Entire Industry Cries Out For Next-Gen
Don’t believe the next-gen is almost here? Check out what the entire games industry has been crying out for…
You know it’s true
When it comes to internet speculation regarding the next generation of big consoles, there are many community members doggedly defending the current machines. Good for them;
‘We won’t get a next-gen until 2015 coz Sony and Microsoft said we was having a ten year cycle and anyways, games like Crysis 2 and Uncharted 3 look amazing, lollllsZ.’
It’s hard to argue with such opinions, but there can be no mistaking the shift many developers have made and the renewed focus on next-gen tech that has been building over the year. To understand just how great a momentum the Xbox 720 and PS4 have gathered, despite no official word coming from either Microsoft or Sony, we’ve compiled this list of developers and studios who are quite literally crying out for new technology.
How many of this year’s E3 demos, such as Ubisoft’s Far Cry 3, appeared to be running on tech that the Xbox 360 and PS3 are not capable of running?
So, while you might want to keep you 360 or PS3 for now, developers, publishers and the majority of industry’s big players have reached a cap. Creatively, technically and in many ways financially, a next-gen has quickly become the one thing that could reinvigorate the gaming scene.
Don’t believe us? Then here’s the industry talk you’ve not read…
Epic
A studio primed at the cutting edge of what the current consoles can do is Epic. Its Unreal Engine has already produced some of the 360’s best looking games, but it too has confirmed that a new batch of consoles would suit its new tech better than the current hardware. From techradar.com
In fact, Epic has gone as far enough to say that its new Unreal Engine ‘warrants’ a next generation just so that it can show off what it’s new engines are capable of. From tomsguide.com
Epic also showed off its impressive new tech with its Samaritan demo to UK industry magazine Gamestm and Nowgamer.com
Avalanche Studios
Avalanche Studios push the current tech to produce some incredible vistas and action in its Just Cause series, but has already begun predicting that new tech will be with us by 2014, allowing it to push what its engines to the max. From Gamesindustry.biz
DICE
Arguably, DICE has already shown what a next-gen game could look like with its PC ‘spec’d to the hilt’ version of Battlefield 3. It’s already confirmed the console versions will make visual and engine concessions, but if it’s to really push its tech it needs more power. At the cutting edge, DICE is ‘desperate’ for the next-gen. From hcgamingnews.wordpress
DICE has been particularly vocal about the need for next generation tech and has confirmed that it has already begun ‘prepping’ its engines and teams. From computerandvideogames.com
Ubisoft
While publishing some of this generation’s biggest titles, Ubisoft has found that in terms of A.I. and tech they can’t push things any further. It’s now ‘crying out for a next-gen machine that can creatively push what its games can do. From Gamesindusty.biz
Codemasters
While Codemasters has pushed what the racing genre can do with its F1 series, it’s already found that its studios have begun to reach the ‘limit’ of what the current machine can accomplish. From Gamesindustry.biz
Rumours
If you’re still not convinced the industry is on the cusp of some huge next-gen reveals, here is yet another report that someone somewhere is putting together some sort of next-gen tech. From Nowgamer.com
These engine and tech demonstrations have been available for a while, but if you’re interested in seeing what Crytek and Epic think its next-gen games could look like then they’re worth a look.
Could they be representative of what the Xbox 720 and PS4 will be capable of?
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We do not need a next gen console cycle. This cycle still has plenty of creativity left in it. It’s not all about the graphics all the time. Devs have complained for years that the cost to develop games in the current generation have skyrocketed to the point that if you don’t release a blockbuster seller, a studio can easily go under. So Microsoft & Sony, take your time. Milk the current generation cycle for all it’s worth.
~G4L~
Ubisoft wants a next-gen for the increases in computing power and A.I. that it will bring. It’s not just about the graphics, but they’re still really, really, really, stupidly important. Graphics are important to the industry as a whole even if they’re not to you personally.
well…. if the next gen consoles did come soon, battlefield 3 will have 64 player multiplayer on consoles, i agree that graphics arent everything, but new consoles with more power would let developers do more and give them more freedom without worrying about the current consoles constraints.
The “entire” gaming scene ?
Give me a break, this is just a way for Microsoft to “bail’ on a whole generation once again like they did with the original Xbox.
The Developers just gotten to know the hardware, and now that the 360 is all dried out and no marketing tricks are left tohype it for what it is not, they are begging for the next generation to start.
Hmm, Microsoft wouldn’t be bailing on this generation. It’s been here six years, way longer than the original Xbox which you could level that accusation. Also, you should read some of the dev testimonials that refute your claims that this generations tech hasn’t been capped.
My issue with anyone saying we need a new generation for creative reasons is very simple: its not true. Look at what Clover did with Okami at the tail end of the PS2. Ill buy the AI thing, and that studios want to make even more boringly hyperrealistic graphics, but its a joke if they say that will lead to more creativity. I would prefer to see the current Gen continue with actually creative and unique titles rather than the glut of hyperrealistic third and first person shooters on the market.
Now if the industry as a whole wants to swear it will start up next Gen with some brand new IPs, then I can get on board.
Let’s face the facts: Sony and Microsoft made horrible financial losses this gen. They don’t want the next gen now.
If the next gen is coming soon, the new consoles would be technically not more advanced than the Wii U that is expected to launch early in 2012.
There’s a huge power difference between PC and console at the moment. My PS3 is now less powerful then my MacBook Air. If you’ve ever played a game like BFBC2 on PC, with fully destructible environments–you know that we need new consoles. Consoles can’t handle that kind of power at a legitimate resolution and they never will. People will play CoD because it handles this gen fine at 60FPS with shit graphics, but BF3 will take a backseat at 29FPS and framerate drops with any destruction, looking a lot like GTAIV (ughhhh…). All games should run at least at 40FPS in a generation, otherwise they look and play like shit. My $400 budget gaming PC can run BFBC2 at 55FPS, but my 360 runs it at 30FPS at half the resolution.
Think of GTA. Maybe next gen light poles won’t appear 1 foot in front of my car when I’m going 60 mph. You won’t hear the same phrases all the time. You will be able to see farther. Far Cry 1 on PC probably still has a longer draw distance than consoles. Limited players online are also a draw back of consoles. This 10 year cycle really means 7-8 years because they support the previous console for 2-3 years despite having a new one out. They will still make money off of and sell 360s. Not everyone buys these new consoles right away. Every game will be able to have destruction if they want it. PCs can do over 1080p, while consoles can barley handle 720p. Physics can be much better. AI too, not to mention larger maps. The levels in COD 2 are not that much smaller than Black OPs. Some might actually be bigger.
The future is cloud gaming because it doesn’t matter what your GPU (graphics processing unit) can do.
Everything happens at the server level. I hope next gen will support cloud gaming!