Unreal Engine 4 looks much better on the PC compared to the PS4

Now that PS4 hardware is more or less out in the open to developers, we're starting to see how it stacks up against top-of-the-line PCs. With this latest demo of Unreal Engine 4, we get to see a side-by-side of how the two will compare. While the PS4 version is quite exquisite, it is startling just how much better the graphics are on the PC.

The biggest failure of the PS4 version is the lack of Global Illumination (GI). Simply put, GI is a method of simulating realistic lighting. Light bounces off objects in the scene, and it truly adds to the illusion of reality. We know the PC version was run with an Nvidia GTX 680, and that's a graphics card in the $500 to $700 price range. The PS4, in comparison, is being rumored to cost $400 on the whole. It's unrealistic to expect the PS4 to have the same capabilities. Features like dynamic lighting and complex particle effects require a lot of horse power, and the PS4 just can't handle as much as high-end PCs. PC games will continue to look better than console games -- no real surprise here. (See: Real-time tech demos that showcase the future of console and PC gaming)

Let's take a step back here. While this side-by-side footage does show the same demo, it should be noted that it's clearly been tweaked in certain ways for the PS4 version. Lighting and background detail are somewhat different between iterations, so this isn't an exact apples-to-apples comparison. Eurogamer points out that PS4 development tools are still in their infancy(Opens in a new window), and this demo was likely produced on non-final dev kits. As developers become more familiar with the PS4 as a development platform, we're bound to see better looking games. If you look at launch games for the Xbox 360 and PS3, they look awful compared to games being released for those platforms now. Given time, every ounce of power will be squeezed out of the PS4, and we'll see what the machine is really capable of doing. After developers have time to optimize, it's possible that PS4 can handle more advanced lighting schemes like GI.

The PS4 isn't even out yet, and it's already weaker than best-of-class PCs. That's the reality of the console market, though. The cost of a console that would rival PCs would be far too high. The PS3 launched at $600 in a better economic climate in 2006, and was met with scoffs. If a console tried to launch at $600 now, it would likely die on the vine. The next-generation consoles won't pack as much processing punch as a PC, but its price and simplicity are bound to bring in a substantial user base -- just like every console generation before it.