(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); PS4 is made up of cheaper hardware than its predecessor because Sony fears it will see a smaller install base in next-gen, ex-Battlefield producer and EA exec Ben Cousins has suggested.


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Former EA exec Cousins is now heading up development of You must login or register to view this content. at Scattered Entertainment, a game that promises to push boundaries in the tablet space. It’s a corner of the industry he clearly feels strongly about, along with the notion of triple-a free-to-play titles.


Speaking with You must login or register to view this content. Cousins suggested that his team would be targeting gamers who buy into a console cycle mid-way through and buy games like FIFA and Call of Duty, rather than dabbling in far-reaching titles. He argued that tablets are going to become a more attractive prospect for this particular brand of gamer.


“We kind of feel that particularly tablets are becoming, will become, a solution for that problem or for that need”, he said. “Soon it will be like actually, I’m getting everything I need here, do I really need to buy a console? These are the sort of guys who buy a console halfway through the cycle rather than right at the start.


“I think the problem with the console model and certainly with the previous generation was that it needed the ultra-hardcore, the kids, and those kind of mid-core or whatever you it call it, mainstream gamers, to a buy a console in order to make a profit because it just needed massive volume.”


Cousins suggested that Sony has realised that this shift in player-base is changing when developing PS4 and explained why this may have prompted them to go for cheaper hardware than it did with PS3.


“It was interesting to see PS4 clearly go for what looks like cheaper hardware than last time around,” he continued, “so maybe that’s a kind of defensive move against their expectation that they’re not going to have the same install base, or maybe they just want to hit profitability quicker because of Sony’s less stable financial state at the moment.”


When asked if this was also because of Sony’s lesser financial situation than this time ahead of the PS3′s launch, Cousins replied, “Exactly, so that was interesting. That feels like they’re kind of acknowledging the threat and they’re kind of doing the best they can to kind of defend against it.


“But I do still feel like…and maybe it’s a selection bias, but most of the people I talk to and whose work I read are kind of in agreement…that this time around console install bases will be smaller. And probably will be focused more on that core audience. It’s certainly not going to be kids and casual gamers buying consoles any more I don’t think, they’re going to be all on mobile.”


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As long as the ps4 is well built and lasts im not fussed on how cheap the components are, itll just mean a lower price. After a while anyways they find cheaper ways to make the console a lower price.

Thoughts?

what hardware is cheaper? from what i understood is they went with a more friendly setup for overall game developers to work with. i thought they learned their lesson from last gen and decided to pull a Microsoft and use common gear this time around. its widely known and expressed that the only reason most developers chose Xbox to use was because it was easiest of the two to work with.
anyway i am in agreement with you, as long as this ps4 isnt built like a POS and works well, great. cost is always a big factor but as you stated over time they are able to find ways to ship it cheaper.

last time i check 8GB of GDDR5 RAM was not exactly called cheap.

How much is it exactly?

I don't think consumers know the price because (G)DDR5 is really only used in GPUs. You can expect it to be significantly more expensive than DDR3. 8GBs of DDR3 Ram is anywhere from $40-60. I'd expect it to be more than twice that.

Thanks for the information bro! Keep it up my friend.

im sure if you was to buy in bulk like a few million or so like sony it'll be cheap, like anything when brought in wholesale/bulk.

Captain obvious anybody with half a brain could tell you the PS3 hardware along with pricing was one big mistake for Sony.



Blueray is cheaper now
CPU is cheaper now
GPU is cheaper now etc

Most of the hardware is loads cheaper compared to the PS3 which was bespoke hardware Sony had to get custom made. End result faster time to profit just from hardware sales compared to the loss making method of before.

yes but is it really considered cheaper because Sony didn't custom make anything, basically just using off the shelf components or are the actually using cheap hardware in the term of inferior? anything that you custom make is gonna costs alot money we all know this. what about the blue ray player? doesn't tech become cheaper every so many months or are they just using radio-shack built blue rays?
the term "cheaper hardware" can be seen as shitty built or readily available off the shelf.

Let's hope the price isn't too high then since it's off the shelf components plus Considering repairs of a PS4 unit They shouldn't have any problem with lack of resources.