14 DAY TRIAL // When the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 were first announced, both Microsoft and Sony talked about how the computing power of their coming consoles would be close to that of a high-end gaming-focused PC, but it seems that most developers feel like a gap between the two still exists.
Johan Andersson, a technical director at DICE, states on his official Twitter account that a clear difference between the various platforms exists and that those developers who say otherwise are just unable to optimize their games for the classic PC.
He states, “Embarrassing to hear devs say their console versions is the same quality as ‘ultra high’ on PC. Then you are _not_ taking advantage of PC!”
Commenting on his message, several gamers agree with the developer's statements and suggest that game makers should be clearer when it comes to the graphics quality of their multiplatform games in order to make it easier for potential buyers to choose.
The comments are pretty general, but they are probably mostly aimed at Ubisoft, which has claimed that the quality of its upcoming titles, including Far Cry 4, is the same on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 as it is on an ultra-high PC.
Johan Andersson is one of the veterans working at DICE and has worked on the development of the Frostbite 3 engine, which is currently used by a wide variety of Electronic Arts video games and it is designed to use the extra computing power delivered by the next generation of gaming devices.
At the moment, it is being used to create the new Dragon Age: Inquisition, which has been looking great on the PC and is also getting versions for both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
DICE is also working on a new Mirror’s Edge title, which will act as reboot for the series, and on a new Star Wars: Battlefront experience, which will be launched at some point during next year and will be linked to the coming movie in the franchise.
Both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 are designed to be closer in terms of architecture to the PC, which makes it easier for video game developers to port their titles in order to make sure that they reach a wider audience.
Recently, Microsoft has suggested that the launch of the new DirectX 12 will not deliver significant performance improvements for its next-gen platform.