To All Those Arguing About Next-Gen And PC graphics

Whether we may claim that gameplay is a lot more important than story, deep inside we all care about the graphical capabilities of the systems we play on. Lately with the reveal of the PS4 I've heard some interesting things throughout the board (which by the way resembles to everything we went through in the beginning of the last generation).
For example, I've seen many posts where some people claim that the PS4 has surpassed PC and I've also seen many posts of some claiming that the PS4 is barely doing what they PC had been doing for years. Using the PlayStation systems as presentations of power of their current console gens as well as (what was considered at the time) the best-looking PC games at the release of said consoles, I've compiled some screenshots comparing console launch and late titles to PC games running at what I considered the best resolutions/settings for their year.

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In 1994, the PS (PSX/PS1) was released alongside Battle Toshinden Arena. That same year, Star Wars TIE Fighter released. Note the difference in resolution and thus power that gaming computers at the time already had over consoles. As developers learned more about consoles however, the quality of their games improved as it can be shown by Vagrant Story released on 1999 (the textures in this game still shock me today).

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The PS2 released with Evergrace in 2000 but was able to pull of Final Fantasy XII later on 2006. Yet, PCs were already powerful enough to run at twice the resolution in 1999 before the PS2 had even released.

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Back in 2006, the PS3 was considered a beast and was supposed to be even more powerful than ANY PC out there. While it released with Resistance, PC games were already running Oblivion that same year in over twice the resolution and max settings. Note that The Last of Us, although running on worse hardware than the best PC hardware that powered Oblivion in 2006, ends up pulling effects that Oblivion did not have included.

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And here we are again, at the dawn of a new console generation, with a system like the PS4 that is clearly already behind the specs of a high-end PC from 2013. I compare Killzone: Shadow Fall to be released this year to Crysis 3, undoubtedly the best-looking PC game of the year.

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The screenshots are facts, but the things that can be taken as subjectively are my conclusions of course, yet I try to do the best for you to decide on your own. High-end PCs always, always will be more powerful than any new console. More powerful systems could be released but it'd be stupid to do so if you're running a business. That does not mean consoles can't be powerful. Many had claimed weeks, months and years back that the next jump in graphics wasn't going to be as apparent as the last one. However, we finally have evidence that a significant graphical jump has occurred (like it always does). To show this I compared the following PlayStation launch titles, TimeSplitters, Resistance and Killzone: Shadow Fall:

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PS4 launch titles will not be the epitome of what games will look like. As devs get more knowledgeable in the respective systems they'll be able to pull off better and better-looking games. Compare the late console titles I've already shown to the PC games released around the time the respective console launched. Vagrant Story, FFXII and The Last of Us look like better technical achievements than TIE Fighter, Unreal Tournament and Oblivion even though they run on (then) weak systems. Have you ever heard that consoles hold back PC graphics? I think it’s true. Most major game development occurs in consoles so they’re the ones that get to implement graphical effects and features that PC systems, although able to run them, will scarcely use until they become mainstream due to consoles. With PC devs trying to go for the lowest common denominator of power in PC rigs and having to be forced to develop for so many configurations is also no surprise powerful PC rigs are inefficiently programmed for thus mostly underutilized power-wise.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

Way to go Qrphe!
Definitely puts this Console War under perspective-
Just don't let the PC gamers see this. ;-)

I definitely would like to see console shift away from Graphic focus and move toward A.I.

And I'm not necessarily talking about shooter but about making NPC's seem more real and reactive/adaptable, in any type of game.

No matter what this Next Gen will have more "Groundhog Day" (Prettier Graphics) than "New Day" (Better/Newer Gameplay).

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

PC developers don't go for the lowest common denominator. You realize that there are system requirements for games, right? You could say developers develop with a base requirement, and then allow consumers to choose higher quality based upon their hardware specs.

[Bladesfist]

This is true. Normally a game is optimized towards two sets of specs min and recommended. Min should be capable of running the game at low / 30fps or some other goal.

For example Crysis 3 requires DX 11, This means it is Windows 7 / DX 11 GPU at min.

[Qrphe]

The higher the system requirements are the less of a market the developer can target so yes, the developer has to program for the lowest of commom denominators within the range of PC gamers they're trying to target.
If someone like Cryket where to exclusively develop for one specific GPU of the highest quality Crysis 3 would have looked much better than it even looks now.

@Blade
I agree with you since it furthers my point
that even though PC gaming already has GPUs such as the GTX 680 and HD7970 (and higher now/soon), developers can't truly focus on that power just yet.

@CouldHave
Don't worry, we are bound to see progress in things like physics and A.I
was just like we see it in every generational console jump.

[Bladesfist]

exactly but I think it is a lot more complicated than the lowest common denominator. There is a lot of market research gone into this and catering to the lowest common denominator also means that less high end PC gamers will care about your product. if the lowest common denominator is moving to DX11 / Windows 7 / 4GB ram then it is already really high.

[bunt-custardly]

Not impressed with the comparisons you've made there. Completely not factoring in the type of games - FPS versus Open World adventure- WTF?

Or factoring in the abilities and budget of the developers. Your idea is sound just the execution could be better imo.

[Qrphe]

I simply compared the best-looking games for each platform at different years. How demanding each game might have been wasn't my priority just my subjective sense on what the best graphics at each time were.

[wawar]

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