MORE CONSOLE TEASING

Tech specs shaping up

WHILE WE WAIT for the next generation of consoles, Microsoft and Sony are keeping us interested with a trickle of teasing specifications. And it’s good stuff. We now know the new Xbox’s GPU is based on AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture and pumps out 12 teraflops of GPU power. That’s about twice as fast as the Xbox One X, faster than a GeForce RTX 2080 Super, and not far behind an RTX 2080 Ti.

We knew it was going to be fast, but what else? A new console often means binning games—no more. The new Xbox will be compatible across four generations of Xbox, right back to the original machine. Your old games will load faster, run faster, and with improved visual fidelity. Xbox Game Studios titles will use Microsoft’s new Smart Delivery, which will enable you to play the same game on any compatible box. HaloInfinite, the launch title, will support the current and the new Xbox. There’s a new “quick resume” feature, which will enable you to resume multiple games from suspended states. There are also strong hints of dedicated audio hardware, with “3D” sound that appears to be coming at you from all directions.

Meanwhile, Sony has registered patents that point to the addition of biofeedback. The patent describes having sensors in the controller that monitor heart rate and electrodermal activity (sweat). What game developers make of this remains to be seen. Another Sony patent describes a gaming coach that provides players with contextually relevant information; you ask a question, and the cloud-based AI does the rest. Sony’s CEO, Jim Ryan, has said that there are “bigger differences” coming with the PS5, so Sony has a trick or two still to reveal. However, it’s having trouble keeping the price of the PS5 down, with a current reported build cost of $450 a pop. It won’t be alone here—both machines are packed with solid state memory, which is notorious for its erratic pricing. We can expect both consoles to land before the end of the year.