General Discussion

[InfiniteStates]

---

TheMiitch wrote:

And I don't mean PS3 specifically, just as a rule of thumb, say for eg. that there is a pc and a console that have exactly the same hardware; both made from off-the-shelf parts in pretty much the same configuration, games developed for the console will be superior technically because developers are capable of tailoring to that specification. PCs games however have to be made to fit most PC configurations above the minimum requirements and so when a game is played on that same spec PC it won't be as optimised as the one for console.

---

This doesn't hold water I'm afraid. Coding for multiple specs doesn't detract from performance as much as your implying. Following that logic, Android phones are inferior to Apple's.

And techniques for multi-spec development are pretty well established. There is sense to your logic of the thinner layer and less intensive OS between developer and hardware, but PC developers can get pretty close to the hardware too, so the difference is negligible.

Coupled with the fact that there is significant gap between a console's specs being locked in and it hitting the market. So even if a console was specced to match the top-end PCs, it will still be several years behind when it actually goes to market.

[phep]

Is there any need for a new games console yet? Surely it's only needed when developers are producing games which push this current gen as far as they can, and the games coming out cannot be improved upon due to the specifications of the consoles. How many games out there now push the current consoles right to their limits? Personally I don't think we should have to spend on a new console until it's the ONLY way to get a better experience.

[LarasAider]

---

phep wrote:
Is there any need for a new games console yet? Surely it's only needed when developers are producing games which push this current gen as far as they can, and the games coming out cannot be improved upon due to the specifications of the consoles. How many games out there now push the current consoles right to their limits? Personally I don't think we should have to spend on a new console until it's the ONLY way to get a better experience.

---

Until there's a day when 3rd party developers make use of the PS3's entire hardware, that'll be the day when we can truly say the PS3 has had it, this generation. However the developers have got to stop telling whoppers, that the console is not capable this and that and then later we actually see that it can do this and that from a different game.

[PatC_PSN]

---

phep wrote:
Is there any need for a new games console yet? Surely it's only needed when developers are producing games which push this current gen as far as they can, and the games coming out cannot be improved upon due to the specifications of the consoles. How many games out there now push the current consoles right to their limits? Personally I don't think we should have to spend on a new console until it's the ONLY way to get a better experience.

---

But the launch of any new product is based largely on what people will pay, not what they need, or would like to pay.

[phep]

---

PatC_PSN wrote:

---

phep wrote:
Is there any need for a new games console yet? Surely it's only needed when developers are producing games which push this current gen as far as they can, and the games coming out cannot be improved upon due to the specifications of the consoles. How many games out there now push the current consoles right to their limits? Personally I don't think we should have to spend on a new console until it's the ONLY way to get a better experience.

---

But the launch of any new product is based largely on what people will pay, not what they need, or would like to pay.

---

True enough, but surely people will pay more if there's a bigger step up in what can be achieved. The jumps between PS1 and PS2, and PS2 and PS3 have been fairly massive both in terms of what can be done, and in hardware in general. So far it's unproven what would happen if a next generation console was released without such a big leap.

[PatC_PSN]

---

phep wrote:

True enough, but surely people will pay more if there's a bigger step up in what can be achieved. The jumps between PS1 and PS2, and PS2 and PS3 have been fairly massive both in terms of what can be done, and in hardware in general. So far it's unproven what would happen if a next generation console was released without such a big leap.

---

I'm not so sure the leap between the PS2 and PS3 was that great. It was certainly hyped that way and the specs may have looked good (I don't know, or care) but it didn't seem like much of a leap to me. And it wasn't long before Wipeout had to have a variable frame rate because the hardware couldn't keep up.

I don't believe that higher specs alone will be enough to sell a new console at a volume that makes commercial sense either.

[phep]

I disagree with the first part, I do think there was a very noticable difference between PS2 games and PS3 games, visually and in terms of size, though that's probably largely to do with the extra space available on the new discs as opposed to what was used on PS2?

And I agree about that second point, It's my opinion that the next generation will be sold entirely on games. It's unlikely that either Sony or Microsoft will notice that, but if Rockstar came along and said there'd be a new GTA bigger than San Andreas, or Bethesda offered a new bigger Elder Scrolls or Fallout game, and they said it wasn't possible on the current generation, I think the next generation will sell like hotcakes. But if all the focus is on, like this gen, the whole "Entertainment system" it will bomb. There's not a vast amount more they can add to the PS3 to make it more of an "entertainment system", so why spend a fortune on a new one. The next generation should be heavily heavily focused on bigger, better games, that's what will sell units.

[James91]

---

phep wrote:
Is there any need for a new games console yet? Surely it's only needed when developers are producing games which push this current gen as far as they can, and the games coming out cannot be improved upon due to the specifications of the consoles. How many games out there now push the current consoles right to their limits? Personally I don't think we should have to spend on a new console until it's the ONLY way to get a better experience.

---

The PS3 is already severely limited, especially for a memory stand point. It's had its day.

---

phep wrote:
I disagree with the first part, I do think there was a very noticable difference between PS2 games and PS3 games, visually and in terms of size, though that's probably largely to do with the extra space available on the new discs as opposed to what was used on PS2?

---

It's nothing to do with the increased capacity offered by Blu-ray, graphical prowess is solely down to hardware like the CPU and GPU and nothing to do with storage.

[seany_boy2k8]

def like to see X-game chat and playing music over any game as thats all that xbox has that i want on the ps3

as for anything else just a general hardware upgrade will be enough i wouldnt mind seeing them chucking in some real good specs and selling it for £400 on launch

[PatC_PSN]

Yes, we really need to be talking to people who are playing different games to us, and phones simply aren't good enough in such a pivotal situation. When you need to exchange meaningless, inane drivel with likeminded people it must be done through a console. Accept no substitutes.

Likewise with music. Why use a PC/CD/MP3 etc. player to listen to music when you can complain about it not being integegrated with a console? And what were those interfering developers thinking, creating that game soundtrack in the first place?