Rumour control: PS4 to ditch Cell processor

You’ve probably read the reports from developers about what a pain in the ass the PS3 has been to work with, so the rumours of the PS4 ditching one of its more overly complicated innards seems more plausible than not.

Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry editor, Richard Leadbetter, had been in contact with a reputable source who claimed that Sony‘s new console would “essentially [be] a PC” in terms of architecture.

“An AMD collaboration on the CPU holds many attractions,” writes Leadbetter. “For the first time since the launch of the original Xbox, we could well be seeing an x86 processor in a console. It may be hard to imagine that the company that brought us the Cell would be embracing PC tech so wholeheartedly, but a look at the make-up of Vita suggests a fundamental shift in the way Sony builds its consoles in the wake of Ken Kutaragi’s departure.”

The mention of AMD is in line with earlier rumours that have the PS4 using AMD components.

Leadbetter continued to say that it’s not about exotic, ground-breaking hardware any more but that it’s all about creating the best possible games machine with an enviable set of development tools.

He may just have a point: the cell-processor, a joint effort by Sony, Toshiba and IBM, has proven to be little more than a pain for video game developers.

Multi-platform games often seem to perform better on weaker hardware than on the PlayStation 3, while the few dedicated Sony developers such as Uncharted creators, Naughty Dog, and God of War magicians Santa Monica, have managed to unmask the potential of the PS3.

One has to wonder what the future holds for Sony’s next console.