From a rather massive article on Engadget, showcasing the making of Microsoft’s newly announced Xbox One, comes a most interesting snippet – that Microsoft purposefully didn’t target the “highest end graphics” when building the console.
It’s in the video, so you’ll have to sit through a 20 second Windows 8 advert before you can skip to the bit (about 5:40), but it’s there. “We purposefully did not target the highest end graphics. We targeted it more as a broad entertainment player.”
Picked up by GAF, it’s a strange claim to make in a promotional piece, and whilst that way of thinking worked for Nintendo with the original Wii, up against the way Sony are marketing the PS4 as a real powerhouse it’s a baffling quote.
Note that nobody’s claiming that the PS4 is technically better, just the choice of words.
No doubt the console is capable of great things – visually too – but from what we’ve seen today (and echoed around the internet) perhaps Microsoft’s new console is going to have to flex its muscles a little harder than some thought before the conference kicked off.
We’ll know come E3, when we’ll get chance to test the games first hand.
coruscant
Look how that’s worked out for Nintendo this time round…
bunimomike
Thing is, Nintendo stuck with gaming and the casual crowd and that’s really burnt them this time around. Microsoft are still targeting gamers but the emphasis has shifted slightly which is why we’re seeing comments like the above. They want people to know that it can handle most of their living room’s entertainment when it comes to games, TV, etc.. I understand what they’re trying to do and, let’s be fair, it’s never about the most powerful hardware but the geeks online always make it that way and the media utterly lap up that sort of thing. TSA included.
Loxstokk
This whole reveal just gets stranger and stranger…
PoisonedMonkey
They really dropped a bollock on this one. I’m totally baffled. It feels more like they’re taking on the new range of Panasonic TVs than anything else…
boeboe
Such bad vibes…or is it because the PS4 reveal had such positive vibes? I know nothing of marketing
cam the man
Since quite a few big wigs at AMD have stated that the APU for PS4 is the most powerful they’ve ever made I suppose MS had to come up with a excuse why there’s isn’t.
KeRaSh
According to neogaf, the GPU of the One is around 50% weaker than that of the PS4, so yeah… excuses. The probably had to find a way to keep the price low and maximize production yields (DDR3 RAM and now this) to keep up with the tight schedule to release the console this year.
The Xbox One really feels rushed. Lack of first party games ready for showtime (still according to rumors but it seems likely) and not using pushing edge components to directly compete with the PS4 power-wise? Yeah, they were not ready for a PS4 release this year so they rushed to the finish line.
Kreten
First of all NeoGaf is last place to get accurate information, afterall they ban anyone who proves Sony fanboys wrong.
DDR3 + eSRAM actually has advantage over GDDR5 with on paper specs 272GB/s vs 176GB/s in real world workloads 200GB/s (xbox) vs 150GB/s
eSRAM is 30x-40x faster than GDDR 3-4ns vs 250-300ns latency which means eSRAM can perform 30-40 tasks while GDDR5 gets to perform one ;-) Then you come to GPGPU and CPU and GDDR5 plain simply sucks for them (this is why no high end pc in the world has GDDR5 as main ram)
Just because PS4 uses unoptimised PC parts which are not made specifically for it doesn’t mean it’s more powerful. Read my previous post.
You’re comparing them on same level as if you said yeah V8 car is faster than V4 Turbo car because it has more cylinders. But v4 is way more efficient uses all of the available output from engine and is actually lighter so while V8 might be 400HP in real world the V4 can be 500-600HP and lighter. This is eaxctly how you’re comparing PS4 vs Xbox without thinking that lots of things PS4 won’t be able to use and will have to use extra GPU to acomplish what Move Engines and full Audio Chip in xbox do.
Use the logic Xbox first party titles won over 100 awards while ps4 titles only 40 and xbox has way stronger title lineup where ps4 is mostly indie games. It’s like saying ok I’ll buy very powerful pc and play angry birds on it. Knack is Ps4 #1 game their pride and joy saying how that’s next gen LOL all I can say
Kreten
You’re stupid and your reading skills are those of 3rd grader. Here’s 2 reasons why you’re wrong:
1) Xbox has SoC not APU
2) AMD only helped Microsoft with making the SOC
Another thing where you fail with your logic is that you think “off the shelf unoptimised” is better than fully optimised. PS4 does have 2CU extra and slightly more powerful GPU but that exact GPU has to do a lot more tasks vs Xbox GPU (main game audio processing, moving data in out etc.) audio by itself will take away the advantage from PS4 GPU so in the end result what’s available to the actual graphics is equal or less from PS4. Why do you think that xbox exclusives won over 100 awards while ps4 only 40? If PS4 was much more powerful and much easier to develop for you would see major difference instantly in games ;-)
Next time think before speaking and quit acting like a sheep with no brain of its own.
As i remember Sony claimed PS3 to be 3x more powerful than Xbox 360 but all that I saw was slightly better looking multiplats on xbox so aren’t you tired of believing and supporting Sony lies?
Adam Garrett
Calling people stupid really wont help you get your point across, it just ruins any argument you’re trying to make.
Kreten
Adam I really don’t care what they think they can choose to read it and get some education from it or not. But when little kids go and try stating something as facts which they have absolutely no clue about yeah pisses me off idc who they are stating wrong info about they are wrong and stupid for it.
I have PS2, PS3, Xbox360, Wii and preordered Xbox One, didn’t preorder PS4 this time around because they gave up on the console. PS2 and 3 were their own marvels that were actual inovations and something they worked on hard but this time they go on with off the shelf pc parts along with Knack I mean c-monnnn. Xbox might of been wrong for their DRM and rude comments but I love the fact that they custom built the system and actually try with real games and not just Indies
Adam Garrett
Ahhh, but we (TSA) do care. We don’t have people flaming and insulting each other in our comments section. If there’s something you don’t agree with or you think is unfair, call it out with reasoned arguments without resorting to calling them brainless sheep or idiots. You’re points will come across a lot better for it. People wont read or respect your view if they’re being insulted and the comment will most likely be removed.
RudeAwakening
Bloody hell, imho i tink Microsoft are driving the Xbox brand into the ground. What are they thinking.
Well at least there won’t be anymore fanboy arguments over which console can produce better graphics. Rest easy boys, put down the pitchforks! :)
Paranoimia
So far, I’ve seen the term “clusterf**k” used to describe the reveal.
They’re saying that you don’t need the internet, while other stories say you’ll need it to enter codes to activate every game.
Phil Harrison is saying you’ll need to buy codes for used games at full price, while Xbox Support is saying you won’t.
And it seems almost everyone who had Kinect on while watching the stream on their Xbox is saying that the voice of the people on the stream started controlling their local Kinect and cutting off the stream.
So it seems “clusterf**k” may be accurate, if not an understatement.
Paranoimia
Unfinished sentence!
“…used to describe the reveal in three different places.”
Kennykazey
I said whilst watching “Imagine if some asshat came in when you’re playing Halo, and says Xbox OFF!” and just then, the screen timed out and went black.
What annoyed me about the voice command show off was that for all knew, somebody could be sitting at the back pressing next on the presentation.
KeRaSh
To be fair, he always moved in front on Kinect to do the commands, so it didn’t seem that shady.
As for douchebags running into the room and yelling “XBOX OFF”, I think the One only registers commands from the person that logged in to the system, but that would mean that family members can’t do anything while the logged on person is in the bathroom for instance. So many questions unanswered. :)
Was I the only one who felt sad for poor little Xbox One when the guy said “Xbox, go home!”?
Xbox: Ok… ;_;
Scythegpd
Yeah because Microsoft have never been know to have fake choreographed Kinect presentations to make the device appear more capable that it is *cough-milo-cough*
hazelam
yeah, because you only need high end graphics for games.
Bilbo_bobbins
I think Microsoft have totally fucked up everything on this console so far. It’s like you have two ideas going on at once, and they tried to merge them but it hasn’t worked. Wii U springs to mind.
You have the true gamers wanting to do their stuff, and then you have the entertainment chaps wanting to do their stuff (tv etc). Then you have the money grabbers wanting their input saying all about the console having to have codes for games etc.
It’s a total mess.
The Von Braun
Some of the best games i’ve ever played have had, at best, workman like graphics:Xcom, Civilzation, Tetris etc etc, but what concerns me here is’nt how ‘uber’ powerful the Xbox One is or is’nt (as we all knew PC tech would soon outstrip anything they put in there), but the message MS are sending out that games just were’nt that big a focus this time around.
Slower RAM might well cause headaches for developers, but hopefully solutions will be found quickly, same applies to anything relating to GPU speed, but 3 GB of that RAM is tied to the O/S and TV stuff, Kinect you have to use, it’s not optional.
MS i rather like being given the choice of what i use to interactive with when it comes to gaming etc.If i wanted Kinect (or indeed Move if your reading Sony) i’d have ‘told’ you, by means of buying into it this generation, i did’nt and don’t want it forced apon me on the next and i honestly have yet to see a shred of evidence that it will make for better games.Sony took flak (and rightly so) for limiting the RAM for games on PS2 (DC had more RAM than PS1+PS2 combined) and PS3, yet you seem to have done the same here, odd choice, looks like it could cost you dear in the long run.