Recently, Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney gave an estimate of the power that will be required to run Unreal Engine 4. He explained that a tech demo, from about a year ago, Samaritan, required 2.5 terraFLOPS to run - which is ten times more powerful than what the Xbox 360 can handle at this point (.25 terraFLOPS).
The assertion contradicts recent reports that suggested that the next Xbox will only be six times as powerful - compared to the current Xbox 360 model.
The Samaritan demo was previewed using Unreal Engine 3 but does give an indication of what the next generation could look like:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgS67BwPfFY
Epic Games’ vice president Mark Rein stated that a full reveal may be possible at the end of 2012, but he expects that we will not see games utilizing the engine until around 2014:
Many players are excited to see the reveal of Unreal Engine 4; however, some remain skeptical that the next Xbox won’t even be powerful enough to run Unreal Engine 4. That said, detractors aside, it’s hard to imagine Microsoft, or any other console maker (with the exception of Nintendo) putting out a new system that is already behind the curve - unable to run the latest software. A more likely scenario, would see the new engine designed in conjunction with the inevitable Xbox 720 - considering Epic’s flagship IP, Gears of War, is a Microsoft exclusive.
Developing a new engine that’s too powerful for even the next generation would be a costly move for Epic - since they’d be stuck with further variations of Unreal 3 until the next next generation.
Ranters, do you think that the next generation of consoles will be powerful enough for Unreal Engine 4?
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Source: Develop [via CVG]
