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[Guardian] Is there even any point in making more powerful games consoles?

Jaybe

Gold Member
“Journalists”, I recognized the author’s name from the SBI press defence force. A little funny pumping this out before the Pro release and I doubt they have seen the Pro in-person. Wait until they see the specs (and price) of Nvidia’s 50xx series. Technology isn’t the problem. If anything, it allows bad devs to brute force and get away without optimizing. Developers have been the problem this generation, not the technology. Star Wars Outlaws came out as a buggy mess from what used to be one of the better studios.

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cireza

Member
We have taken the lazy road and put everything on hardware specs to gain improvements. We are now hitting a wall (diminishing returns do to shit engines/infinite middlewares), and will have go back to what we were doing decades ago : optimizing for a specific hardware. And this will be done by removing all the junk that supposedly helps us make games quicker/multiplatform, but actually doesn't. This will be the only path forward.
 
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HeWhoWalks

Gold Member
We have taken the lazy road and put everything on hardware specs to gain improvements. We are now hitting a wall (diminishing returns do to shit engines/infinite middlewares), and will have go back to what we were doing decades ago : optimizing for a specific hardware. And this will be done by removing all the junk that supposedly helps us make games quicker/multiplatform, but actually doesn't. This will be the only path forward.
I….. actually agree with most of this, especially regarding optimization. Gaiff Gaiff said it well too - games need to evolve. Graphics will continue to get better, but it would be nice to see AI get more complex and gameplay evolve overall.

I’m not sure if it’s lazy per se. More like playing it safe. Why improve much on CoD, right? Shit’s gonna sell millions and millions regardless. If anything, it feels like many devs have just found what works and makes money and may be afraid to deviate. But then, maybe your statement about laziness isn’t so far fetched.
 
We have taken the lazy road and put everything on hardware specs to gain improvements. We are now hitting a wall (diminishing returns do to shit engines/infinite middlewares), and will have go back to what we were doing decades ago : optimizing for a specific hardware. And this will be done by removing all the junk that supposedly helps us make games quicker/multiplatform, but actually doesn't. This will be the only path forward.

With how technically complex games are now surely this will just drive costs up further?
 

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
When we reach Hellblade 2 level of graphics, GTA level of map and draw distance, with ray tracing, and running at butter smooth 120fps, then one might say that we're good

Not every game needs this, but when we achieve this... Yep. It's ok
 
I actually agree, we have more than enough powerfull hardware now, the problem is dev related and people treating memory/resources like it grows on trees and making shitty code, optimize your code, hire good devs and aim for ps3-ps4 level graphics, we would have clean 4k high res with 120fps and a full world of npcs with no problem. who the fuck cares about individual strands of hair, and some shitty baked ray tracing in puddles.

also this is the reason why we dont have smaller aa games anymore, assets are to expensive to make, this chase for fidelity is killing the industry. the only one that did it smart was nintendo, willing to bet their dev costs are 8-10x lower than the ps5- series counterparts.
 
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HeWhoWalks

Gold Member
When we reach Hellblade 2 level of graphics, GTA level of map and draw distance, with ray tracing, and running at butter smooth 120fps, then one might say that we're good

Not every game needs this, but when we achieve this... Yep. It's ok
Hellblade II character model level, perhaps. Its environments were still far too static (and that’s with very, very little going on).

I think Silent Hill’s character models (some of them look incredible) are not far off in terms of detail (Senua’s motion capture remains top dog) and its environments have a more “current gen feel” and I’d like to see an evolution of that with better AI and more complex gameplay scenarios. Watch the original OUTLAST trailer for what I feel is a level of complexity we should be achieving at this point!
 
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EverydayBeast

ChatGPT 0.1
Taking away power from consoles is against Sony and even Microsoft’s policies, Nintendo is about fun, free open world (TOTK).
 

Synless

Gold Member
I think there should always be a push for more and greater power in consoles.

The only change I want to see is developers doing better mixes of mid and high end games. Mostly so they don’t fuck themselves out of existence, but also because don’t need every game to be high end.

I think SE actually leading in this even if sales are not profitable. You get HD-2D, mid tier games like Saga and Mana, and then high end like FF.
 
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Felessan

Member
  • processing can be focused on interactivity and NPC AI which will transform gaming in the future
  • VR will become a bigger aspect of gaming, especially combined with AR
Gaming will reach a point where everyone has fairly unique experiences with games because of the randomness of AI generated content that is responsive to your unique input.
AI is a gimmick, it'll not be mainstream. Same as random generated only viable in a small subset of games. Generally people prefer pregenerated high quality content to average quality unique (random) content.

And VR... VR has looong way to go and it has little to do with computing power. Until VR headset weight is not 100-150g (that will probably will take decades for reach mass market prices) and have convenience of usual glasses - it will be niche thing. It's just too much hassle to play VR now.
 
People don't realize we are already at somewhat of a technological breaking point. The PS5/Xbox Series generation will be viable well into the 2030's. Yes, Xbox and Playstation will put out new systems in the next few years, but they will cost 700$+ and play the same games as current gen consoles, just with better performance. They will be relatively niche. The handheld market's rapid expansion will also be a major factor in all this as well, especially when both Microsoft and Sony join
 
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Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
People don't realize we are already at somewhat of a technological breaking point. The PS5/Xbox Series generation will be viable well into the 2030's. Yes, Xbox and Playstation will put out new systems in the next few years, but they will cost 700$+ and play the same games as current gen consoles, just with better performance. They will be relatively niche. The handheld market's rapid expansion will also be a major factor in all this as well
I think Unreal 5 is just getting started and we'll probably hover around that range for 10+ years, but it'll just run better. So yeah, I agree and think it's obvious. Most studios haven't even put out an Unreal 5 game yet.
 
I think Unreal 5 is just getting started and we'll probably hover around that range for 10+ years, but it'll just run better. So yeah, I agree and think it's obvious. Most studios haven't even put out an Unreal 5 game yet.


For example, this is a MOBILE game in U5 that looks better than most open worlds in console or PC right now.


 

Shubh_C63

Member
Nintendo played it smart from the very beginning.

Game immersion by graphical fidelity is the easiest way to make games. Make non generic Horizon Zero Dawn as a challenge please.
 

JackMcGunns

Member
It's the same rhetoric every generation. :pie_eyeroll:


Then we look at all the benefits of this generation and it's REALLY hard to go back to horrible - horrible loading times, 30fps, vaseline smeared textures and sub 1080p games. There is such a thing as diminishing returns, but we have other things to fix, for example PS5/XS fixed the loading times and addressed some of the resolution dimishing returns with FSR scaling. Next gen we'll have even better machine learning tools, PSSR is just a preview at its infancy. Can't wait to see what AI could bring to the table in terms of a living world like GTA6 where random characters just say random repetive words "Hey there Cititzen" and instead you can have full blown interaction with a random NPC powered by AI. 10 years from now we'll be laughing at this generation.
 

ReyBrujo

Member
Even if so certain gamers would never admit to it, especially when PC computers actually are getting more powerful (even with diminished returns).
 

Stu_Hart

Member
Consoles are getting more powerful, but developers can always create games that are simple and fun that still takes advantage of the added power instead of spending crazy amounts of money to make insanely big games, and then call it a failure when they don't cover the costs.
 
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Magic Carpet

Gold Member
I've seen a lot of youtube videos of people saying they are still playing on PS4 and have not yet seen a reason to upgrade.
People are in the skip mentality.
Cell Phones, I'll just skip the next upgrade or three
Graphics cards, I'll skip the 3000 series.
Now Game consoles, I'll skip the PS5.
Seems to be a thing in technology, I just didn't think it would happend to game consoles till this current Gen.
 

Melfice7

Member
Power is irrelevant if you dont use it efficiently, exclusives are dying and devs are always stuck with the lowest common denominator and it also seems devs these days think optimization is not necessary.

In past generations there were games that were incredible and shouldnt have been possible on that hardware. Today we look at most games and think how is it possible that this is all that can be done on current hardware...
 

Auto_aim1

MeisaMcCaffrey
Depends if you have to develop stuff for the lowest common denominator like previous gen consoles or you know who.
 

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
The marketing departments seem to think specs matter. Or they think they matter to the hardcore.
 
I see the Guardian just hires anyone now? We need to go back to the days where these irrelevant hacks were not in the industry. Their presence has made things significantly worse and not better. Imagine someone like this who clearly knows little about gaming having the position to influence the opinions of a large amount of people. Absolutely disgusting.
 

Lokaum D+

Member
as long as developers keeps the laziness going on and prefer to brute force performance over optimized games the answer is YES
 

MikeM

Gold Member
Yes. Give me updated hardware every three years. I want the best experience possible.

And yes- I have a PC but console remains my favourite place to play.
 
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SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
This is running realtime on a 4090 at 30 fps. If we are lucky, we might get a console as powerful as a 4090 next gen (3.5-4x) though looking at the PS5 Pro being an extremely underwhelming 1.45x upgrade , thats highly unlikely and we will get something less powerful. Around maybe 2.5-3x.



Everyone wants to play games at 60 fps so you would need a console thats 7x more powerful. Thats 70 tflops. Not those bullshit ones, real PS5 tflops. With way better RT functionality than whats in the PS5. We are not getting that in 4 years. We will need to wait for 2036 to get there.
 
“Journalists”, I recognized the author’s name from the SBI press defence force. A little funny pumping this out before the Pro release and I doubt they have seen the Pro in-person. Wait until they see the specs (and price) of Nvidia’s 50xx series. Technology isn’t the problem. If anything, it allows bad devs to brute force and get away without optimizing. Developers have been the problem this generation, not the technology. Star Wars Outlaws came out as a buggy mess from what used to be one of the better studios.

wNdfBBk.jpeg


4uyGHco.jpeg

This guy probably gets all his ideas from Resetera ...clown
 

HogIsland

Member
Game developers are not pushing current gen hardware comparable to prior generations. Games like Alan Wake and Wukong should be the baseline.
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
Yes, there is, but there's no point on ever increasing and expecting big fidelity jumps, we need to get back development pipeline efficiency before continuing with more fidelity improvements because AAA gaming became unsustainable already for most devs
 

Sethbacca

Member
If the next gen consoles will cost $700 then no, we don't need new consoles.
Inflation exists even outside the post covid bullshit and price creep is and always will be inevitable. In the 90s you could get a brand new freshly released console for $200-250, in the 00s it creeped up to $300-400. This idea that a product can never pass a given price point is a recipe for producing somehow even more mediocre hardware. Might as well get used to the idea now because it's happening.
 
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