There is nothing like a console launch to crackle the synapses and thrill the blood. For those who love games, the anticipation of a fresh arrival is an adventure in its own right, a grand hunt across the meadows of speculation and rumor and conjecture.
At the end, we expect to find a great prize, a world-changing event like PlayStation 2 and Wii. We don't set out to corner some miniscule market like GameCube or Saturn. There is a certain necessary suspension of reality, a compact that all consoles are desirable and noble, at least until they are actually in our hands and have an opportunity to confound our faith.
So it comes as a shock when predictions arrive that the next generation – PlayStation 4, Xbox 720 and Wii U – will perform poorly. This week, one analyst stated that the next Nintendo machine will sell only a third as well as the last, while both Microsoft and Sony's consoles will only manage about half as much as the current generation.
If the PS5 Pro leaks are accurate, the eventual PS6 is slated to be one powerful console. But if modern GPUs still lag behind true photorealism, can the PS6 get there?
I hate to be "that guy", but we have go ask ourselves do the industry need photorealistic graphics at this point or actually good games, good content, less anti-consumer practices?
This graphical obsession has brought nothing but years upon years of waiting for a game to launch with huge detailed empty worlds, bad stories and predictable gameplay and (micro)transactions everywhere. Sorry for the rant.
Same. I really don't want to be in an interactive film and, to me photorealism is not needed for immersion.
Why always target photorealism?
Why not use the extra horsepower for better, complex & diverse AI?
Why not target more interactable world? Why not use the new performance headroom for more physics effects?
Player choices that drastically affect and changes the game world?
Let’s first see what PS5 graphics look like.. we’ve seen nothing yet
@Cacabunga
For that, first Naughty Dog's PS5 single-player exclusive, then Guerilla's PS5 single-player exclusive
If anything, the massive layoffs in the industry right now are showing that investors are pulling out and not wanting to invest as much as they are right now into AAAs. Much less push for even higher detail, unless many parts of it are automated by AI for a cheaper price. Not saying I support people's jobs being replaced by AI, just stating a reality of what the money people want.
Photorealism should be reserved for games like Gran Turismo. It costs far too much to incorporate that level of detail.
Even then, if it comes at the cost of physics calculations or frame rate given the shared resources of consoles, I'd scale it back in favor of a smoother experience.
Nintendo was quite smart to never pigeonhole themselves into that. Great foresight on their part, I'd say.
But they've gotten very lazy on their games. I still like their approach don't just make game play your biggest innovation.
8bitAssassin,
I assume you're talking about Nintendo.
I think it works for them. I'm honestly glad that it's nothing like PlayStation or Xbox. It's a great reason to own one.
Yup!! I am. Yes it works for them and I love it. I want them to have better than average old tech so the scope of some of their games can drop jaws. I'm not talking about counting pixels either.
I think we need both. Why lower the standard? A photorealistic Bloodborne or Elden Ring game would be insane.
Nah im with you on that, like visually games look fine, maybe up the resolution on average but i would much rather resources be spent on things that actually make the game FEEL good to play at this point.
agreed - stop with the expensive photo realism and just create amazing games that are less expensive that are not a risk to create an original game within 2-3 years and not 7 years of development - like the OG PS2/Xbox era !
There are individual goals for individual parameters. Graphics, gameplay, scale, geometry, AI Sophistication, etc.
This article touches one of them. No need to cancel the conversation because you care more about other things.
Some photorealism is much cheaper to produce than what devs are currently forced to do.
If all games could have path tracing, there would be no need for developers to manually map ambient occlusion, shadowmaps, reflection probes, etc. It's a huge undertaking that's making games cost way more to produce on account of the rather pathetic-for-2024 RT and general performance of the current gen consoles.
As much as i hate to say it, we need new consoles as soon as feasibly possible. These consoles launched at the absolute worst possible time, right before RT/DLSS2.0/3.0 were able to quickly skyrocket games in quality on the PC side of things, leaving a ridiculously large gap between PC and console almost immediately after launch and preventing things like CyberPunk Pathtracing Mode in other games. They're holding everything back and making games take longer to produce.
I think Microsoft may be smart if they end up adopting a model where multiple companies (including NVidia) can release multiple spec variant "PC" boxes with the XBox OS. One console every decade doesn't cut it with how quick technology moves in this new era we're in.
I would love the Next step in graphic to be massive but it always turns out that it takes a long time so the ps6 graphics are gonna be like the best we have now Just with 60fps in every game. World love to se the big ass large worlds with fantastic graphics and depth. Gta 6 are gonna bring that for sure.
@hugo
100% agree but it also made the use of upscale tech the norm which made games worse and the fact console now are just tablets we need a console with a real gpu real cpu real ram setup.
It would be so amazing to see a game like you said made like the ps2/ps3 era using today's pc parts pushing the hardware.
There are titles out there that make my pc run like its still on the desktop
Agreed. For me at least, games are escapism. I don't want them mimicking real life. Graphics don't have to be photorealistic to be impressive. As with you, I'm more about the story, and I would prefer innovation in other ways. The PS5 did it with the DualSense. This it more important to me than just shinier graphics.
Personally for me, graphics have already gotten to the point where I don't really feel the need to see having it to make anymore realistic or better.
At this point, I rather game developers focus on quality/engaging stories, gameplay, & contents. Also not every every single game needs to opened world just for the sake of it.
I'd rather they focus on both. It's a trillion dollar industry. They should be able to do both.
Zenzuu
Believe it or not when it comes to consoles and games graphics are still the biggest factor. Why do you think we still see CHI trailers or in engine footage. The first impression is very important. Not for us core gamers but for millions of casuals who are quite easily impressed with wow factor graphics
"More, more, more!!! I don't care what it takes - I deserve more! And I won't PAY a dollar more!"
That's the mindset of some people out there.
I mean, can we still say that's the case even when casuals flock to mediocre looking battle royales? PUBG became huge among casuals, and it looks like a PS3 era shooter with textures that didn't load properly. And casuals have embraced the cartoon aesthetic (Fortnite is the easy example here, but there are others). What is the recent graphics focused game casuals have flocked to? Are you counting COD for that?
@1992 Candy Crush and Monopoly Go
@Tired Like I said. It's a trillion dollar industry. They could definitely do more. Customers are paying a ton of money.
There are individual goals for individual parameters. Graphics, gameplay, scale, geometry, AI Sophistication, etc. No need to cancel the conversation because you care more about other things.
Agreed especially for those who aren’t hardcore gamers. We core gamers look at everything through core gamers POV. But there is a much bigger casual market who likes looking at pretty things
Honestly with UC4 I thought we were close but things don't really seem to have improved much in 8 years. Hellblade 2 seems to have raised the bar a bit though
I don't think publishers have the money to make that happen. They can barely sustain the current level of fidelity.
The goal post for what photorealistic graphics are has always been moving. I remember some 360/PS3 sports games being called photorealistic way back in the mid 2000s.
Simply, no! Graphics wise there is barely any difference between the PS4 and PS5 just a little more particle effects and very minimal use of ray tracing. I expect even less diffence between PS5 and PS6. Just better implementation of Ray Tracing.
you are correct, but there ram has doubled, and now we have ssd not a spinning disk drive, I think we have not yet scratched the surface of next gen personally,
NE: "Kirby's been on more than a handful of adventures, and we've gathered a list of 10 of the best Kirby games here."
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has received a bunch of new DLC, including two new gameplay modes, for free.
I believe next gen consoles will be more successful.....i'm sure that the big 3 will adapt to the market and expand with more social features/apps...the casual crowd will play a major part in the growth of the install base along side us core gamers....
I would actually agree on a hardware standpoint. Software idk. This past gen was unique with HD and the casuals buying into Wii, netflix, web etc. The only company that has really been able to constantly see consumers upgrade is apple. I just don't see the masses upgrading like they did this last gen unless it's leaps ahead and I just don't see it happening cause we are slowly hitting a wall of sorts. People seem satisfied. Again last gen was just kind of unique and I don't see the same next gen. Sure consoles will survive but they just won't see the same popularity.
Sony and Microsoft survived for quite some time on the core market alone. I think from here on out if any of the big hardware producers bring out gaming hardware, they should focus on the core audience first and casual audience second. Nintendo learned the hard way that the casual crowd is not a particularly loyal one.
I personally believe what could possibly make or break the systems will be the games available on release day. If we find ourselves in a nice mix of casual and hardcore games, they'll be set. (As long as the prices aren't fatal to my wallet.)