The PlayStation 6, and whatever Microsoft decides to call its next-generation Xbox video game console, will not deliver graphics that are any better than what the current generation of hardware already offers, according to the latest thoughts from Shawn Layden, an industry veteran who is partially known for having helped lead the PlayStation brand as President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America from April 2014 before leaving years later for what he admitted was “exhaustion.” “Only dogs can hear the difference,” Layden opined during this week’s Gamescom Asia event, claiming that players would need an 8K display to see any difference in things like ray tracing, which, apparently, can’t be seen at all depending on a room’s lighting conditions. Layden also suggested that the real winner of the console race has been AMD, with the Ryzen and Radeon maker having supplied key hardware for Sony and Microsoft over the years.
“It has plateaued. We’re at the stage of hardware development that I call ‘only dogs can hear the difference’,” he said. “If you’re playing your game and sunlight is coming through your window onto your TV, you’re not seeing any ray tracing. It has to be super optimal…you have to have an 8K monitor in a dark room to see these things.”
“We’re fighting over teraflops and that’s no place to be. We need to compete on content. Jacking up the specs of the box, I think we’ve reached the ceiling.” Layden concluded: “That race is nearly over, and you know who won? AMD.”