Sony Wired exclusive: What to expect from Sony next-gen ( will be backwards compatible at least with PS4, ray tracing, 3D audio, SSD, supports 8k, PSVR will work on new console)

[SaysWho?]

https://www.wired.com/story/exclusive-sony-next-gen-console/

 

On BC:

 

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For example, the next-gen console will still accept physical media; it won’t be a download-only machine. Because it’s based in part on the PS4’s architecture, it will also be backward-compatible with games for that console. As in many other generational transitions, this will be a gentle one, with numerous new games being released for both PS4 and the next-gen console.

 

On tech:

 

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The CPU is based on the third generation of AMD’s Ryzen line and contains eight cores of the company’s new 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture. The GPU, a custom variant of Radeon’s Navi family, will support ray tracing, a technique that models the travel of light to simulate complex interactions in 3D environments. While ray tracing is a staple of Hollywood visual effects and is beginning to worm its way into $10,000 high-end processors, no game console has been able to manage it. Yet.

 

On VR:

 

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When he mentions it, I ask him about PlayStation VR, the peripheral system that has sold more than 4 million units since its 2016 release. Specifically, I ask if there will be a next-gen PSVR to go alongside this next console. “I won't go into the details of our VR strategy today,” he says, “beyond saying that VR is very important to us and that the current PSVR headset is compatible with the new console.”

 

On SSD:

 

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To demonstrate, Cerny fires up a PS4 Pro playing Spider-Man, a 2018 PS4 exclusive that he worked on alongside Insomniac Games. (He’s not just an systems architect; Cerny created arcade classic Marble Madness when he was all of 19 and was heavily involved with PlayStation and PS2 franchises like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Ratchet and Clank.) On the TV, Spidey stands in a small plaza. Cerny presses a button on the controller, initiating a fast-travel interstitial screen. When Spidey reappears in a totally different spot in Manhattan, 15 seconds have elapsed. Then Cerny does the same thing on a next-gen devkit connected to a different TV. (The devkit, an early “low-speed” version, is concealed in a big silver tower, with no visible componentry.) What took 15 seconds now takes less than one: 0.8 seconds, to be exact.

 

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On the original PS4, the camera moves at about the speed Spidey hits while web-slinging. “No matter how powered up you get as Spider-Man, you can never go any faster than this,” Cerny says, “because that's simply how fast we can get the data off the hard drive.” On the next-gen console, the camera speeds uptown like it’s mounted to a fighter jet. Periodically, Cerny pauses the action to prove that the surrounding environment remains perfectly crisp. 

 

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At the moment, Sony won’t cop to exact details about the SSD—who makes it, whether it utilizes the new PCIe 4.0 standard—but Cerny claims that it has a raw bandwidth higher than any SSD available for PCs.

 

 

[SaysWho?]

[JPDunks4]

This is the main reason I held out on buying the PS4 Pro, all the single player masterpieces can wait til the PS5 comes out for me to play them, hopefully with better performance than they are on any of the current gen hardware.

[SaysWho?]

1 minute ago, JPDunks4 said:

This is the main reason I held out on buying the PS4 Pro, all the single player masterpieces can wait til the PS5 comes out for me to play them, hopefully with better performance than they are on any of the current gen hardware.

 

I'm telling you, bro, they play very well on a base PS4.

 

But I mean, if you don't MIND waiting, I guess it ain't on big deal.  I'm just saying you're not gonna get short-changed.

[JPDunks4]

I know, but I have such a backlog as is, and knowing how good the games are, I'd rather play them at the best possible fidelity.  Wonder if they'll do anything like Xbox has done upping the resolutions and stuff on some of the games as well.

[SaysWho?]

Just now, JPDunks4 said:

I know, but I have such a backlog as is, and knowing how good the games are, I'd rather play them at the best possible fidelity.  

 

Totally, if you're not dying to play them yet, then they're not going anywhere.  

[Nokt]

Just now, JPDunks4 said:

I know, but I have such a backlog as is, and knowing how good the games are, I'd rather play them at the best possible fidelity.  

I have my doubts that it will provide any major advantages over the PS4 Pro, if any at all. Would be pleasantly surprised if it does though. 

I'm in the opposite boat, I'll probably hold onto the PS4 Pro for as long as possible before upgrading. 

[DarkStar189]

Normally I'm itching for a new console to get a hold of. They mention in that one quote that this will be a "gentle transition" with some games coming out for both ps4 and ps5. I still have so many games I want to get through that Im not sure I see myself buying a ps5 day one. I still might but that desire to jump on a whole new train isn't that strong when I know I'll end up playing a bunch of ps4 games on it anyway. 

[XxEvil AshxX]

I wonder if rather than two different versions of the same game, they'll be scalable like XBO/XBOX games. So instead of having a PS5 and PS4 copy, you'll have a PS4 game that is "playable on PS5"

 

I fully expect MS to do the same thing.

[Brian]

Glad to see Cerny is still involved.  This gives me hope that Knack 3 will happen!

 

[gamer.tv]

Although I'm always far too tight to pay for a new console anywhere near release, I was never a fan of the semi-generation leap, where we end of up with a number of releases that are either hamstrung or not fully supported for a fair length of time. I do appreciate it allows for a console to have releases and in a sense can be a good showcase as it'll be a direct comparison. 

 

That said, I'm still happy to plod along with the PS4 as it is due to the number of games that I still haven't played/finished and then my next purchase will be a Switch as it fits more into how I like to play games now. I still look forward to seeing what Sony (and Microsoft) have decided will be the future of gaming and how they will react or move with the concept of streaming consoles but I'll definitely have a 'wait and see' approach.

[SaysWho?]

3 minutes ago, ManUtdRedDevils said:

Glad to see Cerny is still involved.  This gives me hope that Knack 3 will happen!

 

 

I'm glad he's involved because everything he promised ended up happening and happening with the ease that he talked about. SharePlay, streaming, sharing videos and Suspend/Resume were great additions to this gen, especially the ability to share video. I soooooo wanted to do that last gen.

 

It makes me optimistic about everything he has planned feature-wise.

[AbsolutSurgen]

I think people are being too myopic when it comes to flash memory.

 

I think it's much more likely that Sony is putting a relatively small flash memory "cache" (64 GB?) on the MB, rather than a full-blown SSD.  This would let the game put most of the in-game loading content in an easily accessible spot -- but be much more affordable then trying to put in a 2TB SSD.

 

I can't imagine that an AMD sourced GPU will be very proficient at ray-tracing -- particularly at the price point they are/should be targeting with this console.  A 2080Ti struggles with ray tracing ATM.

[Keyser_Soze]

8k with ray tracing?

 

[Firewithin]

Yah TLoU2 is def a launch title for this

[RedSoxFan9]

8k at 7 FPS?

[Bloodporne]

Backwards compatibility will be a seller for me ultimately so that's nice to hear.

 

Not for a long time or until a total must have exclusive hits for me though. Don't even have a 4k TV yet.

[SaysWho?]

 

[SaysWho?]

 

[number305]

It will be interesting when we hear the next-gen plan from all the major players.  I think we are getting close to the end of regular console cycles.  It was already blurred this gen with the Pro and the X.  

[SaysWho?]

6 minutes ago, number305 said:

It will be interesting when we hear the next-gen plan from all the major players.  I think we are getting close to the end of regular console cycles.  It was already blurred this gen with the Pro and the X.  

 

We'll be hearing about MS's next-gen plans in two months (source: Shinobi, insider).

[legend]

I'm curious about what this means regarding AMD GPUs and Ray Tracing support.

[crispy4000]

1 hour ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

I wonder if rather than two different versions of the same game, they'll be scalable like XBO/XBOX games. So instead of having a PS5 and PS4 copy, you'll have a PS4 game that is "playable on PS5"

 

I fully expect MS to do the same thing.

Too much of that would only encourage people to stay put longer, and not buy the next machine out of the gate.  Adoption rates were already relatively slow these past two generations.  And that was before a mid-cycle refresh became a thing.  This could be the slowest start to any generation.

Microsoft's also going to be undercutting their console with whatever off-Xbox steaming solutions they try.
 

[stepee]

I’m skeptical on the ray tracing claim, but I suppose they could build their own rtx like chip dedicated to ray tracing to go along with whatever amd gpu they go with. Sony likes doing weird chips and shit so it wouldn’t surprise me.

 

Still would be stretching it but could maybe do some cool things and help out a lot with adoption of the technology. I’m thinking then ps5 could be doing low setting ray tracing, while pc continues to advance with its ultra settings.

[AbsolutSurgen]

3 minutes ago, legend said:

I'm curious about what this means regarding AMD GPUs and Ray Tracing support.

Eurogamer has an article that lays out how ray tracing works on a 10-series GeForce card.  Given the cost, I would be surprised if AMD was putting custom "RT-like" cores in the console NAVI chip.

 

A non-RT GPU can do raytracing -- but I think this is still a console generation away from becoming the primary rendering technique.

[crispy4000]

We know at the very least that CryEngine found a way to do real-time Raytracing on current AMD cards.
 

(runs on Vega 56)

[Chris-]

Ray tracing? Christ, I remember when 'progressive scan' was the dweeb talk de jure that I had to know about. Stop making me learn about this stupid sounding tech!

[AbsolutSurgen]

1 minute ago, crispy4000 said:

We know at the very least that CryEngine found a way to do Raytracing on current AMD cards.
 

 

You can do ray tracing on an Amiga -- so you can do ray tracing on just about anything.  The question is on how effective/efficient the GPU will be doing it in real-time at the resolutions gamers demand.

[crispy4000]

11 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

You can do ray tracing on an Amiga -- so you can do ray tracing on just about anything.  The question is on how effective/efficient the GPU will be doing it in real-time at the resolutions gamers demand.

 

Yes.  We don't know if it'd be more performant than say, a 1080Ti doing it in Battlefield/Metro/Tomb Raider.  But I don't think they'd be advertising it unless there was a practical application for it on current AMD cards.  (as they say)

[AbsolutSurgen]

Just now, crispy4000 said:

 

Yes.  We don't know if it'd be more performant than say, a 1080Ti doing it.  But I don't think they'd be advertising it unless there was a practical application for it on current AMD cards.  (as they say)

There will be practical applications -- but, IMHO if people are expecting the kind of ray tracing that is being shown on a 2080TI -- they will be disappointed.  I expect them to be much more muted/subtle.

[AbsolutSurgen]

 

[Dre801]

My PS5 purchase is a given.

[crispy4000]

Just now, mikechorney said:

There will be practical applications -- but, IMHO if people are expecting the kind of ray tracing that is being shown on a 2080TI -- they will be disappointed.  I expect them to be much more muted/subtle.

 

Side note: I still question if a focus on raytracing will be the the best use of next-gen hardware.  The option will be there, which is good.  But I could see some games forgoing it entirely to put more resources into other aspects of the visual make up.

 

Hopefully not 'native 8k' though.  That'd be just as much of a waste.

[Mr.Vic20]

8K and Raytracing, huh? 

[Brian]

Why would it be considered conservative when 8K and Ray Tracing is being mentioned?