5. It Was Made By Developers, For Developers
It is a blessing from Sony that they have completely changed the PS4's architecture. While this means we lose backward compatibility, we gain much more in return. When the PS3 was released, it was so hard to programme for, the games that were initially released were extremely buggy and didn't look that good at all. However, over the years the PS3 has finally hit its stride and is now producing games as visually stimulating as Beyond: Two Souls. Sony has still made the best decision possible though: to change the PS4's architecture such that it is very much PC-based. Since games are made on PC's itself, it seems like a good idea that the console you are porting it to, has a similar architecture. How Sony came to the conclusion to change its architecture, was to talk to game developers themselves. By involving studios such as Quantic Dreams and talking to indie developers, they literally asked them what they wanted on the next PlayStation, and then gave it to them. It is this close connection and involvement of developers in the development process of the PS4 that is going to make it better than the X1. While the X1 is using a similar architecture, the link between developers and the consoles is missing. The result I think is going to be a slight but recognisable performance difference between the two. The first difference would definitely be with regards to graphics. Simply put, both consoles have almost identical hardware on board. That oh-so- important advantage then, goes to how well developers can squeeze every inch of performance out of the consoles. I think that advantage will go to the PS4. Without going into messy details such as DDR3 vs DDR5, I think that the PS4 will be a more developer-friendly device. Simply because...Sony asked. This means better games overall, and therefore, happier gamers. Secondly, talking to indie developers is a smart move made by Sony, because the gaming landscape is changing whether we like it or not. More and more gamers are interested in indie studios and games, and by making it easier for such developers to develop and pitch games for the PS4, there is an undeniable advantage to the PS4. The X1 had better watch out, because with so many titles lined up for every type of gamer out there, it is being left behind in the dust in the wake of E3.