Playstation 4 to have PC-like hardware

WhiteZero

WhiteZero

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Looks like Playstation 4 will ditch Cell architecture for easier-to-code-for x86

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...-cell-like-cpu-for-amd-pc-like-innards-report
http://www.forbes.com/sites/briancaulfield/2012/02/22/the-predator/

"It's not about exotic, groundbreaking hardware any more, it's all about creating the best possible games machine with an enviable set of development tools."
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I really like this new mentality, if they stick with it. This could be good for PC/Windows ports of games.
 
Could this be the change we needed?

I'm hoping this is the result of Kaz. I'm sure he was hamstringed to say that about the cell architecture lol.
 
Will you be able to play with mouse and keyboard? If not, I'll stick to my gaming PCs.
 
Smart.

It'll be an ideal complement to my PC the same as the PS3 has been.
 
I don't care what innards it has. As long as we could switch out the video card, so that way, the future of graphics can actually evolve at a run, instead of a crawl.
 
Not sure switching out internal components in a console would be "ideal" for Sony or any other manufacturer. This leaves the less technically inclined at a disadvantage, as they will probably not perform these types of hardware swaps themselves if it requires any sort of screwdriver turning or messing with the innards of a console. It would also call for customizable user settings in games for those that have higher end components in their console, not sure how this would work. I fully support an x86 architecture though in the hopes that it would make ports to PC easier and less time consuming for developers, so that we can see more games go multi-platform.
 
EPOQ said:
Not sure switching out internal components in a console would be "ideal" for Sony or any other manufacturer. This leaves the less technically inclined at a disadvantage, as they will probably not perform these types of hardware swaps themselves if it requires any sort of screwdriver turning or messing with the innards of a console. It would also call for customizable user settings in games for those that have higher end components in their console, not sure how this would work. I fully support an x86 architecture though in the hopes that it would make ports to PC easier and less time consuming for developers, so that we can see more games go multi-platform.
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Wat?

I think they fully intend to keep the hardware standardized across the lifespan of the console; similar to XBox 360.

scojer said:
I don't care what innards it has. As long as we could switch out the video card, so that way, the future of graphics can actually evolve at a run, instead of a crawl.
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The issue would be that the OS/Software would be coded specifically for what hardware comes in the default system.
 
Too many headaches for console manufacturers to deviate away from standardized hardware.
 
Consoles will never allow upgrading, because it will actually hurt performance. When you can develop for 1 specific hardware set your code can be far more optimized. Look at what can be squeezed out of the pathetic hardware in the current gen consoles, it is quite impressive.
 
Why would you even want modular hardware on a console? Then it's just PC that happens to be running yet another OS and hardware mishmash you have to account for.
 
Say goodbye to any backwards compatibility if they ditch the Cell.
 
theNoid said:
Say goodbye to any backwards compatibility if they ditch the Cell.
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pagh, Sony (and now MS :() have both went on the "remastering," train of reselling old games. Nintendo, I'd argue, has always done this :p
 
theNoid said:
Say goodbye to any backwards compatibility if they ditch the Cell.
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Been that way for a while at least in terms of hardware emulation. Once Sony moved past the "launch day era" PS3's that was it for that.

It's all software emulation now and has been for a while.


jeremyshaw said:
pagh, Sony (and now MS :() have both went on the "remastering," train of reselling old games. Nintendo, I'd argue, has always done this :p
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Exactly. I like some of what's been done for games I really care about.
 
Q-BZ said:
Been that way for a while at least in terms of hardware emulation. Once Sony moved past the "launch day era" PS3's that was it for that.

It's all software emulation now and has been for a while.




Exactly. I like some of what's been done for games I really care about.
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To be true, it does help old games keep fresh in graphics, and normally, the better gameplay takes ya in anyways :D
 
As long as SCE developers are still around the Playstation will be the leading platform in my eyes. Sony has the best exclusive developers in the industry. Plus with more 'pc like' hardware, the 3rd party title ports to PS4 will be better.
 
There probably going to go with some kind of Llano design.

Llano processor with a 6670 GPU for Cross fire would be my guess.
 
I'm definitely interested in articles like this that point to the direction of the hardware, but what I really want to see is a date. I really hope that by fall 2013 I will be able to decide to buy or not to buy a PS4. I am afraid SONY is going to focus too hard on the Vita this summer and put off any discussion of a PS4 to next year.

It would be nice to see some less exotic hardware though. With any luck that will make it simple to develop for and also help keep the costs down. It sure would be nice to get a $400 console on launch day rather than what the PS3 launched at.
 
Several consoles have tried to the "upgrade" thing, and it just never seemed to work out well. That said, if they had a few components like graphics card, cpu, memory and/or harddrive be easily swappable, like in a proprietary cartridge-like form, then they could do a playstation 4.5 and increase the life a bit. I just don't see that happening.
 
Youn said:
Several consoles have tried to the "upgrade" thing, and it just never seemed to work out well. That said, if they had a few components like graphics card, cpu, memory and/or harddrive be easily swappable, like in a proprietary cartridge-like form, then they could do a playstation 4.5 and increase the life a bit. I just don't see that happening.
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Problem with this is that developers will still create games for the weakest (baseline) part of the platform. That makes upgrades pointless.

Nobody said that Sony is going to make a PC/console hybrid. They're just going to use traditional PC processor architecture.
 
Well, some could argue that the expansion pack for the n64 was successful. most games didn't require it but if it was there it boosted certain aspects of the graphics
 
Youn said:
Well, some could argue that the expansion pack for the n64 was successful. most games didn't require it but if it was there it boosted certain aspects of the graphics
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Gaming has changed a lot from those days. We have more market penetration and more games. Something like the N64 Expansion Cart just wouldn't be feasible anymore.
 
I was hoping it would be similar to ps3 in order to maintain backwards compatibility...
 
This is good, because I don't think that developers really "got" the cell architecture thus it went under utilized.
 
Domingo said:
Why would you even want modular hardware on a console? Then it's just PC that happens to be running yet another OS and hardware mishmash you have to account for.
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That's a good thing. Maybe not for Sony who wishes to lock things down, but a good for gaming in general.
 
All I meant was something similar to what they have now whenever you can "upgrade" the hard drives. Just a little bay that you can swap out a GPU later down the road or something, so when they hit the plateau of graphics, they can move on to better graphics. And, seems how it'd be only the GPU getting upgraded, then they can still write for the baseline components, and include an option for the people who get the newer gpu. Maybe higher texture resolution, or better AA. Yes what they can do with the modern hardware is impressive, but they need room to expand. I don't know, I'm tired and I'm rambling, hope this makes sense to someone.
 
Wheresatom said:
I'm definitely interested in articles like this that point to the direction of the hardware, but what I really want to see is a date. I really hope that by fall 2013 I will be able to decide to buy or not to buy a PS4. I am afraid SONY is going to focus too hard on the Vita this summer and put off any discussion of a PS4 to next year.

It would be nice to see some less exotic hardware though. With any luck that will make it simple to develop for and also help keep the costs down. It sure would be nice to get a $400 console on launch day rather than what the PS3 launched at.
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I don't really understand why you would want a new console at this point. The PS3 has plenty of life in it and Sony knows it. And this business with the new hardware architecture going forward, is diffidently thanks to Kaz Hirai. I remember reading that the guy who was responsible for the PS3 (forget his name) was all about hardware which is why Sony wasnt making money on the PS3 for the first year and a half of its lifetime and launched at such a expensive price. I do hope Sony puts forth plenty of effort into the Vita because it's a amazing piece of gaming kit and the upcoming titles are really exciting.

I certainly wouldn't buy any new consoles in the next two years at least. Especially with the completion of my new gaming PC and my PSVita purchase. I still think the current consoles are great for the level of graphics we have today and if Sony or Microsoft release a new console within the next year or so, the graphical jump would be nowhere near what we saw from PS2 graphics to PS3.
 
I am beyond caring what is in it. As long as it is at least as powerful as my PC is today (i7 960, GeForce 460, 6GB RAM), I will be happy.
 
Staples said:
I am beyond caring what is in it. As long as it is at least as powerful as my PC is today (i7 960, GeForce 460, 6GB RAM), I will be happy.
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Guessing youll be pretty pissed off on the raw powerful front (especially if they go with something crap like an AMD APU, as we'll go from console port to netbook ports :(). But it might be capable of producing graphics of about the same quality.
 
YeuEmMaiMai said:
No,

Nintendo has let people pretty much have their way with homebrew for the Wii......although the do claim that a system update may break it.....
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I find things like letting me put a SSD or a larger hard drive in it from a 3rd party and not voiding the warranty. Wii may be that way but i dont have one. Nothing is as bad as proprietary xbox though.
 
Youn said:
Well, some could argue that the expansion pack for the n64 was successful. most games didn't require it but if it was there it boosted certain aspects of the graphics
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I wouldn't describe it as all that successful. I owned one, and for the most part it was useless except for a couple of games which needed it and if you didn't have it you were fucked (perfect dark, majora's mask). There was only a few games that made use of it to good effect without hamstringing users without one. My friend never owned the expansion pack and the only time it affected him was when I loaned him my copy of perfect dark.
 
Youn said:
Well, some could argue that the expansion pack for the n64 was successful. most games didn't require it but if it was there it boosted certain aspects of the graphics
Click to expand...

yeah and it made games look sharper and run at like 15 fps.
 
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