Last week a Tweet from Adrian Chmielarz, the former Creative Director of developer People Can Fly, suggested that the PS4 is 50% faster than the Xbox One and now Edge is reporting similar claims from “multiple high-level game development sources.”
The memory reads are said to be 40%-50% faster on the PS4, understandable when the PlayStation 4 is using the faster GDDR5 (Graphics Double Data Rate, version 5) memory, and the ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) is around 50% faster.
Edge give an example of an optimised, platform-agnostic build which would run at around 30FPS in 1920×1080 on the PlayStation 4, but the same code would only manage “20-something” FPS in 1600×900 on Xbox One.
One of the reasons given for the differences is that both parties are still working on the drivers for the consoles, the Xbox One drivers are said be “horrible” and Microsoft is “lagging behind”.
However the anonymous developers are also claiming “procedural generation or raytracing via parametric surfaces… Xbox One will be likely be faster”
Alarmingly, one source has suggested that PlayStation 4 version of cross platform titles could be “castrated” so both versions of the game look identical. This would be done to “avoid ruffling any feathers” and “damage perceptions of a cross platform title, not to mention Xbox One.”
However, another studio has dismissed the suggestion, “It would be totally fine for us to make one version prettier without any political difficulties but it usually doesn’t make financial sense.”
If gamers ever uncover proof of a PlayStation 4 game being deliberately restricted just to make it on par with Xbox One then it might not just be the console that gets castrated.
Source: Edge
tonyyeb
Does anyone really care just so long as the games don’t suffer? Is the real world difference going to be much more than we’ve already seen this gen?
Pesico
If PS4 actually is 40-50% different, then they could make games better on PS4, but it doesn’t look like they want to make it to much different. Except for timed exclusives. That seems to be just fine for business.
irish-sid
You’re the reason people get way with crap like this.
HunterGatherer
The Xbox360 has held back the PS3 this gen, so it looks like a repeat all over again.
Sick and tired of lazy devs on cross platform games coding in the bad old way and then hacking it to work on superior PS3 hardware.
You wouldn’t believe the number of multi platform games that never touch any of the 7 PS3 spu cores (each one alone being as capable as a Pentium4)
beeje13
Yeah some games only use the single PPU (double threaded though).
Eldur
I think the PS3 did just as much to hold itself back unfortnately. The Cell architecture was quite different from the established Direct X kernel used on the XBox 360 which lead to many devs thinking it was more ‘difficult’ to program for. Much easier to code the whole thing on XBox and then port it, rather than to code on PS3’s unusual OpenGL / Linux kernel.
Hence why many PS3 versions of third party games are poor conversions when compared to the XBox ‘originals’…
The PS4’s architecture seems much more mainstream this time around, so maybe the shoe’s on the other foot in this generation?
Cort
You can’t blame the 360 for holding back the PS3 when Sony’s own devs took two-to-three years to work out how to use the architecture properly. Fortunately Shu, House and the fantastic Mr Cerny made sure they learned the lesson.
HunterGatherer
PS3 Fist party launch titles were totally making use of the hardware. Despite Microsoft’s 14 month headstart, games like Ratchet and clank Tools of Destruction were totally making the Xbox exclusives at the time looks graphically last-gen.
By the time Uncharted 2 arrived, PS3 was miles ahead.
ohmikkie
@Eldur – I agree with your comment regarding familiarity with the CELL architecture, but “unusual OpenGL.Linux kernel? I have to disagree upon given:-
1) OpenGL and Linux has nothing to do with each other.
2) OpenGL is more widely used commercially in general (opinion based on the fact that OpenGL libraries is available on platforms).
3) There are actually very few functional differences between OpenGL and Direct3D.
Pesico
This is why exclusive games are important. Naughty Dog is reason enough for me to be very happy with PlayStation. No bad words against Xbox though.
bunimomike
Well said, fella. I don’t doubt most of the devs will get a lot from the PS4 and the Xbox One games will look suitably splendid too. However, the exclusive titles (ie. The Last of Us, this gen) will be the ones we’re really looking forward to when we see what Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch (to maybe a slightly lesser degree) can do on the PS4.
People need to keep in mind that this percentage increase that’s hitting the headlines is computational not visual. Most devs and hardware geeks are looking at a real-world difference of around 15 to 33% percent depending on the title.
Tuffcub
Sucker Punch are the ones to watch. Seen InFamous running and it is stunningly good.
KeRaSh
What TC said. The gameplay videos and screenshots already look amazing but I’ve read that seeing it with your own eyes puts it on a whole new level. So excited for this game.
Cort
I don’t know TC. Have wee seen what ND have done with it yet? *That* Nepalese street camera pan is the only gaming scene which has made my jaw literally drop and call others into the room.
Eldave0
Not sure why Penello keeps fighting this. I love the look of the X1 but it’s clear the PS4 has a better spec. Will it make much difference? Doubt it, both team’s exclusives will look stunning. Should we care? Nope, if you care about specs take your business over to the PC scene. Consoles will always be about convenience first and specs second.
Cort
He has no choice. MS bet that Sony would go very conservative this gen, a gamble that so obviously has failed. Remember, Kinect took as much effort to develop as the console, and is probably a £150 device. So the One hardware itself if probably only a £280 machine.
Still, the One looks like a good gaming machine, with some good exclusives. Good luck to those who take the dive, but I’m sticking with the PS4. Just hurry up with the next ND game, stop talking about TLG (it’s dead to me), and keep your GT7 because I give up with the IP. ;o)
Kennykazey
This would mean that even if the visuals are identical, the framerate should be better on PS4.
beeje13
Unless they lock it down to 30 or something. But still ,less framerate DROPS on PS4 at least.
Starman
The only way this will be proven (and matter) is if all ps4 games are noticeably better visually than anything on the X1. From what I’ve seen so far they look even.
yiddo
So power only equals visuals.
Wow.
Starman
Well done for misunderstanding my comment.
yiddo
Nope. You just make no sense.
Your ignorance is beyond belief. The only way it is proven and matters is if all PS4 games are better visually? Holy crap.
It’s like you took it as ‘it’s 50% more powerful, must mean it HAS to show it is visually better by 50%’. Not the fact that the PS4 version of games can excel in many other areas too, such as FPS, more detailed/smoother physics etc.
Kennykazey
Or if they run better.
Scythegpd
Anonymous source? Never heard of em!
Anyway, multiplats never show the meat of a console so, at the least, this gen there should be parity (perhaps marginal differences like less loading times or something) unlike last gen. However if PS4 versions are gimped again (I could give some PS3 leeway because of the unusual architecture and games companies needing to run as a business) then there will be some serious questions.
It’s exclusives where consoles really shine and, if what they’re saying is true, where the PS4 will really set the bar. Similar to the PS3. But that’s still a way off, we don’t even have launch titles in our hands yet!
Bilbo_bobbins
Which is why Sony excel at their exclusives. May they reign over any Multiplatform games. Killzone, look at that in the alpha stage compared to BF4? MASSIVE difference already.
Klart
Yup, KZ really has me convinced it’s true next gen. BF4 on PS4/XBOXONE hasn’t.
yiddo
A lot of people on here have alot of humble pie to eat :)
This should hopefully mean that multiplats run abit smoother and look abit better on PS4, similar to how 360 was to PS3 this gen. And to those saying it doesn’t make a difference, it will. Have you played RDR on both 360 and PS3? Or Mafia II? Both of them are far better visually and performance wise on the 360.
blarty
Any finding that a ps4 game getting hobbled for the XB1 should immediately ask ‘WHy is it ok now? You didn’t do hobble the 360 ports of your games, when you bitched like ^*&£ about the Cell?’
How Epic got away with allowing poor ports of games based on UE3 I will never know
Wardy-77-
Exactly funny how they don’t want to ruffle any feathers this time, when it looks like the shoe may possibly be on the other foot they suddenly want to make everything equal.
yiddo
Don’t worry, they won’t gimp the PS4 version to cater to the lowest common denominator.
The developer from People Can Fly has even said that the PS4 versions of multiplatform games will be far superior, and that is unlikely that devs will gimp the PS4 version. He said ‘the devs will surprise you’ which fills me with confidence that devs will try and squeeze as much out of the ps4 as possible.
beeje13
Oh god, that could be next crap MS pull, paying up devs to make sure the X1 version is at least very close to the PS4. Probably they won’t go that far, but you never know.
plutoniumdragon
Given the amount of money Microsoft has had at its disposal in the past I wouldn’t dismiss that possibility out of hand. That said though, Microsoft has far more pressing concerns in its core business at the moment, than trying to distort the console market ;)
Kreisash
Personally I think that’s exactly what they will do.
They had stupid clauses and condition on their indy stuff, why not pay a bit more and get the same ‘equal’ footing for large releases?
It’s complete crap, but it’s Microsoft.