Sony PS4 may abandon Cell processor

In the months leading up to the launch of the PS3, all you'd heard about the system when it came to technical specs was the all-powerful Cell processor. It was destined to revolutionize not only gaming but potentially computing at large as well. Apparently that technology might be pushed aside for the console's successor.

According to unnamed sources quoted by Kotaku, Sony will replace the mechanism with a more developer-friendly hardware component. One of the problems with the Cell infrastructure is that it made coding for the system extremely difficult, something that is still being blamed for the slow rise in content available for the system. The man who insisted on using the Cell processor, Ken Kutaragi, was ousted out of Sony in part for the bungled PS3 launch.

Since technology is always improving, the PS4 could be even more powerful than the PS3 while still using a different kind of processor that is more amenable to game development. Among the other rumors about the PS4 is that Nvidia will be replaced by AMD when it comes to graphics processing. Of course, the PS4 is still far away so don't expect any concrete details for a while.

[via Gamezone]