PS4 Expected to Mirror Last Gen's Seven Year Lifespan

[Cognimancer]

PS4 Expected to Mirror Last Gen's Seven Year Lifespan

The PlayStation 4 is built to last, so don't expect the next batch of consoles to come any quicker than this generation did.

The PlayStation 3's life cycle was pretty long, as far these things go. While some companies [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120798-Ubisoft-CEO-Says-Long-Console-Cycle-Stifles-New-IPs] have claimed that we should be moving back towards shorter console cycles, the engineers at Sony don't appear to buy into that theory. The PS4 is in this for the long run: Mark Cerny, the system architect of the PlayStation 4, knows the hardware better than anyone and he expects it to stick around for a while.

"It looks pretty healthy to me," Cerny said regarding the PS4's potential longevity. "The PS4 cycle will be pretty much like the PS3 cycle." The shorter console cycles of the past were necessary due to the challenges of bringing new capabilities to customers - when you bought a PS1, that was the machine you'd be using until the PS2 came out. Now, with downloadable firmware updates and lucrative digital markets, a console can survive for as long as its hardware can perform. And as far as hardware goes, Cerny has faith in the PS4. "The most important thing," he says, "is that it's the most powerful games console ever created."

The PlayStation 4 will be launching this holiday season. As for whether it'll be going strong seven years from now, well, we'll have to wait and see.

Source: Gameranx [http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/16618/article/cerny-ps4-to-match-ps3-s-seven-year-cycle/]

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[Phrozenflame500]

And as far as hardware goes, Cerny has faith in the PS4. "The most important thing," he says, "is that it's the most powerful games console ever created."

Damn, the most powerful console is still quite inferior to PCs.

That being said, I'm not surprised. Without the huge jumps in graphical quality we saw before short console generations just aren't viable anymore.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I'm assuming Sony don't want to mirror the PS3's lifespan too closely, what with the three years of stagnating sales and crushing financial losses, or the PSN hack, or the mass reluctance of publishers and myriad problems cause by the hardware quirks (hello Bethesda, Valve, Dice).

Having said that, there may be a spin man in Sony's PR department that they all deeply hate, so much so that all of the PS3's travails were just an elaborate ruse to give him a heart attack.

Begs the question will the PS3 last another three years to reach that much vaunted ten year cycle they were yelling about a few years back?

 

[BloodSquirrel]

When the next console generation will end will depend on the state of the console market and the economy as a whole. Sony or Microsoft's current best wishes for how long they'd like it to last are nigh-irrelevant.

Also, LoL @ "the most powrful games console ever created". There's only one other next-gen console for it to be competing for that title with. Being more powerful than the WiiU or 7-8 year old hardware is hardly much of an accomplishment.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

I'm ok with this. A long-lasting cycle is a good thing, it lets us get the hang of the console.

 

[Genocidicles]

Preferably it would be longer, but I'm fine with that. I cant afford to go buying a new console every couple of years.

 

[The White Hunter]

So in 7 years we'll back to extremely pretty corridors? ):

 

[Something Amyss]

I wonder if anyone's PS4 will actually last that long.

Didn't stop the Xbox 360!

...And that's one of the weird things here.

"We're totally going to last as long as what is sort of already boilerplate and anyone with a decent grasp on patterns already grasps."

 

[mad825]

So in 7 years we'll back to extremely pretty corridors? ):

I give it 2 years. Once the console sales drop, we're back to square one.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Now if only it had backwards compatibility, had steam and keyboard and mouse.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

If anything it needs to last longer than seven years what with diminishing returns and all

 

[Micah Weil]

These are the voyages of the Playstation 4.
It's seven year mission, to explore strange, new worlds.
To seek out new life and new civilization.
To boldly go where no gamer has gone before.

 

[King Kazma]

400$ every 4-5 years, or 7. I think I know what I'd choose, but they're already doing it so...

 

[Gailim]

7 years is being optimistic. I think in about 4 the entire console business model will collapse

HTPC's can already deliver the "console experience" better than consoles. as more horsepower is plugged into smaller devices, imagine a tablet that can hook up to a large screen and deliver that experience, then imagine a smartphone a few years later. were getting there faster than some realize

sitting on a couch playing a game with a controller isn't going anywhere but they way most people will be doing it in a few years wont involve the PS4 or the Xbone

 

[Remus]

I'm good with that. My PS3 is the old launch, backward-compatible chrome tombstone. Never had a problem with it other than the harddrive after I had purchased more than 7 games. That was easily remedied with a 300GB WD drive. My PC runs on a 5 year old card and still runs 99% of games on high or ultra setting without skipping a beat. With a minimalist OS and hardware specifically designed with games in mind and not just multitasking whatever, consoles have generally had it easier than PCs because developers are designing for 2 relatively similar rigs and not everything from 10 years ago to now. That's the beauty of consoles - they're for gaming and they're one box, minus all the garbage that would be included if a similar PC was purchased retail.

 

[Remus]

I'm good with that. My PS3 is the old launch, backward-compatible chrome tombstone. Never had a problem with it other than the harddrive after I had purchased more than 7 games. That was easily remedied with a 300GB WD drive. My PC runs on a 5 year old card and still runs 99% of games on high or ultra setting without skipping a beat. With a minimalist OS and hardware specifically designed with games in mind and not just multitasking whatever, consoles have generally had it easier than PCs because developers are designing for 2 relatively similar rigs and not everything from 10 years ago to now. That's the beauty of consoles - they're for gaming and they're one box, minus all the garbage that would be included if a similar PC was purchased retail.

No one buys retail PCs for gaming. They run off the apple mentality, which is to over charge and have watered down parts. There is a reason PC gaming is up but retail PC sales are down. Also device drivers from manufacturers handle the hardware, not the the game developer.

Yes but not everybody is a 20-to-30something tech geek who keeps up to date on all the latest PC upgrades. Sure the general populace is becoming more tech savvy but it's like universal DSL - we're not quite there yet. There's a retail PC market for a reason. And so many companies use this opportunity to package as much garbage software on these PCs in order to make an extra buck either through contracts with the PC maker or through online purchases from the consumer. Drivers may control how a game operates, but just take Bethesda for example - they had to take an extremely long development time in order to get their game to operate on the PS3. They could not simply port it over due to memory limitations and Cell. With the new console specs, memory will no longer be an issue and the onboard processor will be more standard and not a custom processor from Sony & Co. This makes ports easier but developers will still need to modify their games for a console environment.

 

[bug_of_war]

So it's $71.43 a year...that's cheaper than the games I'll be buying for it! Awesome, I much prefer spending half a grand on something that will last a more than half a decade before the next generation comes out. I'm sick of the whole, "It's been a year, lets make a new phone/music player/TV/insert technology here" and being expected to continually play large sums of money.