Xbox 720/PS4 Will Destroy Developer Creativity (For A Time)

NowGamer: A new generation of consoles, despite being something people seem to keep on hassling and fanboying about, would actually be the worse possible thing to happen to a community of console development already desperately in need of more innovation...

[Godmars290]

Seriously, sprite based titles have taken a major this gen and everyone's been using the UE3 instead of making their own game engines. Things are just now starting to settle down.

[Cevapi88]

takes a lot of money and resources to make an engine out of scratch and then a game on top of it....having 1st party support is a big plus...thats why we have seen Santa Monica ND and GG create their own game engines through the support of Sony...i know im missing out some developers but unless you are a huge 3rd party dev like Activision or EA, it is then a business decision rather than a gaming decision on which path to take in the creation of a new IP, or sequel for that matter

[nycredude]

That is why Sony should just keep the Ps3 architecture and add a more ram and more bus speed and more spus, a better video card with more memory. Imaging the if the Ps4 had 16 spus and a radeon hd5870 or something with 2gb gddr5 or something!? that pretty much guarantees photo realistic and the first parties can use existing engines to take advantage of teh new power available.

[SOAD]

I'm not sure if it works that way nycredude. If the architecture is designed to be scalable, then you're right, but it might not be like that.

Sony may also decide to go some other route if another solution has been engineered since the creation of the Cell. Anyway, Sony's plans are probably changing constantly since they won't be releasing the next PS for some years.

I'd expect more than 2 gigs of RAM because some PC games now are running on 4 gig designs and in a couple of years it will be more standard. Also, I would hate for the next PS to have a GPU comparable to the HD5870 in power.

Cost-wise I'll have no problem with the PS4 costing as much as 700 bucks as long as Sony opens up the OS a little more and allows Firefox as a browser. Basically the next PS should be more like a standard PC.

[nycredude]

I just hope they don't go crazy and have all the mp developers crying hard to develop for again. I don't mind paying $700 bucks (I bought the fatty for $600) for the Ps4 but I would like more great games at release for that price.

I think more than 2 gb is an overkill with an architecture like the Ps3 since the spus do so much of the work. Look at what they are doing with just 1/4 of that now with an outdated video card!

I have a laptop with the 5870 mobility and it's pretty beast already. That card would cost alot less at that time. If they went with an updated card then they wouldn't be able to sell at that price point.

Edit:

Also buy keeping the same architecture they don't need to emulate Ps3 games. it will work with the Ps4 out of the box.

[dcbronco]

I think both Microsoft and Sony will stick with the current architecture for their next console. The Cell was designed to be scalable and Sony could just use several Cell processors on a smaller die size. In a few more years that could be as small as 22nm. Microsoft can use the same basic processor but just add cores. Go with eight or ten and shrink their die down. They could add new GPUs and 2gb of RAM. 2TB hard drives and still keep the cost cheap. Microsoft could do that add a new type of drive or keep DVD and load everything on the HD. Sony could add a faster Blu-ray and no longer need installs. Both could keep their new consoles at the current prices if they waited a couple of years. Microsoft might be able to swing that even if they launched next year. And since all of the architecture stays the same, devs can keep doing what they're doing but with more power.

And a $700 console may work for you guys, but a $600 console didn't work for Sony. They have the debt to prove it. They'll go with a more reasonable solution next time.

[blumatt]

I seriously hope they don't call it the Xbox 720. PS4 sounds fine, since that's the next logical number, but 720 doesn't fit since the reason why the 360 was called that was that it meant something. 720 doesn't mean anything. Of course, they can't call it Xbox 3 either as that would look inferior to the PS4. lol I'm not sure what they're going to do about naming.
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@ Cevapi88
Yeah, I'm glad PS3 first party devs. make their own game engines that take advantage of the hardware. It allows them to make the best looking game possible, and, in my opinion, it hasn't taken away from their creativity either. They deliver both graphics and creative gameplay.

[Dorfdad]

NEXTBOX 1,2,3 incoming.

[skrug]

they called it 360 because, 1) xbox 2 will sound inferior to PS3. so they had to come up with something else.

maybe they will call xbox 3 xbox kinect[w.e they name kinect 2] or something

[XactGamer]

Xbox 1080 3D
KineXbox
Xbox 3D
Xbox with some sort of name after like Sega did with the Genesis like.
Xbox Nova
Xbox Atom
Xbox Complete
Xbox Kinnected
Or maybe MS, Apple, Nintendo or Sony will merge (hypothetical)
MACBOX
Nintendabox
PlayBox
XStation
I-Box
Wii-X
Playstation Live

[Chuk_Chuk]

Sony should make there own game engine and license it out to 3rd party developers. It won't help when it comes with multiplatform games but at least devs won't need to build engines from scratch.

[DA_SHREDDER]

Games are getting bigger and bigger, and devs are trying to squeeze things in. Its kinda hard to be innovating when your limited to half a gig of RAM. I think as soon as they up the RAM and better graphics cards things will get better, and devs can concentrate on making games, instead of going against the grain when it comes to consoles.

[Godmars290]

No they're not. They're trying to make it look like they are so when they offer DLC you'll buy that too.

[8thnightvolley]

that was a very good read, i see now how a long gen cycle is healthy for the industry in order for devs to gather up resources to compete on a level playing field with the big shots and also rather than be about pixels its more about gameplay to give u innovation and respect in the industry... something new is what will make a difference.. and now we have the motion control so what i believe both move and kinect are just what we need to put something fresh out there... devs for the sony side will try new ideas with the move where they wouldnt have on the wii coz the demographic is a whole lot different from the core of the 360 n ps3, secondly the kinect will create a whole new way to play games and will make devs go bk to thinking from the beginning of how to make a game coz kinect just opens so many doors to possiblities...

[Feckles]

It's ironic that only in this 3D generation games like Limbo and Braid could be possible from a commercial standpoint. They could never have been released on PS2 and Xbox, never mind the cartridge-powered MegaDrive / SNES era.

[Godmars290]

Disagree.

Limbo and Braid could have been done on the SNES.

[jetlian]

hes right limbo is like 117 megs back during snes times that would be over 1000 bucks in cartrige form. Now it could come out during ps1/2 age. But at that time 2D games were old news 3D was just starting.

Now that 3d(flat) is getting old people looking for retro style games which these 2 are

[Non_sequitur]

We need different gameplay and better story telling. Endless sequels have hurt the industry a lot by giving us the same gameplay and stories that are lackluster.

[Terarmzar]

Well the next Playstation is gonna look like another building so watch out for that, heres another building that resembles the ps3

http://www.joystiq.com/2009...

[Alos88]

Xbox 720/PS4 Will Destroy My Wallet (for a time)

[Trroy]

Without hardware BC, new consoles will have a hard time justifying their existance.

They need to be upgraded versions of the PS3/360 with full hardware BC, much akin to the Wii's BC with the GameCube. That will allow developers to easily upgrade, and not squash creativity, and publisher wallets, for years.

If any console dev chooses to change architecture significantly, and the others don't, the one who changes will fail, due to the extreme costs of developing on that platform as compared to the other.

[dizzleK]

the closer a console gets to the end of it's life, developers are forced to do more with less and that's not necessarily a bad thing. i'd hate to see somebody hit the proverbial reset button just as we're finally (imo) getting great games.

i simply won't be buying a next gen console if it looks like we're still going to be drowned in shooters and the like again. modern warfare 2 may have sold 10 million copies but theres 70 million ps360 owners out there who DIDN'T buy it. clearly the majority doesn't want these games.

[badkolo]

Having new systems now will only lead to crappy launch games with one good game in the first 6 months, it will take an additional year or 2 for decent game to roll in.

do we really want that. those new games wouldnt look much better then the games we have now until they learned the new systems. it would be a real slow start.

no thanks.

[Belasco]

I don't believe we have even come close to a graphical ceiling, being that we STILL have games with clipping, shoddy ai,poor animation, etc. Even the AAA titles fall somewhat short of what is possible.

[Belasco]

Amen, more 3rd person and innovative RPG's please.

[N2G]

with unbelievable graphics like uncharted 2,god of war 3 & killzone 3 i think PS4 wont be needed for atleast 5 years from now even though we would like to have another playstation sooner because Sony playstation machine's are truely Irresistible gems.

[frankymv]

Who gives a crap if the next gen will swallow the small, independent devs? Bring on the graphically intense, action packed, eye bleeding shooters and action titles that make me foam at the mouth.

[El_Colombiano]

There is something...seriously, seriously wrong with you.

[badkolo]

The problem with that frank , is that while we all want that, it would be the same circle jerk all over again.

games cost to much and take years to make. if the devs have to learn new systems every 5 years then eventually they wont make those big games we want.

a 7 year cycle is just fine leaving another 2 to 3 years of that console cycle to go on while the new system is introduced at the 7 year mark.. giving every console a ten year span.

[badkolo]

also if you let ms and sony go with consoles that will last 7 years or longer then they might make them more powerful, instead of gimping on them knowing a new console is around the corner anyway .

[Dawn_Of_Ashes]

lol @ this shit article.

[dcbronco]

It's the developers. Developers didn't start going out of business when the economy went bad. They did when they started making games that suck though. More power for the consoles raised the expectations for the games. Most couldn't keep up. The video game industry is like life in general, adapt or die. Companies the come up with new ideas will always be around. Some will be around because they hit on something big. Others last because they are business savvy. But good companies will always come up with a game that will sell no matter what the economy is. Those companies do things like Portal, ForgeWorld and Tech 5. Companies like those look forward to new consoles because they give them the opportunity to do the things they wish they could have done with the old console. Halo:Reach doesn't look better just because it's late in the cycle. It looks better because Bungie doesn't have Microsoft breathing down their necks rushing the game out. Bungie team members complained in articles about not being given enough time to do the things they wanted to do with Halo 3. Maybe the original Forge would have been ForgeWorld if they had been given the chance.

[Xfanboy]

720/ps4 will have dx11 & Pc will have dx13 :( (future sigh)...