Jason Ronald says neural rendering can generate frames without more hardware power, helping keep Project Helix accessible and affordable.
As much as the gaming world is looking forward to the next generation of hardware with the PlayStation 6 and XBOX’s Project Helix, there are also looming issues with component shortages, high memory costs, and overall hardware affordability. The company’s VP of Next Generation, Jason Ronald, discussed how they are trying to address affordability while setting the stage for the future of their side of gaming.
XBOX’s Jason Ronald on Project Helix: Key Takeaways
In Microsoft’s 25 Years of Play magazine (via Destin), Ronald directly addresses the affordability issue, acknowledging that the component crisis has driven up the cost of nearly every technology product on the market. He also says they are focusing on advances like neural rendering to help combat these price pressures. Ronald also believes innovation will accelerate over the next 3 to 5 years faster than in the last decade.
There’s another factor at play here, one the team couldn’t have foreseen when Project Helix began. Consoles have historically been the most affordable entry point into gaming, but the current component crisis is driving up the cost of almost everything you can plug into the wall. Meeting this challenge has become a primary driver of Helix’s innovation:
It’s definitely a challenging time, but as a system and a platform designer, it’s
also one of the most exciting times, because we have to invent entirely new technology to continue to advance the state-of-the-art while also continuing to make things accessible and affordable.This is a big reason why we’re really focused on advancements like neural rendering, because it’s an entirely new way to generate a frame without requiring more computational, horsepower, additional memory, and things like that. I think you’re going to see more innovation over the next three to five years than you’ve seen in the last 10 years.
The affordability crisis has greatly changed the discussion around the next generation of consoles. Currently, many believe that chips for both the PlayStation 6 and Project Helix have been tapped out. Additionally, it reportedly costs $200 less to develop a PlayStation 6 than Project Helix.
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I'm Robert DeFelice. I spent years covering pro-wrestling industry for outlets such as Fightful. After years in wrestling journalism, I’ve transitioned to video games, another passion of mine.
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