The next Xbox

[SolarTiger]

It would be a pretty tremendous leap. It's exactly what I had hoped for.

first off, congrats on the global mod promotion.

I'm not a big specs guy either, so what would this leap mean? Would it mean giant worlds like Skyrim and Far Cry 3 wouldn't have texture pop ins, would it get rid of "stock" environments and settings?

In GTA4, it was huge but a lot of the buildings were inaccessible or had one room available. Would this leap allow for almost every building to be accessible? Would be cool to walk into a house and see a family just watching TV or at the dinner table.

 

[WolfCypher]

none of that means jack squat if one doesn't know what any of that entails. What are the specs we have for the current Xbox, Playstation, and Wii U?

 

[Iceman]

From memory I believe the XBox 360 has 3 cores (just over 3Ghz) & 512 MB RAM & Wii U has 2 GB RAM. Would have to look up the rest.

 

[Iceman]

XBox 360 specs
http://reviews.cnet.com/consoles/microsoft-xbox-360-pro/4507-10109_7-31355096.html

PS3 Specs
http://reviews.cnet.com/consoles/sony-playstation-3-80gb/4507-10109_7-32733576.html

wii Specs
http://reviews.cnet.com/consoles/nintendo-wii-original-wii/4507-10109_7-31355104.html

 

[Spider-Vader]

I don't think either MS or Sony will charge large amounts for the next-gen consoles. They saw how well the infamous "599 US Dollars" worked out for the PS3.

I think 400 bucks will be the limit for both consoles.

 

[Iceman]

first off, congrats on the global mod promotion.

I'm not a big specs guy either, so what would this leap mean? Would it mean giant worlds like Skyrim and Far Cry 3 wouldn't have texture pop ins, would it get rid of "stock" environments and settings?

In GTA4, it was huge but a lot of the buildings were inaccessible or had one room available. Would this leap allow for almost every building to be accessible? Would be cool to walk into a house and see a family just watching TV or at the dinner table.

There's going to be a lot more resources for this type of thing, just depends where they want to use them and what their priorities are. The specs mean a tonne of concurrent calculations are possible but a lot also depends on the game engine used. Some of the problems you see in games are to do with imperfect programming rather than just system limitations.

 

[Soapy]

It would be great if developers actually utilized the improved GPU and RAM for stuff like he mentioned, but realistically, devs will lean towards the graphics and presentation end of things like they always have and everything else in games will languish as it has this generation.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

It would be great if developers actually utilized the improved GPU and RAM for stuff like he mentioned, but realistically, devs will lean towards the graphics and presentation end of things like they always have and everything else in games will languish as it has this generation.

What do you mean? Just curious.

 

[Soapy]

What do you mean? Just curious.

Well, it's equal parts limitation of current tech as well as financial motivation. Developers tend to focus a great deal on graphics and the overall presentation of a game at the expense of other aspects. They could spend what power a console has on things like having a lot of objects on screen or advanced AI routines or bigger worlds or any number of things that could improve the gameplay or allow the player more agency. They generally choose to go the other direction though, because advanced AI doesn't make for a pretty screenshot and no texture pop-in isn't exciting to watch in a trailer. Which are of course what sell games.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

Ah. I agree with every single part of that post. I honestly don't think there's anything I could possibly add, to be honest. You seem to covered all the bases.

 

[SolarTiger]

It would be great if developers actually utilized the improved GPU and RAM for stuff like he mentioned, but realistically, devs will lean towards the graphics and presentation end of things like they always have and everything else in games will languish as it has this generation.

Agreed. Honestly, I'm not even really interested in seeing what the games offer graphically, since I think what we have now is pretty impressive. I want to know what they do with the improved specs beyond graphics.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Well, it's equal parts limitation of current tech as well as financial motivation. Developers tend to focus a great deal on graphics and the overall presentation of a game at the expense of other aspects. They could spend what power a console has on things like having a lot of objects on screen or advanced AI routines or bigger worlds or any number of things that could improve the gameplay or allow the player more agency. They generally choose to go the other direction though, because advanced AI doesn't make for a pretty screenshot and no texture pop-in isn't exciting to watch in a trailer. Which are of course what sell games.

But dont kid yourself, gamers want pretty graphics. The first thing everyone notices is how the title looks. They could give us better AI and larger worlds and longer draw distances but if the game lacks in the visuals, the FIRST comment you'll read on a place like Kotaku will say "this game looks like ass".

 

[The Squirrel]

I'd be happy if graphics stayed the same but everything else increased.

 

[Havok83]

I think the visuals this gen are starting to show their age. I think they've already peaked and don't think anything recent or worth coming had really surpassed what's come before in any significant way

 

[The Squirrel]

I don't know, even the difference between Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect 2 is noticeable to me. I think graphics on this gen are still improving.

 

[Benstamania]

Yeah, I'm ready for "next gen" but like you said...The graphics between ME2 to ME3 improved greatly. Hell, look at Halo 4...Which IMHO is the BEST looking game this gen.

 

[Soapy]

That's no different than any other generation though. Developers acquire better tools, learn more efficient techniques, know the hardware better, etc. The result of which is later games always look better than earlier games. That's not a unique occurrence this generation.

 

[Iceman]

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/49186/microsoft-illumiroom-concept-demo-video-xbox-720
Microsoft IllumiRoom concept demoed at CES... Xbox 720 anybody? (video)

 

[TX85]

A possible hint at Kinect 2.0?

 

[Benstamania]

That's no different than any other generation though. Developers acquire better tools, learn more efficient techniques, know the hardware better, etc. The result of which is later games always look better than earlier games. That's not a unique occurrence this generation.

I'm not saying it is...But if developers are making games look better...Then it's really hard for me to say they look dated.

Seriously. Either I'm not that much of a graphics ****e or I don't care. Either way...I still say this gen has another year or two in it...That said, I *am* ready for next gen.

 

[Spider-Vader]

Yeah, I'm ready for "next gen" but like you said...The graphics between ME2 to ME3 improved greatly. Hell, look at Halo 4...Which IMHO is the BEST looking game this gen.

On the 360 atleast, I think Uncharted 3 looks better.

 

[Benstamania]

No, I think it's the best looking game this gen... Period.

 

[Iceman]

Halo 4's multiplayer graphics are amazing. Youtube doesn't really do it justice. This for a series that I always thought was graphically lacking for such a big game.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Halo 4 is absolutely mind boggling in the graphics department. The opening cut scene alone was jaw dropping. There's still at least 2 solid years left in this gen.

 

[Soapy]

Halo is alright. The most impressive thing about it visually are the backdrops, and the lighting does wonders to hide the low texture quality. (Low compared to Reach.)