The next generation of video game consoles is already expected to set the ball rolling for a future we are yet to see, and with the revelations of Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4, that future seems to be arriving sooner than we had expected.
There have been a number of threads on the Internet in the recent past discussing about the graphical capabilities of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and an overall comparison to PCs. While there is a pretty big theory stating that there is still a gap between what the capabilities of next generation gaming consoles and PCs, one man thinks a bit out of the box.
Geomerics COO Chris Doran, who was recently in an interview with Gamingbolt, stated that he doesn’t believe the gap is that big between the platforms. “I don’t see a big gap between PC capabilities and the capabilities of the PS4 and Xbox One. On some measures you could argue that the GPUs in the new consoles are not as powerful as the most expensive desktop GPUs, but that was also the case at the last transition. It is something of a myth that consoles at launch are usually ahead of the top-end PCs,” said Doran.
“What the consoles always are at launch is the best power per dollar ratio, but if you want more power you have always had the option of going for a really expensive PC. What you should remember with the PS4 and Xbox One is that both have been highly tuned specifically for games. Microsoft and Sony both spent years working with developers on these specs, and it is not a coincidence that they have both chosen similar hardware designs.”
He added that there are also a number of other technologies that are unique to the consoles that make them perfect for games – as far as hardware units and driver extensions are concerned. “As with previous generations, it will be a few years before PC games start to out-strip the graphical quality seen on consoles. For the next few years PS4 and Xbox One will set the standard.”
On asked as to how long fans might have to wait before developers fully decide to utilize the power of PS4 and Xbox One for creating realistic lighting using Enlighten, Doran said that “this cycle is a bit different, for two reasons. The first is that it has been a long time coming, and some developers have been gearing up for it for over two years. Both Sony and Microsoft went out of their way to get the key tools and middleware guys on board early as well, so that everything was ready for launch.”
“The second reason is that both Sony and Microsoft have gone for a PC-like architecture that is well understood by developers. A lot of the additional power is in the GPU, and most developers know how to get good results out of these devices. So I actually think a number of the launch titles will already be utilizing much of the power of the PS4 and Xbox One to deliver great graphics and lighting using Enlighten.”
Both PS4 and Xbox One are set for arrival this fall.