You people want MOAR Power in 8th Gen consoles, but........

[Zappykins]

I really question the cry about development cost going up all the time. Sure, sometimes they might, but also, new tech sometimes does more things for the designers, so you, in theory, could actually use less people.

Well, that is what Bungie said about developing Halo: Reach - "Building a motion capture studio in-house saved Bungie time as motion capture data could be applied to the game models the same day it was shot" http://halo.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=Spandex

And, look at the user generated mods to Skyrim. They are making it nearly photo realistic, but not changing the design at all - and only through volunteers. It's quite amazing.

They way things are going - DirectX gives you tools, then people are using Unreal Engine, CryEngine, Frostbyte, Havok, etc. on top of that. So actual game companies can rent/lease a design engine so they only make the game part and use the tools other companies have already made.

As the tech becomes better, stronger, and more accessible, it does open some additional doors for designers.