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PS5 Games Might Be Harder To Develop Than Xbox Series X Versions
With next-generation consoles approaching, PS5 games might be harder to develop than their Xbox Series X versions. Sony had been rather tight-lipped about the console until the PS5 reveal event on June 11, 2020, which had insane viewership figures. The showcase also revealed a total of 26 PS5 games coming to the next-gen system, with a new Ratchet & Clank, Godfall, and Hitman 3 being among some of the bigger projects - however, many of those reveals are only timed exclusives or outright multi-platform, so much of that lineup will also come to Xbox Series X.
The Xbox Series X received its official reveal at the Game Awards 2019, where Microsoft Studios also debuted a new trailer for Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga. Like the PS5, Xbox Game Studios’ next-gen system is centered around the utilization of an SSD, with the primary intention being to reduce loading times in games. Another coveted feature, however, is the console’s utilization of backwards compatibility - the company claims the Xbox Series X will boost all backwards-compatible games at launch.
According to Wccftech, Xbox Series X Director of Program Management Jason Ronald (in an interview published on Spanish-language website Xataka) implied that PS5 games might be harder to develop than Xbox Series X versions. Ronald discussed why Microsoft chose not focus on higher theoretical teraflop figures, suggesting doing so “would have made it harder for developers to optimize their games.” The director went on to state that Xbox Game Studios is more concerned with “consistent and sustained performance.”
Ronald further indicated that using forced or variable clocks would have made it more difficult for multi-platform optimization "even though it would have allowed us to boast higher TFLOPS than we already had.” He said that the gaming experiences developers are able to build on a console are more important than marketing big numbers purely on their merit of being high, a calculated jab at Sony. The manager went on to discuss other advantages the Xbox Series X has up its sleeve, such as Direct Storage giving developers “direct access to the NVMe controller,” which allows them improved management of input/output (I/O) speed.
Flaunting high teraflop numbers or any other technical triumph in the console world is par for the course during the buildup to a new generation. Primarily, the brags are used as marketing ploys and sound fancy to less tech-savvy consumers. While higher teraflop figures and I/O speeds are useful in a practical sense for smoother gameplay and overall technical fidelity, producing higher numbers for their own sake eventually causes stability problems and overheating issues - something for which the Xbox One X was infamous. Technology is always advancing, propelling both the industry and consumers into the future, and while the expediency with which it advances is exhilarating, sometimes throttling technological progress to a slightly lower speed produces superior results.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X both boast impressive TFLOP numbers over their predecessors, and despite the technical advantage PS5 has in that regard over the Xbox Series X, the typical gamer won't notice the difference between each console’s performance. There will always be die-hard fanboys, but unless someone is technologically well-versed, it’s doubtful they'll see any objective performance difference between the two. Most gamers just want to play the titles they love. If next-gen consoles deliver on that promise with noticeable improvements over their predecessors, fans will be mostly appeased… unless their systems meltdown.
PS5 and Xbox Series X are expected to launch in holiday 2020.
