NEW YORK, Oct 3 ― The next PlayStation and Xbox consoles are building in more advanced support for live streaming and video cameras, according to a report published by Gizmodo.
The Xbox Scarlett and next PlayStation console, both expected to debut in 2020, are preparing to support live streaming video to a greater extent than their predecessors.
Further, Xbox Scarlett has a camera that boasts 4K resolution; the next PlayStation is codenamed Prospero in an apparent nod to its technology partner, AMD.
That’s according to a report published by Gizmodo, relying upon a game studio tipster whose information about the PlayStation development kit lined up with later patent filings.
Upon its 2013 debut, the Xbox One came packaged with the Kinect camera, a motion-sensing device that had a built-in camera and responded to voice commands.
It was generally rejected for having inflated the console’s introductory price, but now that video streaming is well established (as are a plethora of voice-activated AI assistants), game console camera technology should find a more enthusiastic reception with the next generation of Sony and Xbox consoles.
The Xbox Scarlett camera already boasts 4K resolution, per the reporting, and Microsoft is using a “Snapchat-like demo that changes with the in-game lighting” to help show off its capabilities.
Likewise, the Prospero kit also has a camera. Its technology is older than the Scarlett equivalent, it is said, though at this point that could still change.
(For context, recall that during 2013’s PlayStation 4 reveal, Sony surprised enthusiasts and developers alike by upping internal memory from 4GB to 8GB, matching the Xbox One for capacity and beating it on speed and price.)
Gizmodo’s reporting implies that Scarlett and Prospero, being much more powerful than the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 machines, will be better able to bring console platforms closer in line with PC-based streamers who can more easily activate eye-catching visual effects.
Meanwhile, the Prospero codename matches a naming theme employed by PlayStation and Xbox technology partner AMD, which appears to have called two in-development computer or console chips Ariel and Gonzalo.
All three names match those of characters from Shakespeare play “The Tempest.” — AFP-Relaxnews
