Playstation 5: Thread 01

[EvilBoris]

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.

Yeah this is the biggest improvement for the generation. Horizon basically does this already - look how good that looks.

[nonny]

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.

Yeah it was there in early shots but not in the final retail unit. No-one knows why but it's omission means Astro etc... will need to look at other means, such as using USB. It's not a deal breaker but it's a weird thing to remove if it was there in early design... Might be a cost cutting effort, who knows!?

As for the Xbox Series X being more brute power. That is the smart move on MS part as you're going to have games on Series X, Xbox One and PC, plus whatever the lower tier unit is called (Series S you'd assume). So they want to make it as easy as possible for Devs to scale through that whole structure without issues.

I'm sure with Sony we will see some killer first party games tap into the custom stuff they've got under the hood but it remains to be see whether 3rd parties will do the same. Some will but my guess is others won't afford the time and money to leverage it if their building across many platforms.

[CMcK]

The SSDs in both new systems should allow for that kind of thing. It’s a bit silly saying the SSDs are an extension of RAM they’re too slow and access times will still be way higher than the GDDR6.

[CMcK]

Yeah this is the biggest improvement for the generation. Horizon basically does this already - look how good that looks.

The SSDs in both new systems should allow for that kind of thing. It’s a bit silly saying the SSDs are an extension of RAM they’re too slow and access times will still be way higher than the GDDR6.

[fishbowlhead]

The SSDs in both new systems should allow for that kind of thing. It’s a bit silly saying the SSDs are an extension of RAM they’re too slow and access times will still be way higher than the GDDR6.

The ssd in the ps5 along with its custom i/o set up means it can act as slow ram. However as with all these things, probably only 1st party will be able to take advantage of it, but that's always the case anyway with every generation and console foibles.


One thing i'm concerned about is 3rd parties not cleaning their act up with code and dumping loads of crap on hard drives, filling them up instantly (both consoles).

[Cassius_Smoke]

The ssd in the ps5 along with its custom i/o set up means it can act as slow ram. However as with all these things, probably only 1st party will be able to take advantage of it, but that's always the case anyway with every generation and console foibles.


One thing i'm concerned about is 3rd parties not cleaning their act up with code and dumping loads of crap on hard drives, filling them up instantly (both consoles).

Unfortunately we could have to thank MS for that. Having games run on both generations means old code forced to run on new consoles.

[vanpeebles]

Old Codes New Chaos.

[Neon Ignition]

That's ultimately the real world issue. XSX has the brunt power edge but the inevitable sacrifice is that it'll either be more expensive or equally priced to PS5. Both systems launching during an aggressive recession, coming off the back of current gen means Microsoft is incredibly dependent on having a defining sales point against Sony. Despite how praised they are we know that neither backwards compatibility or Game Pass shift hardware against Sony's lead so they still have to contend with their marketing issue of convincing 100m+ gamers to spend £400+ during hard conditions and to break with a platform they have invested in and trust. Leveraging that power into their exclusives is the obvious choice but we know that they're not doing that because the Xbox One remains the primary base. It's so odd for them to potentially have one advantage over the PS5 but choose to handcuff that exact perk to make it redundant.

[nonny]

My gut feel right now is whatever price point one system announces the other will match it. The only caveat is whether MS is going to release two SKUs side by side... If that happens I think they will position either side of the PS5 by about £30-50 but throw in a years worth of game pass as standard

I also think given the current world situation both are going to be expensive and possibly delayed or in very short supply at launch.

[Brad]

Everyone will stick with the platform they favour already. Not enough difference in either system to sway anybody really.

[Neon Ignition]

Yeah, Era likes to speculate about Lockhart a lot but to me, if MS announce it then it'll just end up being a recreation of the current situation where MS has the XBO S and the XBO X positioned on either side of the PS4 but hardly anyone cares about either as they don't deal with the platforms real underlying issues

[randombs]

My loyalty lies with my EDF brothers.

I stopped watching the presentation after a few minutes of boring numbers* and tried the Digital Foundry run-through which was even more boring numbers but without Cerny. Cerny sounds like how the errmerrgerd guy would pronounce Sony, but I digress.

I agree with the post about the jolly good old Emotion Engine days, but I appreciate Sony and MS just giving us boring numbers and allowing everyone to draw their own conclusions. Speaking of which, I know it’s all about the games but it’s still fun to speculate.

A more powerful console whose games might be gimped by having to cater to the last gen, and a less powerful one that has no such constraints.

Interesting times!.

* this isn’t a dig at the presentation. I know it was meant for game developers. I was doing dishes at the time.

[CMcK]

As much as I get somewhat over excited about new hardware multi platform games will still rule the market and any first party titles that really push the new system are realistically two years away.
If both systems cost the same MS can push the value angle with Game Pass. And considering the looming Great Depression 2: Your Shares Are Screwed a cheaper next gen system could be a real winner.

[Neon Ignition]

It sounds cold but realistically the current issue compounds how little of a competition there really will be between PS5 and XSX commercially. MS's console will get crushed in that regard and for Game Pass etc I imagine we'll start seeing its expansion beyond Xbox consoles quickly as that's where MS's future lies.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-03-20-sony-clarifies-overwhelming-majority-of-ps4-games-will-be-backward-compatible-on-ps5

Sony clarifies the backwards compatibility function of the Playstation 5

It will play the majority of the PS4 library, not just the majority of its top 100 titles