PlayStation 4 lead looked at x86 chips in 2007, wants polished games on day one

[wraggster]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/mark-cerny-ps4-event_620x340.jpgMany game developers will tell you that the PlayStation 3's Cell processor (http://www.engadget.com/tag/sony,cell/) was a real bear to support. What they can't tell you: the PlayStation 4's (http://www.engadget.com/tag/PlayStation4/) lead architect, Mark Cerny, was already thinking of a solution as far back as 2007. He just revealed toGamasutra that he'd been researching x86 (http://www.engadget.com/tag/x86/)-based processors for the PS4 merely a year after the PS3 launch, knowing that there were "some issues" with realizing the Cell's potential. The new console's unified memory and eight-core CPU were the ultimate results of Cerny's talks with game creators shortly after he took the reins in 2008. We've already seen the shift in attitudes through a very developer-centric PlayStation Meeting (http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/liveblog-sony-playstation-4/), but Cerny wants to underscore just how different the PS4's holiday launch (http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/sony-ps4-announcement/)should be versus what we remember from 2006 -- even the first wave of PS4 games should benefit from a healthy toolset, he says. We'll know his long-term planning paid off if the initial PS4 library (http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/playstation-4-games-preview/) shows the level of refinement that took years to manifest on the PS3.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/27/playstation-4-lead-looked-at-x86-chips-in-2007/