Crytek: It’s impossible for next-gen consoles to beat PCs

PS4/Next Xbox just can’t pack $2,000 of tech in one system

Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli doesn’t sound too impressed by the prospect of a new console generation — in fact, he claims Crysis 3 running on a high-end PC is already ahead of future competition. The ruling factor here, according to him, is price. 

“Without breaking NDAs that are in place, realistically, from purely a price point perspective, it is impossible,” he told Eurogamer. “It’s impossible to package $2000-3000 into a mainstream, let’s say $500 console. I’m not saying they are $500 consoles. They may launch a console at $2000, but the consumer pricing is usually much lower than that.

“So, given consumer pricing, and given the cost of production of a gamer PC and the amount of watt of power it needs, which is like a fridge, it’s impossible.”

Yerli isn’t sharing some astounding government secret, of course. Consoles are cheaper and easier to use than high-end gaming PCs, which is of course the one major benefit to owning them. That, and first-party exclusives. Still, if you have the means, PC gaming is always going to be where it’s at. 

“If you look at PC gaming, that has changed also,” Yerli continued. “The whole modular way you can design a PC today, with two, three or four graphics cards in them, and you can water cool them and overclock to infinity, that didn’t exist even six or seven years ago. You just bought one or maybe two graphics cards and then you were super enthusiastic.

“It’s very difficult to compete with that. People have these massive nuclear power plants standing in their rooms that will run your games really fast. It’s hard to compete with.”

I’m intrigued by what Microsoft and Sony are cooking up, but I have to say PC gaming is exciting me the most right now. It’s not all about the graphics, either — PC has become the new home of horror games, as well as a place where indie and niche titles can thrive while so-called “AAA” publishers remain terrified of trying new things. Right now, it seems that every major frustration I have with the videogame industry is based in the console sector — and they’re issues way more infuriating than graphical drawbacks. 

That said … the lovely graphics help. Oh boy do they help!

Crysis 3 developer Crytek on why it’s impossible for next-gen consoles to match the power of gaming PCs [Eurogamer]