[Disclaimer:] As always this is a rumor, take it with a grain of salt.
OsirisBlack is a user of the reformed NeoGaf with a history of releasing unannounced insider information from his sources throughout the industry. Not all of his information has panned out, leading many to take what he says with greater skepticism, but his history of accuracy is high enough that he is certainly not a lucky charlatan looking to cultivate clout with mere canards.
In his previous statements he has claimed that the PS5 was going to be more powerful that the next-generation Xbox. Until more sources came out stating the opposite, he, among a few others, was the source for the earlier rumors regarding the PS5 out-powering the Xbox. Now that appears to have changed and OsirisBlack even inquires if the specs have changed only to get a vague answer that essentially reads as they have and his source is sorry for giving him bad information before.
His source would go on to try and shift the relevancy of the power disparity, but you can see for yourself what the NeoGaf post said.
“Game graphics engine designer working on both consoles says, and I quote. ‘The differences between these machines is negligible. Yes one edges out the other slightly but so what, our game looks and runs phenomenally.’
“when pressed about the old numbers still being correct 11.6 and 12.4 response I got was.”Not going to do that to youagain, some tweaks same ballpark, same advantages and disadvantages.” about their games presentation, they have a trailer cut and ready to show..
“Asked about bc for both systems and was told “Game doesn’t have to work on PS4 but we are dealing with both current X systems.” Out of respect I won’t quote exactly what he said about it but it seems they aren’t letting current gen hold them back. I’d avoid ambitious games that are definitely aimed at PS5 and XseX if I didn’t own one or a good gaming computer.
“His final thoughts, “Everyone is missing the big picture. We’re running at native 4k and locked 60 with room to spare on both kits.We are able to implement systems and gameplay devices that would crush current consoles, our Lighting alone current gen drops the game to under 20fps at very low resolutions.”
“Im going to see if I can actually get him or someone else to commit to an interview about their current games. By commit I mean put his name out their we just won’t be able to go into much detail about the systems but they are primed to show off 000000 O.
What I do doubt about this post is without knowing what company his source is working for that they would abandon current gen so early into the next generation’s life cycle is absurd. Not unheard of, but something that has become increasingly uncommon with each new subsequent generation outside first-party titles.
What his source doesn’t understand is that at launch he is correct. Minor processing differences do not matter. Few companies are going to be capable of taking advantage of the sum total of the hardware and even those that can are going to opt not to because there simply is no need. It isn’t until further in the generation that the differences become more important and noticeable as seen with the PS4 typically having better frame rate, more assets, and a slew of other small performance and design differences over the Xbox One that add up to a huge difference to the consumer. As it boils down to playing on the Xbox One is having the inferior experience. With PC master race players already laughing hysterically, that is not the best position to be in.
Even now a rumor persists that the original Xbox One is so under-powered that it has delayed Cyberpunk 2077 and may be responsible for a downgrade if development can’t figure a way to remedy the problem. Said remedy will likely be fewer models rendered in-game lead to less populated areas. Though this remains a rumor it is not an unbelievable one given the problems that arose from the processing gap.
Either way, if both consoles are going to launch at $500 it won’t really matter how much more processing power they have. The next generation is going to be a slump until the cheaper slim units hit the market.