Playstation 5: Thread 01

[Cassius_Smoke]

Yeah that's true, I have a huge list of PS4 games I wanna play first.
Did I hear that the PS5 is going to make improvements to the ps4 games or did I make that up?

[jamesy]

Yeah that's true, I have a huge list of PS4 games I wanna play first.
Did I hear that the PS5 is going to make improvements to the ps4 games or did I make that up?

By the sounds of things in that presentation it unfortunately doesn't seem to be the case. Looks like they use a ps4 pro legacy and ps4 legacy mode of sorts. Cerny mentioned that some games didn't work properly with the higher speeds but I could be wrong.

[Tobal]

my takeaway from the ps4 games was they'll be doing xbox backwards emulation like wrapper for the top played ps4 games, and not to expect everything to work day one or only these top 100 games they are testing will work and at best we're just getting faster load times.

[MartyG]

my takeaway from the ps4 games was they'll be doing xbox backwards emulation like wrapper for the top played ps4 games, and not to expect everything to work day one or only these top 100 games they are testing will work and at best we're just getting faster load times.

Lots of different versions of CoD and FIFA then

[CMcK]

Must admit I’m a bit disappointed with the PS5 news. It looks like they have sacrificed on some fronts with a fixation on the storage system being the largest bottle neck this generation. The boost clock thing won’t really be end user facing but developers will have to seek a balance. It will be interesting to see how much the CPU has to yield for maximum GPU clock and vice versa.
I am intrigued to hear more about the HRTF audio aspect. The PSVR uses that type of tech to good effect already and the Atmos over headphones stuff on Xbox is great too.
I like how the teams at MS and Sony have come at the same problem with different solutions. Sony are brute forcing the storage system while MS are trying to be smarter by loading less stuff.
I was also expecting more memory bandwidth in the PS5 too but I guess 14Gbps chips will be cheaper.

[fishbowlhead]

Also something thats also being glossed over was Cerny said the ssd and its r/w speeds are so quick the console can use the ssd almost like ram.

Im sure 1st party’s will take advantage of this and 3rd will probably not bother, it is certainly an interesting bit of tech.

Next gen is going to be an interesting battle thats for sure.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-03-18-playstation-5-backwards-compatible-with-almost-all-top-ps4-games-at-launch

Not sure if it's indicative in any way but one line in this page says PS5 seems to tackle backwards compatibility in the same way as XSX does so presumably we'll see similar results.

[CMcK]

Xbox uses a virtual environment to allow back compat so it’s a software thing. Sony uses a low level API on PS4 which while allowing closer access to the metal will make BC more difficult unless it’s implemented in hardware. The Pro was designed the way it was to facilitate BC and given the amount of CUs in the PS5 GPU I guess it’s been done in a similar fashion. Unlikely PS4 games on the PS5 will receive any enhancements as we have seen with Xbox One and X.

[Neon Ignition]

If that's the case then what chance are we looking at for PS5 to come in cheaper than XSX? Surely that's the next main weapon Sony will be aiming for

[Digfox]

Missed the presentation, after a fairly manic day but caught up now.

• Thought Sony going with proprietary storage was a given and Microsoft would allow standard NVMe drives, but it has ended up the other way around. I loved the Sony presentation on their new SSD controller, the loading times and that Sony is risking users being able to use not yet available PCI-E 4.0 NVMe solutions. I don't like the thought of proprietary expandable storage so really prefer what Sony have done here, even if it's much riskier and more confusing for the consumer.
• The details on the 3D audio and the work Sony has done, made me realise, they really understand HRTF and where that tech is going with trying to individually map users ear shapes etc. Particularly in terms of some of the waffle MS delivered with regards to their audio. Related to this, I still have this feeling that Microsoft stick with proprietary audio solutions and not allow the use of external DAC/AMPs. So you'll still have to buy their endorsed solutions for sound and voice. We'll see how this develops.

It feels like Sony's hardware is more efficiently designed in line with a clearer vision, where as Microsoft have gone with more brute force. Although clearly both consoles are very similar. Whether Sony realise their huge SSD advantage beyond first-party is going to be interesting to watch.

Unlike PS4/XBO Microsoft haven't dropped the ball so I am genuinely unsure which to go with first. Personally I sense buying after launch in 2021 (irrespective of whether both machines stick to 2020) makes more sense but either way I like some of what both are doing so going to be a difficult choice.

[Team Andromeda]

It's a warzone on neogaf lol, i have tried to catch up on stuff but the trolling is insane. Have any games actually been announced for any of these new gen consoles?

Love the meltdown on Neo and RestEra, there are even threads saying SONY should leave AMD . So far the only confirmed games are Halo and Hellblade II for the Series X

[nonny]

I liked the way Microsoft have let known channels like digital foundry go and handle the console, controller etc.. and see tech demonstrations live. That to me is what I was expecting from Sony here. If the MS approach was dry, this was cotton mouth...

I like Cerny and love that he is so technical but after a long period of no information, and given the current climate of isolation for the fan base... One hour of just him talking in front of a bunch of cardboard cutouts was the wrong approach. Sony had to know with GDC cancelled and this being fully online it needed something different..?

If they are that misguided on something so basic I wonder how everything else is going...

As for what what discussed. It all sounds good and I dare say most games are going to look and sound identical across these two new systems. The custom audio approach here I think will be interesting but probably under utilised by most cross platform developers. I also think the approach to backward compatibility is a basic one, almost like Sony took the fastest approach to catch up, where Microsoft has invested years into scalable software tech to eek out more benefits.

The biggest disappointment from the Microsoft news is the machine has no optical port (I don't know why but I use mine a lot)... And the biggest disappointment from Sonys is it was very much for developers and gave the consumer absolutely nothing else they want to see like the hardware box, games running on it...

Price and availability now seems to be the only hurdle for Microsoft, and of course they are huge. I wonder whether Sony is holding back in this regard because they know they must under cut them or worse because they are not as far along as Microsoft clearly is and could be delayed to market?

Interesting times...

[Neon Ignition]

Without a major loss leading approach (which presumably they will be less inclined to lean on given the state of things) it really does feel like we're on course for PS5 at £399 and XSX at £449.

It feels like they've built systems that best serve their first party focuses as well. The slight but of extra brunt the Series X focuses on better suits the aim of all first party games being 60fps whereas the PS5's focus on texture speed and sound better suits the single player titles that will sacrifice 60fps but look significantly better looking than XSX exclusives.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I think the biggest change is going to be that SSD. As he alluded to in the video the SSD will have blistering load times meaning that the GPU can render most of the graphics strictly in the players FOV and rapidly load them in when the player moves. This will mean far greater particle, lighting and graphics directly where the player looks.

[Digfox]

The biggest disappointment from the Microsoft news is the machine has no optical port (I don't know why but I use mine a lot)... And the biggest disappointment from Sonys is it was very much for developers and gave the consumer absolutely nothing else they want to see like the hardware box, games running on it...

Gutted, I hadn't realised that

I remember seeing the Optical Out on the early mock-ups and therefore assuming it's a given. So unless I've missed something, for decent Headphone Audio it's going to mean the XSX uses USB but if Microsoft stays to form (and their proprietary history suggest they might) then you won't be able to use a USB external DAC/AMP with XSX and have to buy the Astro Mixamp or similar box to extract Dolby Digital (and Atmos or anything better). And it means you'll be stuck using 3.5 audio jacks plugged into the controller for voice comms.

So no using your nice integrated and standard PC, PS4 (maybe PS5?) compatible audio solutions. That sucks.