Earlier today, DICE released a gameplay trailer of its latest game, Battlefield 3, one that left the gaming masses without speech. It is the best looking game we’ve seen, and surely the most impressive shooter. DICE said Frosbite 2, its latest engine, brings the eighth generation of gaming right here, right now. And now Epic Games has released some new images that’s impressing us all on the same level.
Here’s my question: with such powerful engines being unveiled that are way beyond their time, is it time for the next round of consoles? Or better yet, are you willing to jump in?
With Frosbite 2, we have witnessed what’s possible, yet you should not be fooled. The game you’re seeing now, is ran on a PC, at the highest of specs, and again, what you see now, is not possible for a second on either PS3 or Xbox 360. It’s been documented by a wide spectrum of developers that the PS3 is more powerful that the Xbox 360, and we’ve seen the evidence through the many exclusives released for the system. Yet it doesn’t matter how powerful the console is, most games look mostly identical, and so that extra power Sony’s console boasts, isn’t such a big deal.
On the important terms, the consoles are identical.
The point I’m trying to make here is both Sony and Microsoft, and even Nintendo, need to upgrade if we truly want what we’re seeing now. Indeed, the technology’s already here, the HDTVs are ready – we are ready.
But are the big three ready to dive? It seems Nintendo is, but will Nintendo do such a mammoth leap with its Wii2 that would be leaps more powerful than the two other home consoles already on the market? I doubt it. Nintendo innovates, but it’s never with expensive technology.
Nintendo does things its way.
Microsoft are surely planning their next move – and with the success of Kinect, expect motion tech to be a huge play when Xbox 720 comes out. It’s unclear whether Redmond will opt for state-of-the-art technology that’ll boast never before seen visuals and processing power, as the firm seems to follow the money. And honestly, for Microsoft, Kinect and Xbox Live is where the money is.
And what of Sony? Will we see a PS4 that’s basically a PC on steroids? I hope so, but I hope it’s more than that too. Still I believe the hardware company will be the last to take the dive. Maybe in 2014.
So we’re left wanting, then. The only way to get an untethered Battlefield 3 fix is to buy a PC worth thousands, something most of us can’t afford at the moment. No other option at the moment.
Change is coming though, and sooner or later, we’ll be witnessing photo realistic visuals from our living rooms.
What you’re looking at below is Epic Games version of what future games should look like. Battlefield 3 show off DICE’s version.
those screens look pretty great.
They really do. It’s a pity we can’t have that type of tech now!
are you still online? I am just sitting here, and it says you are offline. lol
dont need new consoles, all we need is engines actually built for these consoles!
most engines today, especially the UE3 are extremely similar to engines running on ps2s.
tis why batman AA and bulletstorm look so much better then other UE3 games, because there not actually using the UE3 engine there using the UE3.5 engine which has quite a few features from UE4.
thats why battlefield 3 looks so god dam good!
same consoles, just a engine properly built for the systems.
main problem is allot of todays engines are not built for multitasking, allot of games these days are only using a single core of a CPU, so the rest is being wasted!
we need engines re written to completley utilize CPUs to their full potential, instead of only using a small portion of them.
we dont need new hardware, and wont for a while.
all we need is engines built from scratch for todays systems, not engines taken from the ps2 and tweaked.
scratch a car and you can only buff it out so much, it will never be as good as replacing the whole panel.
@Nick: I totally agree with you there.
sony and M$ really screwed up this gen, they did not give developers enough time to build new engines from scratch for the systems.
tis why only now are we starting to see new engines being built for them, 4+ years after release.
tis the bad thing about console releases, you need to try get the developers in as early as possible to give them enough time to properly build and test the engine, but then how do you stop leaks?
not to mention they take a long time, and a hell of allot of cash.
nice to see DICE creating a new engine, but i seriously doubt will be seeing many more till the new set of systems come out.
too costly, and take far too much time.
DICE have the luxury of having such a large studio, as do epic, but most developers dont have that luxury.
shame.
id be nice to see a general standard engine that all games use, then each developer can tailor and improve it to their needs.
that way we dont have to worry about this happening anymore, have one developer in the industry creating the industry standard engine then have every other dev working on their games.
only problem that poses is the engine would have to be started much earlier, because, well you cant make a game without a engine.
this would help stop the piss poor ports we have been seeing lately.
seeing a unity, ps3 and 360 games running as smooth as silk, and PC games having the features they should!
one can dream.
Yeah, loads of good info there Nick.
“Scratch a car and you can only buff it out so much, it will never be as good as replacing the whole panel.”
Great point.
Tons of insightful information there Nick thanks. Plus we still have the whole financial side of things when talking about a new console as well… From the industry side it will almost be suicide to release new consoles because both Sony and MS will have to lower the price of their current consoles which most of the masses will probably purchase over the newer ones… I akin the release of next generation consoles to that of BluRay. DVD’s were successful because their quality over VHS tapes was astonishing. Most people replaced their VHS libraries with DVD’s. However, the quality of BluRay over DVD’s is good but was not good enough to have everyone replace their DVD’s with BluRay… I see the same thing happening with the next generation of consoles. Will there quality be enough to force a substantial amount of people not just hardcore gamers to purchase them… Plus it is a different world now. Consoles are now competing with smartphones; tablets, gaming on demand and whatever hot device is lurking think 3DS and NGP. I believe Nintendo realizes this, which is why they’re focused on the 3DS and not a new Wii…
Insightful discuss on GT today, let me jump in. “os1019 hits the nail on its head when he says I akin the release of next generation consoles to that of BluRay. DVD’s were successful because their quality over VHS tapes was astonishing. Most people replaced their VHS libraries with DVD’s. However, the quality of BluRay over DVD’s is good but was not good enough to have everyone replace their DVD’s with BluRay…”
There’s also the point of developers not being able to afford a new round of consoles. Yes, maybe Epic Games and DICE can, but what about those who are struggling to meet budgets in this current gen. Last time I checked it took upwards $20 million to develop a blockbuster title, money that’s hard to come by for studios backed by big publishers, far less those trying to scratch out an independent survival.