Home video game consoles seem somewhat quaint at this point, and it’s not an issue of graphics capabilities or raw power, on which scales they both still beat out mobile devices. But in terms of content delivery, smartphones and tablets blow away the old guard of the video games field. ‘More power’ will still likely be the clarion call of the next generation of consoles from Sony and Microsoft, and new details leaked around Microsoft’s Xbox 360 successor, codenamed Durango, suggest they’ll have specs to boast about.
A leak from VGLeaks offers a look at what kind of CPU and GPU will be inside Microsoft’s next-gen console, and it includes 8 CPU cores at 1.6GHz, with a custom 800MHz graphics processor in the GPU. There are 8GB of RAM on board, with 32MB of fast embedded SRAM at double the throughput speed, and a 50GB-capable 6x Blu-ray drive. Wireless connectivity protocols include both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, and there’s still a Gigabit Ethernet port for gamers with low latency multiplayer demands. It’ll also come with USB 3.0 and HDMI 1.4a, which supports 3D over HDMI, Ethernet, audio return channels and 4K resolution.
The rumored specs for the PS4 mean that it can beat the Xbox 720 on paper, at least when it comes to teraflops, giving it a theoretical 50 percent advantage in raw computing power according to previously leaked info on Sony’s next-gen machine. But the CPU/GPU combo should be similar for both, making it easier to port between these consoles and the PC for developers. An easier development process for game-makers that gives them greater potential reach will likely be a key component of the next generation of home consoles, now that they’re competing for game studio attention
