Look, we’re all talking about that spectacular tech demo that was used to show off the power of Unreal Engine 5. For good reason too, it looks damn gorgeous and actually showed the potential of next-gen consoles. With Sony being the lucky ones to feature the tech demo on the PlayStation 5, CEO of Epic Games Tim Sweeney clarified why exactly that was on last night’s Summer Games Fest stream. Turns out, Sweeney is a huge supporter of Sony’s hardware, essentially saying that he believes the components in the PS5 are easily the best in the business.
Speaking after the reveal of Unreal Engine 5, Sweeney stated, “The hardware that Sony is launching is absolutely phenomenal.”
Not only an unprecedented amount of graphics power, but also a completely new storage architecture that blows past architectures out of the water and is far ahead of even the state-of-the-art, highest-end PCs you can buy.
Which is…well, that’s a bold claim, sir. He continued on to say:
Sony’s storage system is absolutely world class. Not only the best-in-class on console, but also the best on any platform. Better than high-end PCs. I think it’s going to enable the types of immersion that we could only have dreamed of in the past. The world of loading screens is over. The days of pop-in, geometry pop-in as you’re going through game environments, are ended.
Encouraging thoughts indeed.
Nick Warden, VP of engineering at Epic Games, also went on to describe that the visuals in that tech demo would have been impossible to render if not for the IO capabilities of the PlayStation 5. He also mentions how tens of billions of triangles were essentially in every frame of the tech demo, which for actual game developers, I’m sure sounds wildly impressive. What this all means is that it seems that Sony has the backing of Epic Games going forward which is obviously good for them. Wouldn’t want to miss out on all that Fortnite money.
Last Updated: May 14, 2020
Iskape
May 14, 2020 at 14:40
Am I reading too much into the fact that rumour has it the XSX is slightly more powerful than the PS5, and hence, the reason for Sony punting the storage capabilities of their console rather than its possible graphical prowess in comparison to XSX.
Pariah
May 14, 2020 at 15:20
I think the main differentiation this gen isn’t the graphics grunt, but the I/O throughput – that’s where the war seems to be. And it seems like Sony is the clear winner.
Iskape
May 15, 2020 at 07:49
I shall reserve comment on who the winner is at the moment, but it will definitely be interesting to see what all the hype is about when I have both consoles in my greasy hands!
Krabby Paddy
May 14, 2020 at 14:57
Might well be. In truth I don’t think one being slightly more powerful will really matter. The big question is, what games do you like (is the call of the PS exclusives strong)? Are you one of those lucky people who has a good PC and wants a console. PS is then no brainer in my opinion. Maybe XB will have more exclusives in future but I get the feeling they will remain a bit behind PS. Guess time will tell.
Original Heretic
May 14, 2020 at 15:28
Don’t forget that MS bought a bunch of studios in recent times. So kickass ones, too.
Which we means we may just see quite a few more XB/PC exclusives in this next gen.
Krabby Paddy
May 14, 2020 at 16:12
Very true. However Sony exclusives have gathered a good following over the years. Difficult for MS to pull those who have enjoyed their PS4 games and will want to upgrade, away from getting the PS5. Maybe if some of those studios get out games faster than Sony and they are good quality then they might well do that.
CodeDisQus
May 15, 2020 at 00:15
Yea that will be important for MS, they have to show the games, having a lot of studios with unproven track records does not inspire confidence. WIth PS, you KNOW that you will get a game from Naughty Dog, Santa Monica, Insomniac etc and those games will be splendid. However, the Initiative, while stacked with talent hasn’t shown us anything to get excited about.
Jonah Cash
May 14, 2020 at 15:33
Not just more exclusives, but finally some new genres. Gears, Forza and Halo couldn’t take the strain alone anymore.
MechMachine
May 14, 2020 at 16:02
Yeah, Forza was getting long in the tooth.
MechMachine
May 14, 2020 at 14:57
So what do you mean by it’s a bold claim ? I`m sure the man is in a position to make that statement. He has been in the business for a very long time and he probably knows the current limitations of hardware.
I want to see the facts disputing what he says. Are you privy to some sort of secret tech that he doesn’t know about ?
The D
May 14, 2020 at 15:56
Considering that he made that statement knowing that a legion of Xbox Series X fans would be going on the complaint offensive after reading it, it technically is a bold claim to make 🙂
MechMachine
May 14, 2020 at 15:57
Ok. It must be said that Sweeney went to great lengths after to imply that the Series X was just as capable. Though he must mean as a next gen console. But I got the overall impression that this is where the battle will be fought. So to speak, with this super fast IO data transfer rate. Billions of polys. 8k Textures.
The D
May 14, 2020 at 16:21
Oh for sure, I agree. Good-looking games that are instantly playable? That’s my next-gen dream right there.
MechMachine
May 14, 2020 at 16:22
And just imagine how your virtual Bat Cape will look in that engine….
The D
May 14, 2020 at 16:26
I’ve got leather biker pants that aren’t powerful enough to contain that much excitement when I see it.
MechMachine
May 14, 2020 at 16:40
LOL
Pariah
May 14, 2020 at 14:02
Despite Covid-19, it seems like the next-gen train has officially picked up steam. And boy do I want to be on that train!
Yozzie
May 14, 2020 at 16:12
I jumped in just before the PS4 Pro was announced. And I am still salty about that, so I will board the train at a very later stage.
Pariah
May 14, 2020 at 16:12
Yeah lol I remember back when the PS2 slim was announced. I had literally bought a normal PS2 a month prior. Salty is right.
Krabby Paddy
May 14, 2020 at 14:40
In my case, this train looks like it only has first class, but all I can afford is economy.
Pariah
May 14, 2020 at 15:20
We’ll see what the prices are. Usually it’s better to wait a year for the games to come out anyway, so eh.
Seeker
May 14, 2020 at 19:22
Just like most tech demos you will see no games using techniques shown here. 1 of those Zbrush sculpts can be over 2GB in size. I think what they showcased was stuff that people who make visualisations will use, not game devs. Or you’ll end up with game installs that are 1TB in size.
CodeDisQus
May 15, 2020 at 00:15
It really seems like this streaming tech is the deal breaker. Like Cerny said, the #1 request from developers was SSD so giving them a supercharged one seems like a good move from sony. Hopefully the XSX option won’t be lacking
HairyEwok
May 15, 2020 at 08:28
Where’s kaasie to say….. Ek sony dit glo nie.