[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Dirty_Harry

This doesn't mean much. Cerny is obviously partial when referring to the PS4 architecture. What he says makes sense, but without knowing exactly what are the developing tools from both consoles, this is still remains wishful thinking, not math.

When an expert in the field confirms what makes sense, the likelihood that this is true is very high.

Originally Posted by Dextro

While the more powerful bit is confirmed as true just going by the simple fact that both systems have virtually identical GPUs but the PS4 has more cores the same can't be said on the easier to code for bit. Sony just can't beat Microsoft's developer skill. They have years developing DirectX and Visual Studio. Go ask any game developer who coded for the 360 and they'll tell you how game-changing Microsoft's development tools were for that system. They were the first to allow console devs to do shader debugging for instance. I may not be a big fan of Microsoft due to their years of anti-competitive policies in virtually all areas of business but they do have some pretty extensive technical know-how. You don't just emerge as the virtually undisputed choice of graphics API* (DirectX) without at least some quality in there.

* Yes, I know OpenGL is coming back in force due to Apple and Android but desktop-wise DirectX is still king.

Systems being easier to code for are largely an artefact of their architecture. Both the PS4 and the Xbone have similar architectures, except that the Xbone has a bunch of extra steps required to perform its tasks. Hence it is impossible for the Xbone to be easier to code for unless its development tools are superior.

Here's what Avalanche (Just Cause) has to say over that:

We asked Avalanche’s chief technical officer Linus Blomberg how the two consoles compare. “It’s difficult to say, as it’s still early days when it comes to drivers,” he told us. “With each new driver release, performance increases dramatically in some areas. The PlayStation 4 environment is definitely more mature currently, so Microsoft has some catching up to do. But I’m not too concerned about that as they traditionally have been very good in that area..."

http://www.edge-online.com/news/ps4-...anche-studios/

We also have quotes like this regarding the PS4:

The seemingly seamless move to Sony’s hardware is all the more impressive once one considers that Young Horses made the transition in a mere four weeks. In fact, saying “Young Horses” did it is a little misleading – studio head Phil Tibitoski tells TG that the port was mainly completed by co-founder Kevin Geisler while the rest of the team continued on with the core game.

http://www.technologyguide.com/featu...orite-octopus/

In time, Microsoft might catch up to Sony, or even exceed them in development tools. But that's certainly not the case right now. And, in light of so many games at E3 not running on Xbone developer kits, it suggests strongly that the game studios are having a hard time coding Xbone games. And that this is in stark contrast to PS4 development.