Comparing next-gen console specs is “meaningless”: Xbox exec

With the PS4 and Xbox One arriving later this year, hardware enthusiasts are putting the two consoles’ specs head-to-head, but an Xbox exec believes doing so is “in some ways meaningless.”

“The problem is that Sony decided to go out and publish a bunch of numbers, which are in some ways meaningless,” said Xbox executive Albert Penello. “Because this isn’t like 1990, when it was 16-bit versus 32-bit.”

Penello took a jab at Sony’s PS4, saying that “They actually go out and they talk about how proud they are about their off-the-shelf parts. Our guys’ll say, we touched every single component in the box and everything there is tweaked for optimum performance.”

Penello’s point was extended to the fact that he believes gamers will choose a console based on experience, rather than specs.

“You bought a system to play great games and have great experiences,” Penello said. “I feel like our games and experiences are going to be every bit as good, if not better, technically–on top of all the magic we’re going to add with the instant switching, and the power of the cloud.”

The Xbox exec didn’t delve into the PS4 vs. Xbox One spec debate because he believes that “it’s not going to matter.”

“I heard this exact same argument last generation and it’s a pointless argument, because people are debating things which they don’t know about. They’re not [head silicon engineer] Nick Baker or [corporate vice president of IEB hardware Todd Holmdahl], and I’m not [lead PS4 architect] Mark Cerny, so why are we having this discussion?”

What do you think of Penello’s points? Are you basing your console decision on specs or future games? Let us know below and in the MyGaming forums.