So... What Exactly ARE the PS3 Limitations

[Fevelle]

Is it RAM or VRAM the problem? Would textures pressure the Graphics Card insted of the memory?

[Ash_]

Aside from the horribly low RAM, the processor inside the PS3 is really old and long out of date now; the 2 go hand in hand to limit what can be done currently. And don't forget it's a custom CPU inside the PS3, so every new patch has to be constantly re-coded and made compatible, which takes up extra dev time and resources.

[DragonSlayer45]

If you want to know how limiting 512MB worth of RAM is, your phone is able to handle more than that these days.

[Kotemon]

Like watching HD on a standard Tv in 480i you'll get a picture with boarders but not the picture quality. While a current UltraHD 4k FLat screent wont make standard broadcast any better.

I think the RAM issue is the root of it.... but I'm also convinced SE doesn't churn out a massive graphical update has less to do with laziness and more to do with the moral obligation that the 3 versions need to offer as similar an experience as possible.

Currently the PS4 has a stronger 8 core 2.7Ghz AMD+800 MHz radion GPU, 8GB main ram , I/o: USB 3.0, B/G/N network, BT 2.1, and the camera is a better resolution. The PS3 has a custom in house 3.2 GHz single core + 550Mhz GPU, 256MB XDR + 256MB GGDR VRam, I/o: USB 2.0, B/G network, a 640x480 camera.

The only thing I know about the PS4.5 is full 4k and Sony VR support.

I heard 2.0 was made to be scaled for graphics. I don't know if that means it can be played in lower resolution for weaker hardware or turned up for better hardware on the client side. However, the same issues were brought up for years on FFXI. They only decided to drop support when Sony turned off the PS2 servers. That was years after they stopped making the system. From what I'm hearing of XI mobile, if the sample screen shots are real then it's a huge difference in hardware limitations. Like night and day. However, when FFXI was sent to Xbox360 it had the same ps2 graphics. Nine years later after it came out. the PC/360 had the same PS2 graphics. The PS4 was announced and FFXIV was also made for it. Meanwhile FFXI: Adoulin had the same Ps2 graphics and textures. Looking at that shot of FFXI mobile (Unreal 4) and comparing it to any current shot of the game (same Ps2 graphics). You can't get any clearer than that when they say "Hardware Limitations".

Also they say the in house Cell Architecture they used on the PS2 and PS3 are harder to develop for than what they are using in the PS4. Hence why you can't run PS3 disks on the PS4.

[Laraul]

People who blame the PS3 for the way the game it is are probably the same type of people who support Donald Trump for President. Maybe they should ask Trump to ban the PS3 along with all the Muslums or convince Mexico to use them as material to build that wall...

This is a gross exaggeration of course. The anti-PS3 crowd has shown no more favoritism of Donald Trump than anyone else. But, blaming the PS3 just sounds like something that Trump would do. PS3 players are a minority in the game and make an easy target to vent.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

People who blame the PS3 for the way the game it is are probably the same type of people who support Donald Trump for President. Maybe they should ask Trump to ban the PS3 along with all the Muslums or convince Mexico to use them as the materials to build that wall...

Being edgy stopped being cute ages ago. Tell us how you really feel.

[Slam01]

Well you can take this however you want as far as how it relates to the topic, but Bungie said legacy consoles held them back with developing content which was the main reason they were dropped and there will be a clear difference that will be noticed when the next DLC in destiny is released.

Bungie had the same mindset of developing to the lowest common denominator in order to give all players a similar experience so...

[Lambdafish]

The best way to answer this is with Yoshi P's official answer to your question:

Question: How long until you drop support for PS3?

Yoshi P: "That will depend on how long people continue to play on the PS3, I've mentioned in the presentation this morning that I want to make sure that "FFXIV continues to innovate", and there's certainly the possibility that whatever innovation we seek will come with certain technical requirements. For example in EQN, which I mentioned earlier, it would not be possible to realize certain things like physic-based gameplay without meeting the hardware prerequisites. So if this becomes something that players want and we start to see people leave for rival products, then we can not just sit around twiddling our thumbs either. After all, we too need to ensure we have the necessary weapons to take on other MMORPGs in the future.
For example, if we were to have a large-scale FATE where players can ride on a flying mount and freely fly around and swoop down at a dragon that is 200 meters long, players would probably be impressed and entertained. However, it would also require us to raise the minimum requirement when it comes to hardware specs.
Our aim has always been to develop the game so that players can have the same experience no matter which hardware they play on. However, if we were to become too fixated on this and become unable to innovate, then this will cease to be a FF game. So I do not plan to say that we will support the PS3 version forever. At the same time, I'm not saying that we'll be ending support by next year or anything like that either, so do not worry."

Now granted this is from an old interview (2014), but it does describe the kinds of areas that the devs are limited in, and have always been limited in since the game launched.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...p_features_of/

As has been pointed out, PS3 can only display a certain amount of things on screen at a time, and Yoshi P references spectacle and open world events as something that is not possible due to the limitations, but there are many more things that it gets in the way of (I believe UI is a big one)

[LineageRazor]

While it's likely true that some design decisions are made because SE wants to set PS3 on as even a playing field as possible with other platforms, please understand the Poe's Law is in full effect here. A lot of people will call "PS3 Limitations" simply because they know that it will piss people off, not because they actually believe that PS3 limitations actually apply to whatever discussion is going on. However, just as often folks will invoke "PS3 Limitations" and be dead serious about it - but don't have the technical background to have any idea of what they're talking about. They're regurgitating something they heard from a friend of a friend of a friend, or simply assume that any limitation MUST be PS3 limitations.

Among this mess is the very small handful of individuals who actually DO know what they're talking about - but it's often pretty difficult to tell them apart from the trolls and the fools.

[SigmaOZ]

The game looks pretty old with horrible cheap textures but we are still playing it, I believe Square Enix should allocate more resources for this game and make it all the better, FFXIV is a money maker after all!...

PS3 limitations is just an old excuse now and even then SE could add "options" to make the game look better, like the new PS4 version which will allow for 4K texture packs compared to the original console and why!?... Well, because we are moving towards Ultra HD games and any serious player would have gotten rid of a poor PS3 by now!...

Not that I would be limited by that since I won't play on consoles anymore, PC is much better!...