Resident Evil Creator Says PS4 And Xbox One Are “Almost Identical”

Shinji Mikami, creator of Resident Evil, currently working on the last game he’ll direct – The Evil Within – says “There’s no real difference between them,” when referring to Sony and Microsoft’s next generation machines in this month’s Edge magazine.

“We only need one console. Why do I have to make two versions of a game? And when Xbox One was first announced it had lower specs than PS4, but now they’re almost identical.

“So either will do.”

He’s obviously speaking in terms of development, rather than specifications, and it sounds as though they’ll both be more in line with PC architecture, making it easier to port these games due to the similarities with development.

The Evil Within is set to release on both of these next generation consoles, as well as the current generation PS3 and Xbox 360 as well as PC at some point next year.

It’s refreshing to head a developer as esteemed as Mikami describe them this way, and gives us confidence that the next generation is going to be excellent, with plenty of incredible titles on both machines, without too much of a compromise when it comes to multiplatform games. Hopefully this means we won’t be seeing a similar situation to Skyrim on PS3.

UPDATE: Edge have posted the full article online, providing more context and further quotes from other developers.

Comcept’s Keiji Inafune also agrees – “I don’t think there’s a major difference between them,” he says “If you get down to the tiny details then maybe each is better at one thing than the other, but it doesn’t really impact the way you make a game. It’s not like PS4 or Xbox One are particularly hard to develop for. Quite the opposite: you can make whatever you want on either one, and that should be enough for anyone.”

So, it seems as though it’s relatively easy to port these games, and there’s no worry of having to downgrade a version of the game to have it on the other platform. It seems that it’s really down to each company’s strategy and connections with developers then, rather than what’s in the box. Edge points out that there’s still quite a lot unknown about Microsoft’s Xbox One policies, particularly in regard to updating games.

Source: Edge

40 Comments

  1. I know nothing, but plenty of other developers have said this isn’t the case. So I would hardly take one man’s word, whoever he is…

    • I agree. I will not rush to believe anyone. I want to see them both with my own eyes (and fingers) and then come to a conclusion on wether that “almost” identical makes a difference or not.

    • Actually no developers have said that, it was only a rumor on Edge about “Unnamed sources”. While big developers like Kojima, John Carmack and now Mikami has all said they are basically the same thing.

      People need to learn when sites use “sources” it’s just a way to get hits.

      • http://www.gamesthirst.com/2013/09/07/gears-of-war-and-bulletstorm-confirms-ps4-is-50-percent-more-powerful-than-xbox-one/ think they have lol John Carmack means AMD X86 not power. other devs have said it as well you think edge just pulled them out of thin air?

        lastly this guy is anti sony from past comments so take it with a pinch of salt.

      • You realize nobody has heard of this guy right? I think you’re stretching for something here. So when a the creator of Resident Evil says they are about the same he’s anti-Sony, but some BulletStorm unemployed developer says the other thing he’s right? I think I’d believe Carmack, Kojima and Mikami over the unemployed guy.

        Edge did in fact pull it right out of their behind, anytime you see something start off with “unknown sources” you know it’s not something they truly believe.

        Yesterday’s timing of more “rumors” came about the same day TitanFall is trending worldwide on Twitter and everyone’s excited about. I think the timing is odd.

        You take what’s inside the Xbox One and put it into a PC, you’re getting 1080p 60fps on pretty much everything. It’s an 8 core processor with 8 gigs of ram and ESRAM. That isn’t a weak console by any means. Now we have a 3rd big named developer say what Microsoft’s been saying all along.

        I personally don’t care about the power as much as the games. Obviously the Xbox One is 10x more powerful than the 360, and the 360 was less powerful than the PS3, but I still had fun with my 360 and the games were great.

      • the guy made a exclusive for Xbox what are you talking about? this will keep going with you so let the games speak not long now.

      • He was a Bulletstorm person, which was a multiplatform game. He isn’t working on anything right now.

        Alas you’re right about games speaking for themselves, after going to the Xbox One Tour I’m more excited than ever. Ryse is the best looking game I’ve ever seen. Cheers to those that are going with something else, I went with what had the games at launch.

      • he made a gears of war game why is it that xbox users pretend they don’t know him? even a MS employee tried to act like he never new who he was.

  2. What have they done then to match the PS4’s spec? We know they upped the clock speed a tad, but unless they’ve upgraded the RAM to GDRR5, I can’t see how they’re equal. Surely if they MS had upgraded it, they would have been shouting from the rooftops about it?

    • You are looking at things all wrong, so many people jump on the GDDR5 bandwagon without looking at the bigger picture. Both XB1 and PS4 are 8 core, 8 gigs of RAM and run almost the same chip from the same company.

      Microsoft set aside 5 gigs for gaming purposes alone, where as Sony wont confirm or deny that the PS4 only uses 4.5 or less. You have to keep in mind that the PS4 originally only had 4 gigs total, as the original dev kits came with only 8 gigs, and we know dev kits are double the RAM as the finished product.

      There is also the issue of the ESRAM and the overclocking of the GPU and CPU. I’m going to guess the PS4 is still more powerful, but Sony fans are going to have to be content with more along the lines of 5-10% more power, which most likely will only be seen on first party games.

      • Please, this launch can’t come soon enough.

        The architectures are similar, it’s why comparisons are so easy to make, and why devs etc. are comfortable in saying the PS4 has a significant performance advantage.

        Each day another story surfaces, giving another indication of this power difference, the latest being CoD Ghosts is 720p on Xbox One, but 1080p on PS4. We also hear Titanfall is 720p.

        Then you look at the rest of the Xbone One lineup, even an exclusive like Killer Instinct, hardly a taxing game, is 720p. Meanwhile PS4 is 1080p across the board, the only real question mark is Battlefield 4.

        The raw performance is out in the open, going around in circles, hoping theres some secret ingredient to boost the One is pointless. In a matter of weeks the PR will stop, and we’ll see these titles for ourselves.

      • @Stu1977
        You mean COD Ghosts which was confirmed at 1080p 60fps 4 months ago by Activision? The rumor from Neogaf of all places, the same guy who just did an interview and said he “He didn’t feel great about it”.
        http://www.gamepur.com/news/12532-titanfall-and-cod-ghosts-runs-720p-leaker-issue-clarification-also-comment-.html#comment-21015

        Read it yourself.
        PS4 has no first party games at launch, Killzone is 1080 but 30fps on the campaign, Drive Club was delayed and only 30fps.

        Microsoft has said that first party games will be 1080p 60fps, like Forza, like Halo. They don’t have control over third party developers and have said so repeatedly. Killer Instinct is an exclusive, but isn’t being made by a first party developer.

        I’d also point out that Battlefield 4 is 720 on both, Assassins Creed 4 is 720 on both. You are trying to pass rumor as fact because it backs up what you want to think. These consoles are similar, which is why developers have come out and said as much. Find me 1 single known developer who has said the PS4 blows the Xbox One out of the water with power. You wont be able to, it’s all “unknown sources”.

        It isn’t up to Microsoft to make Respawn put TitanFall in 1080p, not that I’ve ever heard so much retarded crap over which is more HD. To me it’s moot because all my TV’s max out at 720. The main point is that the timing of these “rumors” seem to always come up after a huge Microsoft announcement. I got my Titanfall pre-order in.

      • @Crapgamer
        A ATI 7850+ like PS4 GPU is only 5-10% faster than a 7770 little OC like XO realy? Build a PC with same CPU (xo upclock)
        + same Board + this Graphic Cards and look ;)
        (or Search Neogaf for the thread ….)

        1. Assassins Creed 4 is 1080p on PS4 / XO ???
        2. Battlefield 4 is 900p on PS4 / XO 720p
        3. Call of Duty Ghosts 1080p PS4 / XO 720p maybe 900p ???

        “Microsoft has said that first party games will be 1080p 60fps, like Forza, like Halo” Source ???
        Forza was a Upgrade ( Xbox360 to XO ) that´s why you not find Dynamic Weather (Day – Night Cycle and and ) Dynamic Shadows.
        Forza 5 has a AA issue (no aa ? ) – Flicker and more.

        Xbox One Exclusives

        Dead Rising 3
        Dynamic Resolution -> target stable 30 FPS

        Forza Motorsport 5
        1080p -> 60 FPS

        Ryse: Sone of Rome
        900p -> 30 FPS

        Killer Instinct
        720p -> 60 FPS

        PS4 Exclusives

        Driveclub
        1080p -> 30 FPS – Targeting 60 FPS

        Killzone: Shadow Fall
        1080p -> 30 FPS – Single Player
        60 FPS – Multiplayer

        Knack
        1080p -> 30 FPS

        Resogun
        1080p -> 60 FPS

        Warframe
        1080p -> 60 FPS

      • CoD Ghosts has been confirmed as 720p on Xbox One by multiple insiders. 24hrs after the story broke, Microsoft or Activision have yet to refute it.

        Near enough all 3rd party games have been demonstrated to the press on PS4, including CoD Ghosts in 1080p on PS4 this week. DICE have yet to announce the resolution of Battlefield 4, but rumours persist or will be another downgrade for the Xbox One.

        Similar things are being said about games like Need For Speed.

        Assassins Creed is already confirmed 1080p on PS4, I’ve not seen another reference to the Xbox One, this is great another game only being shown on PS4.

        At Sony, 1st party games like Killzone, Knack, Driveclub, Infamous, Resogun and The Order are all confirmed at 1080p. As I stated, only Battlefield 4 is so far not confirmed at 1080p.

        Really, there’s a matter of weeks before launch, all well be revealed.

      • COD Ghosts was confirmed at 1080p. All Microsoft first party games are aiming for that.

        http://www.oxm.co.uk/64778/call-of-duty-ghosts-has-fantastic-graphics-on-xbox-one-reiterates-infinity-ward/?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=OXM-General-RSS

        You guys were taken in from someone on Neogaf of all places, that place is just ignorant.

        Lastly I’ll say as a gamer for over 20 years, when we get to the point where we measure dick size for tech over the actual games, that is when gaming itself suffers.

        Also, Battlefield 4 is 720p on both XB1 and PS4-http://www.examiner.com/article/battlefield-4-ps4-and-xbox-one-graphics-disparity-rumor-clarified

        You keep posting rumor as fact.

        I’m a gamer, and I care about games and fun. If you get off on beating your chest over a little more power, extra spec of light or dust that is your choice. I choose to play the games and have fun. I will say that 3 big named developers have come out and said the Xbox One and PS4 are basically the same thing.

      • To be fair, no developer or publisher who is creating multiplatform games is ever going to say one system is really better than another – that’s called ‘pissing on your chips’.

        And to be fair just like playing Call Of Duty, aiming for something doesn’t mean you’ve got a cat in hell’s chance of actually hitting it.

      • All this talk about fps and resolution is pointless. If you want a one GO buy a one… If you want a PS4 Go buy a PS4… get the best console for your personal preferences.

        PS4 for me
        Reasons, Launch line up is more to my taste.
        Controller, Symmetrical sticks are better for me.
        ALL MY FRIENDS ARE GETTING A PS4, so why am i going to play a console no one else is playing?

        Its not hard, power, res and fps are just fanboy bull to try and create an argument about a choice that’s quite simple.
        If you want the most powerful gaming system get a PC
        If you want something that is going to last you at least 6 years. Get a console. Which one i dunno… i know which one im getting and that’s all i care about.

      • Chortle Chortle….

  3. Could these comments be because Capcom have exlusives on both consoles (Deep Down -PS4 and Dead Rising X1) meaning they dont want to show any favour to one more than the other?

  4. It is all a bit foolish to claim one is more powerful than the other as the games will generally always be the same. The biggest issue for me is just to ensure they behave the same, ie my PS4 won’t have shed loads of bugs when the Xbone doesn’t and visa versa.
    The only odd thing so far, however, is the claim COD will be 1080p on PS4 and 720p on Xbone. That is quite a difference in my opinion as it suggests Xbone isn’t capable of that big a push when the developers are taking extra time to get it on PS4.
    Perhaps this is a lie?

  5. Hmmm… When it says the last game he’ll direct, does this mean he’s some kind of director and not programmer etc? If so, I feel his comment may be flawed. Also a dog is almost identical to a cat if your’e comparing them to a squid. It will also be interesting to see whether they are both going to run at the same resolution.

  6. I find it hard to believe that the fact one console may be more powerful than the other is a selling point for prospective buyers.
    You’ll just find game studios releasing almost identical versions of their games for both platforms with minute differences between them.

    We all know what you buy if you want to sit in front of a big screen and drool at the pretties.

    Oh and i love this guy, I’ve always wanted to meet him and ask him to explain the plot for the Resident Evil series to me.
    If anyone can make it make sense he has the best chance.

    • While playing Resident Evil games, I shrug off inconsistencies and physically impossible things as “Resident Evil logic”.

  7. This is hilarious. Mikami has always hated Sony. No surprise he did not elaborate on this magical equalization of power.
    Just google “Shinji Mikami on Sony” for proof.
    He even accused them of deliberately manufacturing faulty consoles at one time ~_~

    Magic sauce does not beat math.

  8. The news here for me is this is his last game,that sucks.

  9. Coca Cola is almost identical to Pepsi.

    • Boobs are almost identical too, but one is always better than the other.

  10. What a stupid comment. “We only need one console” – fool.

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