During his Quakecon keynote, id Software co-founder and games industry luminary John Carmack addressed the differences between the Xbox One and PS4 hardware, saying that while he hasn’t been able to extensively test either system, the two platforms initially look “very close.” While he admitted that in the previous generation he favored the 360 for its edge in power and the ease of development, he acknowledged that Sony was taking steps to address develop concerns about designing games for their platform.
“Sony has made large strides. Their development tools came out of the gate much much better than they ever have. They’ve made some somewhat more gamer-focused decisions in their strategies and decisions.”
He went on to criticize Microsoft for their focus on the Kinect as central to their next-gen strategy, and talked about the “fundamental limitations” of that hardware. He repeatedly mentions the Kinect’s higher-than-average latency, indicating that Microsoft hasn’t done a lot to solve the unresponsiveness of the first generation Kinect. He also unfavorably compared Kinect to a “zero button mouse” and broadly indicated that it didn’t suit his “needs and desires as a game developer.”
In his wide ranging address, Carmack also talked about how the Wii U has become a “marginal” platform and about the limited publisher interest in bringing id’s Doom III BFG Edition to Nintendo’s console. In the same section, he mentioned the success of the 3DS relative to the marketplace struggles the Vita has faced, but also that both handhelds have faced an uphill struggle because of the penetration of smartphones and their growing role as viable gaming devices.
