Harada Criticizes Xbox Series S Development Constraints

Katsuhiro Harada criticized the Xbox Series S at a game-development panel in South Korea, saying he wished hardware like the console would not be released because its lower memory and performance create development constraints. Paweł Sasko, a game director at CD Projekt Red, acknowledged the challenges but said optimizing for less powerful hardware can benefit games across platforms and make gaming accessible to more people.

Harada, the former director of the Tekken series, said the Series S is difficult to develop for because it is closely related to the more powerful Xbox Series X but has lower performance. He contrasted that with the Nintendo Switch 2, which developers can approach as a distinct platform. Harada also said developers cannot reduce their attention to the Series S because, in some markets, its user base exceeds that of the Series X. He said players sometimes direct complaints about reduced texture resolution to developers.

Sasko said the Series S forces developers to optimize their code carefully. He argued that work on lower-spec platforms can improve performance elsewhere, and that the console’s lower price gives more people access to games. He cited...