on cost of development for multi-plats and will also keep general performance at an acceptable level.
If there were any gimping going on, news of it would leak sooner or later, it wouldn’t make sense for a publisher to alienate a portion of the fanbase, and the more first party (non-gimped) titles that came out, the easier it would be to spot the gimped releases.
So yeah, I’m fairly confident that we’ll see a difference in performance that will be greater than the current PS3/360 gap, and that if this difference affects Xbone sales in any significant way, you’ll see MS release an up-specced model within 5 years with GDDR5 RAM and other tweaks that will close the gap with the PS4 to some degree.
“balnced performance” meaning “we know its not as good, but we will still put out the same games at the same quality.” I hope they dont gimp the games too much.
My question is this – if they gimp ps4 games to look the same as xbone ones, wont they run at higher frame rates? or will they gimp that as well? if thats the case, at least overheating wont be a problem
It’s been quite common to hold back the quality PC versions of console games for years.
However when you say hold back it can be many things. To make the game look better you do need to spend time putting in that extra quality. As a matter of keeping costs down, they don’t really bother.
If there’s a significant difference here, this is most likely what we’ll see. Every built for the weakest platform. Now is not doing all you can for a platform the same as holding it back???
I remember the days when the Cell was meant to make the Xbox 360 look like Xbox 1.5.
Ugh.
Yeah, anger MS by not gimping it, or anger Sony by gimping it… tough decision. I think it more likely to see an engine that scales easily so that performance will be more or less equal, but sacrificing graphical parity.
Sounds like the PS4 has Blast Processing.
So many people dismissing this by using last gen as an example. The architecture, people. The architecture!
It’s all about the software for me, not about the amount of polygons from which a character is made. Look at Titanfall, it’s not the prettiest game by any means but it’s the one exclusive people are salivating over. Look at one of Sony’s biggest strategies of promoting indie games, games that could run on the current generation.
If a game can look pretty and fun, that’s a bonus, but this generation, my favourite games was were Halo 3, Trials Evolution and Mark of the Ninja, all games that didn’t push the boundaries graphically.
this was obvious that the PS4 is no doubt much more powerful
i expect we will see a difference in multi-platform games.
I’d like to think that if a developer was deliberately going to gimp a game just to make MS happy, then its a developer shipping a game I don’t want to play anyway. It sounds like a rather pointless exercise when there will be countless of other top notch PS4 games on the market that a developer will need to be competing with before they have any second thoughts about MSs efforts to compete with Sony.
There are going to be companies out there that don’t bend over for MS, so if there are large hardware differences and a developer doesn’t take advantage of the PS4, then the PS4 release of their game will stick out like a sore thumb and they’d be fools to think it won’t impact sales somehow.
“With great power comes with great responsibility”
They will make games that look similar on both systems because they would be developing for both systems.
You’re not going to gimp a xbone version, that would hurt sales. You are going to make both versions similar to get good revenue streams from both platforms not just one.
I love the “without optimisation” comment. no shit, you have to optimise to use the benefits of the ESRAM idiot hahaha.
People are totally forgetting that the Xbox One will have a faster and better CPU too with less latency as well due to the PS4’s GDDR5.
In the end though, itll mean shit all, cross platforms will be near identicle on both consoles, exclusives wont matter at all because well, its exclusive.
its a stupid reason to base a choice on for what console to buy because it will have no eventual impact.