Mark Cerny: When Making PlayStation Consoles, We're Not Trying to Build a Low-Cost PC - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 03 August 2024 / 2,491 Views
Mark Cerny, the lead designer for the PlayStation 5, in an new interview with GamesIndustry said that when designing a console the goal isn't to build a low-cost PC.
"One of the exciting aspects of console hardware design is that we have freedom with regards to what we put in the console," said Cerny. "Or to put that differently, we’re not trying to build a low-cost PC, and we aren’t bound by any particular standards.
"So if we have a brainstorm that audio can become much more immersive and dimensional if there’s a dedicated unit that’s capable of complex math, then we can do that. Or if the future feels like high-speed SSDs rather than HDDs, we can put an end-to-end system in the console – everything from the flash dies to the software interfaces that the game creators use – and get 100% adoption.
"I like to think that occasionally we’re even showing the way for the larger industry, and that our efforts end up benefiting those gaming on PC as well. It’s a tech-heavy example, but on PS4 we had very efficient GPU interfaces, and that may well have spurred DirectX to become more efficient in response. Or to look at something more consumer-focused, I believe that releasing PS5 in 2020 with a very high-performance integrated SSD put pressure on the PC world to get their corresponding DirectStorage API into the hands of their gamers.
"There’s a recent development here, which is console exclusives that were created to run on bespoke PlayStation systems are now making their way to PC. That conversion has been simpler than many thought. The main consequence is that the minimum spec for the PC version of the game gets a bit higher, perhaps more CPUs or more RAM, in order to replace the missing systems."
PlayStation has been releasing a number of its exclusives on PC over the last few years and is even releasing live service games day and date on the PlayStation 5 and PC. However, when it comes to the first-party single-player, narrative-driven PlayStation exclusives they will release at a later date on PC.
Cerny even mentioned a video by Linus Tech Tips, which had them attempting to build a PC more powerful than the PlayStation 5 for $500.
"They had to get a used motherboard," he said. "That was the only way that they could build a PlayStation 5 equivalent for a PlayStation 5 price. And if you're using used parts… well you can get a used PlayStation 5 for eBay for $300-something.
"I think as long as we continue to create that very nice package, the future of consoles is pretty bright."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Linus the guy who embarrassed himself concerning billet labs and then taken apart from gamer nexus? Oh yes, that was him, the computer illiterate clown.
It's not even that... my PS5 can't even run Excel.
I mean from a purely technical perspective, there is no reason it couldn't. You can install Linux on the PS4 and run the LibreOffice equivalent on it no problem. That is really a software issue, but also, a necessary issue, as Sony learned with the PS3. You can't sell a console at a loss or very thin margins and expect to make the difference up in software when you allow people to just bypass your ecosystem and run whatever software they want.
Essay Pro