PlayStation Architect Mark Cerny Explains Why PS5 Versions Of PS4 Games Are Often Smaller
Sony’s console designer talks through the decisions that went in to making the PlayStation 5.
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Modern video game consoles take years of planning to produce. From deciding what to focus on, and ideas for new hardware components, to vital considerations about heat and size, to the look of what the box containing all the bits of computer will look like, the design process behind consoles can be mind-bogglingly complex. But in a recent interview, the lead systems architect for the PlayStation 5 talked through the decisions the team made when coming up with the successor to the best-selling PS4.
Mark Cerny has been with involved with PlayStation for more than two decades and has worked on Insomniac and Naughty Dog games such as Jak and Dakter, Ratchet & Clank, and Crash Bandicoot. The American has helped Sony design their consoles since the PS2 and some chalk up Cerny’s lead design role for the PS4 as helping that console supersede the PS3 in terms of sales. In an interview with Wired, the lead system architect for PS5 explained the process that went in to Sony’s latest console.
It’s an in-depth breakdown, and the video, posted on YouTube, is 15 minutes long, but offers great insight into the thinking behind the PlayStation 5 as well as where modern games consoles are at in terms of things such as memory, CPU, and GPU.
One of the most revealing parts is when Cerny explains why certain PS5 games are actually smaller in size than their PS4 versions. For example, the indie hit Subnautica is 14 GB on PS4, but only 4 GB on PS5. Similarly, Control Ultimate Edition is 50 GB on PS4 but only around half that on PS5.
Cerny explained that the PS5 uses Integrated IO and a technique known as Invisible Compression. It is clearly quite a technical thing as Cerny explained it in a way that didn’t really explain the process behind it. But in short, for the PS5, developers are able to use Sony’s publishing tools to handle the decompression process, and they don’t have to rely on perhaps their own bespoke methods of getting data off a spinning-disk hard drive or even an SSD.
Cerny picks out Miles Morales, a first-party title that has numerous advantages in terms of visual quality on the PS5, and yet remains a smaller file than the PS4 version. How can this be? “That growth in size from the assets had been offset by the improved technology for compression,” Cerny explained.
The console architect went on to talk about the trade-offs that lay behind how many computer cores to put into a console, and how it involves balancing CPU and GPU. It is a fascinating insight into how modern consoles are designed and also how games developers are driving key decisions. You can watch the full interview here.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/playstation-architect-mark-cerny-exlains-ps5/