How Much Do Next-Gen Specs Really Matter?

"In this video, DLB discusses next generation specs for the consoles and the difference in performance between the PS4 and Xbox One. How much does it really all matter?"

[Godmars290]

If games are going to be nothing but more FPS or first person perspective, not much.

[georgeenoob]

Here on N4G, A LOT. Even though they love mentioning past history, and PS3 being more powerful than 360 didn't prove anything.

[thetruthx1]

Software/Development tools is the key

Advantage: Microsoft

[HammadTheBeast]

Apparently, to some people specs don't matter anymore. Now if Xbox One was more powerful, then obviously it would matter to them.

Same with PS+, blu-ray, etc.

[FlunkinMonkey]

Well to be honest, i personally thought games like Uncharted, The Last of Us and God of War did look significantly better than anything on the 360, but i think that was down to the first party development teams.

Can you stop using your bubble to moan about the state of affairs on N4G, it's really quite boring.. If you don't like it you know where to go.

[YNWA96]

Games matter.... Also games matter, do not forget that. People more concerned about 1 releasing earlier than the other, losing sleep over it. I do not care about the fine details, just as long as its powerful enough....

[zebramocha]

@geor halo didn't the killzone treatment until halo 4.

[Godmars290]

@thetruthx1:
Pity they did eff-all with the 360 then. Left game development up to 3rd parties.

That's really the big unspoken question with the XB1: Will MS have any kind of attention span this time around.

[YNWA96]

@ Hammad, the cat calling the kettle black...

[SmokingMonkey]

Exclusive developers matter most;

Naughty Dog i'm looking at you.

[fermcr]

I agree. Quality exclusives are more important then hardware.... at least for me.

[RandomDude655]

Sony has both

[Ezz2013]

yeah i know but it also great to have the specs to give the dev's the freedom to do all you want with no cut backs

[MrDead]

The more you got the more the dev's can do, it also help's with the systems longevity.

[MechaGear]

Specs never meant much to me. A consistent experience was and still is much more important. On whatever platform.

[mcstorm]

I agree. Yes its nice to have good looking games but its all about having fun. I have spent a lot of time on shooters this gen and I decided to get a Wiiu when it came out and it has made me realise that shooters are not that much fun its more about seeing how many kills ect you can get and that's it where I've just got pikmin 3 and this game is one of the most fun games I have ever played it challenging and rewarding at the same time where I have not felt this in a game for quite some time.

Thinking back to this gen and games that I have really enjoyed I would have to say they were Alan Wake, split/Second, lbp, Forza 4 and Horizon. For me theses 4 games are which I have enjoyed the most. But it will be different for other gamers but I think im going to look at less shooters this gen and look for different types of games and like I said before I like graphics but they don't make the game its the Gameplay and story that do this for me.

[the_hitman3000]

It matters but people complaining about ram should stop. Both Xbox One and the PS4 are going to be a lot stronger then the previous system and no matter what system you are going to be on you are going to be getting experiences that would not work under last gen limitations. Look at how current gen games look now. Games like The Last of Us still showed how you can improve on the same system after 7 years.

I say just wait for Launch games these look very good so just imagine 5 years from now when all systems get even better looking.

[Africa-Garvey]

for exclusives, Wii U is the greatest of all next gen experiences

[HammadTheBeast]

Too bad there really haven't been any must-haves yet.

[mcstorm]

For me mariou Luigiu pikmin 3 and Lego city are must own games but depends on what games you like.

[MizTv]

Like what?

[Williamson]

I just want to see games that give experiences like uncharted and last of us. Infamous SS looks really amazing so far, SP is about to join the ranks of ND.

[TrollCraftTales]

As long as the specs are good, like next gen is, it doesn't matter... Xbox and PlayStation are basically the same system, maybe 7-8 years down the road PS4 exclusives might look a little better, but not amazingly better...

What matters are the games and features, I am getting a PS4 because all the feature I NEED are there, and I like the exclusives much better...

Can't wait till gamescom... It will be neck and neck but I think PS4 will come out ahead in terms of games...

[wishingW3L]

it depends on the fact if the cloud processing's advantages are real or just marketing.

[robotgargoyle]

What i like about consoles is that the devs milk everything out of the hardware. Some of the best games come out at the end of the cycle and some look long in the tooth by cycle's end. I feel like I get my money's worth.

Exclusives set your brand apart, sell your system.

On specs v.s. exclusives? Tough call.

[XboxFun]

Specs hardly matter. What is most important is game design, fun factor, tight controls, engaging storyline, an awesome single and multiplayer experience.

Specs and graphics help but even a high res sack of sh** is still sh**.

[EXVirtual]

Good comment. You obviously have a good sense in what makes a good game. I think storyline is especially important in JRPGs like KH3 and FFXV. Have fun with those on the XB1. I also think physics are important, especially in open world games.

[FrigidDARKNESS]

Specs only matter to those people that don't kunderstand the engineering and tech side.

[Gster]

So specs are a huge deal to you then?

[FrigidDARKNESS]

Nope, specs dont mean a damn thing to me its the engineering and components inside only matters. You can build a component such as an AV Receiver with awesome specs but if the engineering and components aren't good than those specs are worthless.

[torchic]

specs & components are all part of the engineering. the console is built by electrical engineers, so what exactly is your point?

I just think you tried to sound clever and overthought both your comments but ultimately failed awww

[FrigidDARKNESS]

No, it comes from working with engineers in the audio video industry. I have seen it many times where a product specd out better than a well designed well engineered product.

[kewlkat007]

Back in the day..or a couple of Gens ago the console were very very different architecturally...but these days its all about what the devs do with the hardware given to them..

Not to say it has not been about that but we just don't see the kind of separation as we did back in the days..

By the time Devs fully harness the hardware given to them, we are ready for a new generation of consoles...Rinse and repeat.

[Ashlen]

I'd say they matter a lot.

When I upgraded my video card on my PC games that were 30-45 fps now run at a solid vsynced 60 fps and everything is so much more fluid.

So my vote is yes specs and hardware definitely matter.

[EXVirtual]

They do matter, but they're not the most important thing.

[cervantes99]

When you pair the best developers with the best specs - you get the best games.

Sony has all three!

[Corpser]

It matters when your console has better specs than other console, and also never matters when compare to pc

[Hicken]

Obviously it doesn't matter when compared to PC, as PC is not a fair comparison, because there's no standard PC configuration, as far as specs go.

Specs always matter, outside of that, unless you're a fan of Microsoft for the current and upcoming generations.

[isarai]

Well they matter, but mostly when in the hands of exclusive developers. That being said it pales in comparison to how much the actual games matter, system could be 8bit and still be a major success if they make great games

[windblowsagain]

Specs are transparent to most people.

All they see is the game and final product.

These days, it's specs, alpha, closed beta, open beta etc.

Back in the early days, there was none of it, and tbh. I liked it more.

Too much influence by people in the media and gamers can ruin a game.

[urwifeminder]

They don't neither can match my pc hell even combined lol so I will be happy with xboxone I have my pc for the major pretty.

[jessupj]

The PS4 is significantly more powerful than the X1. I don't think any level headed person is going to argue with that. Also the architecture is almost identical. We know PS4 exclusives are going to be amazing in 2 years, but the more important question is are publishers going to allow developers to take advantage on the PS4 hardware.

Call me a pessimist, but I sadly and infuriatingly don't see it happening.

Logic dictates all multiplats should be noticeably better on the PS4, so why don't I think this is going to happen?

For one I think MS will be pressuring publishers to keep parity, but looking at the current pre-orders and all the hate a lot of the interwebz still has for the X1 I think MS is going to lose a lot of it's influence with publishers, so this is probably a smaller issue.

I think it will just come down to money and which is lead platform. I hate to admit it, but from a business standpoint the smart thing to do is to make the X1 version first, because it's the weaker console. Because if you can get it to run on that console, you can easily get it to run on the PS4. So for example, developers might need 6 months of optimization to get an X1 game to X standard. But when porting it over to the PS4, to get the game to X standard they only need 1 month.

So instead of spending a little extra time to get more out of the game they will be ordered to stop when they get it up to par of the X1 version.

Do specs matter? Of course they do. But I don't think it would matter if the PS4 has a titan under the hood, multiplats will sadly probably be the same.

The only thing I can see changing this is if PS4 owners protest and sales dip.

Only maybe when exclusives come out and they are miles better publishers won't be able to get away with such sub par graphics on the PS4 anymore.

It will be very interesting how this plays out. This generation is wasn't so much the 360 holding the more powerful PS3 back when it came to multiplats, it was PS3s complicated architecture. Now that the architecture is the same we will absolutely know that if multiplats are the same and when the amazing exclusives start coming out, the only thing to blame for holding the PS4 back will be MS and the X1.

I think at the very least PS4 owners can look forward to a more stable game, stable frame rate, less pop in and screen tearing etc for multiplats.