Giant Bomb’s Jeff Gerstmann on E3, the State of the Industry, and Scorpio vs. PS4 Pro

"On this week’s episode of The1099 Podcast, Giant Bomb co-founder and former GameSpot mainstay, Jeff Gerstmann, joins host Josiah Renaudin to talk about the past, present, and future of the games industry. The two discuss Giant Bomb’s focus on video over written content, what the company would look like if it started in the age of Patreon, the possible storylines to come out of next week’s E3 conference, how console half-steps like Pro and Scorpio have changed the industry, what Microsoft needs to do to succeed moving forward, and what you can expect from Giant Bomb for the rest of the year."

[SkippyPaccino]

Games for the Win!

[Bigpappy]

Scorpio is the story going into E3 and it will continue to be after E3. It is just a very interesting product, that could change the industry drastically of it performs way above it's weight. Console will be much more powerful and may even use recent mid-range PC components.

[Eonjay]

How does that change the industry? I think the power of Microsoft's next console has been overly dramatized as an end within itself. I played Last of Us on the PS3 and it is generally better than any game on any system regardless of power. The story of the show will spoil quickly if the games that come along aren't equally as impressive. They will eat it alive.

[optimus]

Are you seriously comparing a game from last generation made by some talented developers to a console that can do anything you saw last generation with very little effort?...Scorpio can change the industry because developers haven't had the means and technology that the Scorpio provides....you talk AS IF you've already seen or know everything the Scorpio can do without even seeing a single game for it. It's more than just optimizing current games like you would see on buying a new graphics card on a PC. It's the Xbox infrastructure as a whole that has the potential to change the industry.

[traumadisaster]

Idk about change the industry but I think he means with more power that changes the purchase choice of the pc crowd that happen to be at an upgrade point in the cycle. I for example went 4k before the X1 was even revealed. I played all of the PS360 multi plat games on pc in 4k or 1080/60 but now I'm coming to a point where I need to upgrade my gfx card, already upgraded cpu/mb last year and the rest of the components are fine (psu, case, cooling, etc.).

So I can buy a $500 card or Scorpio. If SW Battlefront 2 will by 4k/60 on Scorpio then I will have to reevaluate things because I will need a new card to do that on pc.

[OB1Biker]

While waiting for E3 I spent some time watching previous E3 and other shows from different sites and Giant Bomb too.
Interestingly they were excited with the Xbox 1 reveal but found Sony E3 2016 weird and boring. Enough said haha

[Bigpappy]

@Eonjay: I am sure Last Of Us was a good game, many PS fans have pushed that point. But it being the best game is subjective by a mile. That has nothing to do with the influence of a very powerful console like Scorpio, if it meets expectations.
traumadisaster's response is I good example of who the potential buyers are for the Scorpio and why the power and ability to run many games at native 4K is being understated by the PS only crowd.
But my point, as he and optimus saw and you missed, was that it now puts Sony in a position where it minimal spec can't be 4K30 native and may even have to innovate more on their new console whenever that is released. To accomplish make a next gen statement with that new console, is going to require some impressive tech since we are already hearing of some games running at 4K60 native on Scorpio already. Add to that possible improvements in the VR realm and load times, and we have a very formidable console which sets the bar way higher than what the PSpro and switch were aiming for. Tech like that allows for developers to do much more impressive stuff that anything you have seen on your PS3... that's why you upgraded to PS4 and don't care to play "old games".

[JackBNimble]

Some of you seem to talk about Scorpio as if it's next gen, how far are dev's really going to be able to push it while also having to cater to the xb1?

If you want to see the true power of the Scorpio then MS needs to forget about the xb1 and push Scorpio to the next gen.

[Death]

@Jack,

Devs don't have to target the Xbox One, Scorpio or even PC for that matter. Windows 10 is the target and it will scale games across all three platforms. Devs can choose to target the metal so to say, but then like you stated they will have to target multiple platforms. You need to look at how PC's handle games with their vast amount of GPU and CPU options to have a better idea of what Microsoft is trying to achieve.

[Armyntt]

I think it will change the industry. It only has to be a moderate success to change the whole industry. Console gaming, atleast on Xbox, will mirror more the PC world and a little cell phone. New consoles every 3 years, and every game BC.

[Bruh]

Yeah but the TLOU was also a technological marvel when it came out due to the hardware prowess of the PS3 lol, I get its story was incredible, but it isn't exactly an example of weaker hardware portraying its advantage through software

[bez87]

Just no to most of you on this topic, how will it change drastically?? do you really think a console is going to truly have native 4k??? My PC with a i7 cpu, a top of the range M7 gaming motherboard, 32gb DDR4 ram, GTX1080 GPU can only just about push 4k out at under 30fps that costs near 2000 to build. I give scorpio credit and from what digitalfoundry says it's good but the only thing we have seen running at 4k is Forza, a genric racing game where the main world is static and only the car has moving parts, nothing like a halo or gears, plus the leaked document stating that developers may want to use a form of checkerboarding upscale to up other aspects, tells me it's more likely a beefed up version of a ps4 pro.
Even then some here seem to forget games are where it's at and looking at there line up of games, it has nothing but a racing game, a fps game, a third person action game. 3 of which are always the same franchises. If you ain't got a solid first party line up with a bunch of diverse games it will not do well. PC gamers won't care for it, due to the fact every game on a microsoft console can be bought on a PC now anyway and are pretty well optimized as well for PC.

[rlow1]

Dude you sound desperate.

[Shadyceaser]

Lucky for me .i only like racing games as I am shite at every other type of game

[_-EDMIX-_]

Trust me it's not going to be much of a story ,that's like saying the new latest GPU being released is going to be the biggest Story of the Year

at the end of the day it's content that drives this industry ,it's whose publishing the best games that's determining Victory and at the end of the day even the weaker PlayStation 2 beat the original Xbox simply because Sony had the games they still have the games this generation regardless of performance the vast majority of Gamers actually don't care they simply just want to play good games.

[noksucow73]

PS2 did also have over a year head start. Not to mention the Xbox didn't stay in the market long before moving forward to the 360. I do agree with you about games though, and that's really all that matters. That's why I love my Dreamcast so much. It had such great games in such little time.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@nok-the year Headstart is completely irrelevant you have to understand that they already had most of the support from the previous success of the PlayStation and worldwide appeal.

That doesn't explain why the PlayStation 2 went on to sell 150 million units while the Xbox only sold 24.

The Wii U had a year head start ahead of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, is it moving Mega units?

I'm not even going to try to entertain that the 360 success is simply due to a head start ,they did a lot of smart things with the 360 to get where they were at so I don't necessarily believe in headstarts determining the next five to eight years of gaming that's a bit ridiculous.

The Xbox has been continuously beat by the PlayStation because Sony has a stronger first party, they have stronger third-party relationships in they have worldwide appeal.

In order for the Xbox to start to gain those sort of sales they need to actually build a stronger first party.

[frostypants]

If Scorpio is such a big story why is Microsoft's E3 presence looking so weak? Their floor space reservation is tiny compared to Sony and Nintendo.

[DashArrivals]

I think you're completely delusional

[paulogy]

Scorpio won't "change the industry" if all its games still have to run on Xbox One as well.

[Bronxs15]

Awesome. Can't wait to listen to this. Jeff is awesome and has great insight.

[spaceb0y]

Is anyone here a premium member of their site?

[TheROsingleB]

I am; have been for years.

[spaceb0y]

What is the single most important thing that keeps you subscribed?

[TheROsingleB]

A bit of everything, honestly. Unprofessional Fridays have always been fun and the Giant Bomb East play dates. As for recent series, their Yakuza 0 play through (Beast in the East), Murder Island (PUBG Team games) are great, as I'm not likely to play either of these. Former premium offerings like Metal Gear Scanlon, and classics like Thursday Night Throwdown and Whiskey Media Happy Hour are great to go back to (RIP Ryan Davis). I watch their E3 Live coverage which is always a blast with everyone together.

As for the single most important thing? The crew, man. I love the blend of personalities and shenanigans. If they weren't the entertaining bunch that they are, the site wouldn't have been what it is now.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

I still miss RYAN DAVIS , RIP . One of the co-founders of GIANT BOMB.

[NarooN]

All of this. I just love how they all have such strong personalities and aren't hindered by bullshit obligations to shill out for various publishers and companies. It's nice that they're 100% impartial and honest. Been a fan pretty much since the site's inception.

[TheOttomatic91]

I became one last year but only have the time to listen to podcasts but I don't regret it at all.

[LordJamar]

it definitely has potential and i believe it will deliver on most of it ppl are loving to hate xbox and down play it i would love for xbox to prove them wrong would be a great time and see them eat there crow also it would be better for gamers underdog Microsoft is best Microsoft dont underestimate xbox

[noksucow73]

N4g is so full of Sony fanboys it's ridiculous! Anything to praise xbox 1 , Scorpio, or anything xbox and you get down voted. It's laughable. I know most of Sony's userbase is fine, but its their rabid fanboys that are alive and kicking on this site.

[LordJamar]

yep im already getting tons of down votes

[frostypants]

It would help your cause to come with more than generalities and wishes. The knock on Scorpio is Microsoft's ongoing struggles with intriguing software. Yes, Scorpio could on paper do some awesome things, but unless devs make such things, it's all for naught. What have you seen to counter this? I mean, you even say you'd "love for xbox to prove them wrong", but that's another way of saying you haven't seen anything yet that MIGHT prove them wrong. We haven't even heard whispers of anything that generates such hope, and that is a bad sign.

From an objective perspective, there's plenty of reason to be skeptical. I'd love MS to give me a reason to get back into their ecosystem for the first time in a couple of years, but that would involve them pulling something incredibly unexpected and soon-to-be-tangible from their posterior at E3. If the best they can do is a Crackdown update or "hey look it's CoD in 4K", they are going to get absolutely ravaged by the media.

[LordJamar]

meh ppl like you who wont be please no matter what you are not the target audience you expect xbox to fail no matter what why would they target you? you dont want a xbox an dont plan to get one or play one i mean look how cynical you are if i was like you i would just stop gaming tbh im excited about new hardwar and plenty of potential also stop putting words in my mouth pretty sure they have more then crack down way to down play a game you never played are you sure your a gamer? just admit your bias your one of "those" kinda people wont be happy until xbox is out of the market huh