Cerny: Boosting Quality Of Graphics “Won’t Work Well In The Cloud”

Courtesy of IGN

Mark Cerny has been working for Sony for a long time, with the recent title being lead architect of the PlayStation 4.  His knowledge of making gaming and the gaming industry knows no bounds, as he has either produced or designed the works of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet and Clank, and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. However, it’s what he’s said about cloud computing on the PS4 that’s reflecting badly on Microsoft.

IGN has released the first part of a three part series speaking with Mark Cerny, talking strictly about the hardware in this episode. The interviewer asks Mr. Cerny if cloud computing can be used for next generation consoles to make them more powerful over time. His response was quite straightforward.

"Well, to the extent that it’s possible to do computing in the cloud, PlayStation 4 can do computing in the cloud. We do some things – today matchmaking is done in the cloud, and it works very well. If we think about things that don’t work well, trying to boost the quality of the graphics, that won’t work well in the cloud."

Unknowingly or not, Cerny has put Microsoft on notice with this statement. We have been hearing from Microsoft since the Xbox One’s reveal back in May that the cloud can help the console improve lighting, physics and motion effects beyond the physical capabilities of the Xbox hardware. Cerny’s assertion backs up the statements that “Braid” developer Jonathan Blow, stating that what Microsoft is telling people about their console’s features is “more cloud processing BS.”

You can see the rest of the video below. Tell us, GameSiders, do you think Microsoft is telling the truth about the cloud’s processing capabilities, or do you believe in Cerny that it just doesn’t work that way?