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The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

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Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#41

Post by wmf »

Arelius wrote: post #26
ewzimm wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's probably true for Playstation, but I think developing for Xbox was already pretty much like developing for Windows, even with different hardware architectures. Most game devs don't looking too deeply at the hardware but just use the tools they're given. The ones who want to understand what's going on in hardware will still study the details of the CPU/GPU.

The endianess of the Xbox 360 made "already pretty much like developing for Windows" not quite accurate. And causes a lot of problems relating to I/O.

Doesn't the 360 run little-endian?

Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#43

Post by ewzimm »

voltagex_ wrote: post #22
ewzimm wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does processor architecture even matter to a consumer? Is the Xbox 360 a pre-Intel Mac because it uses PowerPC archictecture? I don't see why so many people mention this. Consoles have always been about custom software, not unique hardware architecture.

It does matter this time around because there's no direct backwards compatibility for older games.

Sony will start streaming eventually. It would be fantastic if they implemented a disc matching policy, allowing you to stream a game with the disc in the drive. Perfect backward compatibility with no software support necessary.

Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#44

Post by lowkeykiwi »

voidlogic wrote: post #25
dntrkv wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what are you trying to say exactly?

The poster I responded to mapped out why logically PC, Linux and Android is the best combined platform, but then suggested that it is not really true is intangible reasons ("Not everything can be reduced down to specs and numbers"). I was expressing that I follow his logic and think this logic is valid. And not just for techies like me, but lay people as well.

So you are saying those intangibles don't exist? Maybe you and your mother just don't value them as much.

Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#45

Post by abarringer »

Keyframe wrote: post #38
6ren wrote: post #34

I'm seeing a pattern, a cycle between hubris and humility. When Nintendo ruled, Sony broke in by courting game developers. Then, they became arrogant, and made the best hardware they could, they was difficult to use. Thus, Microsoft won, simply because it was easier for developers. It was then amazing to see how arrogant they had become with the xboxone trying to squeeze everyone, in every way - similar to how they r…

I get what you're saying, but Microsoft never won any console race http://www.geekwire.com/2013/xbox-360-wii-ps3-won-console-ge...

From the original article.

"When the PS3 launched, according to most estimates, Sony controlled about 70 percent of the console market. Seven years later, it’s on even terms with Microsoft, whose Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in the U.S. for 32 consecutive months."

Going from 70% to "even" with Microsoft seems like a non-win?

Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#46

Post by sillysaurus2 »

Keyframe wrote: post #38
6ren wrote: post #34

I'm seeing a pattern, a cycle between hubris and humility. When Nintendo ruled, Sony broke in by courting game developers. Then, they became arrogant, and made the best hardware they could, they was difficult to use. Thus, Microsoft won, simply because it was easier for developers. It was then amazing to see how arrogant they had become with the xboxone trying to squeeze everyone, in every way - similar to how they r…

I get what you're saying, but Microsoft never won any console race http://www.geekwire.com/2013/xbox-360-wii-ps3-won-console-ge...

That graph is incredible. I had no idea holidays mattered so much. They may as well be the reason the industry exists.

Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#47

Post by sliverstorm »

6ren wrote: post #34

I'm seeing a pattern, a cycle between hubris and humility. When Nintendo ruled, Sony broke in by courting game developers. Then, they became arrogant, and made the best hardware they could, they was difficult to use. Thus, Microsoft won, simply because it was easier for developers. It was then amazing to see how arrogant they had become with the xboxone trying to squeeze everyone, in every way - similar to how they r…

First I will note that Sony hardware has reputedly never been easy to develop for, so the PS3 wasn't anything new there.

Second, you state while they can drop prices and relax controls, it may be difficult to make their console more powerful. We still don't know how the dice will land in this regard. Microsoft managed higher-than-expected frequency yield, and nobody knows where Sony's chip sits. It also remains to be seen how the SRAM vs GDDR5 plays out.

Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#48

Post by jasonwatkinspdx »

sliverstorm wrote: post #47
6ren wrote: post #34

I'm seeing a pattern, a cycle between hubris and humility. When Nintendo ruled, Sony broke in by courting game developers. Then, they became arrogant, and made the best hardware they could, they was difficult to use. Thus, Microsoft won, simply because it was easier for developers. It was then amazing to see how arrogant they had become with the xboxone trying to squeeze everyone, in every way - similar to how they r…

First I will note that Sony hardware has reputedly never been easy to develop for, so the PS3 wasn't anything new there. Second, you state while they can drop prices and relax controls, it may be difficult to make their console more powerful . We still don't know how the dice will land in this regard. Microsoft managed higher-than-expected frequency yield, and nobody knows where Sony's chip sits. It also remains to b…

It was a different world then, but the original PSX was pretty straightforward. A commodity MIPS processor, relatively straightforward vector and image co-processors. In particular Sony made a bet that ram prices would fall enough to make the console profitable long term and that bet payed out. To remember how much things have changed, the CDROM format was controversial then, but was a huge win for developers.

Bluntly, Sony got it right with the PSX in making it very approachable for developers. They messed that up with PS2 and they should have learned that then. Instead they doubled down on the same misguided approach with the PS3 to predictable results. I'm glad to see they're not going to make the same mistake again.

Source: I was a subcontractor on a PSX title years ago.

Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#49

Post by voltagex_ »

ewzimm wrote: post #43
voltagex_ wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does matter this time around because there's no direct backwards compatibility for older games.

Sony will start streaming eventually. It would be fantastic if they implemented a disc matching policy, allowing you to stream a game with the disc in the drive. Perfect backward compatibility with no software support necessary.

This is not going to work anywhere except the continental US due to latency, unless they manage to provision servers everywhere (to the cloud!)

Re: The American Who Designed the PlayStation 4 and Remade Sony

#50

Post by [deleted] »

abarringer wrote: post #45
Keyframe wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get what you're saying, but Microsoft never won any console race http://www.geekwire.com/2013/xbox-360-wii-ps3-won-console-ge...

From the original article. "When the PS3 launched, according to most estimates, Sony controlled about 70 percent of the console market. Seven years later, it’s on even terms with Microsoft, whose Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in the U.S. for 32 consecutive months." Going from 70% to "even" with Microsoft seems like a non-win?

[deleted]
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