PS4′s architecture offers more customisation than PC, says Cerny

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PlayStation 4′s architect Mark Cerny has told VG247 that the console’s “super-charged PC architecture” will give Sony and developers more customisation than they’d find on PC, helping to give the console more room to expand and improve throughout the next-gen cycle.

Speaking with Dave Owen at a recent event, Cerny stressed that PS4 was designed to offer any developer – be it a small indie or a triple-a powerhouse – flexibility and room to create technically proficient experiences.

“We wanted the focus to be on the games that the creative directors wanted to make,” he explained, “rather than the minutiae of the hardware. That’s universal. That’s true whether you’re talking Destiny with their 700-strong team or you’re talking one guy doing everything. They want to focus on the creative vision.

“At the same time we have to balance that out with a rich feature set that they can use in the later years of the hardware. The hardware has to grow over time. That’s why I refer to it as a super-charged PC architecture – there’s more in it than what you find in a PC.

“There are all these customisations, such as what we did to the GPU and other parts of the system to ensure that they would really be these systems that programmers could dig into in year three or four of the console life-cycle.”

Such customisation will allow the PS4 to expand with new capabilities moving forward across the next cycle, both meeting the demands of developers and reacting to new trends within the industry. As the base PS4 architecture will remain largely the same for years, developers will have a long time to get to grips with it, and slowly learn any new facets as they emerge.

Cerny continued, “The developers really have a chance to study that architecture because it doesn’t change for many years. They can learn its secrets and get progressively better performance out of it. Consoles also provide a stable platform.

“This is really important because some developers need five years to create a game. The fact that during that five year period the target hardware doesn’t change really allows them to bring titles to the world that couldn’t exist otherwise.”

What do you make of the console’s PC-like architecture? You can also check out my recent interview with Warframe developer Digital Extremes which, thanks to the PS4′s architecture managed to port its shooter to Sony’s console in just three months.

Posted:
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/07/12/ps4s-super-charged-architecture-offers-more-customisation-than-pc-says-cerny/

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"PS4′s architecture offers more customisation than PC, says Cerny" :: Login/Create an Account :: 89 comments

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Fuzzeh_XPosted:

ExoticWolfs I don't see how this is... PC will probably always be top notch on gaming. There is so much more to do, so much more mods, and just a lot more enjoyable. PC's are just expensive, if you want to go out and buy a gaming PC. I would like to see how this turns out though. ;)
Gaming P.C.'s honestly aren't that expensive you can build one for just a little more money than an Xbox One honestly I hate that it's a stereotype that gaming rigs are expensive there'd be a lot more P.C. gamers if it wasn't such a strong stereotype.

ExoticWolfsPosted:

I don't see how this is... PC will probably always be top notch on gaming. There is so much more to do, so much more mods, and just a lot more enjoyable. PC's are just expensive, if you want to go out and buy a gaming PC. I would like to see how this turns out though. ;)

RuinsPosted:

when they both are released there will be a more in depth comparison

RuinsPosted:

Tides
RATF
Jibbers this is really interesting


it is. i am getting both the Xbox and PS4


I was going to also, but I think I'm just getting the ps4.


i did not like the PS3 so i'm getting both but in my own opinion i prefer Xbox.

lolnoPosted:

RATF
Jibbers this is really interesting


it is. i am getting both the Xbox and PS4


I was going to also, but I think I'm just getting the ps4.

DawPosted:

Hue
RATF
Jibbers this is really interesting


it is. i am getting both the Xbox and PS4


I was going to, but I am just going to stick with 360 and PC for the time being!


I'm sticking with the 360 until they fix some things up and such.

EvoVIIIPosted:

Fuzzeh_X Really quick i'm going to explain how the PS4's architecture CAN be better than a P.C I don't quite understand the customizable part YET so much but lets get to it, When you look at a P.C. there are THOUSANDS of games that would never live up to the "standards" of a console but then there are games that are exclusively on P.C. like my example game that i'll be using which is Blacklight Retribution. That game is very good and if you haven't played it I recommend it, that game is made on P.C. because well P.C. like many of you are saying is superior but because of the, I guess in someway the modified x86 architecture Sony is using, they have made it where things can be run on the PS4 like a P.C., essentially with the developer kit of a PS4 is like having a P.C. hardware wise, not a literal P.C. BUT hardware WISE it is, it has the same capabilities, it is easy to make games that can be handled easily through the PS4. When you're developing for a P.C. it's easier because you don't need specific hardware honed for the Xbox or the cell processor of the PS3, for the PS4 it's going to be like a P.C. there won't be specific languages it'll be native for any developer that's why so many Indie developers are coming to PS4. Because it's as easy as developing for the P.C. but has the many benefits of a console. When you make a game for a P.C. it can be lost among the THOUSANDS of games on the P.C. but when you get your game on a console it'll be more likely to be found and gather a community that's whats beautiful about this. You guys clearly do not understand them saying this is a good thing and can be true it's for the developers. The Xbox One's architecture is extremely similar also and if you notice how let's say Defiance, pretty good game but nothing compared to MMO's on the P.C., but then if you look at games like: Elder Scrolls Online, MInecraft Xbox One Edition, The Division, and Destiny which idc what anyone says they all look amazing and those games are almost actually pretty much impossible on current gen consoles The Division maybe but definitely not the others, now they are and it's because they are pretty much on par and some ways yes even better than a P.C. because consoles are dedicated gaming machines and yes the Xbox One to, to everyone that's making fun of the Xbox One, this CAN be better than a P.C. And yes this is the quick rushed typed version I could get way more into it but some people here are so damn stubborn that idc. These consoles aren't just magically better because they're dubbed next-gen it's because they now have the hardware that makes P.C. sooo damn good not just RAM and memory. It's this architecture that will make developers want to make games for consoles because i'm not sure if guys know this but consoles could easily be dead by the next two generations.


Wow That Was A Lot To Read.

ImprovePosted:

So far I've seen no egotistic PC fanboys. How strange.

RuinsPosted:

Jibbers this is really interesting


it is. i am getting both the Xbox and PS4

MykhalPosted:

this is really interesting


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