src :: http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/210753-why-some-video-game-ports-are-spotless-while-others-are-train-wrecks

This is a cool article thats worth reading, ecspecially if youd like a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes.

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The PS4 and Xbox One have been out for about a year and a half now, and the number of significant exclusive releases has been pretty slim. To help pad out the line-ups, a massive wave of ports from the 360, PS3, and PC has hit both the PS4 and Xbox One. And since the vast majority of the original games were released in high definition to begin with, the “HD remaster” moniker doesn’t really make sense anymore.

While some releases are definitely more impressive than others, the definitions aren’t particularly clear here. At this point, the line between “port” and “remaster” is significantly blurred. Even if you’re upping the resolution, improving the textures, and reworking the net code, those two terms are used interchangeably more often than not.

 And while this generation of consoles has started to become more PC-like with x86-64 CPUs and standard AMD GPUs, PCs are starting to function more like consoles with DirectX 12 and Mantle. The definitions are changing rapidly, and it leaves most of us more than a little confused — even when it comes to day-one releases of multi-platform games.

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So, why are some ports nearly spotless while others are train wrecks? Are the PS4 and Xbox One really just dolled-up midrange PCs? These kind of questions pop up frequently in tech/game enthusiast forums, and it usually devolves into a screaming match. I wanted to bypass the noise, and hear the story directly from the devs themselves.

.......................... interesting section regarding ease of use ..........................

GB: Since Mantle and DirectX 12 are allowing developers to get closer to the metal, does that mean good things for PC-console ports going forward?

TC: Yeah, sure. The new APIs are following that direction. And, basically, they are getting things out of the drivers, so they are allowing you low-level access. In the end, all the GPUs are more similar nowadays than a few years ago[…]

GB: And in terms of CPUs, both PCs and consoles are doubling down on more cores with less of a focus on clock speed. Is that trend a positive thing when you’re porting games to and from these different platforms?

TC: Right. The trend really helps because the mindset is closer than back in the day with the Cell processor — it wasn’t exactly in the trend. Each core had specific memory, and there was a DMA [direct memory access] across the different cores. I mean, it was a very different architecture than a set of general purpose cores that you can find in current CPUs.

MH: That’s why the Xbox 360 was thought to be easier to program [than the PS3]. Because it had three general purpose cores[…] it was more like a PC. PS3 has a main CPU, but then the other CPUs are using a different instruction set, different memory, and everything has to be communicated by DMA. So it was very hard to work with it.

GB: So if the PS3 is on one end of the difficulty spectrum, is there a platform on the other end? Something incredibly easy to port to and from?

TC: I would say the PS4 and Xbox One[…] everything else falls in between like the Vita and the 3DS. They’re in between because they have different challenges. They are less powerful, but still, they use a normal architecture.

......................... Special note to VGChartz users XD ..........................

Porting doesn’t ever seem to be a simple process — despite what gaming forum denizens would have you believe. Money, time, tools, and manpower all impact the quality of the final product — even when the platforms are relatively similar. It’s fine to be upset when the game you purchased isn’t up to snuff, but it isn’t because the devs are “lazy.” Making top-notch ports requires a lot of nuance, subtlety, and care. Unfortunately, deadlines and budgets aren’t always conducive to that.