I am in a rush now so I had a quick check on the text --I shall read it later.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=66980146&postcount=542
No, he said he's not getting dragged into a pissing match over specs.
If I give voice to my inner cynic, this could be a cunning PR campaign. We know MS needs to actually manufacture these things ahead of the release date, so the time for changing specs is measured in weeks, and you can't change much in a matter of weeks. However, suggesting you can, and throwing the question to the public, you get the public coming up with explanations as to how the "weaker spec" console can be the better performer, effectively creating FUD. MS would then just have to say, "no comment," and the fanboys will run wild with unsubstantiated speculation, evangelising how much better XB1 is without actually knowing that to be the case because the theories are based on guesswork and wishful thinking.
... However, suggesting you can, and throwing the question to the public, you get the public coming up with explanations as to how the "weaker spec" console can be the better performer, effectively creating FUD. MS would then just have to say, "no comment," and the fanboys will run wild with unsubstantiated speculation, evangelising how much better XB1 is without actually knowing that to be the case because the theories are based on guesswork and wishful thinking.
eg. Penello : Can anyone come up with an explanation about how our hardware could perform faster than PS4 given the specs we know?
Gaf 1 : What if the ESRAM provides far greater ALU utilisation.
Penello : Indeed, what if?
Gaf 2 : What if the custom blocks, the depth and colour and memory move blocks, are much improved?
Penello : Yes, what if?
Rest of the world for the next few years : "Even if PS4 has more CUs, XB1 has better efficiency and improved custom blocks. It's a far more efficient design. Penello pretty much said as much."
It doesn't have to be a full blown campaign. Panello's posts don't really say anything, and he's admitted that he's in no position to understand Sony's architecture in depth. So have can he have insider knowledge that what they are doing to XB1 (which we know has production constraints regards any changes) is going to result in a platform more powerful in real terms than PS4?
That is indeed the sort of fanboy crap that pollutes sane hardware discussion, but this isn't a 'rant against PR' thread. My post was a heads up for Cyan and the like, who are quick to attribute meaningful value to information that, on even passing inspection, has no real value, and is operating in a market where (mis)information is an important part of competition (for the core gamer in this case). Just because a corporate official says something officially, doesn't mean it has any real meaning, and that's why I say no-one should regard anything but cold hard facts, or engineer talk, as worth anything, especially in threads like this one.Penello fanboy management techniques look to be quite good. He was even able to inject humbleness into his neogaf posts ( assuming it is him but I think it is ). Getting some grudging respect from this gen's Sony Defence Force can only add to his strength in FUD (Fanboy Uncertainty and Doubt)
You know Shifty - being the resident grammar nazi and all - the phrase is actually 'bear in mind'
I've noticed a few people use 'bare' instead in the past week or so.
Didn't it ever seem that 'bare in mind' doesn't make much sense?
No, he said he's not getting dragged into a pissing match over specs.
If I give voice to my inner cynic, this could be a cunning PR campaign. We know MS needs to actually manufacture these things ahead of the release date, so the time for changing specs is measured in weeks, and you can't change much in a matter of weeks. However, suggesting you can, and throwing the question to the public, you get the public coming up with explanations as to how the "weaker spec" console can be the better performer, effectively creating FUD. MS would then just have to say, "no comment," and the fanboys will run wild with unsubstantiated speculation, evangelising how much better XB1 is without actually knowing that to be the case because the theories are based on guesswork and wishful thinking.
eg. Penello : Can anyone come up with an explanation about how our hardware could perform faster than PS4 given the specs we know?
Gaf 1 : What if the ESRAM provides far greater ALU utilisation.
Penello : Indeed, what if?
Gaf 2 : What if the custom blocks, the depth and colour and memory move blocks, are much improved?
Penello : Yes, what if?
Rest of the world for the next few years : "Even if PS4 has more CUs, XB1 has better efficiency and improved custom blocks. It's a far more efficient design. Penello pretty much said as much."
Of course, in that example Penello says nothing. the smiley faces are used to imply the affirmative, but they have zero real substance and none of those theories are substantiated. But it equips the MS fanbase with some arguments that the fanboys will press relentlessly for the rest of the generation. We see it time and time again, idiot fanboys believing and evangelising and talking shit, and from a business POV it's probably better to encourage that than lay the facts out straight and eliminate the confusion. FUD = Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. If you're not in the strongest position in a particular field of your market, uncertainty and doubt help obfuscate your opponent's advantage.
I'm not saying that is what's happening in, but I hope people bare that in mind regards everything they ever read from a Sony or MS mouthpiece. The only meaningful information is that which comes from engineers are hard numbers and facts. Everything else cannot be corroborated or evaluated, and shouldn't be given any weight - for any platform and for any rumour. We know PS4 has 18 CUs because that was a cold, hard fact from Sony. We know XB1's GPU can execute 768 ops per clock, pointing to the leaked 12 CU spec, as that was a cold, hard fact. All the non-facts are wielded for marketing purposes, and not to inform the buying public.
