One of the big selling points of both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are the custom SSD both will come packing at launch later this year. And according to Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, it's a good thing that Sony Interactive Entertainment and the PS5 are investing in an SSD. Of course, I'm sure Spencer wouldn't mind a world where the Xbox Series X had an SSD and the PS5 didn't, but that world doesn't exist. That said, Spencer notes that the big winner here are developers and gamers. The former will be able to create games that utilize this technology because the larger install base will be playing on consoles that support the tech, which in turns means better games for the latter.

"I like that Mark Cerny and his team at Sony are also investing in an SSD for the PlayStation 5, the engines and tools can implement corresponding functions," said Phil Spencer while speaking with PC Games Hardware. "Together we will ensure a larger installed base - and developers will do everything possible to master and support the programming of these hardware capabilities. I don't have a PS5 development kit, I don't even think our Minecraft team does. But it will be exciting to see how the industry will benefit from the comprehensive use of such solutions."

As you can see, Spencer also seemingly suggests that he doesn't know entirely what the PS5 is packing, and even notes that Mojang hasn't received a development kit yet. Now, given that Mojang is owned by Microsoft, this isn't very surprising. After all, PlayStation wouldn't want to hand a development kit over to a competitor before launch. However, Minecraft is, and has been for awhile, one of the biggest games in the world. In other words, the chances that Minecraft will come to Xbox Series X before PS5 are high, which could be a selling point for early adopting parents who know their kids' favorite game is Minecraft.

What's also interesting to ponder is what impact this will have for PC gaming. Many gaming PCs already utilize an SSD, but will we see the tech in the system requirements going forward?



Posted: Jan 04, 2020 5:53 pm
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/2020/01/01/ps5-playstation-xbox-phil-spencer/