Discussing PS4 hardware and manufacturing price

[Solid-Stark]

goddog said:

Solid-Stark said:

goddog said:

Solid-Stark said:

3rd Revision

Processor:

AMD Steamroller APU

The CELL processor will stay on board for BC. (Maybe for the first 2 or 3 years)

Ram:

2GB DDR3 1600MHz for the APU [1GB dedicated to OS and multimedia/multitasking applications] 1GB will be available for developers.

GPU

AMD Radeon HD7850 derived GPU with 2GB GDDR5
Integrated GPU in APU to be next gen?


Bluray drive

BD drive will stay but will be the latest (speed). Installations will be optional.


Storage

Sony should go flash. (16Gb?) This would bring down costs and since installations would be optional, it would be completely up to the consumer if he/she wants to purchase an HDD.


PS4 manufacturing to cost maybe $400. PS4 to retail at $400; break even or small loss.
It will also need to launch with Killzone "4" and Uncharted "4" as it would be a perfect way to market the PS"4".
Gran Turismo 6 would also be needed.

 

without more ram that will be a horribly under powered system especially when we have devs talking about game engines that will need a 64 bit cpus due to the amount of ram the game will use. 

I expect sony and ms to ship with a min of 6 gigs of ddr3 and would not be surprised if they are trying to hold off for ddr4 which should see first volume use next year in servers so its reasonable to think it could show up in consoles as a deal to help early demand and keep costs down for manufacturers by guaranteeing some product sold

 

gpu will probably be AMD but id guess the next version say 8850 2-3 gig gddr5 or could be a custom build again a family mod of the new core AMD has … it does look like nvidia somehow lost out on all consoles this time

as for your cpu, a custom APU would make since if AMD  can get its ass in gear on the power/heat issues it has right now and i don't see the bulldozer linage cores ever providing the kind of  single core performance that you really want in gaming, unless AMD has figured out how to ramp them up to the needed 4.5+ ghz without the monsters heat 

i think another custom power family cpu  (cell is a power family cpu) would work best but maybe they don't want to pay IBM or freescale to build it. 

 

as for storage flash +hdd. I think sony may monazite the HDDs like MS did last time, its a major revenue stream they missed, and thats strange for them because they love locking down memory for storage with proprietary formats 

 

blue ray will be in the first console, then later a revision with download only and an external reader if you want it. … i see both sony and ms doing this. 

450 bucks tops coming out …. 

though i fear they may see MS subscription model and feel thats they way to sell a more costly console and guarantee revenue and we will see 199 consoles with 2-4 year contracts

 

I didn't include my premise in this revision which is, I don't expect Sony to have the strongest next gen hardware. IMO 4GB is enough for a gaming console, but it all depends on one's own expectations. I don't expect next years next gen consoles to cath up with the latest and best PC tech will have to offer in 2013. 1080p should be a target, but "Ultra graphics at 60fps and high levels of AA" across all games would throw out any $400 console.

 

the console put forth makes more sense then, but in the state listed it would need to be replaced again in 3-4 years as opposed to consoles like the current ones, and i think a longer term solution is best. though devs may hate it, it will get more of the market behind the console in the longer term and should result in more game sales over all. I still feel right now if we had an appropriate price cut to the ps3/360 (and it looks like sony is game for it) the market could bear these consoles for up to 2014 for a refresh. even when their replacements hit the market I expect them both to stay available for purchase in major markets for an additional 3 years …

 

this gen has been a strange one, i don't think we have had enough time yet to look back and know if the wii really grew the market or just created a massive anomaly, or did "mobile/social gaming" really knee cap home consoles just as they were becoming for everyone.

for me the wii failed to put a follow through in its promise with a real sustainable wave of games to push it. that lead to apathy of gamers who were buying it. the PS3/360 are suffering from prices being above consumer expectations. in MS case also slowly alienating core demographics with pore UI (it amazes me how far the UI on the 360 has fallen in terms of usability since launch), and corporate messages. In sonys case constantly shifting the corporate message and reneging on promises. both of these have hurt sales, though not in a  major way yet, but i feel it may impact the next generation more than the current one 

 

edit : the return of indie games I think is a major shift as well it will be interesting to see who can really treat them right.... and always a posibility of a steam box... a real fourth player 

 

Thats is true. I think a current long gen is good for next gen so that they can put out long term hardware that can stay relevant for more than 3 years. The problem would be a market acceptable price by the consumer at launch.

I do hope those rumors hold true.