Millions upon millions of gamers around the world are crawling out of their skin waiting for Microsoft and Sony’s next-generation video game consoles to launch, but according to some plugged-in tech industry executives, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are actually a “downgrade.” Forbes recently spoke with executives from fabless chip makers AMD and Nvidia about the upcoming consoles set to launch ahead of the holidays this year, and both companies seem to share a common position: The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are great machines, but they’re nothing compared to PC gaming.
AMD is responsible for the custom Jaguar chipsets that will power both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, and the company makes the Wii U’s graphics processor as well. AMD’s deal with Microsoft alone is worth more than $3 billion, but that didn’t stop an AMD representative from pointing out how much better PCs are for gaming, however.
“A lot more people have been taking a look at the PC and saying ‘Oh wait, I can get better graphics over here. Oh wait, my experience over here can be different’ like with AMD’s [multi-monitor technology] Eyefinity,” an unnamed AMD spokesperson told Forbes. “Gaming with a mouse and a keyboard is very different from gaming with a control on a sofa.”
The spokesperson also noted that high-end PC rigs don’t just offer better gaming experiences than consoles, they also can do everything a computer can do, thus making them far more versatile than video game consoles.
And then there’s Clay Causin, a senior software engineer at NVIDIA, who was even more candid. “Personal opinion: Consoles, they have a place. If you need something basic, you don’t care how your game looks, alright, I guess it works for you. PC gaming is… bigger and better. Consoles are a downgrade,” Causin said.
Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 are each currently available for preorder and they will launch later this year ahead of the holidays.
