It's different this time around. Next gen consoles being more powerful + x86 architecture which should speed up development + easier to develop for (atleast on the PS4 due to hUMA, GDDR5 etc.).
They probably didn't have access to the dev kits for a while, some devs only got them with the console launch.
Hahaha, it changes nothing man. If more PC-centric architecture actually steamlined anything for individual devs then there wouldn't be so many shoddy PC ports littered about. Making something more PC doesn't make it easier to develop for.
Look, put it this way: Some painters are really effing wonderful with watercolors. Some might want to get into it but just don't have that much experience within a different landscape of their given field. They can do it, sure, it's just rougher around the edges. Such will always be the case with developing for
any new technology. For example, Nintendo got a lot of slack for saying they weren't ready for HD development. "OH BUT IT'S BEEN AROUND FOR 7 YEARS YOU LAZY FOOLS" yeah, but these painters were still oil painting. They weren't ready for that crap. They were perfecting dated tech to squeeze out Mario Galaxy, they had no idea what they stepped into. Does Pikmin 3 look great? Sure. But then half a year later Mario 3D World is running at 60FPS without a single hiccup and looking jaw-dropping. In 4 years it'll look like dog dookie compared to whatever they crank out. More experience + more shared assets in-house = better produced products.
This isn't even exclusive to third-parties or first parties with different design philosophies seeing as second parties aren't able to push PS4's mid-level PC architecture much farther than the PS3 at this point. Does Second Son look bangin'? Awe yeah. But it is groundbreaking? Lol, no. It reminds me of Majora's Mask getting a booster pak on the N64. Better, but marginal and hardly pushing the capability of the hardware. Will InFamous 4 (if they make one) look better as these artists get more familiar? Yes.
Most PC games don't even scratch the level of what those rigs are capable of. It's all subjective. You can't just say "it's different, this is easier". No. It's not. It might be more friendly or conducive to promote advances faster than before but it's not a light switch that guarantees your $400 console purchase is justified because now everything will be mega-shiny. It hasn't been a total revolution graphically with the entire line up so far, with most games only excelling in improved framerates, lighting and resolutions. Maybe if you're lucky superficial enhancements like added foliage or detailed sand ala MGSV. I am not sure why ASM2, let me repeat this again,
a movie game that inherently has a rushed development cycle, would change anything.
Thank you, I've been trying to tell the guys here about this but they seem to ignore me or deny it. If Beenox had a superior game they would be showing that instead of the last gen one. It just doesn't make sense to wait to show the superior game so close to release, (which is what I've seen some people say Beenox will do, not here on this site though) I've never heard Beenox say that the PS4/Xbox One version will be better.
People really want their $400/500 new toy to matter. Trust me, I did when I bought the Xbox One
twice returning it both times. Gamers have become antiquated with the notion of ever changing hardware bringing about revolutionary possibilities. Not only did stuff used to look far better but it also used to change the landscape of how exactly you could play a game. Things that could be done in the 8-bit era could not be done on Atari, things that were being done in the 16-bit era could not be done in the 8-bit era. 3D Graphics and worlds were introduced which let us explore worlds and the PS2/GC/Xbox era improved upon them with added horse power. But the last 8 years have done little but refine that. Yet still gamers, including myself, seek to find that excitement of discovery through their technology once again. Thing is, the way tech works is largely superficial and advancements will come slower than ever as proven by the 8 year development cycle being topped off by only mid-tier PC technology in the wake of the new "giants". It's at a standstill, and people are looking for the products to prove their purchase is the next big thing... and there won't be many for quite awhile.
