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Analyst: Next Gen Begins After 2013
Denver, 11:21 PM
Sat Nov 14
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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Analyst: Next Gen Begins After 2013 |
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05/02/09
05/02/09
Oh well ps3/xbox/wii can stay behind in the dust, its not like the pc won't be getting any improvements in the next 5 years.
05/02/09
The real question though is, will new PC hardware make that much of a difference?
With much of the commercial development on PC being 360-centric I have yet to see a reason to upgrade my PC since I slapped 4gb in there and an 8800GT - and that was a good long while ago.
Mind you, improvements between videocard releases haven't been particularly impressive - 8800 to 9800 was barely worth mentioning, the 285s are nice but there's nothing to push them except having a higher resolutions (pointless if you have an LCD monitor since you'll want to run it at native res) and cranking FSAA and Aniso.
Heck, I don't think there's anything out there that can push my ol' 8800 except maybe Crysis at max on DX10.
05/02/09
05/02/09
05/02/09
PC gaming would soon catch on because of the extreme graphics difference.
And PS3 fanboys will still complain, saying that Killzone 2 has the best graphics ever.
05/02/09
When PCs get the same variety of games that consoles do, then we can talk. Until then, be content with your shooters and MMORPGs. I like other genres as well.
05/02/09
Have you been in a cave on Mars with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears?
With no licensing fees and devkits to purchase, PCs have the widest variety of games on any platform.
05/02/09
PCs also boast (by FAR) the highest rate of piracy of any platform, and that's a real headache for games developers.
05/02/09
If you look at what I was replying to, you'll realise discussion on piracy is non sequitur.
05/02/09
not at all trying to make this a pc vs console argument.. just saying that all platforms can have any genre they want actually.. but devs really dont make much more than shooters, rts, and mmos for pcs.
05/02/09
The 360 is my console of choice this generation, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't get a Wii or PS3 if I had the money, but I'll still wait to get those 2 because of the lackluster support by Sony and Nintendo.
But the PSP and the DS are still awesome portable systems.
05/03/09
05/02/09
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05/02/09
Jumping the gun this time might just get it shot in the back.
05/02/09
05/02/09
We hear publishers complaining about development-cost all the time, and some take a small eternity to develop. What would we gain from UPPING the workload and cost on them? I think we're quite set on a graphical level for quite a while. And out consoles are all getting upgrades on the go.
05/02/09
It's more expensive
It's in HD (well, 2/3 of the generation, anyway)
HD is expensive
It formed a definite split between casual and hardcore sets
It seemed to take longer to hit its stride than the last
It's becoming more mainstream than the last
Its consoles are more versatile (multimedia-oreinted) than the last
RECESSION
Ins short, any consolemaker even thinking of announcing a new unit within the next year or two could risk commercial suicide and consumer wrath at having to upgrade when they just made a large investment in this generation.
05/02/09
"It's more expensive"
It's quite comparable to previous console generations. I remember ridiculous 500+ systems and 80$ games.
Then again, I'm reaching back over ten years.
05/02/09
I don't know, adjusted for inflation, today's $500 console might be about as much as a 3DO was ($700 in '93/'94). Fortunately, they're better than the 3DO could have hoped to be...
The only games I remembered being $80 then were cartridge-based and sold at the mall.
New games held steady at around $50 during the PS1/PS2 generations, though, before rising to $60 this gen.
Also, I forgot to clarify today's development costs, which are higher than ever, and profit margins, which are probably lower than ever.
05/02/09
For the consumer? Not really.
For the manufacturers and developers? Hell yes :)
05/02/09
05/02/09
if you find an inflation calculator.. and input 50 dollars from 1999.. itd be 65 dollars today. we really are lucky i think.
05/02/09
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05/02/09
This generation has been a costly eye-opener for both Microsoft and Sony, with the vast bulk of their expected sales being swiped from under their noses by some last-gen kit that Nintendo manufactured so cheaply that it made money from the word "go". They were both banking on building the sales successor to the PS2, and they have both failed - although they have succeeded in ushering in an era where top-level games development is now so expensive that the budgets are straight out of Hollywood (but vastly more vulnerable to rental and used media sales).
I don't think that anyone's going to be in a desperate hurry to try and start another console generation. 2011? At the very earliest; but don't hold your breath.
05/02/09
After the virus infects enough people it'll mutate into a rage inducing super virus that makes people want nothing more than to KILL!
05/02/09
05/02/09
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05/02/09
But who am I kidding? Many developers seem perfectly content at reduced resolutions upscaled to HD and feel a choppy 30fps framerate is acceptable. Give them more power and they'll just waste it all on more textures, more polygons, and more whatnot instead of making a crisper smoother experience.
05/02/09
I'd like some time to get my 1200 worth out of these consoles before they cut new game production on them. The next gen can't possibly come late enough for me.
05/02/09
05/02/09
"I accept that that is your opinion, but honestly 60,30 frames per second? 720p, 1080p does it really matter?"
I have to wonder if you've ever even played a game at 60fps or more @ 1920 X 1200 natively. It's worlds of difference, and can make or break some games on the PC. If low framerates and upscaled resolutions are forced on you by you're consoles limitations, you just deal with it, but make no mistake, the experience is not at all what it could be.
05/02/09
05/03/09
05/03/09
This is anectotal, but hear me out. I was in the online beta test for the original Far Cry and bought the game as soon as it came out. I had the best video card you could buy at the time, a 9700 pro. I could run the game fine at around 30fps or a bit higher, and I thought it was fine and enjoyed the game. When I built a faster machine with two 7800gtx's and a higher res screen, I played Far Cry single player and online again. It was truly like another game. More precise, smoother, more detail, and pulled me into the game more, got killed less and had a much more enjoyable experience. I am giving this example of how better FPS at higher resolutions can and do make a big fucking difference, not how these things are my only priority in gaming. I play my PS3 and Wii and have an enjoyable experience, but to say framerate and resolution don't make a difference is like saying there is no difference between the PS2 and the PS3 in gameplay.
05/02/09
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05/02/09
You're a tough man to please :)