Epic: 'If next-gen consoles aren't bleeding edge, Apple will beat them'

[Mr Khan]

greenmedic88 said:
It was an odd quote, but I don't see how he came to the conclusion

If: the next Xbox/PS4 cannot comfortably run UE4 to Epic's satisfaction

Then: Apple "wins"

Presumably, Apple wins means that all the major developers will bypass publishing on the Xbox 3/PS4 and instead, what; divert all resources to iOS game development?

As long as it remains profitable to publish for Xbox and Playstation platforms, developers will take the resources allotted within the hardware and press on from there.

If the suggestion is that if the next gen of consoles isn't a mind blowing leap over the 7th, that consumers will bypass buying them and instead do all their gaming on iOS devices, then I think everyone can reach their own conclusion regarding the likelihood of that scenario.

Lastly, and I don't think this is what he was specifically referring to, but if the next generation of consoles don't use leading edge hardware and specs, they will age very rapidly relative to iOS devices like the iPad that receive annual spec updates.

In a world with annual updates for Android OS and iOS devices, the traditional 4-5 year hardware cycle itself seems dated.

There would be an advantage to a slower update cycle, however. Stability, time to master the hardware and optimize use of APIs and such. I'm all for the rapid advance of technology, but the stability afforded by dedicated consoles has to be valued by some developers in lieu of an ever-shifting environment, especially given how long large games take to develop.

If anything, there are elements stumping for longer generations than there already are. Quite a few PS360 gamers i've heard tend to be in that crowd.