90°

A developer kit isn’t a console

Michael Cromwell of PCGMedia Writes " Let me get this out of the way first: I’m not a technician, and I’m not a computer expert. There are those far better equipped than I to delve into the numbers and names of complicated chips, but I have my doubts over the way developer kits have been portrayed (somewhat) accidentally as “the components of the next generation of consoles.” Kotaku got hands of a 90 page document from renowned leaky tap ‘SuperDae’, from which they listed the “specifications” for a PS4 developer kit."

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pcgmedia.com
DeadlyFire4109d ago (Edited 4109d ago )

I disagree. 26nm has never existed. Kaveri is at 28nm process.

As for the roadmap. AMD has more than one roadmap. APU roadmap is all this article showcases. AMD Server and AMD desktop roadmaps are also possible. Power series was often a server CPU. If Sony and Microsoft are aiming for high compute range CPU it might be based off a server CPU chip.

While the main point is valid a Development kit is not a console. Its meant to be a programmable scaled up version of the console hardware. Cores likely will match up core to core. RAM will not. Even in the final development kit. Type of cores will be the same from the final kit to the console likely depending on the power. Still the Dev. kit will have more than a typical retail unit.

One thing many people overlook is that Context switching patent Sony filled. They have no plans for 2013 release of their console if true. AMD's products implement that in 2014 with CPU to GPU context switching. This rumor roadmap road could be longer than some expect. :P
http://www.anandtech.com/sh...

Riderz13374109d ago

No, it's a developer kit. Hence it's name "Developer Kit".

hazardman4109d ago

Exactly, but its also a preview of what will be in or comparable to, in the retail unit.

Ju4109d ago

Yes, but, e.g. a HDD means squad because a final console can as well sell without HDD at all. A devkit will require some sort of re-writeable media or do people believe devs burn DVDs to test their games? Or load the OS? Or patch/flash the dev kit every other second? And yet, people argue about HDD size in the dev kits...

nukeitall4109d ago

Actually it is not necessarily comparable at all. The hardware is intended to "mimic" the retail unit, which even the manufacturer don't know what it will look like for sure.

That means the system will likely have off the shelf parts that are likely more powerful than the retail unit. A good example of this is in two instances:

a) the RAM is twice the retail unit (well supposedly), because some of it is being used for Windows

b) some of this custom technology isn't available, so they emulate it by for instance having a full blown CPU with no regard to the power draw that the console would have

So the straight answer is, there is too much variation in the final build from dev kit and it isn't just the hardware that makes up the build, but also the software that puts limits in place to mimic the actual hardware.

So you need to know both software and hardware, to really know!

It is still fun to speculate! :D

BitbyDeath4109d ago

OMG, you just turned my world upside-down

Gillonz4109d ago

It's sad that an article has to be made about this.

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220°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

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theverge.com
darthv7218h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle5h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic18813h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio2h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Cacabunga5h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

shinoff21834h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga3h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

purple1018h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos7h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

XBManiac6h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad6h ago(Edited 6h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple1016h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic4h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

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140°

Why Monopolies In Gaming Must Not Be Allowed

As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.

thorstein17h ago

Shouldn't be allowed in any field.

Inverno13h ago

And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.

jwillj2k412h ago

Eventually they’ll realize the value is with the employee not the company. Buying an IP means nothing if the people who contributed are let go. They’ll get it one day.

MrCrimson11h ago

tech is different because they buy threats and then kill them. Twitter bought Vine and did nothing with it. Despite people seemingly liking it. Could've had tiktok a decade before bytedance. go figure.

Zenzuu12h ago

Monopolies shouldn't be allowed regardless. Not just for gaming.

MrCrimson11h ago

They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -

70°

5 Of The Best Narrative Twists In Video Games

GL compiles a list of some of the most mind-blowing video game narrative twists in recent memory, from The Last of Us to Outer Wilds

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gameluster.com
Rebel_Scum16h ago

With articles like these cant you tag the games mentioned so that we can know ahead of time if there’s a spoiler to avoid?

Not clicking on your article otherwise.