Rumor: "Very Affordable" PS4 Based on AMD's A10 APU

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

Rumor: "Very Affordable" PS4 Based on AMD's A10 APU

Sony's successor to the PS3 will be announced before E3 2013, according to anonymous sources.

Rumors have been flying about Sony's next generation console for VG247 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116541-Rumor-Next-PlayStation-Coming-in-Late-2013]'s anonymous sources, these rumors are accurate, and the second of four Orbis dev kits is shipping to game developers this week. Unlike the first dev kit, which was basically just a graphics card, the second iteration was described as a "modified PC."

A "disclosure meeting" was held earlier in the week for some US game developers, in which Sony only referred to its next console as the Orbis, not using the words "PlayStation 4" at all. The sources also revealed that the Orbis is based on the AMD A10 APU series, with the system's APU a "derivative" of existing hardware and "based on A10 system and base platform." Sony's ultimate goal is to have the hardware run 1080p60 in 3D with "no problem." Other specs include a 256GB hard drive "as a standard" and "either 8Gb or 16Gb of RAM." Not surprisingly, Blu-ray, built-in Wi-Fi, ethernet connectivity, and an HDMI output will all be back for the next generation.

The Orbis also reportedly has a redesigned user interface, allowing users to seamlessly switch between applications by pressing the PS button on the controller. It can also perform background updates, with the publisher "trying to make it as fluid as possible." Though the machine "isn't a slouch," Sony is trying to avoid the mistakes it made with the PS3 launch by making the Orbis "very affordable."

The sources said that the system will be announced just before E3 2013. The third dev kits are due out in January, with a final version going out next summer. If this is true, that implies that Orbis will be out by the end of 2013. Of course, none of this has been verified by Sony, and we probably won't get confirmation until the PS4, or Orbis, or whatever it ends up being called, is formally announced.

Source: VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2012/11/01/ps4_details_playstation_4/]

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[Fappy]

I wonder how they plan to make it "very affordable". There's a reason the PS3 was so expensive at launch...

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

I wonder how they plan to make it "very affordable". There's a reason the PS3 was so expensive at launch...

Bluray was still new in the market and now you can get a cheap player for 80 dollars at wal-mart. The rest sound like specs for high end computer aside from the HDD size so I could see this being around the 300-400 dollar mark.

 

[cerebus23]

Where is the xbox 720 in development?

Will be interesting to see if there is a race to be first now. Or if sony can somehow pull that rabbit out of a hat with an "affordable" system, first to the market, like the ps2 that managed to win that gen by being first and having an enormous quality library of games.

 

[Rayken15]

Everything sounds good except the RAM. Isn't 16GB a bit of an overkill?

 

[Vivi22]

Everything sounds good except the RAM. Isn't 16GB a bit of an overkill?

Maybe they could get away with 8GB, but assuming this is true, maybe they want to avoid people complaining about not having enough again.

Anyway, who knows how much of this is really to be believed, but I do hope that they're learning from their mistakes and are going to make their next console more affordable. Between the PS3, PSP, and Vita, how many times do they have to keep making the same mistake before they learn? Mind you, I say that while fully acknowledging that the PS3 hasn't been the dismal failure people have always made it out to be, and that the PSP actually sold pretty well if you compare it to things that aren't the DS or another Nintendo handheld.

 

[deadish]

Given how bad Sony is at keeping secrets. I would say that there is a 60% chance this is true.

Let's hope Sony can stay true to their claim that it's "affordable". I swear the price of their recent hardware, PS3 (when it was new) and PSV, is what's hurting them.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I have a hard time believing anything created by Sony is "very affordable".
It might be like the Vita, where the system price seems reasonable, but you need to pay extra for essentials.

Orbis basic system for $399.99.
Includes 256 GB hard drive and 1 month free Playstation Plus subscription.
Backwards compatibility available only in $499.99 models. Controller sold separately.
Price for controller: $99.99
Price for games at launch: $80.00

 

[redknightalex]

Everything sounds good except the RAM. Isn't 16GB a bit of an overkill?

Depends. If they're including the GPU ram in that estimate, which I believe they do for spouting off the PS3 specs, then it may not be overkill. Also depends on what type of RAM, and the speed, they're using. I'd expect anywhere between 6GB and a 12GB RAM for the system in general. That would bring it up to many modern gaming PCs running today.

If this is their setup, I can believe that it would be affordable. Then again, I'm looking at a major overhaul of my gaming PC so $500 is my graphics card alone so I'm wearing fuzzy PC glasses.

 

[deadish]

AMD's top A10 APU's GPU that costs $122 on it's own at 1280x720 resolution with all graphic settings at there lowest can get 48fps on the PC in Battlefield, 32fps in Crysis 2 that is not good now let alone in 5 years.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 launch with pretty "shitty" GPUs too. It worked out alright.

We will just have to see. Without legacy (Intel controlled) PC architecture getting in the way, without OS and driver overhead, plus being a "fixed" platform where you can write to the metal, we should see considerably better performance.

Of course all this talk is for naught if this rumour is false.

 

[WanderingFool]

To me, affordable is currantly not in my price range. But its good to know that I wont need a loan to buy one.

 

[LordFish]

Everything sounds good except the RAM. Isn't 16GB a bit of an overkill?

I should imagine it's to enable massive levels to be loaded into the ram, not the current method of loading things only as you walk nearer them.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I wonder how they plan to make it "very affordable". There's a reason the PS3 was so expensive at launch...

The principle reason was because Sony had dominated over a decade of home consoles and thought they could charge whatever they wanted. That and the funky maths they applied to it and BluRay's development.

This one sounds like it's going to be based on existing licensed hardware, in the same vein as Xbox ,Gamecube and Wii were. That's good for us and for developers.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Everything sounds good except the RAM. Isn't 16GB a bit of an overkill?

Maybe, but RAM is cheap.

The PS3 is massively under powered in respect of RAM, 256MB system and the same again VRAM, which is not enough and has led to all kinds of development issues, especially for open world games.

Also

A-series chips share their system and VRAM as well, adding more and faster RAM to them has a similar effect to overclocking, but without the added power and heat issues. Having that much available could allow for the loading of entire games into the RAM from hard disc, which would make loading nice. Don't forget that if the PS4 supports Dx11 or equivalent that tessellation and anti-aliasing use masses of VRAM as well. 8GB could run out very quickly when it's handling everything and a 1080p or better screen.

 

[dragongit]

I still wonder graphicly speaking who is going to be on top? Looks like if Microsoft holds back till Sony gets their product announced they might take the advantage. Hopefully though by then they will adopt a disc storage capacity that is more then 9 GB. Having to switch discs in this day and age seems redundant.

 

[fix-the-spade]

AMD's top A10 APU's GPU that costs $122 on it's own at 1280x720 resolution with all graphic settings at there lowest can get 48fps on the PC in Battlefield, 32fps in Crysis 2 that is not good now let alone in 5 years.

But that is at retail, for a single unit and running Windows underneath.

Halve that cost for a massive trade order (quarter it for licensed manufacturing) and cut the operating system out. It's an order of magnitude faster than what's in the PS3 and that handles Crysis 2/Battlefield 3 just fine, granted at Dx9 level but it still runs.

 

[vallorn]

Hmm... Il be keeping a close eye on the PS4 methinks. This whole thing seems like a recipie for a succesfull console so far.

 

[Beautiful End]

Of course this is a rumor but I kinda figured. I mean, the fact that the WiiU is less than a month away just means that MS and Sony can't stay behind for too long. And by staying behind I mean they need to deliver a new console. And it's also smart to officially build up the anticipation before E3 and then officially unveil it at E3 so that you can get it during the holidays. Nintendo only got one of those right...

as far as being affordable...I get why the PS3 was so expensive but I'm willing to say it will be around $400 at launch. I dunno, it's just a crackpot theory. The PS2 was $200 at launch because it was new. That's all. So...yeah, I'm betting on $400-ish (Which doesn't seem very affordable to me but whatever). I'm also worried about the software price. Those go up every time a new console comes out, so what, we're looking at $70 or $80 per average game?

*Sigh* Again, crackpot theory but...I'm starting to think I won't be able to keep up with my gaming habits for too long.