#PS4NoParity

Another month, another hashtag…similar to the “alleged” conception of GamerGate, the root cause of #PS4NoParity MIGHT be unfounded - the quotes from Ubisoft may very well be misinterpreted. In reality, we are talking about negligible differences that won’t affect your gaming experience…yes, we have had horrible ports (Bayonetta on PS3) but we are primarily talking about slight graphical improvements on one console versus another console. 

This is not a PS4 vs XB1 thing and I would argue the hashtag should be changed to something like #DevsMaximumPotential this is more getting the best port possible on the hardware provided. The thinking is that Ubisoft initially explored the new pieces of hardware and pushed it for their signature franchise Assassin’s Creed - it ran better on PS4 than on the XB1. Unlike the previous generations we don’t have Emotion Engine and Cell custom stuff for devs to deal with now - its a straightforward PC architecture. But Ubisoft saw that the results were negligible and while the PS4 performed better it would be better to allocate resources and optimize for XB1 and use that port for PS4 rather than to optimize for each console since anything the XB1 can run the PS4 can handle. That’s the thinking based on some Ubisoft quotes and some within the gaming community are quite upset. 

Yes, you do have fanboys who will be IRATE that they can’t boast about Assassin’s Creed running better on PS4 vs XB1, but A LOT of us own BOTH consoles and we want the best experience and will purchase the title on whatever system it runs the best on (there are other factors for other titles - CoD is a series you might put more thought into what system your friends have rather than graphics). 

We don’t want a situation where multiplatform titles are looking inferior to exclusives mainly because 3rd party devs are content with maximum compatibility rather than maximum optimization. 

We won’t find out if Ubisoft is taking the easy route until Digital Foundry does its extensive testing, and MAYBE the clamor will force them to revisit the process (similar to XB1 DRM before that console released). 

Things like shading might be a lot better on XB1, while things like resolution or frames per second might be better on PS4 - let sites like Digital Foundry investigate that, but its $60.00 for a game…don’t skimp out on the development process. 

If there are legitimate budget constraints and the team decides it is better to allocate resources on better story or better gameplay versus optimizing on each console than that’s fair - but this is a HUGE franchise and we want to see the best possible game.