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[Huge Succeeded]

I think that the weak CPUs in these consoles might keep some devs from exploring gameplay or mechanical concepts they otherwise might have, but otherwise, I don't think these consoles are explicitly holding developers back (although people keep bringing up specific AAA exclusives as though they're representative of the PS4's entire output and like they didn't cost dozens of millions of dollars to develop)... but if the next generation's CPUs are as pathetic then I'll be truly mystified

 

[Hermii]

How is this new? It's always been like this. A few years in, PS3, 2, 1 was like an old pc.

 

[Mr. Phellps]

Well, it is a 3,5 years old console...
We always hear this at this point in every gen. And when a new gen arrives, games stay largely the same with a few exceptions. Case in point, Ubisoft complained about how last gen held Assassin's Creed back, specially its AI. Did Unity and Syndicate drastically change the formula of the franchise? No. Did the AI get any better? Debatable.

Being realistic, and with all due respect, Hazelight released Brothers on last gen consoles and even phones. A Way Out doesn't stray too far from Brothers. So it doesn't look like there'd be much difference if, say, this game was being developed exclusively for PC.

 

[PdotMichael]

And that's why there are so many PC open world ARPGs that look much better than Horizon: ZD.

We are long past the point where purely hardware decides technical advancements in games but budgets and skills are way more important.

 

[Planx]

I like that the consoles are holding PCs back.
Low console specs = 60fps gaming on midrange PCs.

Hell we already got people crying 'unoptimized, lazy port!!' when an xbox one game doesnt hit 60fps on PC. Imagine if it had higher specs...

You'd probably see games with better graphics that perform just as poorly as current poorly done ports. The port devs are still going to use a limited array of testing PCs and ship it out when they manage to get it stable on that small sample. The people crying "lazy port!" usually have something in common, they have an AMD/NVidia card and when the game starts up it has the other company's logo.

 

[atpbx]

lol @ calling Uncharted 4 and Horizon "slideshows"... SMH




Exactly.

Consoles aren't holding devs back. Devs are free to make the biggest, meanest, most demanding games for PC only... but then they won't have the sales to justify their budget.

Or when they do try it, like CIG are trying to do, simple minded fuck witts go all out to rubbish them because of the amount of time it takes.

Games development seems to be the only industry where nobody is ever happy about any aspect over it EVER.

 

[BebopMcJigglypuff]

We've been hearing this for 20+ years. Not sure why developers keep getting asked. We already know the answer.

The same reason sports reporters ask dumb ass questions like "So do you think we're going to see you back in this building?" to a player facing elimination in the playoffs about to go on the road. Either the player states the obvious and they get hits for haha look at this stupid stuff, or the player is offended and they get hits for the player laying into the reporter for being an idiot. Either way, the reporter wins. Don't give them traffic for such bad writing.

 

[LifeBrandRobot]

Okay. Make PC exclusive games then...

 

[EventHorizon]

My PC cant thank anything it's an inanimate object.

With that argument then the inanimate PS4 can't be holding anyone back either.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

Its always a middle way between power and install base.
Horsepower costs money.The more money something costs the less people are willing to buy it.

If you want to develop only for high end hardware you'll have to accept that the market you are going to sell to is comparatively small.
You can absolutely do that now. Make a game with a GTX 1080 as minimum requirements and you can push the visuals as far as you want without peasant hardware holding you back. So I don't know what that developer is complaining about.

If you want to sell to the 80+ mil install base of Ps4 and Xb1 you have to accept that these consoles aren't state of the art.
If they were, and if their prices would reflect that, they wouldn't have sold as well as they did.

 

[Taliban Stan]

He'll be really bummed to make Scorpio games then. Brand new hardware in the box that blows PS4 out the water but you have to build all games in a way that they can run on a system noticeably worse than PS4.

 

[VCL]

there is no game graphics like uncharted 4 on PC

 

[xiaxdragon]

He'll be really bummed to make Scorpio games then. Brand new hardware in the box that blows PS4 out the water but you have to build all games in a way that they can run on a system noticeably worse than PS4.

He'll be even more bummed to find out the CPU is just a slightly overclocked jaguar that's in that exact PS4!

Oh my

 

[EventHorizon]

Okay. Make PC exclusive games then...

But...but...oh wait. Now PCs need consoles because games wouldn't be made, or at least wouldn't have their current budget, without them.

 

[BebopMcJigglypuff]

But...but...oh wait. Now PCs need consoles because games wouldn't be made, or at least wouldn't have their current budget, without them.

star something something.... but you know, it takes more than a year so that's completely unacceptable?

 

[Rolf NB]

So they'll drop support for Xbox One first, right?

 

[msdstc]

It was stupid to end the generation so soon and drop pretty underpowered systems out.

That doesn't apply. If you waited longer, the tech would be even more expensive. PCs are constantly improving.

 

[EGM1966]

Given the price point required for mass market adoption consoles now start behind gaming PCs then fall further behind. Thus this feels like a "yes so?" scenario to me.

X1X will launch comfortably behind gaming PCs this year too. Again that's a "yes so?" scenario.

These mid gen revisions are premium models (for a console) aimed at 4K and/or console enthusiast buyers. They're not trying to outperform high end PCs.

Technically you could argue consoles have been holding back PC since PS2/OG Xbox. But it's a kind of pointless observation given market realities.

 

[muteki]

ARMA 3
Tabletop Simulator
Civilization V

Three games I've spent more time on in the last half year than I've ever spent in an AAA game that wasn't Fallout/Elder Scrolls/Breath
The kinds of games that have me wondering why console gamers think PC gamers care so much about the AAA games that define the console space
Games that are possible because of PC hardware differences/advantages beyond just graphics

Not really familiar with ARMA but for things like Tabletop Simulator and Civ, they seem to take advantage of being able to have a mouse+keyboard, as opposed to extra power.

Robo Recall

Certainly VR wise PSVR can't really compare to what you can do with PC solutions.

You can get higher textures, better lighting, anti-aliasing, and etc along with the performance boost mentioned. But it would be financial suicide to just make a PC game with the budget of these AAA games.

This just seems more of a state of the industry/business problem, not a console power problem.

 

[Lasthope106]

I'm getting old because this is a thing I hear every 4-5 years.

 

[killroy87]

How is this new? It's always been like this. A few years in, PS3, 2, 1 was like an old pc.

I think the implication is that technology is moving faster now, and consoles are becoming obsolete quicker.

 

[Angelus Errare]

I'm getting old because this is a thing I hear every 4-5 years.

Basically. 5 years after PS5 and XOXXX launch we'll hear the same tune yet again. Repat until the heat death of the universe.

 

[test_account]

Lol, I remember making my Amiga talk

Those were good times

 

[darkinstinct]

And yet, these games sell 90 % of all copies. Sad.

 

[Dinky Dino]

It's the truth but consumers will always go for the cheaper product that requires the least amount of work. Even if there are better alternatives.

Companies should invest in lowering the prices of pre builts or market how to build one. Then again no one will because the pc isn't a closed ecosystem so there is no one to profit from doing all of that including making specific games for it. Only reasons you have consoles is because the corporations backing them design them as a closed ecosystem so it's worth the investment. That way they can push stuff like paid online and whatever they want down the line.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

I mean it makes sense. It is 4 years old. Like what's the revelation here?

 

[gogosox82]

This article is poorly written. Its jumping all over the place with little to no context. In regards to his comment, well yes but there's always a balance between what is technically achievable and what is going to sell to the masses in order to keep pushing the medium forward. If you make a game that will only run on an i7 and a gtx 1080 then your going to lose a lot of money because most people don't have systems like that and probably aren't going to go out a buy it just for one game especially if their machine runs fine otherwise.

 

[RedSwirl]

Not really familiar with ARMA but for things like Tabletop Simulator and Civ, they seem to take advantage of being able to have a mouse+keyboard, as opposed to extra power.

You can't really play Arma without a keyboard either. Well, maybe. It has gamepad controls for infantry and vehicles, but the command interface is entirely reliant on the keyboard, and probably a lot of other miscellaneous controls too. Hardware power is debatable in regards to Arma.

The overall point though is that for a long time now the best PC exclusives have not been AAA games. Most have been quirky mid-budget indie games that catch on through word-of-mouth in Steam Early Access. Budget and revenue-wise would you consider LoL, DOTA 2, StarCraft II, and Civ VI AAA? Console users like to hold up AAA games like Uncharted 4 as if they make console gaming more valuable but I think what's happened is console users and PC users simply care about different kinds of games these days. There's lots of overlap sure, but at the very margins there seem to be extremes that only get commonly made on one side or the other: quirky hardcore simulation games on PC, and super-expensive action games on consoles.

 

[Aceofspades]

Ok ...just release on PC then and be mindful to utilize all the power available.

Edit: And Good luck achieving half what ND or Santa Monica did on 5 years old PC. All power to you bro.

 

[LoneWolf-92]

Maybe its holding back the graphics, but in a time were just a few month ago the best rated game since Zelda: OoT was released on Hardware that is worse than 10+ years old PC hardware (Zelda:BotW on WiiU) its hard not to disagree here a little bit.

Whats holding developers really back most of the time is their lack of creativity, the lack of ambition or a clear vision for the game etc. If you can create top selling masterpieces on WiiU and on, compared to other consoles, underpowered Switch in 2017, then you can surely do it on PS4 too. And some developers are going to do it (Naughty Dog) or already did (FromSoftware and Atlus).

 

[Raven117]

Wait, you mean to tell me that cheaper and easier options for the vast majority of folks looking to play a few games are being catered to over the custom built monster Gaming PCs that only a few people have comparatively?

You don't say!

 

[Huge Succeeded]

You can't really play Arma without a keyboard either. Well, maybe. It has gamepad controls for infantry and vehicles, but the command interface is entirely reliant on the keyboard, and probably a lot of other miscellaneous controls too. Hardware power is debatable in regards to Arma.

The overall point though is that for a long time now the best PC exclusives have not been AAA games. Most have been quirky mid-budget indie games that catch on through word-of-mouth in Steam Early Access. Budget and revenue-wise would you consider LoL, DOTA 2, StarCraft II, and Civ VI AAA? Console users like to hold up AAA games like Uncharted 4 as if they make console gaming more valuable but I think what's happened is console users and PC users simply care about different kinds of games these days. There's lots of overlap sure, but at the very margins there seem to be extremes that only get commonly made on one side or the other: quirky hardcore simulation games on PC, and super-expensive action games on consoles.

yeah, PC gaming isn't really about AAA games, and (speaking strictly re: PC gaming) it's better that way. PC is rife with the sort of unique games that you can't or won't find on consoles. being able to play the occasional AAA multiplat (or Xbox 'console exclusive', lol) with solid performance or graphics is the cherry on top as opposed to the raison d'être of PC gaming

 

[Sarobi]

Water is wet. More at 11.

 

[BinaryBear07]

there is no game graphics like uncharted 4 on PC

You must be the author of the article.

 

[starmud]

isn't this why consoles exist? If you wanted a high end piece of hardware for the time being you stayed with PC.

Consoles have always been a plastic box aimed at a consumer space where price of entry matters. The same is said for variety, one game can move millions of consoles.

it's strange to me we're going back in time to debate a similar argument reguarding fragmenting console cycles with higher spec boxes mid gen. A console is a walled garden, Fragmenting that experience is a mistake IMO. they found a way to keep gamers who want a higher end experience excited or to at least con the faithful into upgrading and marrying the platform that much longer...

 

[paragonpro]

Yes consoles themselves will always have a bottlneck of sorts and will hold back games developed with them in mind. Im hopeful that 1080 60 takes priority on the ps5 and xbox 2, but i know image quality will take priority on these boxes

 

[Sephiroth_VII]

I think the implication is that technology is moving faster now, and consoles are becoming obsolete quicker.

If anything, the opposite is true.

 

[AudioEppa]

Every time I see articles like this I'm like.


Ok.
And?

This is how it's always going be. What's the point of reminding people who know this stuff already.

People on console enjoy what they are given. When Next Gen comes around, everything new will look 'amazing' and that process will continue on repeating.

PC tech that can push a game beyond its limits will always be a preview of what's to come for a console owner. Unless something crazy goes down in next few years.

 

[Timeaisis]

How is he full of himself? The dude is jumping into game development and succeeding. The dude is just a passionate guy.

I'm not knocking the dude. He's passionate and doing great stuff. Just came off sounding a little vain during that interview. The PS4 comment included. He's not really wrong about that, though.

 

[Outrun]

Then Xbox One X must a be like a 4 year old PC holding developers back.

What's the X got to do with anything?

Ahhhhh, I see now..

 

[geordiemp]

Then Xbox One X must a be like a 4 year old PC holding developers back.

Think they are referring to Jaguar CPU, so applies to Pro as well as Scorpio.

Maybe its holding back the graphics, but in a time were just a few month ago the best rated game since Zelda: OoT was released on Hardware that is worse than 10+ years old PC hardware (Zelda:BotW on WiiU) its hard not to disagree here a little bit.
.

No its not the GPU's, its the crap tablet CPU's.. Did you not notice how empty Zelda was, 3-5 spawning enemies in an empty landscape - we have weak Cpu's to thank.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I mean, the PS4 is nearly 4 years old at this point. What does he expect?

Did a 12 year old write this?

Jesus tittybastard Christ. Glad I didn't even bother giving them the click.

 

[Blam]

We aren't even ready for next gen. The tech isn't there.

Hell the one X is already $500.

Also none of this matters because these games are required to support the base model.

I'm saying we should have released the Xbox One X as the Xbox One, and the PS4 Pro as the PS4.

We should have never been given those base models.

 

[Head.spawn]

"This 4 year old PS4 is like a 5 year old PC."

I'm saying we should have released the Xbox One X as the Xbox One, and the PS4 Pro as the PS4.

We should have never been given those base models.

That would be fine and all if gamers weren't completely delusional about the realities of inflation and what the price they want to pay actually affords them.

 

[alpha69]

lol not like most PC gamers have the latest PC spec can offer today. Most of them probably have a weaker spec than an OG PS4.

So I guess.... It's actually PC gamers that are holding back games's potential? ;p

 

[dr_rus]

I think that the weak CPUs in these consoles might keep some devs from exploring gameplay or mechanical concepts they otherwise might have, but otherwise, I don't think these consoles are explicitly holding developers back (although people keep bringing up specific AAA exclusives as though they're representative of the PS4's entire output and like they didn't cost dozens of millions of dollars to develop)... but if the next generation's CPUs are as pathetic then I'll be truly mystified

Yes, they do. Xbox One has a GPU which is an equivalent of Radeon R7 450 or GeForce GT 1030 these days. You can be pretty damn certain that this is holding back the whole market as all games have to work on this GPU, at 30 fps.

CPU is of much less concern because most games are GPU limited first and CPU limited second.

 

[Lister]

lol not like most PC gamers have the latest PC spec can offer today. Most of them probably have a weaker spec than an OG PS4.

So I guess.... It's actually PC gamers that are holding back games's potential? ;p

In terms of CPU? I don't think many gaming PC's out there have anythign as week as a PS4, if any.

 

[Xenus]

I'm saying we should have released the Xbox One X as the Xbox One, and the PS4 Pro as the PS4.

We should have never been given those base models.

Then in 4 years you'll be complaining about the same thing. The march of technology is never ending but it is certainly slowing down until we find something new to do other than ever harder process shrinks on silicon.

 

[Navid]

Seems the endless repeating cycle has started again...

Towards mid/late console gen: This hardware is holding our creativity back, there is so much more we could do if we had more flops...

Beginning of new console gen: Development costs are too high to make these higher fidelity games, the risk of new innovative games is too much so it's better to make safe sequels/remakes... Also we need to strip features away in our sequel compared to last gens version.

 

[coiler]

Lack of good ideas is holding developers back no more no less.