PS5 and Xbox Project Scarlett are equally powerful claims insider

The PS5 dev kit is out in the wild, but apparently the Xbox Two one is much rarer (pic: Twitter)

In recent months most rumours about the next generation PlayStation and Xbox have suggested that Sony has the upper hand on Microsoft in terms of tech specs and raw power.

But that’s always seemed somewhat surprising given how keen Microsoft has been to promote the Xbox One X as the most powerful console in the world, following the underwhelming specs of the original model.

However, more recent comments suggest that it’s not that Sony’s console is more powerful, but simply that they’re further ahead than Microsoft in terms of sending out dev kits and sharing details with developers. Which makes sense given how often details of the dev kits have leaked out.

hardly anyone has them, and they’re nowhere near final. That’s why you’re hearing a lot of nonsense about them not being powerful etc. Microsoft wants to surprise Sony this time

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) November 30, 2019

That’s exactly what The Verge senior editor Tom Warren suggested recently, when he said that very few developers have Project Scarlett dev kits and that even if they do they’re not final – and so not necessarily as powerful as the final consumer console.

He also implied that this was some sort of purposeful ruse on the part of Microsoft, to ensure that Sony don’t find out about their specs ahead of time. That seems an unlikely gambit, but it does explain the recent reports of the PlayStation 5 being more powerful.

And now today, Kotaku news editor Jason Schreier has offered a few extra titbits, suggesting that the specs of both machines are similar and that both machines are ‘very’ powerful.

The only thing he’s specific about though is the fast load times on the PlayStation 5, thanks to its SSD, which he claims is part of a general strategy to make the console as accessible as possible – and perhaps to lessen the advantages of streaming in the next generation.

But Schreier also supports the idea that so far Sony has been more forward with developers in terms of information and, it’s implied, dev kits.

He suggests that ‘probably’ won’t matter by the time the consoles release next autumn, which is not necessarily true if most developers don’t get a good look at the next Xbox until later next year.

However, if the specs really are that similar then it will indeed make less of a difference to anyone making games for both machines, and will allow them to be quickly ported between the two formats.

A few more next-gen tidbits:
– MS has been well behind Sony w/r/t communication, but that probably won’t matter next fall
– Whispers suggest PS5 and XB2 have similar specs (and both sound VERY powerful)
– PS5 strategy is to be as accessible as possible (hence “no load times”)

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) December 4, 2019