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We’ve heard a ton of talk about Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 720 over the last year or so but surprisingly, there hasn’t been hardly any chatter to speak of with regards to Sony’s next generation console. That of course doesn’t mean the Japanese electronics giant hasn’t been hard at working designing hardware and software for the PlayStation 4.
A recent report from VG24/7 claims that Sony is now sending second generation development kits, codenamed Orbis, to select game studios. The hardware is contained inside of a typical PC chassis, a huge step over the first generation kit that was little more than a graphics card. A third revision is expected to land in developers’ hands sometime in January before the finished product arrives next summer.
Speaking of graphics, Orbis is said to be powered by a modified AMD A10 APU which as you know, combines the CPU and GPU into a single unit. The console is expected to have either 8GB or 16GB of RAM when it ships to customers, an optical drive capable of Blu-ray playback as well as a 256GB hard drive. Wi-Fi, Ethernet connectivity and HDMI-out will all come standard.
Sources claim the ultimate goal of the PS4 is to be able to produce 3D gaming at 60FPS / 1080p resolution.
We’re also hearing that the console could be announced before E3 next year. That event is scheduled to start on June 11, 2013 which is leading some to believe Sony might unveil it at PAX East on March 22.
User Comments: 29
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Secondly, you say Sony is dumb to have switched to x86 CPU design.
No, actually, I meant it was dumb to go to a cell and then to an x86. But I think dedicated hardware should be the path they take, not this generic x86 crap. I have a computer for that. I miss the days when a console was unique in hardware design. You'd think with 7 years for design, they'd have something better on the table.
And, No, I don't think BC is mandatory. But, it should be an option for longstanding customers. All disc players burn out sooner or later. NES-SNES-N64 systems can last forever. I know, I have them and they work as good as the day they were made.
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NTAPRO said:
BC might not be a lost hope yet. Sony is actually looking to have the PS2 Emulation Debug Engineer position filled
Source: [link]
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killeriii,
2) Faster CPU (while AMD's CPUs can't hold a candle to Intel, they are still far superior to IBM's
While I don't entirely disagree with you, I don't agree with your second opinion, this is a highly debatable subject the PPC structure on a video games console is highly efficient with it's out of order instruction processing that is very good for gaming and longevity on a console, I agree the CELL CPU is absolute marketing garbage and is an god awful CPU, but PPC in general is very very good for gaming, the x64/x84 is great for PC development because of the OS behind it, also worth noting that if the stock PS4 has anything over 3GB of RAM then it's an x64 platform and not a x86 platform.
PPC has always been known for it's ability to out perform the equivalent intel/AMD CPU, and seeing as all hardware companies are not going to be forking out for i7's I think we can safely say that the PPC consoles will out perform the x64 PS4 at least in CPU performance as the A10 is still a budget end build for a gaming PC (let's hope for developer optimisation).
Also what happened to the PS4's 10 year shelf life before the next system is released? By my estimates the PS4 should not be released for another 3 years according to Sony.
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8gb or 16gb? Aren't current consoles managing with 1gb? :')
16 would be major overkill...
No it wouldn't be overkill. The PS3 in very limited by it's small amount of memory. It basically has zero multitasking capabilities. The in-game XMB is basically useless because you can't do two things on the PS3 at the same time. It also causes framerate problems on some games and makes some games unable to be played in full 1080p resolution. Low memory is the reason why things like cross-game chat aren't possible on the PS3. Sony likes it's consoles to have a life span of at least ten years. The amount of memory they put in the PS3 was very short-sighted considering that most basic computers had more memory in 2006 than the PS3 which is expected to play HD games and be on the market for a decade or more. 16GB really isn't that outrageous for a powerful HD gaming multimedia device like the PS4 which is expected to be around for 10 or more years. Plus, memory is relatively inexpensive so there's no reason to cut corners.
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