[CNBC] AMD CEO Confirms Helping Sony & Microsoft “Build Consoles with Secret Sauce”

Betty said:

And that's all great, but as someone who grew really tired of the almost yearly rotation of Forza/Halo/Gears from the 360 years they'll need a lot more than that to win back lapsed fans.

It doesn't help that the Halo and Gears series aren't exactly the white hot properties they used to be, still popular sure, but not as they once were.

It's fantastic Microsoft have started to make good on bolstering Xbox's first party output, but the fruits of those efforts won't be known for years and years, and there's every chance the final products might not live up to the standards the competition is setting and will continue to set.

Of course we're all just riffing right now, maybe Halo Infinite becomes the best in the series, brings unbridled success and launches alongside Scarlet to usher Xbox back to the 360 glory days, we'll just have to wait and see.

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I get tired of hearing this argument because it is hardly true.

The last game that Sony Santa Monica released that was not God of War was Kinetica in 2001. They have been a God of War studio just as Naughty Dog have been an Uncharted and Last of Us studio for more than the last decade. Polyphony Digital have been making Gran Turismo since the original Playstation.

Each of those games that Microsoft releases is big and they continue releasing them because they are not only well received by critics, but they also sell extremely well. If they manage to have s strong action RPG from fable next generation, they will have Forza Motorsport, Forza Horizon, Fable, Gears of War and Halo as those cornerstone games as they wait for what The Initiative will bring out.

On the side they will have Ninja Theory, Rare, Compulsion Games working on new IP, Undead Labs focusing on State of Decay and Shannon Loftis finding new partners for their global publishing arm. Ninja Theory is working on multiple projects, and Rare has two teams right now if what I have read on this forums is anything to go by.

Every platform holder has games that they go to; for Nintendo that is Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Super Smash Brothers, Donkey Kong.
For Sony that is Gran Turismo, Uncharted, Last of Us, Killzone (before Guerrilla got another hit in Horizon Zero Dawn), God of War.
For Microsoft it is Halo, Gears of War, Forza and Fable.

Microsoft will be alright especially if they continue adding studios. Sony will also be alright especially with Guerilla Games expanding and it is more than likely that they will keep working with Kojima and Insomniac. Sony adapted extremely well when it became obvious that third party titles that had mostly been exclusive to them in the Playstation and Playstation 2 era would be going to the Xbox 360 on day 1. They started buying developers like Guerrilla, Big Big, Zipper, Sucker Punch, Media Molecule and Evolution.

What we now see is Microsoft adapting and wanting to create an industry leading first party setup. Sony will not simply sit and let them accomplish that. This is something that bodes well for gaming in general because Gaming is highest revenue earner for Sony and for game pass to be a success, Microsoft needs to have a huge amount of quality content.

Edit:

While it is true that the product that Microsoft developers could put out will not be known, reality is that no developer has the divine right to put out a good game on every attempt.

Marano said:

A 1:1 scaled Manhattan might just be impossible, I'm curious, I'd like to know from the people in the know here if that is actually possible?

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I was thinking in 1:1 Manhattan in terms of size, not a 1:1 recreation of the buidings. I think it will be easily possible with the power of the new consoles. I mean, just look at the current game, it's not that far from that.

Now a 1:1 Manhattan with full recreation of buildings, like others have mentioned in the thread, would requery a tremendous amount of modelers and artists to be done. Using the current techniques it would be basicly impossible. The only way around would be using a groundbreaking new procedural technology that would take a source like Google Street View and model the city automatically.

BitsandBytes said:

Am I alone thinking it highly unlikely any VR specific sauce will be baked into the PS5 SoC? I think that is way too risky if it takes even a small amount of transistor real estate for something that is still niche and has a lot of development to come.

It would help if all Sony WWS embraced VR but clearly they aren't. I'm not even sure anything specific needs to be in the HW to be honest? The first thing needed is removing wires and the extra box and even that is quite challenging.

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I could absolutely see PS5 having something baked in to negate the need for the "processing" box PSVR currently has. That'd be as far as I can see them going.

gremlinz1982 said:

I get tired of hearing this argument because it is hardly true.

The last game that Sony Santa Monica released that was not God of War was Kinetica in 2001. They have been a God of War studio just as Naughty Dog have been an Uncharted and Last of Us studio for more than the last decade. Polyphony Digital have been making Gran Turismo since the original Playstation.

Every platform holder has games that they go to; for Nintendo that is Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Super Smash Brothers, Donkey Kong.
For Sony that is Gran Turismo, Uncharted, Last of Us, Killzone (before Guerrilla got another hit in Horizon Zero Dawn), God of War.
For Microsoft it is Halo, Gears of War, Forza and Fable.

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It is true.

What's the biggest game Microsoft has this year? Forza.

What's the biggest game Microsoft has next year? Likely Gears

What's the biggest future games Microsoft has in the pipeline that we know for sure are coming? Halo & the often rumoured Fable.

Again, if you like these franchises great, no complaints. But for the rest of us who got a little tired of how samey it all was, or how the quality dipped with titles like Fable 3/Gears Judgement/Halo Reach (really felt like the muliplayer went backwards with that one) it's not enough.

But thankfully Microsoft has realised this and is bolstering their first part for the future, which will hopefully pay off in dividends because I'd really like to own their consoles again.

And just like the franchise fatigued God of War Ascension to GOTY contender God of War 2018, hopefully giving some of their staple franchises like Halo & Gears some more time in the oven can bring them back to greatness.

Betty said:

It is true.

What's the biggest game Microsoft has this year? Forza.

What's the biggest game Microsoft has next year? Likely Gears

What's the biggest future games Microsoft has in the pipeline that we know for sure are coming? Halo & the often rumoured Fable.

Again, if you like these franchises great, no complaints. But for the rest of us who got a little tired of how samey it all was, or how the quality dipped with titles like Fable 3/Gears Judgement/Halo Reach (really felt like the muliplayer went backwards with that one) it's not enough.

But thankfully Microsoft has realised this and is bolstering their first part for the future, which will hopefully pay off in dividends because I'd really like to own their consoles again.

And just like the franchise fatigued God of War Ascension to GOTY contender God of War 2018, hopefully giving some of their staple franchises like Halo & Gears some more time in the oven can bring them back to greatness.

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There were three Uncharted games last generation and two appearances of it this generation if you are not counting The Nathan Drake Collection. There were three Gears of War games last generation with Judgment and Gears of War 4 showing up this generation. Only one of those games shows up in the discussion of fatigue.

There were two Killzone games last generation, two Halo games and a standalone expansion. There has been one Killzone game this generation, and one Halo game (again, not counting the Master Chief Collection) yet there is only one title that people are tired of.

God of War 3, God of War:Ascension all came up last generation and the masterpiece that is God of War this generation. We are yet to see another full release Fable game since the disaster that was Fable III which released in 2010.

The only games that one could complain have been pushed out fast are Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport and I have no complaints against what Turn 10 has put the last two tries or what Playground did with FH3 or are doing with FH4 which are going to be the two best games put out this generation.

I have seen Sony Santa Monica put out Ascension and Naughty Dog push out Lost Legacy. I have seen Guerrilla go back on the quality they had with Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 and Polyphony Digital not putting out a quality sim since GT4. It is for this reason I mentioned that no developer has a birthright to put out quality games on each attempt.

Microsoft have always been light on first party studios and this is the first generation that it has come back to bite them. They have always relied on second party partnerships to come in and fill the gap but that is not something they have had a lot of purchase from in this generation. Complaining about games or lack of is simply doing so because one can afford to. There is no pill to remedy the lack of games this year or next year that may be thin.

It will take time, and Phil Spencer also said the same. Sony did not become exceptional overnight and that is oft forgotten.

gremlinz1982 said:

There were three Uncharted games last generation and two appearances of it this generation if you are now counting The Nathan Drake Collection. There were three Gears of War games last generation with Judgment and Gears of War 4 showing up this generation. Only one of those games shows up in the discussion of fatigue.

There were two Killzone games last generation, two Halo games and a standalone expansion. There has been one Killzone game this generation, and one Halo game (again, not counting the Master Chief Collection) yet there is only one title that people are tired of.

God of War 3, God of War:Ascension all came up last generation and the masterpiece that is God of War this generation. We are yet to see another full release Fable game since the disaster that was Fable III which released in 2010.

The only games that one could complain have been pushed out fast are Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport and I have no complaints against what Turn 10 has put the last two tries or what Playground did with FH3 or are doing with FH4 which are going to be the two best games put out this generation.

I have seen Sony Santa Monica put out Ascension and Naughty Dog push out Lost Legacy. I have seen Guerrilla go back on the quality they had with Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 and Polyphony Digital not putting out a quality sim since GT4. It is for this reason I mentioned that no developer has a birthright to put out quality games on each attempt.

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Several details that need to be corrected. Last gen had Halo 3, 4, and Reach, Halo 1 remaster and the standalone expansion(ODST), so three halo main games, a remaster, and an expansion, and whatever you want to call halo wars. There were four gears games last gen, Gears 1-3 were all on the same generation and you add judgement to that.

gremlinz1982 said:

There were three Uncharted games last generation and two appearances of it this generation if you are not counting The Nathan Drake Collection. There were three Gears of War games last generation with Judgment and Gears of War 4 showing up this generation. Only one of those games shows up in the discussion of fatigue.

There were two Killzone games last generation, two Halo games and a standalone expansion. There has been one Killzone game this generation, and one Halo game (again, not counting the Master Chief Collection) yet there is only one title that people are tired of.

God of War 3, God of War:Ascension all came up last generation and the masterpiece that is God of War this generation. We are yet to see another full release Fable game since the disaster that was Fable III which released in 2010.

The only games that one could complain have been pushed out fast are Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport and I have no complaints against what Turn 10 has put the last two tries or what Playground did with FH3 or are doing with FH4 which are going to be the two best games put out this generation.

I have seen Sony Santa Monica put out Ascension and Naughty Dog push out Lost Legacy. I have seen Guerrilla go back on the quality they had with Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 and Polyphony Digital not putting out a quality sim since GT4. It is for this reason I mentioned that no developer has a birthright to put out quality games on each attempt.

Microsoft have always been light on first party studios and this is the first generation that it has come back to bite them. They have always relied on second party partnerships to come in and fill the gap but that is not something they have had a lot of purchase from in this generation. Complaining about games or lack of is simply doing so because one can afford to. There is no pill to remedy the lack of games this year or next year that may be thin.

It will take time, and Phil Spencer also said the same. Sony did not become exceptional overnight and that is oft forgotten.

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The difference is Playstation isn't just relying on Uncharted or God of War to get by, it has other exclusives, as well as Japanese support such as Persona or Yakuza that helps fill in the gaps and cater to a wider audience.

Microsoft only has it's main franchises to rely on at the moment because, as you pointed out, it takes time to develop other IP's.

Problem is Microsoft should've been doing that last generation but got complacent, relying too heavily on 3rd party. If Halo hadn't lost some of it's lustre or Gears had made a bigger splash, along with a better vision instead of Kinect to kick off this gen, Microsoft would be in a much better position.

Hopefully they obtain success with their new studios, we'll just have to see what the future holds.

Steel said:

Several details that need to be corrected. Last gen had Halo 3, 4, and Reach, Halo 1 remaster and the standalone expansion(ODST), so three halo main games, a remaster, and an expansion, and whatever you want to call halo wars. There were four gears games last gen, Gears 1-3 were all on the same generation and you add judgement to that.

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I stand corrected, only counted Halo 3 and Halo 4.

That said, this fatigue thing is often used where people see fit. I will never complain about a developer making quality games regardless of the game world they are set in. When you consider that I also played on the PSP, you can imagine the amount of times I have seen God of War pop up.

Microsoft's main problem has always been that they did not have a diverse enough quality lineup. They have tried to get games through second party that have not delivered, and even Rare was unable to bring out games as good as Kameo or Viva Pinata this generation. Remedy could not deliver an Alan Wake type experience with Quantum Break. They have not had a Ninja Gaiden II, Blue Dragon or Lost Odyssey and it has not been for a lack of trying.

Microsoft will be OK if Turn 10, 343i, The Coalition, Ninja Theory, Playground Games continue on the path they are on. They will be in an even better position if Darrell Gallagher and The Initiative get a great game out first time of asking. You are looking at 6 developers with 8 teams total.

Where I have my doubts is with Rare, Compulsion Games and Undead Labs. If Microsoft can get a lot of quality Japanese games to the console, which has not happened this generation, continue to expand their teams and get games similar to Sunset Overdrive (in size) to go along with Ori, Cuphead etc they will have done well.

Betty said:

The difference is Playstation isn't just relying on Uncharted or God of War to get by, it has other exclusives, as well as Japanese support such as Persona or Yakuza that helps fill in the gaps and cater to a wider audience.

Microsoft only has it's main franchises to rely on at the moment because, as you pointed out, it takes time to develop other IP's.

Problem is Microsoft should've been doing that last generation but got complacent, relying too heavily on 3rd party. If Halo hadn't lost some of it's lustre or Gears had made a bigger splash, along with a better vision instead of Kinect to kick off this gen, Microsoft would be in a much better position.

Hopefully they obtain success with their new studios, we'll just have to see what the future holds.

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I have had my fair share of dissatisfaction with Microsoft and how they chose to run their console business in the latter years of the Xbox 360 and this generation. I lose the right to complain when they have started addressing the issues that have plagued them for so long.

As I have said above, all they need to do is try and get support for Japanese games and continue to grow their game base. They already have four development teams that are putting out AAA games and Ninja Theory who do that on a budget. They are building a new studio to make those AAA games while Rare have been vocal about wanting to try new things.

They are doing what gamers have wanted for years.

RudeBoy said:

The funny thing is that many people claimed that Cell was a failure (and Cell definitely was a failure), but the Nvidia RSX was stalling all the time.

Nvidia RSX was an awful graphics accelerator.

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Another reason with AMD you only need one company to have a x86 CPU and GPU...

TheThreadsThatBindUs said:

While what you say here is technically and very much objectively true, it's still a little bit of a meaningless comparison, as for Sony and MS designing mid-gen systems, it wasn't like they were met with the choice of more raw GPU performance vs dual rate FP16.

Sony could have designed an XB1X as the Pro with dual rate FP16, lanched a year later and sold $100 more.

The decisions of each platform holder that resulted in the Pro and 1X are merely a result of different priorities from the outset.

Eitherway, the Pro is not an inefficient or bottlenecked design at all -- not when the intention for the system is for it never to see Pro-exclusive games.

The pro is a more conservative and less aggressive design than the XB1X, but it's not really inherently flawed or bottlenecked in any meaningful way. It's design intent was merely to be a more powerful PS4, whereas the X waa designed to push XB1 games at native 4k res.. Two different design goals and so two different resulting console.

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I just tell a fact, I have only have a PS4 Pro no Xbox One X because my favourite game are single player game* and it is more important than power imo. I think if Sony does like for the PS4 a great cost/performance console and launch at 399 dollars/euros, I will be happy and I want a PS5 with backward compatibility and if they decide to lost a little more money on PS5 than PS4 like financial forecast suggest I hope it will not be for a little bit more power but for having a console less noisy.

* Not a big racing car gamer

I think that it's pretty telling that, whenever she starts talking about gaming specifically, she also mentions cloud computing. I'm pretty sure the "secret sauce" going forward will be cloud gaming.

RudeBoy said:

The funny thing is that many people claimed that Cell was a failure (and Cell definitely was a failure), but the Nvidia RSX was stalling all the time.

Nvidia RSX was an awful graphics accelerator.

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Yeah they caught the last horrible generation on that one. That gen was rushed quite clearly, and easily of the worst gens for consoles ever made. It probably is the worst.