| Impulsivity said: Define blow out the window. Do you mean it would have slightly more polygons? Would the shadows be slightly more idealized? Again it is NOT impossible to make a console that is better, it is impossible to make a console that is SO much better it will get people to neglect the last generation and start on the next one. 2010 will indeed have better capacity then today, but not so much better that it makes for a compelling change. The dreamcast was way better then the Saturn and Playstation, but not so much better that it necessitated a real change. |
I don't get the logic of PS3 fanboys ... The trivial difference between the PS3 and the XBox 360 will eventually motivate every gamer in the world to buy a PS3, but producing a sytem 8 times as powerful as the PS3 wouldn't act as a motivation at all. The fact is that Crysis already is a big improvement over what the PS3 can handle, and by 2010 it should be trivial to surpass Crysis at 1080p @60fps with a $300 console, and what could be produced at 720p @30fps would be much more than 'Slightly more polygons, or shadows slightly more idealized' ...
The truth is that graphics improvements are not the primary motivating factor for people to buy a new system any more as has been demonstrated by the popularity of the Wii. Being able to improve upon all of the strengths of each of the systems, while minimizing their weaknesses, and releasing an affordable console is a fairly good strategy to use if you're trying to be the first-mover.
As always, the release of the next generation of consoles will have very little to do with what technology is available and everything to do with the business conditions of the market 18 to 24 months before then. Being that the majority of third party support for the PS3 and XBox 360 is made of multiplatform games these consoles will be able to survive as long as the combined sales for both systems justifies further third party support, they don't start trailing the Wii by too much, both consoles are healthy, and Nintendo doesn't release a new system.
