Sony's 14 words that will win this console generation
Author
Tom Chick
Posted in
Games
When
June 10, 2013
Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House closed out the Playstation 4 presentation with the following line:
Concepts like true consumer ownership and consumer trust are central to everything we do..
Glad to see we've got at least one console maker that is still in touch with reality. I was originally looking at Sony with the suspicion that they were planning to go in the same direction as Microshaft.
It's not "far more powerful." I suspect you don't understand how consoles actually work. If you have a background in hardware please let me know and I can explain why your statement is inaccurate (you seem to be simply looking at the technical specs).
The cost differential between consoles is due to the mandated PS+ for online play, which will add up to more than $100 for most users over the life of the console (expected 6-8 years).
Uh, but Microsoft has mandated Xbox Live for online play (unless something has drastically changed?) as well, and Xbox Live has historically been more expensive and added far less value than PS+. So how does that explain the cost differential?
The PS4 GPU is 50-100% more powerful than the Xbox One's (depending on if the downclocking rumor is true). It also has faster RAM, more available to games, and is easier to program for.
It is true that the *main system RAM* (8GB RAM) is faster on the PS4. But XB1 has 32GB of ultra high speed SRAM that evens things out. The differentiating factor will end up being Kinect2, which is superior to the PSEye.
"Easier to program for?" Says who? And why on earth do you think one Radeon 7870-derived GPU is twice as fast as the other?!
Digital games will almost certainly be pricier on PSN. Part of the reason Steam can be so cheap is it implements precisely the DRM that Microsoft wants to add.
All this hyperbole bullshit *Sony will win this and that* will explode in everyone's faces, including yours Tom.
When all the services people want to numb themselves with run on One, when the cool games come out exclusively for One (or run better on One) and when all of your friends and acquaintances will be playing with those sweet achievements on One, your words and idealistic bantering will be as WORTHLESS as all the others.
And that is why true gaming is dying. Because all people like you do is waving in the wind, like a wet and soiled flag....
While you worded things a bit harshly, I agree that it is way, way too early to call the console wars, or to write posts like the one Tom did up there. Steam's DRM is almost as intrusive as Microsoft's, and most people don't care because it is so convenient and affordable.
It has 32MB of SRAM. It is not "ultra high speed" by any sane measure. In aggregate the SRAM and main memory are still slower than the PS4's unified memory, plus the PS4 doesn't waste any bandwidth having to copy data between the two pools. In fact, having 2 pools is what makes the Xbox One more of a headache to program for. This is what devs have already been saying, and what should be easy to conclude using logic. Even the MS dev tools are reportedly well behind the PS4's.
Oh, and the PS4 GPU is faster because it has 50% more execution units than the Xbox One. Recent rumors also suggest Xbox One's GPU may be running at a significantly lower clock speed. If true, the net result would be a GPU that's half as fast as the PS4's.
PSN games will have DRM. Just not the disc ones. And when Sony isn't giving games away with PS Plus, they are running pretty great sales through PSN basically weekly, ala Steam.
Don't read too much into the headline. Of course no one is going to "win" the console wars today. But Sony has done a remarkable job cashing in on Microsoft's inept public messaging. It was a spectacular display, regardless of how you feel about either system.